welcome to everyone for our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to psalm 119 psalm 119 all read verses 9 to 16 psalm 119 beginning in verse 9 how can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word with my whole heart I have sought you O let me not wander from your Commandments your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you blessed are you O Lord teach me your statutes with my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways I will delight myself in your statutes I will not forget your word amen well please take your Trinity Psalter and turn to Psalm 24 Psalm 24 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen well let us pray God in heaven it's a joy to gather in your house again on this Lord's Day evening we gather before a holy God a God who is worthy to be glorified and loved and feared and honored you are the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ we have so many reasons to thank you so many reasons to praise you and to glorify your holy name and we pray tonight that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your people here that as we sing these Psalms and these hymns and spiritual songs they would be a sweet savour to you as well our Father you would be pleased to bend your ear toward us to receive the prayers of your people we don't come in our own merit or in our own strength but we come in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and James tells us the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much and we would pray as well that as we look to Holy Scripture your spirit would be at work in our minds and hearts and that God this would be a means of grace for us that we would grow in the Grace and knowledge of our of our Lord Jesus Christ and that in all things you would be glorified in our lives we thank you so very much for the opportunity to approach you in public worship we know that you love the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob and that you take up residence in the house of the Living God and this is a great encouragement to us to come in from out of the world to gather it with one another and to call upon the father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit so be glorified tonight we pray as well father we ask that you would look with favour upon this congregation she would encourage the hearts of your people here that you would use the means of preaching to save those who are not yet your people we know that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek because in that gospel the righteousness of God is revealed faith to faith and we pray father that as this word goes forth you would be pleased to open eyes and hearts and cause the reception of the truth to take place we ask God that you would bless our children and our young people we thank you for them we see them as a gift given by a gracious God and we long to see them close with Christ we long to see them confess the Savior as Lord and we pray that you would cause them to be kept from many of the things that that marked or identified us in our previous lives we pray for those little ones in the wombs we thank you God for these precious gifts we pray that you would watch over them we pray that they would be healthy and well and that in your time you would bring them forth and one day Lord God bring them forth through the new birth we ask father that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions now we thank you for the promises of Scripture that you are a God who is full of mercy and a God who does rejoice to forgive his people from their sins and Lord in heaven help us to believe these things help us to confess with the greed I believe in the forgiveness of sins and may it be the case Lord God in heaven that that forgiveness would promote in us desire and longing for holiness and righteousness and to pursue those things that are pleasing in the sight of a gracious God we ask that you'd bless our fellow churches we thank you for those in our community that are faithfully preaching the gospel we pray that you would bless them that you had caused them to know your nearness and your kindness is their good we pray that you would use the church as testimony in this city to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through Jesus Christ we know there is great need in this community and we know that ultimately the power of the gospel is what every sinner stands in need of we pray for the Saints and Surrey thanking you Father for the work that you've established they're asking that you would continue to bless them and encourage them help Pastor Mike to faithfully preach the word and to Shepherd the flock of God among which the Holy Spirit has made him and overseer we pray for the Saints and Vernon that you would watch over them she would indeed provide for them godly man that would take up the task of preaching and shepherding in that in that community as well and our Father we pray that you'd raise up more churches Jesus says the harvest is plentiful but laborers are few so we pray to you that you raise up men that you would equip them by the power of the Holy Spirit with a love for the truth and a desire to preach that truth and God may you indeed plant churches and may you indeed send men forth into other parts of the world to testify concerning the glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace we do pray for the missionary enterprise our hearts are encouraged and warmed as we read about the progress of the gospel in other lands and we pray that it would continue to run swiftly and be glorified we pray for our brothers and sisters that suffer those in other countries that are that are oppressed for their faith in the Lord Christ we pray that you would gird them up and help them to persevere through affliction and trial and difficulty and God may they indeed hold forth that precious word of truth and may persecutors even come to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ you show that power in the salvation of Saul of Tarsus we know that you can show that power wherever there are men that are pressing the very people of God Almighty do this for your glory do this for the the increase and the stability and the security of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and may it be for the for the praise and the honor of our great Lord and God and we come to you now through Jesus Christ your