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May I turn in your Bibles to 
Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30. Begin reading in verse 24. There 
are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly 
wise. the answer of people not strong, 
yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers 
are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. The 
locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. The spider 
skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in king's palaces. 
There are three things which are majestic in pace, yes, four 
which are stately in walk. A lion, which is mighty among 
beasts and does not turn away from any, a greyhound, a male 
goat also, and a king whose troops are with him. If you have been 
foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, 
put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces 
butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing 
of wrath produces strife." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the word. We pray for the ministry of your 
spirit now. I pray that you would forgive us of all of our sins 
and our transgressions, help us to learn the lessons of wisdom 
as set forth here in the Proverbs. Grant us grace, Lord God, to 
take these things to heart, and may you watch over us and protect 
us, and may you cause us to be diligent, cause us to be prudent, 
and cause us truly, as Jesus said, to be cunning and wise 
as serpents and harmless as doves. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, as the Lord Jesus Christ 
used those two particular animals in our message this morning to 
teach us about a strategy about being cunning as serpents and 
being harmless as doves, so tonight we're going to look at four particular 
animals and the lessons that they have for us. That is found 
in verses 24 to 28. There are four little things 
that are listed in this particular passage and each of them indeed 
teaches us something big concerning wisdom and the necessity of certain 
traits that the children of God must manifest and must imbibe. This is something that we find 
or something that should be helpful in studying the Bible. The Bible 
uses concrete illustration. It uses real life things. It 
points us to animals. It points us to the created order 
so that we may be instructed for good by our gracious God 
and Father. So the four animals, they're 
ants, conies, locusts, and spiders. We might ask the question, what 
do these little things have to teach People like us, well, they 
actually have a lot to teach us. And the first is the ants. If we had to reduce their lesson 
to one word, it would be preparation. Notice, there are four things 
which are little on the earth, verse 24, but they are exceedingly 
wise. We would be exceedingly wise, 
we would imbibe these traits that are displayed here by these 
little things. Notice, the ants are a people 
not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer. If 
you drop down to verse 29, it says there are three things which 
are majestic in pace. Yes, four which are stately in 
walk. A lion which is mighty among 
beasts and does not turn away from any. The lion doesn't have 
to prepare. The lion doesn't have to busy 
itself. The lion doesn't have to store 
food away for the winter time. When the lion is hungry, he kills 
and eats. Actually, he sends the female 
lions out to do his bidding and to bring back the meat. What 
an arrangement. These lionesses go out, they 
kill the animals, and they bring daddy his meat. That's just an 
amazing way to live. And the lion has that benefit. He is the king of the beast. 
No one's going to come and mess with him. Nobody tries to take 
his food away. And because he has that liberty 
of always being able to kill and eat, he doesn't have to prepare. He doesn't have to busy himself. 
Yet these little ants, who do not have that benefit, who do 
not have that liberty, have to be industrious. They have to 
prepare. They have to be hard workers. 
They have to have diligence. Proverbs chapter 6, they are 
set forth as an example there. Proverbs chapter 6, 6 to 11. 
Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise, 
which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies 
in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. How long 
will you slumber, oh sluggard? When will you rise from your 
sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of 
the hands to sleep, so shall your poverty come on you like 
a prowler and your need like an armed man. What a reproof 
for a slugger. Solomon says, look at the ant. 
They don't have the luxury of laying around. They don't have 
the luxury of laying in their bed. They don't have the luxury 
of just sleeping and slumbering life away. They have to be about 
it. They have to be diligent. They 
have to prepare. And the same thing is held out 
here in Proverbs 30. The ants are people, they're 
not strong. They don't have that resource. 
