The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Proverbs 16:1
"The preparations of the heart in man - The Hebrew is לאדם מערכי לב
leadam maarchey leb, which is, literally, "To man are the dispositions
of the heart; but from the Lord is the answer of the tongue."
Man
proposes his wishes;
--but God answers as He thinks proper.
The former is
the free offspring of the heart of man;
--the latter, the free volition of
God.
Man may think as he pleases, and ask as he lists;
--but God will
give, or not give, as He thinks proper.
*This I believe to be the meaning
of this shamefully tortured passage, so often vexed by critics, their
doubts, and indecisions. God help them! for they seldom have the faculty
of making any subject plainer!" Adam Clarke