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Well, you can turn in your Bibles 
to Proverbs 6. Proverbs 6, we're looking at 
themes from the book of Proverbs, and tonight we're going to look 
at diligence. I want to read Proverbs 6, 6 to 11, and then 
we'll look at Proverbs 26, 13 to 16. Beginning in Proverbs 
6, at verse 6, "'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, O 
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. And then in 
Proverbs 26, verses 13 to 16. Proverbs 26, 13, the lazy man 
says, there is a lion in the road. A fierce lion is in the 
streets. As a door turns on its hinges, 
so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand 
in the bowl. It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. The 
lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer 
sensibly. Amen. Well, let us pray and then 
we'll look in detail at this theme of diligence. Father, thank 
you for the Proverbs, thank you for this guide to practical wisdom. We know ultimately we need the 
presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to internalize these 
things. Grant us His presence now, grant 
us grace, Lord God, to receive with joyful hearts the written 
word of the living God. May we make much of your word, 
not only in our church, but in our daily lives and as families. We know that your word is truth, 
and we pray that you would sanctify us by it. Again, forgive us now 
for our sins, our transgressions, and help us to bring glory and 
praise and honor to you in all that we do think and say. And 
we ask this through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Well, the Proverbs 
has much to say concerning this idea of diligence. There are 
three extended sections on diligence. We've read two of them, chapter 
6, verses 6 to 11, and then chapter 24, verses 30 to 34, and then 
chapter 26, verses 13 to 16. And then there are several other 
sort of isolated sayings that speak to this particular theme 
of diligence as well. I would argue that the concept 
is rooted in the Eighth Commandment. The Eighth Commandment obviously 
tells us, you shall not steal. The Westminster larger catechism 
commenting on what is required and what is forbidden. In terms 
of what is forbidden with reference to the Eighth Commandment, it 
says, unlawful callings and all other unjust or sinful ways of 
taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him. 
And the eighth commandment, again, according to the larger catechism, 
142, requires a lawful calling and diligence in it. As well, 
the fourth commandment speaks to this issue of diligence. Now, 
the command specifically with reference to the fourth commandment 
is to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And then it's 
assumed, it's presupposed, it's already known that for six days 
you shall labor and do all your work. Thomas Watson comments 
on the fourth commandment in his book, The Ten Commandments. 
He says, God would not have any live out of a calling. Religion 
gives no warrant for idleness. It is a duty to labor six days 
as well as keep a holy rest on the seventh day. So we see that 
what drives Solomon's concern with reference to diligence. 
Well, it's the Decalogue, it's the law of God, and we are to 
image God. Remember that Jesus said, my 
father has been working even until now. We look at the life 
and the ministry of our Lord Jesus, and certainly we could 
describe it as a life of diligence, hard work, faithfulness, integrity, 
all those things combined argue for us to do likewise. Well, 
I want to look at these two passages that I read, and as I said, we'll 
allude to some others along the way. But note first the diligence 
of the ant in chapter 6, verses 6 to 11. We see the diligence 
of the ant stated in verses 6 to 8, and then the condemnation 
of the sluggard in verses 9 to 11. Now note verse 6, go to the 
ant, you sluggard. There's three. particular verbs 
here. You're to go to the end, you're 
to consider the ways, and you are to be wise. Now this is consistent 
with what we know about Solomon. In 1 Kings chapter 4, it's sort 
of celebrating the wisdom of Solomon, and it tells us there 
that he was very familiar with the natural sciences. He was 
a student not only of God in terms of divine things and redemptive 
things, but he was also a student of God in terms of natural revelation. or general revelation, or the 
created order. He knew things about botany. 
He knew things about animals. He knew things about creeping 
things. So it ought not to surprise us 
that Solomon tells us, or tells the sluggard, to go to the ant 
and learn something concerning your own life. As well, the greater 
than solemn and used creation also. Remember in Matthew 6, 
when Jesus is cautioning his disciples against a carnal anxiety, 
he points them to the birds of the air, he points them to the 
lilies of the field. Later on in chapter 10, he points 
them again to the sparrow. So the Lord Jesus Christ, like 
Solomon, uses things within creation to illustrate things that the 
people of God need to hear and need to understand. So the sluggard 
is told to go to the inn. The sluggard as well is called, 
or told rather, to consider her ways. Waltke says in both 30, 
25, chapter 30, that section in verse 25, there are four things 
which are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise. 