They don't have that ability. They don't have that power. They 
don't have that strength. So what they do have, they prepare 
their food in the summer. We need to understand preparation 
in the Christian life is absolutely crucial, both temporally in matters 
concerning this earth and eternally. with reference to matters concerning 
this earth. Jesus cautions us against worry 
in Matthew 6, 25-34. But he doesn't caution us against 
industry. We need to be workers, we need 
to be diligent, we need to labor. The structure of creation itself 
bespeaks this. Six days the Lord created the 
heavens and the earth. The seventh is a Sabbath day 
of rest. You shall work hard on those 
six days. If the Sabbath principle teaches 
us something concerning rest, which we most desperately need 
as well, it also teaches us the need for hard, industrious work. Go to the end, you slugger. If 
you struggle with laziness, if you struggle with lack of preparation, 
then learn the lesson from this little thing, which is exceedingly 
wise. But as well, preparation with 
reference to the things of eternity. You know, I think sometimes people 
have the industry of ants down when it comes to houses, or when 
it comes to education, or when it comes to jobs. I think people 
master that at times and neglect the eternal aspect. There is 
a day coming. We will all die. Hebrews 9.27 
says it is appointed unto man to die and then comes the judgment. We need to prepare. We need to 
be ready. We need to listen to the prophet 
Amos. Prepare to meet thy God. J.C. Ryle makes this admonition 
to little children. He says, Dear children, the best 
time for seeking pardon, grace, and the friendship of God is 
the time of youth. He says, Youth and childhood 
are your summer. Now you are strong and well. 
Now you have plenty of time. Now you have few cares and troubles 
to distract you. Now is the best time for laying 
up food for your souls. Prepare. Come to church. Use the means. Read the Bible. Pray to God. Seek the Lord while 
He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. 
There is a day coming when that mercy and that grace will be 
no more. Charles Bridges makes this comment. 
A quickening sermon do these little insects preach to us. 
They make preparation for the coming winter. What must be the 
thoughtlessness of making no provision for the coming eternity? Wiling away life in inactivity, 
as if there was no work for God, for the soul, or for eternity. 
Shall not we learn to be wise betimes, to improve the present 
moment of salvation, not to wait for the winter, the verge of 
life, when that grace offered now shall be offered no more? 
Sinner, if all be lost by your indolence, will you not be the 
great loser? What else have you to do but 
to prepare for eternity? I mean, what is so pressing in 
your life right now that you don't prepare for eternity, that 
you don't come to the Lord Jesus, that you don't listen to the 
Gospel, that you don't believe? What is more important than your 
never-dying soul? Remember that parable that the 
Lord Jesus taught, the ground of a certain rich man yielded 
plentifully. He yielded so much that he had 
a dilemma. His barns could not contain the 
amount of vegetables, the amount of grain that he had. So he's 
sitting and he's speaking thus with himself and he says, I know 
what I'll do. I'll pull down the old barns and I'll construct 
new barns and I'll put all my stuff in those barns. It's exactly 
what people are doing today, isn't it? They're putting all 
their stuff in their barns. They're putting all their stuff 
in their garage. They're putting all their stuff 
in their storage facility. They're laying up all these things 
for their lives. And then they say with that man, 
So take thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry, essentially. And what does Jesus say? God 
the Lord says to that man, thou fool, your soul is required of 
you tonight. What will become of all this 
stuff then? You cannot take it with you. 
You busy yourself preparing for temporal things, and the Bible 
says to do so, but do not neglect preparation for eternal things. Bridges says, what else have 
you to do but to prepare for eternity? What hope can you have 
of heaven at the last if you have never seriously thought 
of heaven before? Oh, before it be too late, throw 
yourself at his feet, whose heart overflows with love. Learn the 
lesson from this exceedingly wise little ant. Prepare. Prepare to meet thy God. Prepare 
for the day of death. Prepare to enter into eternity. Notice the second animal. Verse 
26. The rock badgers. The King James 
Version calls them conies. The rock badgers are a feeble 
folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 
14, and Psalm 104 refer to these animals. They are probably Assyrian 
rock hydrax. They live in colonies of about 
six to 50, and they're quite the interesting little animal. 
They burrow their way into the crags of the rocks, and then 
there's guards posted. I think the Idaho whistle pig 
is similar to these animals. They're called whistle pigs because 
they whistle. They make this high screeching 
whistle sound. I mean, they're all over the 
place. Go to Mountain Home. Daniel was just through there. 
I wonder if he saw any whistle pigs. He probably ran some over 
with his big truck because they're all over the place there. So 
the whistle pig makes this high sound. That's what the coney 
does. So the coney colony goes into the crags. They come out 
to sun themselves on the rock. But they have these guards posted. So if these prey animals see 
a predator, they make this high-pitched whistling sound. When the coney 
colony hears that, the coneys run and take cover. So the one 
word that best describes these conies is that they're cautious. 
They're cautious. That's why I refer to them as 
conies. It helps with the alliteration. Cautious conies. Now, if I could 
figure out how to do that with these other animals, you might 
be able to remember the sermon. But they're cautious. They're 
exceedingly small. They're not stately and powerful. They don't have big ripping paws. 
