I. WHAT IS IT TO BE IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD ALL THE DAY LONG? Fear is a passion of the human mind, and stands opposed to hope. It always has for its object some evil, real or supposed. Here its object is the evil and danger of sinning against God, and the just displeasure of God, in consequence of offending Him. To fear these is to fear the Lord in the best sense of the phrase. We should live under the habitual influence of this holy temper, and carry it with us into all the duties of the religious and social life.

II. WHY SHOULD WE STUDY TO BE IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD ALL THE DAY LONG?

1. It is an excellent guard against the commission of sin. The man cannot knowingly and deliberately sin against God who has a suitable sense of His being, perfections, character and government.

2. It really assists us in the right performance of duty. It greatly tends to invigorate the graces of the Spirit in the soul, and to call them forth into lively exercise.

3. It excites us to the important duty of watchfulness, and greatly assists us therein.

4. God recommends this duty to our study and practice, by His Divine authority. Then if you would be in the fear of the Lord —(1) Study to acquire more and more of the knowledge of God: the knowledge of His perfections, character, and government; especially as they are manifested in and through His Son Jesus Christ.(2) Be much frequent in meditating upon the Divine perfections.(3) Be much in the great duties of prayer and watchfulness.

(John Rodgers, D.D.)

I. THE TRUE NOTION OF FEARING GOD.

1. It must be such a fear as includes in it a high degree of love. Then we shall make a difficulty of nothing He commands. Then our service of Him will be rendered more acceptable.

2. It includes it in a generous hope and confidence. Hope is the spring of industry.

II. THE INFLUENCE THIS FEAR HAS TO SUPPRESS IN US ALL ENVIOUS AND DISQUIETING THOUGHTS. By a holy fear we secure to ourselves an interest in His special providence and protection and grace here, and in the promises of glory and eternal life hereafter.

III. PROPER MOTIVES AND ARGUMENTS TO ENFORCE THIS DUTY OF FEARING GOD.

1. From the consideration of His infinite power and majesty.

2. From His intimate knowledge of all our thoughts, words, and actions, and of the secret springs of them.

3. The consideration of God's justice. He hath appointed a day wherein He will judge the world in righteousness. This is an irresistible argument to excite us to the practice of piety.

(R. Fiddes, D.D.)

I. THE PRINCIPLE WHICH IS TO ACTUATE US. "The fear of the Lord." The fear attends the whole of religion.

1. As a quality, to temper the whole; to bind doctrine and knowledge; to keep confidence from growing up into rank presumption, and liberty from degenerating into licentiousness.

2. As a quickener, to excite and to enliven the whole.

II. THE EXTENSIVENESS OF ITS INFLUENCE. To be in the fear shows the frequency of its exercise, and of its invariable constancy. See the attributes of this fear as regards —

1. Devotions, regular and ejaculatory.

2. The business of the day.

3. The trials of the day.

4. Its relaxation, recreation, and refreshment.

5. The company of the day.

6. The opportunities and occasions of the day.

III. THE ADVANTAGE OF ITS HABITUALNESS.

1. It will render religion more easy and pleasant.

2. It will render your religion more obvious and certain. It furnishes the best evidences of its reality. Then be concerned to exercise diligence.

(1)All the day long you are in danger.

(2)God is all day long doing you good.

(3)All the day long you are observed, even by your fellow-creatures, much more than you are aware of.

(4)You are accountable all the day long.

(W. Jay.)

1. Many sinners have much money. Riches are not necessary to any man. Still, human nature is so weak and so corrupt that but few men can look at the wealthy without envying them.

2. Sometimes the wicked seem to have a great deal of pleasure. Take their word for it, and no people are so happy. Those who have not health, or money, or time thus to live at ease, are very apt to envy these lovers of pleasure.

3. Some sinners seem to get many of the honours of life. They seek the honour that cometh from man, and they have their reward. Silly people stand off and admire and envy.