And the ants find themselves in that passage. So he says in 
both 30, 25, and here, the ants' ways essentially teach self-discipline, 
foresight, and industry. More specifically, prudent industry. In other words, Sluggard, look 
at the ant. The ant doesn't sleep all the 
time. The ant isn't constantly laying on the couch. The ant 
is actually engaged in industry. The ant knows that if the ant 
doesn't gather its food, the ant's gonna die. There's one 
of those passages later on that says, with reference to a man 
who labors, he labors for himself because his hungry mouth drives 
him on. In other words, when you're hungry, 
there is a great impetus for you to get up off the couch or 
get up off the bed and find a job. And that's what Solomon wants 
from the sluggard. Go to the ant, consider her ways, 
and be wise. Now, some would say, well, I'm 
much smarter than an ant. Why would you insult me like 
that? Genuinely or truly wise people 
fetch out lessons wherever they can find them. We see it in the 
ant, we see it in the locust, we see it in either the spider 
or lizard, however one ends that list of the four exceedingly 
small, and we see it in the conies or the rock badger. Wherever 
we find wisdom, we ought to take it in. This is God's world. It is comprehensive, it is connected, 
and it all testifies ultimately to the glory of our God. So the 
slugger is told to go to the ant, consider her ways, and be 
wise. Now note the argument in terms 
of its description, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler, 
provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in 
the harvest. The ant does what the ant does 
without a great deal of hierarchical direction. In other words, we 
might say the aunt works well with little to no supervision. 
The aunt doesn't need somebody consistently cracking the whip 
because the aunt knows that if the aunt doesn't gather food, 
then the aunt is going to die. She doesn't have all of these 
upper sort of levels or supervisors or managers that drive her on. 
Rather, it is intuitive. It is something innate. It is 
something that she knows as a settled truth that she must go from the 
comfort of her den and find food and store it up for the winter. That's what's highlighted there 
in verse 8. She provides her supplies in 
the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. Turn for just 
a moment to Proverbs chapter 30 to see this aspect of the 
wisdom of the Anne. Proverbs chapter 30, beginning 
in verse 24, there are four things which are little on the earth, 
but they are exceedingly wise. The ants are a people not strong, 
yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers 
or the conies are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in 
the crags. The locusts have no king, yet they all advance in 
ranks. The locust shares that in common with the ant, as we 
see in Proverbs 6. And then verse 28, the spider 
skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in king's palaces. Some translations might have 
lizard. Lizard is found in the New King 
James margin there. a quandary in terms of whether 
it's spider or it's a lizard. But note the contrast between 
this list of the four things which are little on the earth, 
but they are exceedingly wise, and then the next list in verse 
29. 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. Now, there is a marked contrast 
between the ant and the lion. Everybody, based on just the 
basic amount of observation, would be able to divine that, 
right? You see a big difference between 
the lion and the ant. Well, that big difference affects 
how they live, how they gather food, how they hunt, how they 
do the sorts of things that they do. The ant does not have the 
stateliness or the majesty of a lion, who, if the lion is hungry, 
actually sends out his wife to get food. I mean, that's quite 
the deal, isn't it? It's the female lions that actually 
hunt, and they bring back the kill to the man. I just can't 
imagine that kind of a situation. It's quite beautiful, actually. I'm just kidding. But you see 
the difference. If the lion is hungry, the lion 
goes, he kills, and he eats. There is no necessity for the 
lion to engage in the type of ant-like diligence to prepare 
its food in the harvest or in the summertime so that it has 
resources available in the winter. If it's hungry in the winter, 
it will go out and kill. The ant does not have that ability. So if the ant doesn't make hay 
while the sun shines, the ant is going to starve to death. 
So the ant provides for us a wonderful illustration of this situation 
of diligence. Now back to Proverbs chapter 
6, we see not only the diligence of the ant, but then the condemnation 
of the sluggard in verses 9 to 11. He tells the slugger to go 
to the ant, consider her ways, be wise. He highlights what is 
particular about the ant that this slugger ought to internalize. 
And now he comes to condemn the slugger in verses 9 to 11. How 
long will you slumber, O slugger? When will you arise from your 
sleep? Now, this is a condemnation pronounced 
against the slugger for too much sleep. Now, sleep, in and of 
itself, is a blessing given by God. So it's a blessing, it's 
a gift. It is something absolutely requisite 
for creatures. If we don't sleep, we will ultimately 
die. That is something that is a settled 
observation. We must sleep. But if we sleep 
too much, that doesn't mean you can't sleep in on Saturday. It 
doesn't mean that you can't ever take a nap. It doesn't mean that 
you can't try to catch up once in a while. But if the overarching 
theme of your life is your bed, then most likely you've got big 
problems. So Solomon is not condemning 
the gift of God, which is sleep. Solomon is condemning the sluggard 
who takes the gift of God and abuses it, who takes the gift 
of God and misuses it, who takes the gift of God and does not 
use it in the way that God has determined. So Solomon isn't 
anti-sleep. Solomon is anti-sluggards doing 
nothing but sleeping. Now, verse 10 may either be further 
commentary by the wise man, or it may be the response of the 
sluggard himself. So, verse 9, how long will you 
slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your 
sleep? Now, if this is the response of the sluggard, a little sleep, 
a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. In other 
words, I am going to engage in this because it's something that 
I need. I am going to do this because 
it's something that I desire. I am going to continue in this 
pattern because after all, sleep is given to me by God. Or if 
it's just further commentary by Solomon, this is what this 
man's life consists in. A little sleep, a little slumber, 
a little folding of the hands to sleep. Now note the warning 
that comes upon the sluggard in verse 11. So shall your poverty 
come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." 