son amen well please turn with me again in your trailer and your Trinity hymnals to number 369 hymn number 369 will stand as we sing together [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to the Prophet Zechariah we find ourselves in Zechariah chapter 8 Zechariah chapter 8 remember Zechariah along with Haggai and Malachi are post-exilic prophets that means they can't came to speak to the people of Judah after the Babylonian captivity and so specifically Haggai and Zechariah are preaching to the people to encourage them in their task of rebuilding the temple so beginning in Zechariah chapter 8 at verse 1 again the word of the Lord of Hosts came saying thus says the Lord of Hosts I am zealous for Zion with great zeal with great fervor I am zealous for her thus says the Lord I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth the mountain of the Lord of Hosts the holy mountain thus says the Lord of Hosts old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem each one with his staff in his hand because of great age the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets thus says the Lord of Hosts it is if it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in this day or in these days will it also be marvelous in my eyes says the Lord of hosts thus says the Lord of hosts behold I will save my people from the land of the east and from the land of the West I will bring them back and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem they shall be my people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness thus says the Lord of hosts let your hands be strong you who have been hearing in these days though these words by the mouth of the prophets who spoke in the day the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord of Hosts that the temple might be bill for before these days there were no wages for man nor any hire for beasts there was no peace from the for whoever went out or came in for I said all men everywhere or everyone against his neighbor but now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days says the Lord of Hosts for the seed shall be prosperous the vine shall give its fruit the ground shall give her increase and the heavens shall give their due I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these and it shall come to pass the just as you were a curse among the nations o house of Judah and house of Israel so I will save you and you shall be a blessing do not fear let your hands be strong for thus says the Lord of hosts just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked me to wrath says the Lord of hosts and I would not relent so again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah do not fear these are the things you shall do speak each man the truth to his neighbor give judgment and your gates for truth justice and peace let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor for Doudna and do not love a false oath for all these are things I hate says the Lord then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me saying thus says the Lord of hosts the fast of the fourth month the fast of the fifth the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah therefore love truth and peace thus says the Lord of Hosts people shall yet come inhabitants of many cities the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying let us continue to go and pray before the Lord and seek the Lord of Hosts I myself will go also yes many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord thus says the Lord of hosts in those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man saying let us go with you for we have heard that God is with you amen well let us pray father we thank you for this blessed description of revival and and your Mercy's poured out upon your people we know the ultimate fruition of this is in the new covenant community and even beyond that in the new heavens and the new earth how we praise you and thank you for your mess merciful graciousness to your people how we thank you that you forgive us of our sins you can bey upon us every spiritual blessing that we stand in need up and you load us daily with temporal things as well so we give praise to You Lord God for all of the mercies that you've demonstrated to us in and through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ we ask God in heaven that you would just prosper this church that should bind our hearts together in a in a spirit of unity and peace and that together we would give glory and praise unto our God and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well for our final him before the preaching you can turn to number 216 in your Trinity hymnals number 216 and we'll stand together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs proverbs chapter 6 proverbs chapter 6 i'll read verses 20 to 35 proverbs 6 beginning in verse 20 my son keep your father's command and do not forsake the law of your mother bind them continually upon your heart tie them around your neck when you roam they will lead you when you sleep they will keep you and when you awake they will speak with you for the commandment is a lamp and the law alight reproofs of instruction of the way of life to keep you from the evil woman from the flattering tongue of a seductress do not lust after her beauty in your heart nor let her lure you with her eyelids for by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a cross to bread and an adulteress will pray upon his precious life can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared so is he who goes into his neighbor's wife whoever touches her shall not be innocent people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving yet when he is found he must restore Sevenfold he may have to give up all the substance of his house whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding he who does so destroys his own soul wounds and dishonor he will get and his reproach will not be wiped away for jealousy is a husband's fury therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance he will accept no recompense nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts amen let us pray father in heaven we thank you for the written word and we pray again for the Ministry of the Spirit who gave us this word we ask God in heaven that you would cause us to to reflect upon your law caused us to embrace that law and by your Holy Spirit cause to