A proverb is a short saying,
a very short saying, and what it does is it states its purpose
in just a very few words. I dare say that most proverbs
don't have any more than twelve to fourteen words or fifteen
words per verse, and yet what's contained in those few words
It's full of life experiences, full of wisdom, full of instruction,
admonition, so many things. And what it is, it's a short
expression drawn from experiences that we have. Proverbs is exactly
what it suggests. Let me read these first six verses
and see what Solomon says about it. The Proverbs of King Solomon,
the son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction.
To perceive the words of understanding. That's what these things are
to do, to give us wisdom. To perceive with understanding.
And everybody will have a little different take on it. To receive
the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity. to give
subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. Here's what a man will do if
he hears these proverbs and learns them and understands them. A
wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding
shall attain, under wise counsels, to understand the proverb and
the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. Oh, my. That's the purpose of
this book. That's the purpose. You know,
Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs. I want you to see that. You keep
proverbs and go over here to 1 Kings chapter 4 with me just
a moment. 1 Kings chapter 4. Solomon wrote
3,000 proverbs. And, of course, they're not all
contained in proverbs. But Solomon in 1 Kings chapter
4 and verse 32, look what it says here about Solomon. Chapter
4 and verse 32. He wrote 3,000 proverbs during
his lifetime. It says in verse 32, 1 Kings
4. And he spake 3,000 proverbs, and his psalms were a thousand
and five. Here's some of the things he
spoke about and sung about. And he spake of trees, from the
cedar that is in Lebanon, even under the hyssop that springeth
out of the wall. He spake also of beasts, and
of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came
of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all the kings
of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom." So that's what
the book of Proverbs does. It sets forth these wonderful
things. And so he's the primary author of the Proverbs. But then
there's Hezekiah. He gathered together, as a king,
he gathered together a bunch of Solomon's Proverbs. In chapter
21, 25, it says Hezekiah, he gathered together some of the
Proverbs of Solomon, and he said the first one was the glory of
God is to conceal a man. And so he went from chapter 25
to the last verse of chapter 29. Those were the ones that
Hezekiah gathered up and collected them and put them there. And
so Solomon collected all these proverbs. Hezekiah collected
Solomon's proverbs. And then you got two proverbs.
One of them, chapter 30, starts out with a fellow whose name
is Agar. And then you got King Lemuel in chapter 31. So you
got four people involved in these Now, let me set you the structure
of this, if I can, just a little bit. And the structure is in
chapter 1, in verse 8, all the way through chapter 9 and 18,
it's instruction, given instruction to teach. And it starts out so
many times, we said, like in verse 8, My son, hear the instruction
of your father. 10. My son enticed not sinners,
if sinners entice thee, consent not." So you go through here
and you'll say, my son, my son, over and over again, instructing
like a father instructing a child's son. And we can say that's God
instructing us. And then you have the sayings.
Sayings. Sayings that, real proverbs that
you can say things about, but the sayings start in chapter
10 and go all the way through chapter 25. And then you have
admonitions, warnings, instructions, and admonitions telling us, warning
us about things in chapter 22 through chapter 24. And I'll
tell you something about a proverb. They're so characterized by extreme
brevity. I mean, they are shortened to
the point. Shortened to the point. And people need to understand.
And let me give you another way about the way this book is structured.
And we're going to keep your Bible, but we're going to go
through this in Chapter 1. Go through here and see the high
spots of this. Another way to structure this book and give
the outline of the book is this Proverbs of Solomon for the young. Proverbs of Solomon for the young.
And that's what he done. He wrote it for young people.
Young people. My son, my son, my son, my son.
And then you have the Proverbs of Solomon in chapter 10 through
26 for everybody, for all people. Then you've got the words of
wisdom, the words to the wise in chapter 22 through chapter
24. And then you've got the Proverbs
of Solomon collected by Hezekiah in chapter 25 through 29. And
then the last two Proverbs is the words of Agar and Elymium. And let me tell you something,
the main theme, the main theme of Proverbs is wisdom. Wisdom. That's the main theme of Proverbs. I think it's chapter 27, I believe. Let me look and see before you
turn there. I want to make sure this is right. Nope, that's not
it. That Proverbs just says, you
know, wisdom has built her house. The seven pillars. Wisdom built
her house with seven pillars. That's what it talks about, wisdom.
How she built her house. And what it talks about, wisdom.
