Opening Prayer

Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 3. God willing, I hope to start the book of Philippians next Sunday night. But in the meantime, we referred to this text on our Wednesday night Bible study. We looked at 1 Samuel chapter 28 and the sad and sinful case of King Saul.

So because of his rebellion in 1 Samuel 13 and then again in 15, and then God's taking the kingdom away from him, promising it to a neighbor better than him, even David. We see how Saul then, wanting divine assistance before he goes into battle with the Philistines, seeks counsel from the witch at Endor. And so along the way, it tried to encourage us to consider Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6, so that we don't end up in a sad and sinful place like King Saul. So beginning in verse five, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for this privilege to gather in your name.

We thank you for the written word, the God-breathed word. We thank you that it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And even as the apostle says that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work, we see that here in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Give us grace to receive these things.

Cause us to have high and lofty thoughts of the scripture, knowing it is the divine word of God Most High. We ask now that you would forgive us for all of our sins, forgive us for that tendency to lean on our own understanding, for that tendency not to trust in you with all of our hearts. Cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Strengthen and encourage us and help us by your Spirit, by His presence and power, that we may indeed walk as we ought according to that glorious gospel by which we've been called.

And for any and all who do not know you, we pray that you'd open their hearts, cause them to see that the God of absolute glory and majesty, the God of heaven and earth is absolutely trustworthy, that they would look unto the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen.

Introduction

So as I said, there's connection to what we saw on Wednesday night, as Saul had been cut off from priest and prophet and was on his own. He understood he needed word or assistance from outside of himself before he fights the Philistines, which everything went miserably wrong for him. Of course, he dies in battle the next day. And then, of course, this text as well is connected to what we saw there in John 15. obedience to our Lord as an expression of our love for Him.

So

The Command: Trust in the Lord

I want to look first at the command that we have in this particular text, secondly, the prohibition that we see in this text, and then thirdly, the exhortation in the text. But first, by way of command, notice the object of trust. Trust in the Lord.

God's Trustworthiness

Trust in the Lord. God is trustworthy. The psalmist describes Him as the Lord God of truth. In His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus, in one of those I Am statements in the Gospel of John, says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father but through or except through Me. So God is trustworthy. So immediately we're met by the text calling us to something that is God's people, we already know to be the case. In other words, this passage shouldn't surprise those who have been saved by grace.

This is what we ought to be about. We often need reminder. We often need encouragement. We often need fresh exhortation.

But this isn't an instructive passage in terms of, this is brand new information. I'm glad I went to church on that Sunday because I learned something altogether new. This is sort of the ABCs of Christianity. Trusting in God, giving our faith to God, or directing, rather, our faith to God.

Realizing that He is sovereign in providence. He governs all His creatures and all their actions. Realizing that the 31,000 verses in Holy Scripture are the revelation of His mind and His will for us men and for our salvation. As we reflect upon the New Testament emphasis on the gospel, the hearing of it for salvation, as God's conquered people, of a truth we confess, yes, we need to trust in the Lord.

Absolutely. We want to say with Simon Peter in John 6, 68, when Jesus asked, do you want to depart from me as well? Do you want to leave me like all of these others that simply followed as long as their bellies were filled? And Simon Peter says, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. That emphasis, again, not just New Testament, but throughout the Old Testament on trusting in the Lord. In other words, acknowledging Him, directing our thoughts to Him, having mindful thoughts concerning Him. We trust in Him and acknowledge His trustworthiness with reference to salvation.

You can turn to Proverbs chapter 28, specifically at verse 13. We're going to look at a lot of the Proverbs tonight, so we'll be flipping back and forth from place to place, but with reference to the trustworthiness of our God, we see it specifically in the matter of salvation. All matters of faith and practice, to be sure, but certainly faith in our Lord for salvation. 28, 13, He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. That confession and that forsaking, I think, typifies or rather signifies for us that act of faith. looking to the surety, looking to the blood of another, looking to the righteousness of another, knowing that if we cover our sins, we're not gonna prosper.

Know that your sin will always find you out. The scriptures are very clear concerning that, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. So the Lord is trustworthy in matters of salvation. The Lord is trustworthy in all matters of life.