4. Some envy the wicked for their apparent freedom from restraint. The law of God does not bind them any further than suits themselves. To a carnal mind this looks like a fine way of getting through the world, and the foolish envy these lawless ones.

5. Sometimes sinners seem to be, and for a long time are, free from afflictions, which so much distress the righteous.

II. THERE IS NO GOOD GROUND FOB PREFERRING THE STATE OF SINNERS. There is really no Divine blessing permanently resting on the wicked, as there is on the righteous. There is also a sad amount of alloy mixed up with all that sinners have. The passions of sinners are at war with each other and with mankind. The devices of the wicked will ruin them. The wicked are not without smitings of conscience. All nature is armed against the wicked. Instead of envying sinners, pity them and pray for them. Let the righteous show that they are pleased with the choice which they have made.

(W. S. Plumer, D.D.)

1. Let the times be never so perilous and dangerous, yet God's providence ought not to be questioned by us, whatever its unequal distributions be. Answering the objection that, if God's providence governs all the issues and events of things, virtue should never go unrewarded, plead that there is no man but has grievously sinned against the Lord. Therefore they can have no cause to question His justice in their suffering. Besides this, it may be urged that affliction is a proof of God's tender love and kindness; that the prosperity of the wicked often turns to their hurt and disadvantage; and that the day of judgment will set all things right.

2. Show how we are to demean ourselves under the actual oppressions of prosperous wickedness. The best course for a man to take is to hold himself to God, to trust in Him, and order himself according to His will.

3. We must not go out of the road of duty, and do as the wicked do, because we see them prosper.

4. The flourishing condition of the wicked is but short-lived, and therefore not to be envied.

5. There is an assured reward, if ye have patience awhile, and meekly submit to the will of God in His providential administrations. Then seek to live so that God may bless you with the continuance of His blessings.

( T. Knaggs, M.A.)

II. THE PROBABLE INTERRUPTION. It has happened to godly men in all ages to see the wicked prosper, and they have been staggered by the sight. There is no real cause for envying the wicked; and envying them will do you serious harm. Envy helps in no way, and hinders in many ways.

III. THE HELPFUL CONSIDERATION.

1. There is an end of this life.

2. There is an end of the worldling's prosperity.

3. God has an end in your present trouble and exercise.

4. There will be no failure to your expectation. The promise of God is in itself a possession, and our expectation of it is in itself an enjoyment.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. Because envy is a disposition of mind whose influence can never be justified.

2. Because to envy sinners is absurd.

II. THE ADMONITORY PRECEPT. This implies —

1. To be in possession of correct and spiritual ideas of His holy and exalted character.

2. To cultivate suitable dispositions of heart towards Him.

III. AN ENCOURAGING ASSERTION. "For surely there is an end," etc.

1. There is an end to that prosperity with which the efforts of sinners are crowned.

2. There is an end to the tribulation of the saints.

3. The expectation of those who continue in the fear of the Lord shall not be cut off. Human expectations are cut off by slothful and indolent habits, and by unforeseen occurrences. Instead of envying sinners, saints should pity them, pray for them, set them good examples, and try to save them.

(Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

     1185   God, zeal of
     5840   eagerness
     8370   zeal
     8733   envy
     8765   grudge
     8773   jealousy

Proverbs 23:17-18

     8215   confidence, results
     8335   reverence, and blessing

The Afterwards and Our Hope
'Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. 18. For surely there is an end and thine expectation shall not be cut off.'--PROVERBS xxiii. 17, 18. The Book of Proverbs seldom looks beyond the limits of the temporal, but now and then the mists lift and a wider horizon is disclosed. Our text is one of these exceptional instances, and is remarkable, not only as expressing confidence in the future, but as expressing it in a very striking way. 'Surely there is an end,' says our Authorised Version, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Portrait of a Drunkyard
'Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30. They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34. Yea, thou shalt be as …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Three Important Precepts
A sermon (No. 2152) intended for reading on Lord's Day, July 13th, 1890, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord's Day Evening, June 22nd, 1890. "Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way."--Proverbs 23:19. The words are very direct and personal; and that is what I wish my sermon to be. My soul is more and more set upon immediate conversions. I have no voice with which to play the orator; I have only enough strength to be an earnest pleader …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Buying the Truth
A sermon (No. 3449) published on Thursday, March 11th, 1915; Delivered on Lord's Day evening, June 26th 1870, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Buy the truth, and sell it not."--Proverbs 23:23. John Bunyan pictures the pilgrims as passing at one time through Vanity Fair, and in Vanity Fair there were to be found all kinds of merchandise, consisting of the pomps and vanities, the lusts and pleasures of this present life and of the flesh. Now all the dealers, when they …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Heart: a Gift for God
A sermon (No. 1995) intended for reading on Lord's Day, December 11th, 1887. at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "My son, give me thine heart."--Proverbs 23:26. These are the words of Solomon speaking in the name of wisdom, which wisdom is but another name for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is made of God unto us wisdom. If you ask "What is the highest wisdom upon the earth?" it is to believe in Jesus Christ whom God has sent--to become his follower and disciple, to trust him …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

All the Day Long
A sermon (No. 2150) delivered on Lord's Day Morning, June 22nd, 1890, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off." {end: or, reward}--Proverbs 23:17, 18. Last Lord's-day we had for our texts two promises. I trust they were full of comfort to the tried people of God, and to souls in the anguish of conviction. To-day we will …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Buying the Truth
"Buy the truth, and sell it not."--Proverbs 23:23. JOHN Bunyan pictures the pilgrims as passing at one time through Vanity Fair, and in Vanity Fair there were to be found all kinds of merchandise, consisting of the pomps and vanities, the lusts and pleasures of this present life and of the flesh. Now all the dealers, when they saw these strange pilgrims come into the fair began to cry, as shopmen will do, "Buy, buy, buy--buy this, and buy that." There were the priests in the Italian row with their …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915

The Secret Walk with God (ii).
He that would to others give Let him take from Jesus still; They who deepest in Him live Flow furthest at His will. I resume the rich subject of Secret Devotion, Secret Communion with God. Not that I wish to enter in detail on either the theory or the practice of prayer in secret; as I have attempted to do already in a little book which I may venture here to mention, Secret Prayer. My aim at present, as I talk to my younger Brethren in the Ministry, is far rather to lay all possible stress on …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

How those are to be Admonished who Sin from Sudden Impulse and those who Sin Deliberately.
(Admonition 33.). Differently to be admonished are those who are overcome by sudden passion and those who are bound in guilt of set purpose. For those whom sudden passion overcomes are to be admonished to regard themselves as daily set in the warfare of the present life, and to protect the heart, which cannot foresee wounds, with the shield of anxious fear; to dread the hidden darts of the ambushed foe, and, in so dark a contest, to guard with continual attention the inward camp of the soul. For, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Secondly, for Thy Words.
1. Remember, that thou must answer for every idle word, that in multiloquy, the wisest man shall overshoot himself. Avoid, therefore, all tedious and idle talk, from which seldom arises comfort, many times repentance: especially beware of rash answers, when the tongue outruns the mind. The word was thine whilst thou didst keep it in; it is another's as soon as it is out. O the shame, when a man's own tongue shall be produced a witness, to the confusion of his own face! Let, then, thy words be few, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Comforts Belonging to Mourners
Having already presented to your view the dark side of the text, I shall now show you the light side, They shall be comforted'. Where observe: 1 Mourning goes before comfort as the lancing of a wound precedes the cure. The Antinomian talks of comfort, but cries down mourning for sin. He is like a foolish patient who, having a pill prescribed him, licks the sugar but throws away the pill. The libertine is all for joy and comfort. He licks the sugar but throws away the bitter pill of repentance. If …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Of Internal Acts
Of Internal Acts Acts are distinguished into External and Internal. External acts are those which bear relation to some sensible object, and are either morally good or evil, merely according to the nature of the principle from which they proceed. I intend here to speak only of Internal acts, those energies of the soul, by which it turns internally to some objects, and averts from others. If during my application to God I should form a will to change the nature of my act, I thereby withdraw myself …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Distinction Between Exterior and Interior Actions --Those of the Soul in this Condition are Interior, but Habitual, Continued, Direct, Profound, Simple, and Imperceptible --Being a Continual
The actions of men are either exterior or interior. The exterior are those which appear outwardly, and have a sensible object, possessing neither good nor evil qualities, excepting as they receive them from the interior principle in which they originate. It is not of these that I intend to speak, but only of interior actions, which are those actions of the soul by which it applies itself inwardly to some object, or turns away from some other. When, being applied to God, I desire to commit an …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