This book gives us wisdom. Wisdom. And Christ is the wisdom
of God. Christ is the wisdom of gospel,
is the wisdom of God. And so this tells us about Christ,
and a wise man will seek the Lord Jesus Christ and make Christ
to be his purpose in life, to follow Him. But the wise man,
the wise person, has understanding. Remember that's what Solomon
said, to know wisdom and receive instruction, to have understanding,
increase in learning. See, the wise man has understanding.
He has discernment. He has perception. He has insight.
And so that's what we're talking about. That's what the Proverbs
do. They give us some understanding. They give us some discernment
how to do in this life, how to deal with things, some perception
of human nature, some perception of God, some perception of what
goes on in this world. And gives us an insight into
the Scriptures, into ourselves, into human nature, into life
itself. Now, I want to tell you, the
first thing that a wise man will do, and this is the first thing,
his life will start out And this is where the beginning of wisdom
starts. Look there in verse 7. Oh, understanding, discernment,
perception. Look here. Proper relationship
with the Lord. That's the first thing a wise
man will do. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
But now here's the difference. He shows always a consensus.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge. But now watch this. But fools
despise wisdom and instruction. You take the Bible, he don't
want to, he don't want to learn anything. You ever try to teach
somebody something or tell somebody something and they say, I don't want to hear it. I just,
you know, I don't care about that. Or else you try to teach
them something, they say, well, I know, I know, I know. That's
one of the aggravating things in the world. Somebody don't
know nothing, you try to tell them something, they say, I know,
I know, I know. And this is where you have some
wisdom, some perception, some insight. The fear of the Lord,
I'll tell you a proper, do you see, fear of the Lord means standing
in awe of his person. You stand in awe of God. You
think rightly of God. And one thing you do is you dread,
you dread God's displeasure. You don't want God upset with
you. You don't want God not showing any face on you. You don't want
God to not bless you and let you see a feel of His presence.
And you don't want to displease the Lord. And the second thing
is about this relationship with the Lord, look over in chapter
16, just a moment. He rests, not only does he fear
the Lord, but he rests. and knowing the Lord's in control
of everything in this world. Look what he said here in Proverbs
16, what? The preparations of the heart
in man, in the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. So God even controls a man's
heart and his thoughts. You don't think God was in control
when they were cussing Christ? Spitting on Christ? plucking out his beard, beating
his back. You think God was not putting
it in those men's hearts and that when they put Paul and Silas
in those stocks? So you find Ben, even God's people,
when they go through the preparation of the heart and the answer to
the tongue is from the Lord. A fool will say things and he'll And
all the ways of a man, listen to this, all the ways of a man
are clean in his own eyes. But listen here, God weighs,
the Lord weighs the Spirit. You think, oh, I know what's
going on, I understand what's going on. God said He weighs
the Spirit. And look what He said here, And commit thy works
unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Lord, I,
Jeremiah said it this way, he said, Lord is not in man to know
which way to go. direct our steps. And look at
the last thing. And this is what we talk about.
Not only does he fear the Lord, the wise man, but he rests in
knowing the Lord is in control. The Lord hath made all for himself,
yea, even the wicked, for the day of evil. So we rest not only in fearing
the Lord. The wise man fears the Lord.
He rests in knowing the Lord. And look back over in chapter
3 with me. And we'll start here and go on through the book. Look
here in chapter 3 with me. No, it's talking about a proper
relationship, a right relationship with the Lord, with God. Not
only does he fear the Lord, not only does he rest nor the Lord's
in control, but he trusts the Lord through his direction. Look
what is said up here in verse 5 of chapter 3. Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him. What do you got that God didn't
give you? What do you know that God didn't teach you? What do you possess? Everything
we've got comes from God. Everything we've got. I mean,
beloved, listen, I'm telling you right down to the very hairs
of our head. Every breath we got, God's got
all of our breaths marked. He's got our heartbeats marked.
He's got our hairs marked. He gave us everything. What do
we have in this world that God didn't give you? You got a home?
God gave you the will, the desire, and the inclination to work,
gave you the job, gave you the strength, gave you the wisdom,
gave you everything that you need to have what you need in
this world. That's why He said to acknowledge Him in all your
works. You got sense enough to get in
and out of the rain, thank God for that. Acknowledge God in
that. There's a lot of people that don't. And look what else he goes on
to say. So, see, we trust the Lord for direction, and I'm not
talking about this wise and entrusted. Lord, direct me. He'll direct
your paths. God direct our paths. Don't let
us go that way when we're supposed to go this way. David sat here
and said, take the reins. Take the reins. Don't let me
be like a wild ass that's cold, snuffing at the wind on the mountainside. And then look what he says, and
a wise man not only that, but he accepts the Lord's discipline
and don't get angry about it. Look down here in verse 11 of
chapter 3. He says, My son, despise not
the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For
whom the Lord loveth, he corrects, even as a father. the son in
whom He delights. Nobody likes to get chastened.
