Proverbs 15:1, 2, 7, 23, 28 Gentle, apt, right arguments

15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

15:2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. 

15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright. 

15:23 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply - and how good is a timely word! 

15:28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

Part of the task of the preacher is to present good arguments for his case. A wise preacher will spread knowledge and adorn it by his arguments. He will not gush folly or speak from a heart that is not upright. His arguments will be characterised by gentleness, aptness and well weighed answers. He will not stir up anger by his harsh approach or disappointment by failing to give an untimely word or gush the evil the wicked speak.

The story is told of a preacher finding the sermon notes of the previous preacher in the pulpit adn noticing that at certain points in the margin of his manuscript this preacher had written the letter PWSL. The second preacher wondered what PWSL could stand for and so when he had the opportunity he asked. "Oh" said the first preacher, rather embarrassed, "It stands for point weak, shout leader!". Rather than running to such expedients we should rather be seeking to argue the case in an apt, well weighed and gentle way.