Now, we need to understand something about the Book of Proverbs. The 
language used with reference to those who are starving in 
the Book of Proverbs isn't the language used elsewhere concerning 
those who are poor by, you know, no choice of their own. In other 
words, Proverbs is not calling out those who have fallen on 
tough times. Proverbs is not upbraiding or 
indicting those who have had misfortune in their life. Proverbs 
is not addressing the same sort of concerns that we find in the 
book of Job. Job is a book committed to or 
about those who suffer natural disaster, what we call natural 
disaster. They suffer deprivation. They 
suffer a whole host of things. But in the book of Proverbs, 
those who suffer essentially suffer by their own hand. Dr. Waltke says significantly the 
adjectives poor and oppressed are never used of the lazy person, 
even in his end state. In other words, those words that 
are oftentimes applied to the poor outside of the book of Proverbs. He says these words for the poor 
are used primarily of those who are poor by virtue of circumstances 
beyond their control. They are a special concern to 
the Lord. In other words, we ought to make 
sure that we understand that. God's not coming to you if you've 
lost your job, and God's not coming to you if you have contracted 
an illness and you cannot work, and yelling at you and upbraiding 
you. No, there's a great big difference 
between somebody who suffers under circumstances outside of 
their control versus a man who loves sleep. That should be obvious, 
isn't it? I just feel like it's necessary 
to qualify that so that we don't have this idea that God is anti-poverty 
in the sense that He's going to yell at you if you're not 
the brightest bulb and you're not making the most... No, no, 
no, that's not what's in view here. Again, Waltke goes on, 
deprivation such as the scarcity of food in Proverbs is due to 
folly, to sloth, tyranny, meanness, idle talk, carelessness, or love 
of luxury. That's what's being condemned 
by Solomon. He goes on to say not to natural 
disasters such as drought, diseases, and pests. In other words, it 
would not be wise for somebody, a preacher, in the midst of a 
devastated community via hurricane, to start yelling at the people 
for being sluggards because they're hungry. No, that's not what the 
point is in passages like these. But note what Solomon says comes 
upon the sluggards. So shall your poverty come on 
you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." Now 
let's look at other passages which illustrate this for us. 
Notice in Proverbs 10. Proverbs 10, verses 4 and 5. He who has a slack hand becomes 
poor. It's pretty obvious, isn't it? These things shouldn't go, wow, 
I can't believe Solomon. This is what we learned from 
the ant. If the ant is slack, it's going to be poor. If the 
ant is lazy, it's going to die. If the ant doesn't prepare her 
food in the summer, in the harvest, then when the winter comes, she'll 
be devastated. These are sort of no-brainers, 
we might suggest, and yet no-brainers that really need to be published 
abroad. He says, he who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand 
of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a 
wise son. He who sleeps and harvest is 
a son who causes shame. Notice in Proverbs 12, 11. Proverbs 
12, 11, he who tills his land will be satisfied with bread. 
You see that? There is a cause and effect sort 
of relationship in God's moral universe. For the most part, 
when you till your land, you will be satisfied with bread. 
Again, there can be a locust plague. There can be a hurricane. 
There can be some other sort of natural disaster. There can 
be some other sort of devastation. But for the most part, when we 
till the land, we get to eat. But he who follows frivolity 
is devoid of understanding. Notice in Proverbs 13, 4, the 
soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing, but the soul of 
the diligent shall be made rich. Proverbs 14, verse 23. Proverbs 
14, 23, in all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads 
only to poverty. See that? In all labor there 
is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty. There was a 
story recently, I think it was on one of the news sites. It 
was about a man, apparently he was on a TV show back in the 
80s. So he had some degree of fame and notoriety and probably 
money, whatever was going on then in the 80s. And somebody 
recently saw him bagging groceries at a retail store called Trader 
Joe's. And these two ladies just thought 
this was hilarious. I mean, here was this guy that 
had reached the apex of his life in terms of being a TV star. 
And now he's bagging groceries at Trader Joe's. Well, the response 
to that story was very encouraging, because 9 out of 10 people said, 
it's honest work. It's good work. It's not a bad 
thing. In all labor, there is profit. I remember one of the comments 
that somebody said, my father used to say, I often try to glean 
that sort of thing because my father didn't always have the 
best advice for me. I've used Mr. Lawson's father 
before and others. But this guy said, my father 
used to say, a little bit of money an hour is a whole lot 
better than no money an hour. And I would say, absolutely, 
positively, amen. I mean, to mock a guy who's gainfully 
employed because it's not a position of prestige, that is contrary 
to God's Word. In all labor, there is profit. 