Nobody likes to get a whipping from their mother, from their
daddy, or get corrected, or get grounded, or anything like that.
Nobody likes to go through that. And for God, but God, she said,
don't despise. When God puts His hand heavy
on you, don't despise that. Don't be weary of His correction.
Lord, how long are you going to do this to me? Is your dignity
set? Is your mercy clean gone? Will you hide your anger forever?
But he said here, for whom the Lord loveth, he corrects them.
If he don't correct you, that's a dead giveaway. He don't love
you. Even as a father in a son whom he delights. So a wise man,
he's interested in his relationship with God. And not only that,
but he's interested in his speech. In his speech, he wants to know
what he talks about. Now I want you to look with me
over here in chapter 17. We watch our speech. A wise man
watches his speech. Look at verse 28 of chapter 17. Look what he says in verse 28.
We, you know, a wise man watches his speech, watches how he talks. Even a fool, when he holds his
peace, is counted wise. And he that shoveth his lips
is esteemed a man of understanding." Just don't be talking all the
time. That's what he says. And look over here, chapter 18
and verse 7 and 8, talking about it. You see, the wise man, he
knows the value of silence. You don't have to be talking
all the time. You don't have to fill up space with words. And that silence is sometimes,
you know, there's an old proverb, silence is gold. It's golden,
and I tell you, to be alone, to be quiet, to be still. And
then look what else, and then, you know, talking about our speech,
the wise man, the wise person knows how awful gossip is. Look
down here in verse 7 of chapter 18. A fool's mouth is his destruction,
and his lips are the snare of his soul. Listen to this. The words of a talebearer are
as wounds. You ever been wounded by somebody's
words, by somebody's gossip, by somebody's saying things about
you? Now watch this. And they go down,
the words of a talebearer's wounds, and they go down into the innermost
parts of the belly. Go down into your gut, down into
your soul. Hurts you deep. And then, I tell
you, a wise man not only knows the value of silence, to hold
his peace, and he knows how awful gossip is and how harmful gossip
is, but he knows the power of the tongue. Look down at verse
21 of chapter 18 here. Oh, what powers in the tongue.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. You know, James says, you know
that a man can commit murder with his tongue. He said, on
the course of hell, the fire of hell with his tongue. And
that's what the wise man, wise man Moses, death and life are
in the power of the tongue. And they that love it shall eat
the fruit thereof. They that love life, they that
love truth, they that love life itself, they'll eat the fruit.
of a wise tongue. And now let's talk about, he's
not a wise man or cares about his relationship with the Lord
and about how he talks and how he speaks, but he's also interested
in labor. Look over here in chapter 20.
In his work, he has a great work ethic. A wise man has some work
ethic. He has some principle to him. Look what it says here
in verse 4 of chapter 20. And this says an awful lot about
sluggards and slothful people in the book of Proverbs. He said,
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold. Therefore
shall they beg and harvest and have nothing. As I tell you, I can't sow because
it's windy. It's going to rain. He's always
got a reason for what he's not going to do. Always got a reason. But look down in verse 13. Now
this is what a wise man, he observes that lazy person, all those flimsy
excuses he has for not working, and then look at the miserable
end he comes to. And look what he said here in
verse 13. Here's the man who has some wisdom. Love not sweet, lest thou come
to poverty. Now watch this. Open your eyes
and you'll be satisfied with bread. Get out of bed, go to
work. You go more by principle than you do feelings. How many
of you wouldn't went to work today if it's good by your feelings?
But you know that you got to have bread, you know you got
bills to pay, and you know you ain't going to lay in the bed
and flip and flop all day long. You're going to get up and do
what's right. And a wise person, he sees that lazy fella, he sees
that fella. Like I heard a fella say one
time, honey, I'll go hold the light for you while you get the
wood in the back. And there's folks that are, I know folks
that are Well-known. Was well-known if they ain't
gone there. Well-known for their laziness. Well-known for their
sleepiness. And I certainly wouldn't want
to be known for that to you. And a wise person, he knows that
if he's going to have anything, he ain't going to get it, turn
it over in the bed all the time. He's going to get out of bed
and do what he's supposed to be. And he gives his life based on
principle rather than feeling. And then let's look at truth.