obey that law to be a faithful people in a faithless generation and give us grace Lord God Almighty to rejoice in the good gifts that you give to us and may restrain us from engaging in the sorts of wickedness described in this passage the sorts of wickedness we see openly openly on flagrantly displayed all around us in our society help us now we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well the specific prohibition of the warning here has to do with adultery so all a man takes the opportunities to speak to his sons concerning a whole host of sins and transgressions against the law of God and we see that specifically portrayed in this section now previously in Chapter five there's a similar emphasis on sexual purity you'll see it as well in Chapter seven so this whole section chapters five six and seven have as an overarching thing theme a warning against adultery now I want to look at our set section the smart as it's evening under two considerations first the exhortation of a father in verses 20 to 29 and then secondly the consequences for an adulterer but let's look first at this exhortation of a father the necessity of God's law look at what Solomon says in verses 20 and 21 my son keep your father's command and do not forsake the law of your mother the emphasis on keeping the father's law and not forsaking what his mother has taught it's not about what they wish it's not about what they recommend it's not about what they suggest but rather it's about the law of God that they are conveying to their children Bridges says God never intended young people to be independent of their parents instruction from every quarter is valuable but from parents always supposing them to be godly parents it is the ordinance of God they will bring you God's Word not their own and I think this particular section illustrates something for us as parents this may be an unsavory or an uncomfortable subject but you'll notice that Soloman does not shy away from it Solomon takes the opportunity to teach his sons about sexual purity and we as God's people must do likewise now there's an age appropriateness to be sure I'm going to try and respect that throughout the course of this message tonight but brethren we have to instruct our kids this is a perverted generation this is a godless generation when it comes to sexuality and if we are not taking the opportunity to instruct our young people in terms of purity and in terms of God's law they may end up in the midst of the sorts of things that are condemned by God from Genesis to Revelation so Solomon emphasizes the need for his sons to keep his father's command and to not forsake the law of their mother now notice what he says in verse 21 bind them continually upon your heart tie them around your neck you know the later Jews would put these five lakh trees on their arms or on their foreheads and they would fill these boxes with scripture verses and it would remind them or it would cause them to reflect upon that word at their forehead and on their arm and they would recite it and rehearse it now I don't know about the validity of that and if it's beneficial I think a three by five guard in the back pocket you can look at that when you're in a line or when you're in you know wherever you might be but in terms of the binding is not supposed to be on the arm or on the head in some external manner that Solomon emphasizes that this needs to be a part of you this needs to be your life in other words the law of God is a means by which there is exercise exercise restraint in your lives my son he says do not and then he says keep these things bind them continually upon your heart tie them around your neck turn over to Psalm 1:19 I read this at the outset look at the psalmist example in psalm 119 at verse 9 how could a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word I'm not convinced that as the Church of Jesus Christ we are all at all as sufficiently and or about the value and the necessity of memorizing scripture hiding it in our hearts not so we can display our learning and not so we can dazzle the multitudes with how many Bible verses that we know but because it's that in our hearts that exercises under the power of the Holy Spirit that godly restraint that you and I need he says how can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word with my whole heart I have sought you O let me not wander from your Commandments your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you see it's preventative maintenance to hear sermons it's preventative maintenance to read scripture it's preventative maintenance to meditate upon and to memorize scripture so that you can hide that word in your heart that you might not sin against God blessed are you O Lord teach me your statutes with my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways I will delight myself in your statutes I will not forget your word so David what do you want us to know about the value and the import of God's Word really I just told you this is a continual praise to God for His Word in psalm 119 and solomon has this same emphasis with his son when you roam or verse 21 bind them continually upon your heart tie them around your neck and then notice the utility of God's law with reference to our lives verse 22 proverbs 6 when you roam they will lead you the Lord's God's Word is such that it makes straight paths in your life again I'm not convinced we all sufficiently appreciate the value of Holy Scripture all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work brethren every good work not just church attendance but whether we're in the world or whether we're in society whatever the specifics are that word of God regulates and should regulate our conduct when you roam they will when you sleep they will keep you and when you awake they will speak with you it's a beautiful and a wonderful thing notice what he says in verse 23 for the commandment is a lamp and the law alight this echoes david in psalm 119:105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path see the blessedness of transgenerational biblical instruction David no doubt taught this to Solomon now Solomon is teaching in turn his sons so that they will imbibe the proper course and they will esteem the Word of God and they will seek by His grace to hide it in their hearts that they might not sin against God because the Word of God has great value now notice the exhortation