Now, we would obviously qualify that. In all legitimate labor, 
prostitution is probably not, well, it's not envisioned here, 
or drug manufacturing and trafficking. In all lawful labor, there is 
profit. Idle chatter leads only to poverty. And then notice in Proverbs 19 
at verse 15. Proverbs 19 at verse 15. Laziness 
casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer 
hunger. And all of these things are pretty 
obvious and pretty apparent. And yet at times, it seems that 
people have a difficulty getting their minds wrapped around it. 
Proverbs 20 at verse 4, the lazy man will not plow because of 
winter. He will beg during harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20 
at verse 13, do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty. Open 
your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread. I don't know that 
that means wake up in the morning and go eat your cornflakes. I 
think the idea is open your eyes and you'll be satisfied with 
bread when you go out and you work for it. It's not speaking 
to one particular breakfast, but it's speaking to every breakfast. 
Open your eyes, get out of bed, shower, drag a comb through your 
hair, and go work. And then you will be satisfied 
with bread. It's not one meal that's in view, 
it's every meal. And I think that this is the 
emphasis throughout the book of Proverbs. Now, notice in Proverbs 
20, 24, that was the other extended section that I did not read because 
of the similarities with what we have here in chapter 6. Let's look at Proverbs 24, 33. 
Proverbs 24, 33, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding 
of the hands to rest. So show your poverty come like 
a prowler and your need like an armed man. That's the same 
warning that we have there in Proverbs 6. Now let's look at 
the beginning section because Solomon received this by way 
of an illustration or by way of observation. Verse 30, I went 
by the field of the lazy man and by the vineyard of the man 
devoid of understanding. And there it was. all overgrown 
with thorns. Its surface was covered with 
nettles. Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered 
it well. I looked on it, and I received 
instruction." So he's wandering about. He sees the field of a 
lazy man. And that field, in its overgrown 
state, in its tattered state, in its ignored state, is able 
to preach to Solomon the very same lesson that the ant preached 
as well. So that's the diligence of the 
ant. Now notice in chapter 26, we 
essentially have the description of a lazy man. We have the description 
of a lazy man in chapter 23, verses 13 to 16. There are four 
things here that describe the lazy man. First, the lazy man 
makes excuses. Notice in verse 13, the lazy 
man says, there is a lion in the road, a fierce lion is in 
the streets. Go back to 22 verse 13, you see 
that as well. The lazy man says that there 
is a lion outside, I shall be slain in the streets. Now, most 
likely that's his response to the person who tells him to go 
out and work. I don't think it's just this 
general overarching concern that big cats are roaming the city. 
It's most likely his response to somebody who has told him, 
go to work. In other words, get up, get dressed, 
and go out there. But I don't want to go out there 
because there's lions in the street. And if there's lions 
in the street and I go out there, then I'm going to get mowed down 
by the lions in the street. And because God created me in 
his image and I have a certain degree of appreciation for the 
image of God, I want to preserve myself, so I'm not going to go 
out into the streets where all those lions are. Now, this is 
as outlandish an illustration or a reason or an excuse for 
us today as it would have been back then. It wasn't the case 
that on the streets, with reference to the cities of Israel, lions 
just roamed about. It wasn't the case that lions 
hung out in the city square. It wasn't the case that you had 
to step over lions when you were walking to your car in the morning. 
If it's outlandish today, it was outlandish then. John Gill 
makes this observation. He says, "...and which shows 
the folly and the weakness of his excuses, since lions do not 
usually walk in cities, towns and villages, and in the streets 
of them, but in woods and mountains." So you see that? The picture 
that Solomon presents here is absurd, and it is comical, but 
it's oh so true, isn't it? This excuse-making. I can't go 
to look for a job today because, you know, it's Thursday, or it's 
Wednesday, or it's Friday. You know, nothing gets done then. 
I should wait till Monday, and then Monday comes around, and 
oh my, my Achilles or my knee or my back. It's hurting in such 
a way that if I go out, I might stumble and fall. Again, there 
might be an Achilles, there might be a knee, there might be a back. 
Go see a doctor and then go find a job. You see, that's a problem, 
excuse making. Don't let your kids develop that 
early on. Oh, I can't clean my room, because 
I think a bat flew in there. I can't clean my room, because 
there might be some poisonous spider under my bed. Don't let 
them do that. Give them a flashlight, a broom, 
and tell them to fetch that poisonous spider out of there. I'm just 
kidding. Don't do that. The next kid, some kid's gonna 
get bit by a poison spider and I'll be sued. But you see the 
excuse-making. The lazy man says, there is a 
lion in the road. A fierce lion is in the streets. This is excuse-making. Notice 
secondly, the lazy man loves, he loves sleep. We already see 
that in Proverbs 6. Now again, I think we all probably 
love sleep. It was George Bernard Shaw. At 
least the quote is attributed to him. There's some doubt that 
he said it exactly this way. But he said that youth is wasted 
on the young. I'd argue, secondly, that naps 
are wasted on the young. I mean, as you get older, naps 
become precious, don't they? Young people don't like naps. 