Matthew Poole says his wisdom in following his counsels, his power and goodness in expecting success from him, his sovereignty in managing all thy affairs so as to please and glorify him. In other words, God is trustworthy for the management of all of our affairs. God is trustworthy with reference to every jot and tittle of our lives. Bridges says this is the polar star of a child of God.

Faith in his father's providence, his promises, and grace. He is truth itself. Therefore, he would have us take him at his word and prove his word to the utmost extent of his power. And then turn back to Proverbs chapter 2, just to see the infinite resources by which our trustworthy God is equipped.

Notice in Proverbs chapter 2, specifically at verses 5 to 9. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

And you can turn back to the passage that Cam read there in Joshua chapter 10. I thank God for his comments, they were very edifying and very encouraging, but I wanted to direct our attention to one other thing there in Joshua chapter 10. He rightly pointed out at the end of verse 14, for the Lord fought for Israel. But look specifically at verse 10.

God is the subject of the four verbs that are used in verse 10. So the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down. So God fights for Israel. God is a trustworthy God.

God is the God in whom we find refuge. His name is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. But back to Proverbs chapter three, notice as well as we consider the command, trust in the Lord, but then specifically with all your heart.

Now, Solomon isn't doing new things here. We need to remember when we come to the book of Proverbs, it's Solomon, the human instrument by which God brings us his word, but it's Christ speaking as wisdom to us in that word. In other words, we're supposed to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to us in the book of Proverbs. And notice,

Wholehearted Trust

trust in the Lord with all your heart. It's an emphasis, again, that you find throughout scripture. I think one of the most noteworthy places is in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4. We call that the Shema.

That word means to listen or to hear. And so Deuteronomy 6, 4 says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. The man of God, the woman of God, the child of God is to trust in the Lord with all of their heart.

And I think Gil is on to something. He says, the phrase denotes not so much the strength of faith as it does, but the sincerity of it. It signifies a faith on faith. So the entirety of the heart is to be directed to the trustworthy God for direction in our lives and the management of our affairs.

The Prohibition: Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

Notice, secondly, after the command, we find this prohibition. So trust in the Lord, but do not lean on your own understanding. Now, I think that Solomon presupposes here the doctrine of total depravity. In other words, the background for a prohibition like this is the tendency for us to lean on our own understanding.

We're told to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and again, it's intuitive for the blood-bought child of God, he or she who has the Holy Spirit. They know of a truth, I should be trusting God. But woe is me, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

The good that I want to do, I don't do. The evil that I don't want to do, I find myself doing. That's Paul's words in Romans chapter 5. So I think that Solomon is assuming, or Romans chapter 7 rather, he's assuming the doctrine of total depravity.

And we don't have to wonder if Solomon affirmed total depravity. turn to chapter 10, specifically at verse 23. Again, several passages to show us that Solomon understands the background and the problem that man has when it comes to a wholehearted trust in the living and true God. Proverbs 10.23, to do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom. Look at 11.3, specifically verse or part B.

Oh, we'll read the whole thing. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. Look at Proverbs chapter 20, specifically at verse nine. Proverbs 20 at verse 9, who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin.

Well, the obvious answer is no one. It's a rhetorical question. He doesn't think that Joe Smith living in Kansas is the one out there who can actually say, yep, that's me. I indeed have made my heart clean.

I am pure from sin. Notice in 21.4, a haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin. Proverbs 21.10, the soul of the wicked desires evil, his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. And then Proverbs 30 verses 11 to 14, which sounds frighteningly like the generation in which we're living.

Proverbs 30 verses 11 to 14, there is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation, oh, how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among them. are among men.

So rebellion, self-righteousness, arrogance, and covetousness marks the generation of the depraved. So going back to Proverbs chapter 3, the command, trust in the Lord, the prohibition, do not lean on your own understanding. John Gill says the understanding of man is darkened by sin, yea, is darkness itself. Now, Gil's not shooting from the hip there.

I think the Apostle Paul tells us essentially the same thing. Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, in Ephesians 4.18. And the Lord Jesus Christ, in John chapter 3, says the darkness doesn't come to the light because the darkness doesn't want its evil deeds exposed. In other words, man's heart is desperately wicked above all.

It is deceitful among all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it? So Solomon is operating in a good theological context where he understands the proclivity or tendency of man to lean on his own understanding. So the command, trust in the Lord with all your heart, wholehearted trust in God. has to be corrected by, or has to be, rather, there has to be this prohibition to lean not on your own understanding.

But as well, with reference to the demand of the text, we are to trust in God with all the heart and the repudiation of our own hearts. Trust in the Lord, do not lean on your own understanding. In other words, be suspicious of your heart. Be mindful of your heart.

Be understanding what lies in your heart. We're to trust in God with the entirety. We're to distrust in ourselves, hence, with entirety. Now, that doesn't mean we don't work out two plus two.

It doesn't mean we don't take food and rest and exercise. But it means in matters of ethics, matters affecting us and the man, of God and life in general, we need to make sure that we're not leaning on our own understanding. And then as you trace through the book of Proverbs, you see that the emphasis is upon a wise man and upon a foolish man. And the foolish man gets a lot of ink as well, and it's a cautionary tale for each and every one of us.

In other words, the foolish man is treated in scripture as something of a living illustration of what it looks like to lean on your own understanding. Now, there's probably a lot more categories than can be suggested here, but I'll offer up three things, alternatives to trusting wholeheartedly in the Lord. the three things consistent with leaning on our own understanding.

Self-Reliance

I would suggest the first is simply that, reliance upon ourselves. Reliance upon ourselves. Turn to Proverbs chapter 14, specifically at verse 12. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

What is Solomon saying? What does the fool look like? The fool surveys things apart from trusting in God in a wholehearted way, and then the fool casts his lot on a particular venture, and its end is destruction. Its end is death.

That same proverb is repeated in chapter 16, specifically at verse 25. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Jesus teaches that the broad way or the broad road leads to destruction. So is self-reliance.

When you turn away from God and wholehearted trust in the Lord is not your option, oftentimes what happens is that men choose reliance on themselves. Turn to Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs 11, verses three to six. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful will be caught by their lust. Drop down to verses 19 to 21.

As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished, but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered. Notice in 12.1. 12.1, whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.

You just don't get clearer than that. This reliance upon self always includes a rejection of correction from others. That is indicative of self-reliance or self-government or independence or an autonomous spirit. That wholesale rejection of a wholehearted trust in the Lord is going to lead to this kind of self-reliance.

Notice in verses 15 and 16. Verse 15, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. A fool's wrath is known at once, but a prudent man covers shame. And then 14, 29, 14, 29, he who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.

Jeremiah, the prophet, tells us, cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. Again, that recurring theme, Old and New Testaments, wholehearted commitment, wholehearted trust in the Lord. Bridges comments, it is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without God's counsel. Be in the habit of going to him in the first place. before self-will, self-pleasing, self-wisdom, human friends, convenience, expediency.

So lean not on your own understanding, obviously self-reliance. But

Rejection of Godly Parents

another theme woven through the Proverbs by Solomon as a king who is a father who's gonna pass the kingdom down to his sons is the rejection of godly parents. the rejection of godly parents. This is not trusting in the Lord with all your heart. Because the Lord says in the fifth commandment to honor your father and your mother. The apostle says, obey your parents and the Lord.

And then we see that invocation of the fifth commandment there for Gentile children in Ephesus with reference to living life in the land. So we have all throughout the Proverbs positive exhortations to listen to godly parents. I don't know why this is difficult in our generation. I mean, we want kids to make their own decisions about very crucial matters at the age of 10 or 12 that are going to affect them forever.

The government, the state, the schools oftentimes are trying to usurp parental authority to enable children to make those earth-shattering decisions that are going to have a negative impact on them forever. The Bible is very clear that the parent is the authority in the child's life, not the civil state, not the statist school, not the competitors all around us. It is the parents who are to pass on wisdom and instruction and doctrine and reproof and correction to their children. This is crucial.

So Solomon assumes that parents, Christian parents, are going to do their due diligence in instructing their spawn in how they're supposed to live in God's present world. Now, not only does the Proverbs contain positive exhortations in terms of children listening to their parents, but you see the indictment of those who reject. Those we'll look at. Notice in Proverbs 10.

Proverbs chapter 10, verse one. The Proverbs of Solomon, a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 15.5, remember the larger context, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. Self-reliance, the rejection of godly parental counsel. This is probably subset, reliance on self And the way that we see this displayed is the rejection of godly parenthood.