of the father with specific reference to the sin of adultery verse 23 for the commandment is a lamp and the law alight reproofs of instruction are the way of life now notice to keep you from the evil woman from the flattering tongue of a seductress now Solomon's emphasis here is not on the intrinsic wickedness of every single woman Solomon's emphasis is not on negating the culpability of man when it comes to adultery Solomon is instructing his sons and in this world not every woman is as vile and corrupt as what we find here in Proverbs but there are some and so Solomon says to his son you need to guard your heart against that you need to be aware of that again this doesn't mean there aren't men that are as vile as wicked and I would argue more vile and more wicked that that's not the point it's not an emphasis on how bad women are intrinsically no there's a particular type of woman that Solomon wants to highlight for his son so that he can avoid her turn back to proverbs chapter 2 for just a moment proverbs chapter 2 we get a glimpse at this this woman proverbs chapter 2 at verse 16 well beginning in verse 10 when wisdom enters your heart knowledge is pleasant to your soul discretion will preserve you understanding will you see that that connection between what we believe in terms of God's truth and its power to exercise a holy restraint over us the Word of God has value it has power what Paul says in 2nd Timothy 3 is not smoke it is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction and righteousness back to our text he says in verse 11 discretion will preserve you understanding will keep you to deliver you from the way of evil from the man who speaks perverse things from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perversity of the wicked whose ways are crooked and who are devious in their paths to deliver you from the immoral woman from the seductress who flatters with her words who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the Covenant of her God for her house leads down to death and her paths to the dead nun who go to her return nor do they regain the paths of life so you may walk in the way of goodness and keep to the paths of righteousness for the upright will we are dwell in the land and the blameless will remain in it but the wicked will be cut off from the earth and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it so going back to chapter 6 verse 24 to keep you from the evil woman now notice the background for his instruction are two Commandments of the tenth the seventh obviously but as well the tenth the sins prohibited by the seventh commandment it's not only adultery it's broader than simply adultery it includes fornication it includes incest it includes rape sodomy bestiality unlawful divorce in modesty polygamy prostitution and pornography all of those are prohibited by the seventh commandment now in terms of this particular section the emphasis is upon adultery proper adultery proper the sexual intercourse of a husband with the wife of another or of a wife with the husband of another so certainly in Solomon's mind in terms of his instruction to his son the seventh commandment Laure looms large butt notices well the 10th commandment the very language of verse 25 do not lust after her beauty in your heart the 10th commandment you shall not covet your neighbor's wife in other words you shall not lust after her in your heart you need to guard against this you need to resist this temptation you need to guard against this tendency that is often the case with unbridled lust now in terms of the exhortation he warns him especially about adultery in verses 25 to 29 note first his admonition do not lust after her beauty in your heart nor let her allure you with her eyelids now Solomon sounds just like Jesus doesn't he Solomon sounds exactly like Jesus or does Jesus sound exactly like Solomon both understand where this sin begins it begins in the heart the Lord Christ emphasizes this in Matthew 5:28 but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart the same emphasis with Solomon in verse 25 do not lust after her beauty in your heart have no truck with this do not entertain it for a moment don't give her any attention whatsoever Spurgeon said if sin were not allowed in the mind it would never be made manifest in the body this therefore is a very effectual way of dealing with the evil Thomas Watson makes the observation as a man may die of an inward bleeding so he may be damned for the inward boiling z' of lust if it be not mortified so the admonition begins where it ought to begin in the heart do not lust after her beauty in your heart but then he goes on in verse 25 be to say nor let her allure you with her eyelid again Solomon's emphasis is not that every single woman out there is the sort of seductress and temptress that he is speaking about here there's a particular class woman that Salomon is prohibiting his sons from having anti any interchange with and this particular woman is described in Proverbs seven look at proverbs seven at verse six for at the window of my house I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding it's beautiful writing right as we read that we know this ain't gonna go well we know this isn't going to turn out well we know that we're in for some dangerous things because this fool doesn't have his head screwed on properly I saw among the simple I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding passing along the street near her corner and he took the path to her house and noticed verse nine in the Twilight in the evening in the black and dark night I'm not suggesting that always staying in daylight will keep you sinless but always being in the darkness certainly is no help in terms of restraint when it comes to sexual sin and notice just for a moment go back to chapter five just to see something I called chapter five the 3 R's of sexual purity and that first art is remove notice in verse 8 remove your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house remove your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house he doesn't say don't go near her bed he says don't go near her door because he knows that if you go near her door it's not gonna be long until you're near her bed and this youth this one devoid of wisdom this simple one in for chapter seven makes that mistake verse eight chapter seven passing along the street near her corner