Old people crave naps. It's a great disparity there. 
So it's not wrong to appreciate the gift of God in terms of sleep. 
It's wrong to imitate a door. It's wrong to be like a door 
on its hinges that only has one movement. It's wrong when your 
only movement is to go from your right side to your left side. 
So there is a comparison made between the sluggard on his bed 
and the door on its hinges. It's a range of motion sort of 
a thing. But I think we ought to observe 
at least a contrast, or at least an implied contrast. The door 
on its hinges that has that limited range of motion is at least accomplishing 
something purposeful. The sluggard on his bed that 
goes from side A to side B, from side B to side A, in imitation 
of the door, is not like the door in the sense that the door 
is actually serving a purpose in God's created order. You see, the sluggard loves sleep. We can love it as long as we 
don't abuse it. Notice, thirdly, the lazy man 
will not eat. Now, that sounds a bit bizarre, 
but I don't know how better to describe verse 15. The lazy man 
buries his hand in the bowl, and it wearies him to bring it 
back to his mouth. Look at 1227. We try to shed 
some light on this. Again, it's a bit of a... of 
a caricature, isn't it? I mean, you reach your hand into 
the bowl of food, and then it tires you to bring it back and 
put it in your mouth. I mean, is that the epitome of 
indolence? You know, I managed to get the 
food in my hand, but man, I need a nap now. I can't actually thrust 
it into my mouth for the vital nutrition that it will provide 
for me. So let's just sort of flesh this out in a little bit 
more detail. Notice in 1227. The lazy man does not roast what 
he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession." 
I think what Solomon is impressing upon us here is an unwillingness 
to accomplish a task. an unwillingness to actually 
mow his field, an unwillingness to actually fix the gate, an 
unwillingness because there's lions in the streets, he loves 
his bed, but these are tasks that are incomplete. He buries 
his hand in the bowl. He won't even bring it back to 
his mouth because it wearies him. That's the specific application 
there in Proverbs 26. But the more general approach 
ought to be this. The very thought of going out 
to work, even in order to secure food, is wearying to him. Even the thought of getting out 
of his bed and getting out of his house long enough to make 
some money is such that he doesn't even want to undertake it. It's 
just too much bother. It's too much work. It's too 
difficult. I'll have to leave my bed. I'll 
have to fight with lions. I'll have to do the sorts of 
things that I simply don't want to do. Notice, in this particular 
one, he manages to get up out of bed. He manages to get his 
30-06. He manages to get a beat on an animal. He manages to even 
take the animal down. But that's as far as it's going 
to go. He's not going to skin the animal. He's not going to 
dress the animal. He's not going to quarter the 
animal. He's certainly not going to pack it out. And then he's 
not going to roast it and actually eat his kill. You see, he can't 
complete tasks. Why? because he's lazy. That's the problem. The lazy 
man puts his hand into the bowl, and it wearies him to even put 
the food into his mouth. Now, for those who say the Bible 
is not exciting reading, this is hilarious. Again, it's caricature. It's hyperbolic. It's a bit absurd, 
but it brings home the lesson, doesn't it? You can almost see 
this man, can't you? He shoots the animal. He actually 
gets it. It falls. And, eh, I'm just going to leave 
it there and go home and have a nap. He reaches his hand in 
the bowl and he's about to bring it back to his mouth. And he 
said, I'm just going to have a nap. Everything's a nap to 
this guy. The bed is all he wants. He's 
like that door on the hinges. And yet that door on the hinges 
does a lot more than that man who is lazy on his bed. And then 
notice as well, Proverbs 19, 24. Proverbs 19, 24. Same thing, a lazy man buries 
his hand in the ball and will not so much as bring it to his 
mouth again. You see, these are not isolated 
things. I was a bit surprised as I was going through diligence. Let's look at what Proverbs has 
to say on diligence. We've looked at a lot of texts, 
haven't we? This is not one of those things that's just a bit 
of an attack on the book of Proverbs. This is one of the overarching 
themes or concerns. This is something that comes 
up repetitively, consistently, flagrantly. It's all over the 
place in the book of Proverbs. So the lazy man makes excuses. 
The lazy man loves sleep. The lazy man won't even eat. 
And then finally, the lazy man is wise in his own eyes. I mean, that's another thing 
that's just unfortunate. A guy who is this, at least we 
can appreciate the fact if he says, you know, I'm just lazy. 
I much prefer sleep. I'm going to make a million excuses 
because I don't want to get a job. I'm so lazy. When I put my hand 
in the bowl, I just weary out, and I don't want to bring it 
back to my mouth. At least we could say he's self-aware. At 
least we could commend him for having that assessment. At least 
we could commend him for seeing something everybody else sees. Not this guy. He's got a high 
estimation of himself. It's just bizarre, isn't it? 
