Sermon Bible My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Proverbs 6:23 (with Psalm 119:105) The Divine lamp is:— I. A light on the path. The best path in the world would be of no use without light enough to see our way. If we cannot have daylight, we shall be glad of moonlight; and if the night be dark and moonless, we shall want lamplight. What a glorious lamp you would have if it were possible to get a spark of the sun itself, and put that into your lantern! Even such a lamp is the Bible. II. A light upon the past. The Bible shows us how man began his journey, created in the image of God, and happy in loving and obeying God. It shows us his first wrong step, and how one wrong act opened the door of sin and misery and death. Thus the word of God is— III. A warning light. It is God's lighthouse, to warn us off the treacherous rocks of sin, on which we are in danger of being wrecked. It is God's beacon-light warning us to be on our guard against the assaults of temptation, and the power and craft of that great enemy of our souls, from whom we can be safe only when we put on the whole armour of God. IV. A saving light. V. A light for every step. E. R. Conder, Drops and Rocks, p. 149. Proverbs 6:27-28These words contain an important principle of general application to every sin—the impossibility for a man to play with the enticement to sin without falling a prey thereto. The truth of the statement will appear if we take into consideration the following things:— I. That every temptation presented to man addresses itself to a nature that is already corrupt, and is therefore liable to take to it. II. That man in playing with the temptation puts himself directly in the way that leads naturally to the sin. III. That playing with the temptation to any evil shows some degree of bias in the nature to that particular evil. IV. That playing with temptation brings man into contact with sin only on its pleasurable side, and thus gives it an advantage to make an impression favourable to itself on his mind. V. That man, through playing with temptation, weakens his moral power to resist the sin, and gradually gets so debilitated as to be too weak to oppose it. VI. That man, by playing with temptation, at last tempts the Spirit of God to withdraw His protection from him, and to leave him to himself, and a prey to his lust. O. Thomas, The Welsh Pulpit of Today, p. 68. References: Proverbs 6:28.—E. R. Conder, Drops and Rocks, p. 149. 6—Parker, Pulpit Analyst, vol. i., p. 541. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. William Robertson Nicoll's Sermon Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission. Bible Hub |
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