and he took the path to her house in the Twilight in the evening in the black and dark night and there a woman met him with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart now I want to make this distinction what we're dealing with here and what we're dealing with in Chapter 6 is not prostitution I am NOT suggesting that Solomon's sanctions prostitution I am NOT suggesting that Soloman sanctions fevery by comparing the fat thief to the adulterer but he is rather highlighting the wickedness of the sin of adultery it's wrong to visit prostitutes but this woman isn't a prostitute she has the attire of a harlot but her husband's gone she's the woman that that this wise man is warning his son about now notice she was loud and rebellious verse 11 her feet would not stay at home what's the implication her feet should have stayed at home when you do not stay at home you're going to potentially get into trouble at times verse 12 she was outside at times in the open square looked at lurking at every corner so she caught him and kissed him with an impudent face she said to him I have peace offerings with me today I have paid my vows so I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face and I have found you I have spread my bed with tapestry covered coloured coverings of Egyptian linen I have perfumed my bed with myrrh aloes and cinnamon come let us take our fill of love until morning let us go light ourselves with love for my husband is not at home he has gone on a long journey he has taken a bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day he will come home at the full moon that's literally what the text says now he goes there when it's black there's a period of time until the moon's gonna be full again verse 21 and this is very important young men again I'm not suggesting that young women aren't prone to attack from you know sweet-talking men but but for this particular emphasis notice what it says in verse 21 with her enticing speech she caused him to yield with her flattering lips she seduced him can I just give you a bit of advice you're not as great as anybody will ever say you are you're probably not as bad as anybody will ever say you are but you're definitely not as great as anybody will ever say you are I've always thought that in terms of preaching you know people will say things about sermons I don't think I'm the worst thing on the face of the earth and don't think I'm the best thing on the face of the earth I think that I'm the thing hopefully occupying middle ground and I think that's what we ought to do when it comes to flattery you're probably not the best-looking guy she's ever seen you're probably not the most virile man she's ever seen you're probably not the most stunning and handsome so do not fall prey to flattery flattery is terrible and that's the means by which she secures the interest of this young man it's not the attire that she's wearing it's not that her bed is perfumed with all of these spices it is rather her enticing speech she reels him in by the smooth words that she speaks now notice verse 22 immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the Staats till an arrow struck his liver as a bird hastens to the snare he did not know it would cost his life you see that enticement that flattery made him forget reality made him forget life made him forget consequences and Solomon's emphasis in the entire section is don't forget these consequences and that's what he takes pains to highlight here notice his argument back in chapter 6 he gives the admonition in verse 25 now he gives his argument in verses 26 to 29 again the sin of adultery proper is in view verse 26 is a bit of a tough first notice for by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life notice that the New King James supplies a man is reduced I think that the better interpretation is found in the ESV and in the NIV and essentially what you find there ESV says for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread but a married woman hunts down a precious life the NIV has for a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread but another man's preys on your very life again Solomon is not sanctioning and saying that it's okay to visit a prostitute Solomon however is highlighting the degrees involved with reference to adultery it is a wretched thing for the price of a crust of bread you can have a harlot but for the price of your life you take another man's wife this is grave and again please don't leave here saying Butler said it's okay to visit prostitutes Butler never said that Butler is saying that there's a comparative quality to the passage in view and he is highlighting that what we're dealing with is a woman who is married that wants to ultimately destroy this young man notice the passage verse 26 the contrast is between a harlot and an adulteress verse 29 so as he who goes into his neighbor's wife whoever touches her her shall not be an innocent and then in verse 34 for jealousy is a husband's fury so everybody with me you see the emphasis it's on adultery proper it is having another man's wife so the sin of adultery proper is in view and then notice the inevitability of punishment for the adulterer and I think this is where we as parents need to need to be like Solomon and highlight the consequences involved in sin you see that's not done out in the world oh yeah just come and visit with me and we'll have a great time we'll take our fill of love until the morning husbands not gonna be back until the foam full-moon we've got plenty of time I paid my vows today I've done my religious bit I've done everything I'm gonna I'm gonna show you the time of your life he doesn't think in terms of consequences he doesn't think in terms of you know what will this mean and we need to encourage our children and young people to think this way we need to think this way we need to consider the consequences involved in sinning against God we dishonor him we ruin our families we ruin our own reputation we we bring ruin all around us and that's the picture Solomon is portraying with reference to this particular situation notice he asks these questions in a way that the Sun to appreciate the gravity of the situation verse 27 can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned of course he can't of course he can't take fire to his bosom and his and his clothes not be burned I was sharing with a few of the Brethren