The lazy man, verse 16, is wiser in his own eyes than seven men 
who can answer sensibly. Isn't that just bizarre? Somebody 
that's obviously messed up vis-a-vis 13 to 15 is a man who not only 
doesn't see that he's messed up, but actually sees himself 
as higher and wiser and better than others. Notice the lazy 
man does have desires. We need to appreciate that. It's 
not that he doesn't want to eat. It's not that he doesn't want 
to have food, or he doesn't want to have riches, or he doesn't 
want to have a house, or he doesn't want to have certain benefits. 
Go back to Proverbs 13, 4. Proverbs 13, 4. The soul of a lazy man desires 
and has nothing. So the desire is still there. 
The desire is in him. And then notice Proverbs 21, 
25, and 26. Proverbs 21, 25, and 26. The desire of the lazy man kills 
him, for his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all 
day long, but the righteous gives and does not spare." So it's 
not the case that he is everything that Solomon says he is, but 
he's just absent-minded. Not while he's going like the 
hinge or door from side to side. He's craving. He's coveting. 
He's greedy. He's concerned with. And he wants 
all these things, but he doesn't want enough to get out of bed 
and do what he's supposed to do. His hungry mouth hasn't driven 
him to that point up to this point. One man said, the lazy 
are generally not those who have few desires. Rather, their daydreaming 
leads to exaggerated desires and exaggerated desires to a 
despair of realization. You get this sometimes, right? 
The kid comes out of school and he won't take a job for less 
than 30 bucks an hour. Sorry, that's just not the world 
that we live in. You're going to have to start 
low if you want to build high. We have a generation that expects 
big pay, big benefits, and four weeks off, all that stuff. Used 
to be you had to start out at the bottom and claw your way 
to the top. And on your clawing of your way 
to the top, you get a bone thrown to you every now and then, and 
you were happy. You liked it. Now there's this entitlement 
idea. We got our degree. We got our high school. We should 
just get everything. No, you shouldn't just get everything. 
You should get a job and work your way up to getting everything. 
So the point is the lazy man is like this, but he has these 
desires. So back to 26, we see that he 
has not only desires, but he has a high regard of himself. He has a high esteem of what 
he is. The lazy man is wiser in his 
own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. I think Bridges 
describes this aspect beautifully. He says, Such is the strange 
union of self-complacency with folly. This worthless being, 
a cumberer of the ground, pronounces himself a genius, prides himself 
upon his sagacity, and looks down with contempt upon his more 
industrious companions, generally superior in attainment. This 
foolish dream of his own shrewdness fixes his standard. He has found 
the road to learning without any inconvenient exertion. Giving 
himself no trouble to think, he sees none of the difficulties 
obvious to a considerate mind and speedily arrives at most 
unreasonable conclusions. He will not be beaten out of 
his sloth. He's wiser in his own eyes. So 
when you come to him and you say, you know what? I looked 
out the window, there's no lions out there. When you say, you're 
imitating a door for your life. And you say, you're good to get 
your hand in the dish, but you actually need to put the food 
from the dish into the mouth. When you say that, he doesn't 
receive it. He doesn't say, you're right. 
There are no lions out there. You're right. My role model is 
a door. You're right that I actually 
need to take the food from the dish and put it. He doesn't say 
you're right. He continues down the path of 
this folly. You see, that's what's most disconcerting 
about the whole thing. See, another theme that Solomon 
addresses very often are those who don't listen to reproof. Now, how in the world would we 
know this man is this way? Because the father, the friend, 
the brother, the sister, the mother, somebody came along and 
said, there's no lions. There really aren't. You're imitating 
a door. You need to put the food into your mouth. And he said, 
wait a minute. You can't tell me how to live. It's like kids 
with kids. You're not the boss of me. This 
guy is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer 
sensibly. You get the seven men. That's 
a number of perfection or completeness. It's a number of excellence within 
scripture. You have seven of these men, 
and they can all answer sensibly. But you're wiser than them? You're 
not going to listen to them when they tell you, no lions, when 
they tell you, no door, when they tell you, you got to put 
the food in your mouth. You're just not going to listen to them. 
That's a big problem, brethren. If somebody is self-aware and 
somebody owns it and somebody listens, that somebody can be 
worked with. But added to this description 
of the sluggard is this description of the sluggard's conceit. He 
is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly." 