They don't have big teeth. They're not able to resist predators, 
so they have to be cautious. When they want to go out in the 
sun, they have to post these guards so that they don't end 
up getting killed and eaten. They have to exercise this degree 
of caution, and that is precisely what these exceedingly wise cones 
highlight in Proverbs chapter 30. And if you don't see the 
spiritual lesson, if you don't see the spiritual benefit of 
being a cautious man or woman, then please listen. We are told 
several times in the book of Proverbs, especially young men, 
Solomon tells his sons to guard their hearts, to exercise caution. In Proverbs chapter 5, when he 
is cautioning his sons about the strange woman, or the harlot, 
or the ungodly woman, he says, do not go near the door of her 
house. That's caution. He doesn't say, 
don't get into her bed. He says, don't go near her door. You are not that strong. If you 
go near her door, it won't be long before you're in her bed. You need to be You need to guard, 
you need to resist temptation, you need to stay away from those 
things that would trip you up. Caution is what the Kones exercise 
and caution is what the Christian ought to imbibe. Notice in Proverbs 
chapter 4, Proverbs 4, 14 and 15. 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. I doubt Solomon's son said, Dad, 
what are you talking about? What do you mean? We don't understand. Read the verses. Solomon tells 
his sons, be cautious. Do not enter the path of wicked 
or the wicked. Do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it. Do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on. The prudent foresees evil. And what does he do? He hides 
himself. He doesn't just wander into the 
midst of it saying, well, I'm so godly, and I'm so righteous, 
and I'm so holy, I will never be tainted by this sinful conduct. No, he sees the evil, he sees 
the wickedness, and he hides himself. If you see a piano hanging 
out of a window, and the temptation is there to walk underneath it, 
somebody ought to give you a good shake. The same thing is true 
for Christians. We cannot get close to sin. What does James say? Pure and 
undefiled religion in the sight of God and the Father is this. 
To visit widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself 
unspotted, unstained from this world. You see, Christians have 
this idea that we can go out and affect good, and we can to 
a degree. But more often than not, it is 
the bad that affects us. And so we need to exercise this 
caution that the Konies display. Proverbs 5.8, already referred 
to this. Remove your way far from her. Do not go near the door of her 
house. Proverbs 22 and verse 3. Proverbs 
22 and verse 3, a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, 
but the simple pass on and are punished. Stop. Be cautious. Don't go there. There's predators. There's problems, 
there's difficulties, there's trials, there's all these things. 
We need to take the Word of God seriously. We need to hide it 
in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. We need to exercise 
caution with the Koni. Though being a feeble folk, yet 
they make their homes in the crags. The third animal, the 
third little thing is the locust. Notice, verse 27, the locusts 
have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. Now, locust plagues 
are terrible. Let me just read a little bit 
I took off the internet about locusts. A desert locust swarm can be 
460 square miles, or 1,200 square kilometers. in size and pack between 40 and 
80 million locusts into less than half a square mile. Each 
locust can eat its weight in plants each day. So a swarm of 
such size would eat 423 million pounds of plants every day. Like the individual animals within 
them, locust swarms are typical in motion and can cover vast 
distances. In 1954, a swarm flew from Northwest 
Africa to Great Britain. In 1988, another made the lengthy 
trek from West Africa to the Caribbean. Now, what is it that 
we ought to learn from the locusts? Notice what Solomon says, or 
Edgar says. The locusts have no king. They're not like bees. to take 
their marching orders from the Queen. It's not a monarchy in 
a locust swarm. You would think that would mean 
mayhem. You would think that would mean locusts flying all 
over the place. That's not it. Notice what it 
says. Yet, they all advance in ranks. There's cooperation in the locust 
realm. cooperation to work together 
for the good of the whole. Now the good of the whole for 
the locust is the bad for the poor guy that owns the field. 
But you see, in order for them to fill those bellies, in order 
for them to satiate their hunger, in order for them to carry out 
their mission and their task, they have to cooperate. There's 
no monarch, there's no leader, there's no ruler, and yet they 
advance in ranks. They cooperate with one another. They jive with one another. And certainly, this is a principle 
that the Christian church most assuredly needs to imbibe. Families need to cooperate. Societies 
need to cooperate. The principle I really want to 
bring out is with reference to the church. Now, we do have a 
king. His name is the Lord Christ. 