A wise man loves truth, desires truth. He recognizes truth. Look in chapter 22 and verse
20 with me just a moment. A wise man loves truth. Look in verse 20, 22. Am I in
22? Yeah, 22, 21. Truth twenty-two. Yeah, twenty. Look here at verse twenty. Have
not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
that I might make thee, now listen to this, that I might make thee
know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mightest
answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? Oh
my, the wise person recognizes truth, and he recognizes the
character of truth. He loves truth, and he recognizes
it when he sees it. He understands that what truth
does, it's excellent. It gives counsel, it gives knowledge.
And I'll tell you, we get great comfort and great pleasure and
great satisfaction out of truth. And Solomon said, I've read unto
you that you might know the certainty of truth. And I tell you what,
it is certainty. Do you know what makes truth
certain? Because it comes from God. It's God's truth. It's God's
truth, and God's truth can never change. Man can change. The world can change. A lot of
things can change. Circumstances can change. But
God's Word truths, and that's why it gives us such pleasure,
such comfort, such satisfaction. A wise person recognizes truth
in his blessed character and what it does for him. Ain't that
right? Oh my, he sees it. He says, oh,
I want to know them. And when somebody comes along
to know the answer to the truth, you've got truth to tell them. When they send them to you, tell
them the truth. And then let me show you, a wise
person It's very, has self-control, they have discipline in eating
and drinking. You know, this is another thing
the scripture said, if you're given to a great appetite, just
put a knife through your throat. If you're a gluttonous man, put
a knife through your throat. And look what he said here in
Proverbs 23 in verse 20, talking about people ought to know a
wise man has self-control in his eating and in his drinking.
And it says in verse 20, Be not among wine givers, among riotous
eaters of flesh. Don't be among people that's
just drinking and eating, drinking and eating, drinking and eating.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsing
they shall clothe a man with rags. So we're going to be careful
what we eat, we're going to be careful what we drink. And that
has a lot to say about that. Scriptures has a lot to say about
it. And then a wise person is very, very interested in who his companions
are, who his friends are, who he runs with. You know, they
say birds of a feather flock together. Well, there's three
types of people, three types of people that a believer ought
to shun and not have company with and ought to avoid. And
that's the one, the first one's this. Well, let me see where
we're going to here first. Well, here we go. Good companion. Chapter 13, verse 20. In the head of myself, we want to be careful about the
kind of people we run with. He that walketh with wise men
shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Oh, my. Look in chapter 22. Look in chapter 22 and verse
24. Talking about the kind of people
we make to be our companions, the people that we won't run
with. Oh, if you run with wise people, you'll be a wise man.
If you run with fools, you'll act like a fool. In Proverbs
22, 24. Make no friendship with an angry
man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go, lest thou learn
his ways, and get a snare to thy soul." My goodness, don't
run around with a man who's mad all the time, upset all the time.
And don't go with him. You'll learn to be angry like
he is. You'll learn his ways, and you'll end up being snared
like he is. And so there's three types of people you ought not,
a person, a saint ought to try to be careful who they run with. And one of them is that person.
Listen, here's the person, three people. That person who makes
choices based on what they're going to get immediate pleasure
out of. If they're all interested in their choices, it's satisfaction
right now. Pleasure right now to be pleased
for myself right now. Don't run around with somebody
who's interested in gratification right now. And then don't run
around with that person who is spiritually and morally stupid. Now what I mean by that, I know
folks that a young woman living with a man, her mother and daddy
let him live there, her mother and daddy let him live there.
That's spiritually and morally stupid. I'm not going to run
around with people like that. You know, we don't make our companions
with people who do things that are so contrary to the Scriptures,
so immoral in their actions, and it's as common to them as
weaving. They think nothing of it. They're
not ashamed when you tell them that it's wrong. They're not
embarrassed that it's wrong. And you don't want to be around
people like that. And then the third person that
you don't want to have to be your companion is one who is
not sensitive or is insensitive to the Lord. He has a hard heart
towards Christ. He's morally apathetic. He can
care one way or another what happens to him or anybody else
in this world. He's morally apathetic. He's
for it or he's against it. He just don't care. And when
you show him what's reasonable, ah, you go and do it that way,
I'll do it my way. You don't want those kind of
folks to be your companions. And then all family relationships.