today I smell like soup I had soup in my vehicle on the way to church I was around soup up in that fellowship hall today and lo and behold I was laying in my bed I was wearing my undershirt and it smelled like soup that attached to me it affixed itself to me well the same sort of thing is what Solomon asks here can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned can one one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared now I know there's those people out there that say they can so master their mind and the whole spiel and they run across these these these beds of coals notice they're running across these beds of coal they're not walking leisurely they are running because they know you can't touch your bare foot to coals and not get them seared that's why they run through these coal walks but brethren Solomon's point is obvious and now he brings it home in verse 26 29 so is he who goes into his neighbor's wife whoever touches her shall not be innocent that's the crime that's the sin that's the violation I'm not suggesting that fornication incest rape sodomy bestiality unlawful divorce in modesty polygamy prostitution or pornography are not violations of the seventh commandment they most certainly are but Solomon's point with his son is to guard against adultery proper do not go into your neighbor's wife that is off-limits that is vile it is reprehensible it is disgusting and it is evil now notice he brings home the consequences of an adulterer in verses 30 to 35 the first thing he does is he makes this contrast with the thief in verses 30 to 32 this contrast with the thief in verses 30 to 32 notice the prevailing added two people two art thieves okay he captures it and this is where I just love God's word in the sense that it's just so honest it is so honest it really does get at the root of men's lives doesn't it people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving that makes sense right oh I hate that guy he stole a turkey well he was starving to death oh okay I get it the text never exonerates him when he is found he is to be punished when he is punished he is to pay Sevenfold now the prohibition of prescription rather with reference to the law was twofold or fivefold the Sevenfold probably highlights the perfection involved full restitution for the crime of theft but in terms of the comparison that he is going to make and the contrast with the adulterer he says people don't despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving the rest of the text will indicate people do despise adulterers people do despise adulterers because there is no validation whatsoever for it you can get why a guy will go steal a turkey if he's starving and his children are starving that makes sense again we don't cook eggs on him we don't condone him it doesn't mitigate the situation in terms of the payment rendered but we get it you watch your kids starving to death and that prevails upon you in such a way that you go down to Walmart and you steal something so that you can feel it feeds to feed your kids none of us get mad at him none of us say I can't believe that you were looking at your child pining away and thought you should go steal and feed no we don't do that you see God's Word is honest God's Word is real God's Word speaks to us as men people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving now notice the consequences for his staff in verse 31 yet when he is found he must restore Sevenfold he may have to give up all the substance of his house so one hand we get it we understand it but on the other hand you got to pay when I got her to let you go the the motivation behind it legit understandable but it's still wrong it's a crime you're guilty you have to pay you have to make it right you have to provide restitution now note the contrast with the adulterer in verse 32 whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding he who does so destroys his own soul Poole commenting on the lack of understanding he says he's a brutish and silly man who madly russia--the upon these filthy courses without any sense or consideration of the horrid shame and certain destruction which attends upon them I'd argue that Solomon's comparison in contrast here invites us to conclude that people do despise adulterers we may not despise a thief if he steals because he's starving but anybody who would go into his neighbor's wife is a despicable person on the face of God's earth that's the point it's unfortunate that Solomon ended up the way that he did wasn't necessarily you know adultery proper the multiplying of wives polygamy was certainly the crime and then leading his soul into into the worship of their gods the bottom line is Solomon certainly taught here better than he ended up finishing but then notice the reality that some people do or that the people do despise adulterers John Gill makes the observation the thief lacks bread and therefore steals but this man lacks wisdom and therefore act so foolish apart the one does it to satisfy hunger the other a brutish lust Charles bridges and his excellent commentary on proverbs says but the sin of the OLT adulterer claims no sympathy see there's no possible way that we say to the adulterer oh yeah I can understand your motivation oh yeah I can see oh yeah that was perfect perfectly legitimate in that particularly no we don't do that we say it's wicked it's wrong you're vile you shouldn't have gone into your neighbor's wife Bridget says but the sin of the adulterer claims no sympathy his plea is not the cry of hunger but of lust not want but wantonness not the lack of bread but of understanding and then notice Solomon's emphasis in verse 30 to be he who does so destroys his own soul this is the path following the seductress into her bed it is a destruction of your own soul it is a soul suicide if you pursue this particular course now bringing this all to bear specifically in terms of consequences that this man will receive I think Solomon's emphasis here is on the wrath of man the wrath of man he deals with the wrath of God in terms of what adulterers are those guilty of sexual immorality will bring upon themselves in fact look at proverbs 7 proverbs 7 at verse 24 after the the warning concerning this woman he says in verse 24 now therefore listen to me my children pay attention to the words of my mouth do not let her heart turn aside do not let your heart turn aside to her