How the Upright Elevate Cities Through Moral Authority

By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted (Proverbs 11:11). This political maxim assigns to human morality the determinative power over public prosperity or ruin. By "upright" Solomon means men of sufficient ability for their stations and piety resolute enough to discharge their duties faithfully.

Three classes bear this civic blessing: First, righteous magistrates enact good laws and administer them impartially, so virtue receives encouragement and vice receives due restraint. Second, faithful dispensers of God's sincere Word contribute immensely to communal happiness—those propagating knowledge of Elohim and stirring men to glorify Him become instruments of human felicity. Third, every upright person, regardless of station, blesses his place when possessed of public spirit and genuine humanity, ready to perform good offices for neighbors.

Conversely, the wicked mouth brings contrary effects. Unjust sentences proceed from partial judges, corrupt juries, and false witnesses at tribunals. When the wicked handle Divine Word and religious mysteries, they divide the people through the very religion designed to unite them, emboldening disobedience through misinterpreted authority. Pure religion cements civil society through enforcing unity, peace, and love; but corrupted religion carries seeds of endless strife and contention. In daily transactions, the wicked's mouth destroys public good.

This stands as fair warning: cities concerned for preservation must carefully increase the upright and diminish the wicked among them.