It's a pretty pathetic picture that is drawn by Solomon in this 
section. And I think the take-home message 
for all of us is, don't be excuse-makers, Don't be lovers of sleep. Don't 
be the sort of person that doesn't complete tasks, vis-a-vis put 
the food in your mouth. And don't be the kind of person 
that's so proud and so arrogant and so conceited that when persons 
come to you and say, look, there's a better way to do this, namely 
get a job, don't think that they've got the problem. It's most likely 
you that has the problem. So that's the take-home with 
reference to this particular text. I want to end by looking 
at two things, finally. First, the blessings associated 
with diligence. I mean, that's been kind of a 
negative, sort of a downer, hasn't it? You know, the description 
of the lazy man, that's not a real positive way to end a message. So let's look at the blessings 
associated with diligence. Again, we'll cover a bit of the 
same ground, but first the provision of material goods. It's a beautiful 
thing in God's world. You work, you eat. Proverbs 10.4, 
again, he who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of 
a diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a 
wise son. Again, 12.11. 12.11, same sort 
of idea. He who tills his land will be 
satisfied with bread. It's a primary reason you should 
find a job, because it's great to eat. It really is. It's a wonderful thing. It's 
just amazing. You all know that if you don't 
eat, you do die. And so in order to eat, you have 
to work. And this is what Solomon is saying. 
Proverbs 13, four, the soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing. 
But here we go. The soul of the diligent shall 
be made rich. Verse 11 again, wealth gained 
by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will 
increase. New ground, Proverbs 16, verse 
26. The person who labors, I alluded 
to this earlier, the person who labors, labors for himself, for 
his hungry mouth drives him on. Why are you so earnest in trying 
to find a job? Because I'm hungry. That's a 
great reason, isn't it, to pound the pavement and find a job? 
It's a great reason to update your resume. It's a great reason 
to go online, jobs.com. It's a great reason when your 
stomach is grumbling and growling and there's nothing left in the 
pantry. That hungry mouth ought to drive you on so that you'll 
labor so that you can eat. And then Proverbs 21.5. Proverbs 
21.5, the plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those 
of everyone who is hasty surely to poverty. So the provision 
of material goods is a blessing associated with diligence. Secondly, 
the dignity associated with work. The dignity associated with work. 
That guy who had been a TV actor in the 1980s that was now working 
at Trader Joe's, he wasn't complaining. He wasn't whining. He didn't 
seize upon the opportunity and say, you're right. What a miserable 
thing. I went from this to this. He 
didn't have that attitude. Good on him. He did what he had 
to do to feed his hungry mouth. That's admirable. All work is 
dignified. Flipping burgers is dignified. I know we shun it and we speak 
ill about it, but flipping burgers is a lawful way to put money 
in the bank, which is a lawful way to buy food. It's perfectly 
consistent and legitimate. Don't mock somebody because they're 
actually working. Don't mock somebody because you're 
not so in tune with their life choices. They have a job. It's a good thing. But there 
is dignity associated with work. Notice in Proverbs 12. Proverbs 
12, 24. This is the dignity associated 
with work. Proverbs 12, 24, the hand of 
the diligent will what? Will rule. But the lazy man will 
be put to forced labor. The hand of the diligent will 
rule. That doesn't mean the world. 
It doesn't mean kingdoms. It doesn't mean empires. But 
it means, with reference to his position and to his dignity, 
he will be in that capacity versus those who are put to forced labor. And then Proverbs 14, 23, in 
terms of dignity associated with labor. There it is again. Sorry, 
verse 23, in all labor, there is profit. In all labor, there 
is profit. That brings dignity. The profit 
isn't only monetarily. It's not the money only that 
you can buy food with, but there's a dignity involved. I remember 
being mindful of this or reminded of this by a fellow at Union 
Gospel Mission many, many years ago. We used to go there. I think 
it was every other week on Tuesday nights. That's right down there 
by East Hastings in Vancouver. And I remember one guy, I would 
see him there on an occasion, not Gary, The guy that would 
always complain if we were a minute late coming from Chilliwack. 
He would let us have it for being late. You know, we got stuck 
in traffic and this one fellow would let us know, you were late. 
30 seconds, Gary, come on. But this other guy, I remember 
talking to him and he was just, he wanted to work. I really believe 
that. And one of the things that he 
said was, it's the lack of dignity. That's what's most crippling. 
I want to work because of the dignity involved in that. I think 
that's what the Proverbs are saying. Now, again, if you are 
incapacitated, God's not angry at you for not working if you're 
ill or if you're, you know, whatever. That's not in view here. You 
cannot take this and say, oh, Butler's got an axe to grind, 
or God's got an axe to grind with somebody who's contracted 
this horrible disease, and they can't work. No, no, no, no. That's 
not it. We're dealing with the slugger. We're dealing with the 
lazy man. We're not dealing with somebody who cannot work. We're 
dealing with somebody who will not work. That's the issue here. And then notice the dignity, 
or rather thirdly, the honor associated with working well. 