ways do not stray into her paths for she has wounded or cast down many wounded and all who were slain by her were strong men her house is the way to hell descending to the chambers of death and then again back in chapter 5 chapter 5 the 3 R's remove verse 18 rejoice verse I'm sorry remove verse 8 rejoice verse 18 and remember verse 21 for the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he ponders all his paths his own iniquities entrapped the wicked man and he is caught in the cords of his sin he shall die for lack of instruction and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray the wrath of God will be meted out upon the adulterer unless he or her repents but in verses 33 to 35 it's the wrath of man that's in view notice in verse 33 wounds and dishonor he will get this is the adulterer wounds and dishonor he will get now some suggest that this was in a pagan context it was an observation from Solomon concerning the pagans around them that that in a civil crime they would have inflicted wounds and dishonor or wounds rather yea wounds and dishonor upon this person well considering that adultery was a capital crime in Israel this wouldn't obtain in terms of the civil magistrate the reference to the husband's fury or the husband's jealousy indicates in my mind that the wounds and dishonor inflicted upon the guilty adulterer come from the offended husband this is Solomon's counsel if you go in to your neighbor's wife your neighbor is going to beat you your neighbor is going to hurt you Solomon isn't necessarily condoning vigilante justice Solomon is not prescribing the particular remedy to be followed by any wounded or offended man or woman we don't go out and burn their houses down and all that sort of thing but Solomon is reporting things as they are we don't despise a thief if they steal because they're starving we don't even bat an eye that an offended husband would slug the offender who took his wife this is Solomon's point you follow this path Junior and you're gonna be the scorn of society people may not despise thieves but people do despise adulterers and the one that despises you the most is the man whose wife you went into wounds and dishonor you will get and his reproach will not be wiped away again the grace of God the forgiveness of sins sexual sin is not the unpardonable sin first we're going to end tonight on first Corinthians chapter six which indicates that but unrepentant sexual sin brands a man a pariah in society verse 34 underscores this he says for jealousy is a husband's fury therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance people don't despise thieves people can't help but despise adulterers especially men and women wronged by other men or women that's the point you will suffer the wrath of man verse 35 notice he will accept no reckon pants nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts it's not going to be the case that he says oh it's it's ok it's all it's all behind us now there everything's bygones be bygones no you went into my life we're not going to have any sort of interaction on any sort of positive level you could take that black eye and you can meditate upon your sin and upon your wickedness and upon your waywardness but as far as I'm concerned our relationship if ever there was a good one is no longer binding again Solomon's not saying every wrong person in an adulterous relationship gets to go out and burn people's houses down just to go buy guns and shoot that gets to go light their beds on that's not what he's saying he's simply reporting the way things are wounds and dishonor and he will get he's not going to be pacified he's not gonna be bought off he's not going to accept money in return for giving you forgiveness for having violated him at this most sacred point in his relationship with his bride that's Solomon's warning and I suggest brethren we need to warn our children and our young people likewise there is no good that comes from internet porn there is no good that comes from any of the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment there are no good sort of consequences involved with waywardness when it comes to sexuality it never pays off it never provides dividends it never results in a happy satisfied well-adjusted life it's a flight from reality into fantasy and God says no you are supposed to conduct yourself in the fear of God well in conclusion I think the passage highlights or underscores the wickedness of adultery the effect upon the adulterer notice this language of destruction this language of ruin this language of your life is over this language that in terms of the the social intercourse that persons enjoy in this world you're a pariah now you're the bad guy you're the bad woman you've done wretched things and again there is forgiveness for the sin but unrepentant sexual sin typically brands wine as an enemy to society the effect upon the woman the effect upon the woman an adulterous man goes into an adulterous woman what's the effect Thomas Watson in his exposition of the ten commandments at the seventh says the adulterer not only wrongs his own soul but does what in him lies to destroy the soul of another and so kills two at once he is worse than the thief for suppose a thief Rob's a man yeh takes away his life the man sold may be happy he may go to heaven as well as if he had died in his bed but he who commits adultery and dangers the soul of another and deprives her of salvation so far as in him lies now what a fearful thing it is to be an instrument to draw another to hell it's a terrible horrible guard against Ted Dabney makes the observation not Dabney olguin but RL Dabney we're all to take but we're all to take the license of the adulterer men would in due time be reduced precisely to the degradation of wild beasts the sin of the adulterer therefore is scarcely less enormous than that of the murderer the latter murder destroys man's temporal existence the former adultery destroys all that makes existence a boon it ruins people it's terrible it's a vile effect upon a person's life as well with reference to the wrath of God the wrath of man is evident it's clear here in verses 32 and following but the wrath of God we ought to remind ourselves look at the teaching of jesus in matthew chapter 5 Matthew chapter 5 the wrath of God for sexual immorality Matthew chapter 5 beginning in verse 28 but I say to you all verse 27 you have