He governs us by his word and he governs us by his spirit. 
And one of the means by which or one of the things he calls 
for with reference to his blood-bought church is that they cooperate 
together. They cooperate with one another. In Ephesians chapter 4, we see 
the emphasis by the Apostle Paul in this area. He says, I therefore, 
the prisoner of the Lord, verse 1, beseech you to walk worthy 
of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness 
and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, 
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace. You endeavor to keep the unity 
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That means if disunity 
comes, if division comes, you seek to correct it. If one of 
the locusts starts to stray, they bring him back into the 
mix. We have a goal. We have a task. We have a field 
to conquer. You cannot stray. You cannot 
deviate. You cannot go your own way. You 
must join the rest of us. You see, for the Apostle Paul, 
the unity of the Church, for the Lord Christ Almighty, the 
unity of the Church is something worth fighting for. Notice what 
he says. Not fighting, we're going to 
fight people. to get unity that seems to be counterproductive 
and paradoxical but notice what he says with all lowliness and 
gentleness with long-suffering bearing with one another in love 
those are the ingredients Those are the means, those are the 
traits, the characteristics, or the descriptions of those 
who endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace. In other words, how do we do 
this? How do we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
bond of peace in the Church of Jesus Christ? Well, here's what 
you do. You are to be lowly. You are 
to be humble. You are to value and prize others 
above yourself. You are to engage in gentleness. Remember, Jesus spoke to this 
this morning. Well, not this morning. He spoke 
to it several years ago, but we read it and learned of it 
this morning. We need to be harmless as doves. If in the midst of 
pagans and unbelievers, if on a missionary enterprise, if while 
going from town to town in Israel to preach the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand, if we need to be harmless and gentle and innocent, 
loving and kind to those people, Shall we not be in the church 
toward one another? You see, this is crucial, churchmanship. With all lowliness and gentleness, 
with long suffering. Brethren, we must be patient 
with one another. We must suffer long with one 
another, right? You will be wronged in the church. I know, it's hard to believe. 
You will be wronged by people that love you. You will be wronged 
by people that are closest to you. We need to suffer long. We need to bear with one another 
in love. You see, this is what Paul says 
concerning the church of Jesus Christ. This is something displayed 
by those locusts while having no king, yet They advance in 
ranks. Again, Bridges says this. Many 
professors, instead of going by bands, prefer an individual 
course. This is bad, too. You know, this 
maverick sort of Christianity. I don't need the church. I don't 
need anybody. All I need is my Bible and the 
Holy Spirit. Yeah, but your Bible and the 
Holy Spirit tell you you need the church. Doesn't it? You cannot go it 
alone. I don't care how much of a rugged 
individualist you are, how much of an American you may be, how 
much of a Canadian you think you are, you cannot do the Christian 
life on your own. Many professors, instead of going 
by bands, prefer an individual course. They belong to no cohort. They are under no discipline. 
This unsettled principle can never issue in a Christian steadfastness. Unity, not diversity, brings 
the good thing of the heart established with grace. The strength of the 
church is, not as an army of irregular soldiers, a regiment 
of loose disorder, unconnected with each other, but when she 
goeth forth by bands, united, concentrated, well disciplined, 
every officer at his post, every soldier in his ranks, each under 
rule, helpful to each other and to their great cause. Beautiful 
statement of what these locusts display when they come to eat 
a field. Certainly, as the Church of Jesus 
Christ, we ought to pursue cooperation. And we do have a king, we do 
have a head, we do have a Lord. It is all the more necessitated 
that we advance in ranks. And then fourthly, the fourth 
animal. Notice verse 28. The spider skillfully 
grasps with its hands And it is in king's palaces. I understand 
that your version may say the lizard. It's difficult to know 
which animal is in view, but I think the point is this. This 
spider, we'll call him a spider. He's a lizard. It works for him 
too. They're exceedingly small. They're 
not powerful. They're not stately. They don't 
have the ability that the lion has. And yet, where do you find 
them? You find them in king's palaces. 
You find them in a place of prestige. This little tiny thing that is 
as insignificant as the ant, as the coney, as the locust, 
nevertheless is in king's palaces. I think the principle or a principle 
that we can take from this is ambition or vision. Church today likes to talk about 
vision. There is a biblical concept of vision or a godly ambition. Now if this little spider ends 
up in king's palaces, it shows us something about his character. 
