The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
The verse sets right thoughts on one side and deceitful counsel on the other, distinguishing the inward life of the righteous from that of the wicked. The thoughts of the righteous are right, while the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
The thoughts of the righteous are right because they have yielded themselves to think God's thoughts after Him, aligning their minds with His purpose. Right thinking of this kind belongs to a mind renewed in Christ and brought into subjection to God's law. Evil thinking, by contrast, is itself guile and sin even when it is never uttered aloud.
The deceitful counsel of the wicked is vanity, empty of truth and opposed to God's purpose. Obedience therefore concerns inward thoughts as well as outward actions, requiring truthfulness of mind and not merely correctness of deed.
The verse sets right thoughts on one side and deceitful counsel on the other, distinguishing the inward life of the righteous from that of the wicked. The thoughts of the righteous are right, while the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
The thoughts of the righteous are right because they have yielded themselves to think God's thoughts after Him, aligning their minds with His purpose. Right thinking of this kind belongs to a mind renewed in Christ and brought into subjection to God's law. Evil thinking, by contrast, is itself guile and sin even when it is never uttered aloud.
The deceitful counsel of the wicked is vanity, empty of truth and opposed to God's purpose. Obedience therefore concerns inward thoughts as well as outward actions, requiring truthfulness of mind and not merely correctness of deed.