Look at Proverbs 22, 29. Proverbs 22, 29. Do you see a 
man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before unknown 
men. That really ought to drive us 
in terms of our diligence, in terms of our pursuit of not only 
hard work, but good work. Do you see a man who excels in 
his work? He will stand before kings. In 
other words, he plums well. Politicians hear about it. They 
bring him in to plumb their stuff. That is a blessed thing. That 
is a good thing. A man fixes vehicles well. So 
the city mayor, the political leaders bring their car. You 
see a man who excels in his work, he will stand before kings. In 
other words, even pagans, Gentiles, heathens, they recognize Christian 
diligence, they recognize hard work, and they recognize good 
work done well. It's a beautiful thing, and there's 
dignity involved in that, and honor. And then the second broader 
application is the need for spiritual diligence. The need for spiritual 
diligence. Now certainly, Solomon doesn't 
want you to argue that there's lions in the streets, and he 
doesn't want you to be a door, And he doesn't want you to bury 
your hand in the bowl and not bring it to your mouth. In terms 
of the temporal world, in terms of your physical sustenance, 
in terms of your life, Solomon wants you to find a job. Solomon 
wants you to work hard. Solomon wants you to excel in 
it so that you'll stand before kings. But certainly Solomon 
also wants you to engage in spiritual diligence. In other words, do 
you see a man who excels in his work, he will stand before kings. 
Those brethren, by God's grace, who excel in spiritual things 
will stand before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 
John Gill commenting on the slumbering sluggard in Proverbs 6, 9. He 
says, whatever may be the proper time to awake and arise out of 
sleep in a morning, which seems to be according to a man's circumstances, 
health, and business. It's very reasonable, isn't it? 
You know, we hear these Puritans, I think it was George Whitefield, 
he'd sleep from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and then he'd get 
up and spend two hours on his knees with his Greek New Testament. 
You know, young ministers hear that and they try that, you know, 
and don't make it. They get up at 4 a.m. and they're back asleep by 4.05. 
You know, it just doesn't work. Men are different. Lloyd-Jones 
and his preaching and preachers addresses that. You can't just 
take somebody else's model and stick it into your life. Well, 
you know, he only slept from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Yeah, good for him. If that was me, I couldn't function 
at 7 a.m. You just got to get sleep. You 
got to know yourself. You see, we have that mindset. 
I think what Gil says here is absolutely right. Now, in my 
mind, Gil was probably one of those guys that did get up at 
4. He didn't, you know, he read his Greek New Testament, and 
then he read all the Jewish stuff in Hebrew, and then he, you know, 
did all that stuff and had breakfast at, you know, 7.30 and then went 
to his office for 15 hours. But he says, whatever may be 
the proper time to awake and arise out of sleep in a morning, 
which seems to be according to a man's circumstances, health, 
and business. Now listen to what he says. It is always high time 
for the sinner to awake out of the sleep of sin and to rise 
from the dead. In other words, spiritual diligence. Certainly work, don't make excuses, 
bring the food back to your mouth, and don't be the kind of person 
that is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer 
well. It's spiritual. He says, it is always high time 
for the sinner to awake out of the sleep of sin and arise from 
the dead. In other words, believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. That's spiritual diligence. That's 
what's most important. That's what's most earnest. Don't 
make the excuses. Well, there's lions in the street. Don't be the door turning on 
its hinges. Don't be the sort of person that 
puts his hand into the bowl of a sermon and doesn't ingest it. Don't be the kind of excuse-making, 
lazy, sluggardly type of a person that won't ingest the Word of 
God and believe. Spiritual diligence is enjoined 
upon every creature of God. So, for the sinner, and then 
he goes on and says, and for the drowsy saint to arise out 
of his lethargy and carnal security. In other words, there's an application 
in terms of spiritual diligence for the sinner to come to the 
Savior, but for the saint that's grown drowsy, the saint that's 
become an excuse maker, the saint that doesn't internalize the 
Word of God, the saint that may put his hand there, but he doesn't 
bring it up and eat it. There's no more hungering and 
thirsting after righteousness. There's no more pursuing those 
things in the fear of God. There's no more put on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its 
loss. Lethargy has settled in. Apathy has settled in. And we 
have become the equivalent of the door on its hinges back and 
forth, left and right. That is wrong spiritual diligence 
for the sinner to flee to the Savior, but spiritual diligence 
for the believer who has grown cold, for the believer who has 
grown weary, for the believer who has grown hardened. Arouse yourself by the grace 
of God and no more excuses, no more laziness, no more imitating 
the door as your life's work. but rather enjoy the great gifts 
that God has given in the Word and in prayer, and utilize those 
things accordingly. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Father, thank you for this your Word, and thank 
you for what we find here so clearly explained, so simply, 
so marvelously. Give us grace to receive these 
things. Give us grace to not be excuse 
makers, to not be imitators of Doris, to not be the kinds of 
people that hear the word but don't internalize it, and certainly 
not to be the conceited man who's wiser in his own eyes than seven 
men who can answer sensibly. We ask that you would bless us, 
help us, God, to think through these things, help us to instruct 
our children in these things, I pray, in a special way for 
them, for the young people and the kids, that you would give 
them, instill in them, first and foremost, the fear of God, 
a belief in the Savior, and a commitment to the written word, to do all 
things that we find here described. Go with us now, we pray, and 
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with 
a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed.