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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. 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 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. 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, 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. 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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. Our Father,