The Annunciation of Jesus the Messiah, and the Birth of his Forerunner.
FROM the Temple to Nazareth! It seems indeed most fitting that the Evangelic story should have taken its beginning within the Sanctuary, and at the time of sacrifice. Despite its outward veneration for them, the Temple, its services, and specially its sacrifices, were, by an inward logical necessity, fast becoming a superfluity for Rabbinism. But the new development, passing over the intruded elements, which were, after all, of rationalistic origin, connected its beginning directly with the Old Testament …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Of Preparation.
That a Christian ought necessarily to prepare himself before he presume to be a partaker of the holy communion, may evidently appear by five reasons:-- First, Because it is God's commandment; for if he commanded, under the pain of death, that none uncircumcised should eat the paschal lamb (Exod. xii. 48), nor any circumcised under four days preparation, how much greater preparation does he require of him that comes to receive the sacrament of his body and blood? which, as it succeeds, so doth it …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

A Sermon on a Text not Found in the Bible.
MR. JUSTICE GROVES.--"Men go into the Public-house respectable, and come out felons." My text, as you see, my dear readers, is not taken from the Bible. It does not, however, contradict the Scriptures, but is in harmony with some, such as "WOE UNTO HIM THAT GIVETH HIS NEIGHBOUR DRINK." Habakkuk ii. 15; "WOE UNTO THEM THAT RISE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING, THAT THEY MAY FOLLOW STRONG DRINK."--Isaiah v. 11. "TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES LEST AT ANY TIME YOUR HEARTS BE OVERCHARGED WITH SURFEITING AND …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows. '
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

"Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the Flesh,"
Rom. viii. 4, 5.--"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh," &c. If there were nothing else to engage our hearts to religion, I think this might do it, that there is so much reason in it. Truly it is the most rational thing in the world, except some revealed mysteries of faith, which are far above reason, but not contrary to it. There is nothing besides in it, but that which is the purest reason. Even that part of it which is most difficult to man, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Some General Uses from this Useful Truth, that Christ is the Truth.
Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak of the way of believers making use of him as the truth, in several cases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But ere we come to the particulars, we shall first propose some general uses of this useful point. First. This point of truth serveth to discover unto us, the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth; and oh, if it were believed! For, 1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Christian Faith
Scripture references: Hebrews 11; Matthew 9:29; 17:20; Mark 10:52; 11:22; Acts 2:38; 3:16; 10:43; 16:30,31; Romans 1:17; 5:1; 10:17; Galatians 2:20. FAITH AND PRACTICE Belief Controls Action.--"As the man is, so is his strength" (Judges 8:21), "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:28,29). "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The Scriptures place stress upon the fact that …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Acceptable Sacrifice;
OR, THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART: SHOWING THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND PROPER EFFECTS OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT. BEING THE LAST WORKS OF THAT EMINENT PREACHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST, MR. JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. WITH A PREFACE PREFIXED THEREUNTO BY AN EMINENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN LONDON. London: Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The very excellent preface to this treatise, written by George Cokayn, will inform the reader of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel T here is a species of the sublime in writing, which seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim. Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious selection of epithets …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2