Notice in 15.5, a fool despises his father's instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent. Notice in Proverbs 15.20, a wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother. Notice in Proverbs 17, specifically at verse 21, he who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 1913, a foolish son is the ruin of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. Solomon would have been a good family counselor, wouldn't he? he would have came into the house, he would have said, kids, you need to submit to your parents, and sister, you need to quit being a dripping sound on a roof with your husband.

Anyways, notice in verse 26, he who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach. And then 20, 20, 2020, whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness. So when it comes to self-reliance, that's sort of the overarching alternative to wholehearted trust in God, definitely we see that self-reliance manifested in the rejection of godly counsel, the rejection of parental authority, the rejection of parental love, Your parents want the best for you. Are they perfect?

No. Remember, the apostle deals with that in Hebrews chapter 12. They disciplined as seemed best to them. They got it right a lot of the times.

They got it wrong some of the times, but it was always remedial. It was always for the purpose of good. It was always driven by a desire out of love, rather, to make sure that things go well for you. But also, under self-reliance, we see the rejection of godly parents, and

Reception of Ungodly Influences

coupled with that can be the reception of ungodly influences. The reception of ungodly influences. So in other words, we don't listen to what others have to say, but we'll listen to what these ones say. Look in Proverbs 1, 10-19.

Proverbs 1, 10-19. That's a large chunk. We'll just sort of pick out a few spots. Notice in Proverbs 1, verse 10, If they say, come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood.

Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol and whole like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions. We shall fill our houses with spoil.

Cast in your lot among us. Let us all have one purse. You hear the peer pressure there. So the overarching concern from Solomon, my son of sinners entice you, do not consent.

And then he portrays what it's going to sound like. Come on, come with us. It's going to be a payday. It's going to be beneficial.

It's going to be great. We're going to make money. We're going to have fun. We're going to do all the things that are fulfilling to us.

Notice in verse 15, My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird, but they lie in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.

So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners. Notice in Proverbs 4, verses 14 to 17. Proverbs 4, 14 to 17.

Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it. Do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on.

What was that, dad? Stay away from them. Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it.

Do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

This reliance on self, this failure to wholeheartedly trust in the Lord, leads to the rejection of godly counsel and the reception of the ungodly. And that is specifically what Solomon is trying to caution his sons against. Proverbs 13, 20, He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. 23, 17. 23, 17. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day.

For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off. 23, 19 to 21. Hear my son and be wise, and guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with winebibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. If you, as young people and children, are blessed and privileged enough to have parents that confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, you're in a home where the scriptures regulate that conduct, you come to a church where the gospel is preached, you're exposed to Genesis, to Revelation, I would suggest you ought to have a great heart of gratitude to our wonderful God and listen to His exhortation, listen to His counsel and His command. to trust in Him with all your heart.

Come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, and you will be forgiven. Whoever covers his transgression will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. Listen to Solomon, listen to Christ speaking to us in his word. Proverbs 24, 1 and 2.

Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking. So you see, the command is simple. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. The prohibition is valid.

Why? Because that's the tendency. Self-reliance, autonomy, independence. Our culture preaches it at a fever pitch.

Our culture tries to come between parental authority and their children. We as God's people need to resist that. We as God's people need to reject that. We as God's people need to take up that prophetic mantle that has been given to us by the Lord and instruct our children in the way that they should go.

And then

The Exhortation: Acknowledge Him in All Your Ways

notice thirdly and finally, with reference to our particular text, after the command, after the prohibition, there is this exhortation. not just your Sunday ways, but all your ways. Whatever your particular pursuit is, wherever you find yourself in the continuum of history, whatever your station or your lot in life is, in all your ways acknowledge Him. And the acknowledgement is certainly connected to this idea of a wholehearted trust. Those who wholeheartedly trust in the Lord acknowledge the Lord by seeking out His word.

They acknowledge the Lord by prayer. They acknowledge the Lord by the use of the means that God has ordained for their benefit and for their well-being. So this exhaustive commitment includes all matters of faith and practice. And when Solomon says, in all your ways acknowledge Him, certainly he means the Bible.

Certainly he means special revelation. Certainly he means that God-breathed word that is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Bridges says, now if we be weaned from the idolatry of making our bosom, our oracle, and our heart our counselor, If in true poverty of spirit we go every morning to our Lord, as knowing not how to guide ourselves for this day, our eye constantly looking upward for direction, the light will come down. He shall direct thy paths.