The wise man is interested in his family relationships. And
I'll tell you this, if I could go back when mine was four, five,
and six, you'd think about somebody doing things a lot different.
I was a fundamental legalist when my kids was little. There
was nothing they was allowed to do, nothing, there was no
place they was allowed to go, no way they was allowed to dress.
And I just made life miserable for them. Miserable for me and
miserable for them. And I can't go back and undo
it. And if God in mercy has overruled your life to do something for
your children, believe me, it's God overruling in your life. Yes, God does it. And I tell
you, family relationships, let me just talk about children first.
The wise child respects his parents. Look here in chapter 30, in verse
17. And I was telling Tippi before
the service, one of the most blessed things that you can do
for your children is to instruct them in the things of the Lord.
Pray for them. And give them a Bible and try
to teach them and live what He says. You can't do more than
that for your children. Instruct them in the things of
the Lord. Pray for them. Give them a Bible. And try to
teach them what He says. Until they get to where God opens
their heart and they can understand it themselves. But a wise child,
he respects his parents. Look in verse 17. The eye that mocketh at his father
and despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall
pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." You will come
to a very, very bad end. Look down at verse 28 of chapter
31, talking about the wise child. Now here's the difference. Her
children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and
he praises her. A child that loves his mother
rises up. And a wise husband respects his
wife. A wise husband respects his wife.
Look over here in chapter 31, verse 10. Who can find a virtuous woman
for her price is far above rubies? To find a woman who has some
integrity, some virtue, some wisdom, some understanding, that
lives for God's glory, lives for her home, lives to make things
right with her family, with her home, with her heart, with her
life. All the rubies in the world worth
more than that. And then look what it says in
verse 25. The wise husband respects his
wife. Look what it says in verse 25. Strength and honor are her
clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. She'll open
her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looks well to the ways of her household, neither not the
bread of idleness." Oh, God blesses her. And then,
wise parents. Not all wise children respect
his parents. The wise husband respects his
wife. Wise parents discipline their children. discipline their
children. Look here, there are so many
things about this. Look in chapter 91. I'm just
going to give you two. But there are so many things
in here. Foolishness is bound in the heart
of a child, but a rod of correction will guide it far from him. And
I know this, but now we live in a day that if they catch you
whipping a child now, you just have to go to jail, just like
that. I know a man that's in this congregation. He whipped
one of his boys. They come and took him away from
him. He went and told somebody, my daddy whipped me, they took
him away. He got to go to court. And all he done was whip him.
Didn't beat him. But that's how far, that's what
I'm talking about, how far we've come. And there was a time if
you didn't whip, you know your neighbor was allowed to whip
you. The bus driver's allowed to whip you. Your school teacher's
allowed to whip you. Your grandma was allowed to whip you. And
you tell, after you tell them what they done and they'll get
home, I'll give them one. But those days are gone. Those
days are gone. But all wise parents discipline
their children. Look here in chapter 29, verse
15. The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Look down in verse seventeen.
Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest. Yea, he shall
give thee light unto thy soul. And that's true. Let me hurry
up here. Not only is a wise man interested
in his family relationships, his children, his language, his
speech, his friends, his relationships, but a wise man is content with
what God has blessed him to have, his possessions. Look in chapter
28 here with me, verse 6. A wise person is more concerned
about what he's looking at with his eyes than how much he has
in his hands. He knows that he can have both
hands full. And still yet, never be satisfied. Look what he said
here in verse 6. Better is the poor that walketh
in his uprightness than he that is perverse in his ways, though
he be rich. Wouldn't you rather be poor and
know God than to have a pile of money and be as perverse and
crooked in your dealings in life as he? That's what he's saying
here. And then look also what he says down there in verse 22. He that hastest to be rich has
an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon
him. And that poverty means that poverty of soul and spirit, no
God, no Christ. And a wise man is more concerned
about his heart and his eye than he is what he possesses with
his hands. My son went down to visit us.
Was his son Saturday afternoon? Saturday? He was in for a little
while and he'd come down and spend a few hours. And I said,
son, you remember when I told you when you was a young boy,
I said, if you grow up digging ditches and make minimum wages,
if you knew the Lord, that means more than you making all the
money in the world. And I mean that from the depths of my heart.
You have money, then what happens is you increase with goods and
you have need of nothing. I've got a big home. I've got
a big car. I've got lots of money. I've got lots of friends. Drink
the best wine. Smoke the best cigars. Go where
I want to go. Do what I want to do. So why
do I need God? Why do I need God? And then I'll
tell you another reason. A wise man, what a wise person
wants to do, he wants to control his anger too. He wants to control
his anger. Look with chapter 26 with him.