heard that it was said to those of old you shall not commit adultery but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart if your right eye causes you to sin pluck it out and cast it for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell and if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off and cast it from you for it is more profitable for you that one of them one of your members perish then for your whole body to be cast into hell you see the consequences for sexual immorality CH Spurgeon says better a blind Saint than a quick sighted sinner blooder better a blind Saint than a quick sighted sinner and I think that's an absolutely appropriate comment there notice in Hebrews chapter thirteen looking at the wrath of God toward those engaged in sexual immorality hebrews chapter 13 verse 1 let brotherly love continue do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing some of unwittingly entertained angels remember the prisoners as if chained with them those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body also marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled but fornicators and adulterers God will judge look over the book of Revelation Revelation chapter 21 Revelation chapter 21 the inhabitants of the lake of fire according to verse 8 that the Cowardly unbelieving abominable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death verse 14 of chapter 22 blessed are those who do His commandments that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may enter through the gates into the city but outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie dog there isn't canine dog there is a sexually perverted person and they are outside the New Jerusalem as well we ought to consider Solomon's wisdom in the previous chapter concerning a good and viable antidote to this particular sin rejoice with the wife of your youth this is Paul's point in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 in fact turn there you're probably still in the New Testament 1st Corinthians chapter 7 the Apostle dealing with various questions raised by the Corinthians 1st Corinthians 7 at verse 1 now concerning the things of which you wrote to me it is good for a man not to touch a woman nevertheless because of sexual immorality let each man have his own wife and let each husband let each woman have her own husband see that is preventive maintenance is our confession of faith says with reference to the benefits of marriage marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue and the preventing of uncleanness I've said before jokingly that a young man shouldn't propose to their would-be wives in this manner I want to take you as my bride for the prevention of uncleanness she might just slap you on the face for even suggesting such a thing however that's a legitimate end in marriage that's Paul's point first Corinthians 7 you got a problem with lost in pornography get a good job get your life together and find a wife that's the antidote that's the remedy oh well you know it is that simple get your act together and find a woman and marry her it's a big broad world they say there's somebody out there for everybody you just have to look you have to find you have to use means this is God's means for the prevention of uncleanness this is the point in 1st Corinthians 7 this is Solomon's point and rough proverbs chapter 5 remove your way far from her don't go near the door of her house rejoice with the wife of your youth this is a blessed benefit given by God to people it's a wonderful thing utilize it capitalize upon it and may God bless you as you seek to practice sexual fidelity in that context back to 1st Corinthians chapter 7 verse 3 let the husband render to his wife the affection due her and likewise also the wife to her husband the wife does not have authority over own body but the husband does and likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body but the wife does do not deprive one another except except with consent for a time that you may give you - fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan does not tend you because of your lack of self-control it's the God ordained means for the Prevention of sexual unclean Mass so cultivate good relationships with your spouses if you don't have them do a Bible study in proverbs chapter 5 at verse 18 do a Bible study in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 cultivate that element in your life so that by God's grace you can guard against the uncleanness and the vileness associated with adultery and sexual immorality and then finally I mentioned the gospel turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 6 1st Corinthians chapter 6 just to show and demonstrate that sexual sin is not the unpardonable sin it's the particular sin that we camped on tonight because it's there in proverbs chapter 6 it'd be hard to do themes on proverbs passing through chapters 5 6 & 7 and not preaching a sermon against adultery but in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 at verse 9 do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but you were washed but you were sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God it's a blessed reality though it's a vital thing nevertheless there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared if you are guilty of this particular sin or of any particular sin look unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith look unto Jesus who in his life death and resurrection made provision for guilty vile helpless sinners like you and me well let's close in a word of Prayer our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for its pointed that's in these areas that we need pointedness and I pray that you would help us to take heed to the Word of God help us to have serious dealings with you with these passages of scripture and give us grace to bring glory and honor to you in this this area of our lives and God bless our children bless our young people coming up in this Internet age where there's such prevalent such a potential for pornography through phones and computers and just all over the place God we pray that by your grace they would remember their Creator in their youth and they would understand these consequences associated with such sins and they would fear and they would take heed to the written word of God and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you