We want no new revelations or visible tokens. Study the word with prayer. You see, in all your ways acknowledge Him. That's not esoteric.

That means super spiritually out there. It's a due use of the ordinary means ordained by God for the furtherance of the soul in communion with Christ. The due use of the ordinary means. Show up at church, come to Bible study, Pray, read your Bible on your own.

Construct a family altar, not physically, but spiritually. Lead your children to the throne of grace. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. Again, Deuteronomy 6, after the Shema, we see it teased out.

You shall talk of the Lord your God when you rise up, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down. It's not just a Sunday morning sort of a thing. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. When you go to the beach, Point out that the God of heaven and earth made this.

He spoke it into being. And what a glorious God of heaven and earth. In all your ways acknowledge Him. So we've got the Word of God, but

Acknowledging God's Providence

we also must be mindful of the providence of God. the providence of God, God's doings and his dealings with us in our lives. In all our ways, acknowledge him. Now, brethren, I think there's a tendency, at least in my heart and probably in some others as well, to be what they call in sports, a fair weather fan. You root for the Canucks as long as they're winning.

When the Canucks stop winning, you turn your attention to whatever other hockey team is out there. I actually do think there's an Oilers or Not a hockey fan, not a sports fan as a whole, but the fair weather fan. Christians can do this. We'll acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, provided those ways are good, provided those ways are comfortable, provided those ways are beneficial with reference to the overarching concerns that we have.

Remember Job, he says, naked I came into this world and naked I will depart from this world. The Lord gives, the Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Remember Job's wife, wife of the year material there, curse God and die.

What does Job do? Does he submit? You say, you're right, honey. We've got to balk at these providences of God.

I'm going to go ahead and respond by rejecting God. He doesn't do that. He maintains integrity. What about the Apostle Paul?

The Apostle Paul knew how to abound. He knew what it was to have, but he also knew what it was to be abased. And he had learned that whatever condition he was in, he was content. That's the mindset with reference to God's providence.

It's easy to be pro-God with a good job. It's easy to be pro-God with a nice house. It's easy to be pro-God with access to Costco. It's easy to be pro-God when everything is going just so.

But when things aren't going just so, the challenge comes. So what's Solomon's instruction? In all your ways, acknowledge Him. Your good ways and your bad ways.

You appreciate the providence of God and you look and you reflect and you try to realize that even through this difficulty, even through this hardship and trial, God's teaching me, God's instructing me, God is shaping me, God is conforming me into the image of his own blessed Son. Perhaps a good text to meditate upon is Hebrews 5.8. The Son learned obedience through suffering. And if the endgame of God with us for our sanctification is to conform us unto the image of his Son, I would suspect there's going to be a bit of suffering involved in our lives such that we can be conformed to the image of his beloved Son.

So don't be a fair-weather fan. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him.

The providence of God, whatever is happening to you, is happening because God governs all His creatures and all their actions. That's a wonderful Westminster Shorter Catechism question to remember, or to memorize. What is God's providence? He governs all His creatures and all their actions, and He does so for His most holy, wise ends.

But as well, As we can bring this to a conclusion, back to Proverbs 3, we've got this exhortation, and all your ways acknowledge him, and then

The Promise: He Shall Direct Your Paths

it ends with a promise. It ends with this wonderful statement, and he shall direct your paths. Now, notice, it doesn't say he shall direct your paths into a beautiful, you know, 6,000 foot square house, a beautiful car in the driveway. It says he'll direct your paths. doesn't describe the nature of those particular paths.

We need to make sure that we understand that Solomon is not Benny Hinn. Solomon is not Kenneth Copeland. Solomon is not Joel Osteen with the sparkling tooth. Solomon is a man of God who was taught theology by a man of God, David.

Solomon is given inspiration by the Holy Spirit, so he is not preaching health, wealth, and prosperity. The direction of our paths may take some winds and turns and curves that perhaps aren't going to thrill us, but they are God's purpose for us in terms of conforming us under the image of His blessed Son. We won't flip to every passage, but in the Proverbs, we see God's government include the chastening of His people. Well, we can look at that one, just drop down a few verses to verses 11 and 12.

We see God's blessing upon the home of the just, Proverbs 3, verse 33b. We see His favor upon those who seek wisdom, Proverbs 8, verse 35. We see temporal provision, Proverbs 10, 3, Proverbs 10, 22. We see His favor toward the good, Proverbs 12, 2.

His protection, Proverbs 14, 26 and 27, Proverbs 18, 10. We see his care for the widow, Proverbs 15, 25b. We see his provision of intellectual stability. In fact, let's turn there because our generation desperately needs that.

Look at Proverbs 16, three. Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. Whenever we are perplexed in thought, it would probably be a good, I can't bind your conscience, but rehearse scripture. What does the psalmist say in Psalm 119?

Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. You know what the prevalence and availability of scripture does on the one hand? It causes us not to memorize it. If our only contact with the Bible was to come to church on a Sunday and look over a page of Leviticus, I would think that we would be dutiful to try to memorize some of it so we had the resources to draw off of during the week.

We're not forced to memorize scripture because we've always got the phone. We're not forced to memorize scripture because I can just poke in a few presses of the button and up pops Proverbs 18, 17. So when it comes to this whole idea, commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. There needs to be an intellectual stability on the part of God's people.

And then God's vindication of the poor, Proverbs 22, 22, and 23, and his provision of justice, Proverbs 25, 21, and 22. Again, those are just illustrations of what it looks like in the book of Proverbs with reference to God directing your paths. So in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. And ultimately this results in the blessedness of the man who trusts in the Lord with all his heart.

The blessedness of the man who does not lean on his own understanding. The blessedness of the man who acknowledges God in all his ways and then is directed by the Lord in terms of all of his paths. We have the favor of God. Look at 1120. 1120.

Verse 20, those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. Look at 12.22. 12.22. And again, you see both of the statements here are contrasts. So verse 22a, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.

What's the contrast? But those who deal truthfully are His delight. And then look at 15a, same sort of a pattern. 15a, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. So we have the favor of God in the directing of our paths, and the favor of God is even there as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death.

We wrongly conclude that when we're going through trials that God is absent. That is a bad conclusion. Remember when Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, the storm came. What's that indicate?

The presence of Jesus does not mean the absence of storms. There are rainy days with Jesus. There are cloudy days with Jesus. There is depression and sorrow and melancholy.

You are not to interpret that as if Jesus has abandoned you. That is an impossibility. God never leaves us and He never forsakes us. He is there in the midst of the trial and affliction with us. are ways we are to acknowledge him, trusting that he will direct our paths.

Well,

Application

in conclusion, a good way I think to sort of summarize this, I think I'm taking this from possibly Waltke in his commentary, I forgot to put it down, but basically the text calls for an entire commitment. an entire commitment with all your heart. It calls for an exclusive commitment. Lean not on your own understanding. And it calls for an exhaustive commitment.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him. That, my brothers and sisters, is not something that we presently probably possess, but it's certainly something we ought to aspire to relative to Solomon's instruction in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. An entire, exclusive, and exhaustive commitment to our blessed God who has provided to us His word, who has given us His Holy Spirit, having conquered us by sovereign grace, having washed us through the blood of the Lamb and giving us a righteousness that avails with Him as our reflex, as an expression of our sanctification, entirety, exclusivity, and an exhaustiveness in terms of our commitment to the living and true God. And if you are not a believer, this God is trustworthy.

Believe on Him and you will be saved. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father,

Scripture References

• Exodus 20:12
• Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 6:7
• Joshua 10:10; 10:14
• 1 Samuel 13; 15; 28
• Job 1:21
• Psalm 119:11
• Proverbs 1:10-19; 2:5-9; 3:5-6; 3:11-12; 3:33; 4:14-17; 8:35; 10:1; 10:3; 10:22; 10:23; 11:3-6; 11:19-21; 11:20; 12:1; 12:2; 12:15-16; 12:22; 13:20; 14:12; 14:26-27; 14:29; 15:5; 15:8; 15:20; 15:25; 16:3; 16:25; 17:21; 18:10; 19:13; 19:26; 20:9; 20:20; 21:4; 21:10; 22:22-23; 23:17-21; 24:1-2; 25:21-22; 28:13; 30:11-14
• Jeremiah 17:5; 17:9
• Matthew 7:13
• John 3:19-20; 6:68; 14:6; 15
• Romans 7
• Ephesians 4:18; 6:1
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17
• Hebrews 5:8; 12:10