He wants to control his anger. You know that wise person talking
about that, he desires to have pure eyes, even if it means he
has an empty hand. But oh my, you know the things
that are constantly trying to get into our human spirit is
anger. Anger. But look what it said here in
Proverbs 26, 21. As coals are to burning coals and wood to
fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. You know, there's already wood
on the fire, the fire's going good, but you get an angry fellow
around, mad and upset, and he's just going to make the fire hotter. So we want to control our spirit.
And then look at chapter 29, verse 22. Oh my. We want to control our anger.
We want to control it. Now, an angry man stirreth up strife,
and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. Boy, you ever
been somebody around really angry and that, and they'll stir, oh,
it'll just stir up all kinds of strife, brain strife, stir
up, destroy peace in the home. And oh my, that person who nurses
anger and resentment, eventually he'll find himself, he won't
be able to get along with anybody. And then he'll be up starting
quarrels and quarrels with everybody wherever he's at. And let me
hurry, I've got three more to do, and I've got, I think I've
got time. Humility, a wise person, a wise man, and this book is
about wisdom. He's interested in humility.
Look in Proverbs 27. He's interested in humility.
You know, the proud person, he gets up and he takes life for
granted. He presumes he's going to always be the same, going
to be in the same position or some more greater one. But he
fails to see the uncertainty of life. And Proverbs 27.1 says
this. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth." And, oh my, he gets up of the day, I've got
it made today. But, oh my, what we say tomorrow
is God will. That's what we really truly say.
We're not boasting about tomorrow. God's got tomorrow. God's got
us tomorrow. And then look what else he says
the proud person does. Let not another man praise thee,
and not thy own mouth, a stranger, and not thy own lips. A proud
person, he's going to brag about himself and talk about his accomplishments,
but that person who's not boasting of tomorrow, if he has somebody
else, if anything's good said about him, he wants somebody
else to say it. Let somebody else say something
about me. He knows, that humble person
knows, he lives by the grace of God, takes nothing for granted,
and if anybody prays him, somebody else got to do it. And then let me show you the
last thing. And ah, the Scriptures, the Proverbs
say, go all the way back to chapter 5 with me, about sexual morality. I'll tell you, this Bible has
anything to say, I mean, it does not pull punches. It deals with
every issue that men will face in this world. And these are
just samples, just samples. I've went through here, and just
samples on how, and teaching on how a wise person lives, and
there's teachings about friends and finances and honesty and
vengeance and oh, so many things. But look what is on sexual morality.
Look here in chapter 5 and verse 3. Well, he said in verse 1,
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thy heart to my understanding.
He said in verse 3, For the lips of a strange woman drop as a
honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but her end is bitter
as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death,
her steps take hold on hell. lest thou shouldest ponder the
path of her life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not
know them." Look in chapter six, verse twenty. Chapter six and verse twenty.
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy
mother. Bind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about
thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead
thee, when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou
awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp,
and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of
life. And here's what it does to keep thee from the evil woman,
from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman." Now you
can, this is literal, it also means false religion, the Babylonian
harlot. lust not after her beauty in
thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For
by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread,
and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a
man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes and not be burned?
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he
that goeth into his neighbor wife, Whosoever toucheth her
shall not be innocent. Men don't despise a thief if
he steals to satisfy his soul when he's hungry. But if he be
found, he shall restore sevenfold, he shall give all the substance
of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh
understanding. He that doeth it destroyeth his
own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he
get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is
the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day
of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom,
neither will he rest content, though thy give him lots of gifts." You know how many preachers and
how many homes and how many men have been overthrown over that
very issue? Sexual morality tells you everything
what to do. Sexual immorality, sexual power. And I'll tell you
God's book. God's blessed book. It's a book of redemption. And
His purpose is to make truth known to men and women in this
world. And you read Proverbs 8. I won't do it tonight, but
when you get home tonight, you read Proverbs 8. And that's there
where Christ is the wisdom of God Himself. And the last verse
of Proverbs 8 says, He that loveth life, seeketh me. He that loveth not life, seeketh
not me." Talks about Christ. And oh God, wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. Our Father, oh gracious God in
heaven, oh blessed, blessed, blessed Father. Oh Lord, when I read these things,
confront with these things, see these truths in Your precious
Word, it lays my heart bare, it lays my soul