Say what you will, he may be nasty, he may be icky, whatever 
we might want to call him, he is in king's palaces and we're 
not. Ambition. And by ambition, I 
don't mean a godless ambition. I mean pressing on with steadfast 
determination to pursue the things enjoined upon us in the Holy 
Scripture and to be those who, by the grace of God, are good 
examples for others, are faithful men and women, are faithful churchmen, 
are faithful husbands, and faithful fathers, and faithful wives, 
and faithful mothers. We want to create an environment 
where children today would look at godly mothers and godly fathers 
as examples before they'd look at the latest hockey star, or 
the latest basketball star, or worse, the latest rap music guy. We don't want them to be role 
models for our youth. We want them to be able to look 
around and see an ambitious people. Not ambitious again, we have 
this context of ambition means I gotta have all this stuff. 
No, I want to be faithful to my Lord. I want to run with endurance 
the race that is set before us. I want to do so looking unto 
Jesus and I want to press on. I want to grow in the grace and 
in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. I've heard a lot of sermons. 
I have access to a lot of good materials. I want to use those 
things. I want to traffic in those things. 
I want to hide that truth in my heart so that I don't sin 
against God, so that I may be a faithful churchman in my context. That's good. That's what this 
spider demonstrates. He grasps with its hands and 
yet he is in King's palaces. We must have the determination. 
We must have the vision to go forward that we are heading to 
the palace of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and that 
he gives great grace to us. These are great traits, characteristics 
in our pursuit of wisdom. We ought to learn the lessons 
of each of these ones that are exceedingly wise, little on the 
earth, and nevertheless set forth to us these invaluable lessons. Let us, by God's grace, prepare 
for eternity. Let us, by God's grace, exercise 
caution. Caution. Elsewhere in the Proverbs, Solomon 
says, can a man take fire to his bosom and not get burned? No, of course not. In fact, let's 
just read this as we conclude our study and as we summarize 
each of these traits. Notice in Proverbs 7, I'm sorry, 
Proverbs 6, beginning in verse 20, So much 
of Proverbs are cautions given by Solomon to his sons. My son, keep your father's command. 
Verse 20. 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. When you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment 
is a lamp and the law a light, 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 allure you with her eyelids. For by 
means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread, and an adulteress 
will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom 
and his clothes not be burnt? 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. Wounds and dishonor from who? 
From her husband. He's going to punch you in the 
nose for violating his wife and breaking that covenant. 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. Notice in 
chapter 7 verse 1, my son, keep your words. He then gives that 
illustration. I watched. I saw this crafty 
harlot. I saw her wearing the attire 
of a harlot. And I saw this young man devoid of sense, a fool, 
an idiot. He went to her. Exercise caution. We need as the church to exercise 
cooperation. We need to pursue, we need to 
endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is worth it. We need to be 
lowly, we need to be gentle, we need to be long-suffering, 
we need to bear with one another in love. All of those traits, 
all of those things are not just thrown out there as sort of a, 
you know, if you do this, it's a recipe for success. This is 
what the Christian Church must be about. These are the sorts 
of things that must characterize us. These are the sorts of things 
we must pursue. And then a godly ambition we 
are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. We 
are to look unto Jesus. We are to press on knowing that 
we are heading to the king of kings palace. We are heading 
to a place where there are no spiders, where there is no insect, 
where there is only the redeemed of Jesus Christ our Lord. and 
he will be in their midst. So brethren, let us learn the 
lessons from these four animals like we learned lessons from 
the snakes and from the doves in Matthew chapter 10. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word. We thank you for the wisdom of these feeble folk. Yet, as Solomon or as the Proverbs 
say, they are exceedingly wise. God, help us to pursue these 
things. Help us, Father, to know your grace and your provision 
and your kindness to us and grant us help as we enter into a new 
week. God, I pray that you would be glorified in our lives as 
individuals and that you would be glorified in this local church, 
and that you would be pleased to save sinners here through 
the preaching of the gospel. That when people come in among 
us and they hear the truth, the spirit would be at work, and 
the spirit would apply that word, and more and more people would 
come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. God, be gracious to the 
young people, be gracious to the children, be gracious to 
these recent grads. I pray they would take these 
four lessons and put them into practice in their lives. And 
we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.