2. This path, this journey, will be travelled but once — there is never a retracing of our steps.

3. A false guide, a false step, may prove eternally fatal.

4. The path is intricate, and nothing short of the utmost care, and constant watchfulness, and thorough discipline of heart and life can carry one safely through it.

(Homiletic Monthly.)

I. WE MUST BEFOREHAND ORDER ALL WELL THAT WE GO ABOUT.

1. Lest we show our folly to all men by our indiscreet actions.

2. Lest we run ourselves into danger.

3. Because our actions are dangerous as well as our thoughts, looks, and words; and these were all to be ordered. Bring all your actions to the touchstone before you do them. Weigh them in a just balance.

II. THE MEANEST MEMBERS OF THE BODY MUST BE WELL-ORDERED. The foot is lowest, yet must not be left at liberty to go where it will.

1. Because the meanest members are of necessary use.

2. Because they, being disordered, bring much hurt.

III. ENDEAVOUR TO ACT SURELY IN WHAT YOU DO. Show your wisdom by your sure and just acting according to God's Word, and it will stand.

(Francis Taylor, B.D.)

I. EXPLAIN THE PRECEPT OF THE TEXT: "Ponder the path of thy feet." This includes —

1. A serious inquiry — into our past conduct, i.e., of the general tenor of our conduct; whether it has been agreeable to our character as men and as Christians, agreeable to the dictates of right reason, and the precepts of the gospel.

2. A diligent examination of the motives of our conduct, and the principal ends we have pursued in life; whether they are those which religion points out, or those which are recommended by the example of the world around us. Let us particularly attend to the state of our mind. Our chief motive is to be the "glory of God." This motive is of all others the most extensive, and where it has its due place in the mind, will prove the most effectual means of regulating the conduct.

3. Considering attentively what our ruling passion is, and what influence it has had in determining our conduct. Every man has something peculiar in the make or constitution of his mind, which inclines him more strongly to some pursuits than to others, and which consequently lays him more open to temptation from that quarter than from any other.

4. A diligent inquiry into the present temper and state of our minds; the settled purpose and resolution of the mind, the prevailing bent of the will and affections. In what light does sin appear to us? What are our sentiments of the law of God? How do we stand affected towards the great objects of faith?

5. The examination recommended in the text must be accompanied with a sincere resolution and a correspondent endeavour by Divine assistance to reform the errors of our past life, and to make continual advances in virtue and goodness.

II. THE ADVANTAGES THAT WILL ATTEND THE PRACTICE OF IT. Steadiness and uniformity of conduct is the result of habitual consideration and reflection.

1. This will be a probable means of securing us from all fatal errors and miscarriages, or of restoring us to the path of duty, if we have wandered from it.

2. The habit of reflection will confirm and strengthen the mind, and enable us to make continual advances in holiness.

III. SOME DIRECTIONS THAT MAY ASSIST US IN THE PERFORMANCE OF WHAT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED.

1. Set yourself as in the presence of God.

2. Implore the Divine direction and assistance.

3. Be upon your guard against the deceitfulness of your own hearts, while you are conversing with them.

4. Fear not to know the worst of your case.

5. Pursue the inquiry till you have brought it to some conclusion, and faithfully observe and comply with the admonitions which conscience may give you.

6. Frequently renew the exercise of self-examination according to the directions laid down. Improvement —

1. See the great end we should propose to ourselves by this self-inquiry.

2. The great importance of self-examination to the Christian life.

(R. Clark.)

1. Has it been the way of evil?

2. Have we visited Calvary?

3. Has it been a path of usefulness?

II. PONDER THE PORTION OF THE PATH WHICH WE ARE NOW TREADING.

1. Is it lawful ground?

2. Are we following the footprints of Jesus? These are found, and found only, in heavenly paths.

3. Is there a light shining upon the road? "The way of the wicked is as darkness," because it is their own evil, dismal, unhappy, and dangerous way; but the path of the justified is that of increasing holiness and joy.

III. PONDER THAT PORTION OF OUR PATH WHICH WE HAVE YET TO TREAD.

1. It is beset with snares and dangers.

2. It passes through the valley and shadow of death. There is now no other way to immortality.

3. It leads either to heaven or to hell.

(The Congregational Pulpit.)

II. WE OUGHT TO PONDER OUR STEPS IN REGARD TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH ACCOMPANY THEM. An action, good or innocent in itself, may become criminal in certain circumstances. This maxim is a clue to many cases of conscience in which we choose to blind ourselves. We obstinately consider our actions in a certain abstracted light, and do not attend to circumstances which change the nature of the action.

III. WE OUGHT TO EXAMINE THE MANNERS THAT ACCOMPANY OUR WAYS. Actions, good in themselves, become criminal when they are not performed with proper dispositions.

II. AN ACTION, GOOD IN ITSELF, MAY BECOME CRIMINAL BY BEING EXTENDED BEYOND ITS PROPER LIMITS. "Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself overwise."

1. In regard to the mysteries of religion.

2. In regard to charity.

3. In regard to closet devotion; in regard to distrusting yourselves and fearing the judgments of God.

V. AN ACTION, GOOD WHEN IT IS PERFORMED BY A MAN ARRIVED AT A CERTAIN DEGREE OF HOLINESS, BECOMES CRIMINAL WHEN IT IS DONE BY HIM WHO HATH ONLY AN INFERIOR DEGREE. If we wish our ways to be established, let us weigh them with the different judgments which we ourselves form concerning them. Set the judgment which we shall one day form of them against that which we now form. In order to obey the precept of the wise man, we should collect our thoughts every morning, and never begin a day without a cool examination of the whole business of it.

(James Saurin.)

     6030   sin, avoidance

Proverbs 4:26-27

     5151   feet

From Dawn to Noon
'The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'--PROVERBS iv. 18. 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.--MATT. xiii. 43. The metaphor common to both these texts is not infrequent throughout Scripture. In one of the oldest parts of the Old Testament, Deborah's triumphal song, we find, 'Let all them that love Thee be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.' In one of the latest parts of the Old Testament, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Keeping and Kept
'Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.'--PROVERBS iv. 23. 'Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.'--1 PETER 1. 5. The former of these texts imposes a stringent duty, the latter promises divine help to perform it. The relation between them is that between the Law and the Gospel. The Law commands, the Gospel gives power to obey. The Law pays no attention to man's weakness, and points no finger to the source of strength. Its office is to set clearly …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Two Paths
'Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16. For they sleep not, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Curiosity a Temptation to Sin.
"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."--Proverbs iv. 14, 15. The chief cause of the wickedness which is every where seen in the world, and in which, alas! each of us has more or less his share, is our curiosity to have some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the pleasures of sin are like. I believe it is even thought unmanly by many persons (though they may not like to say …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Hold Fast
A sermon (No. 1418) delivered on Lord's Day morning, June 9th, 1878, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life."----Proverbs 4:13. Faith may be well described as taking hold upon divine instruction. God has condescended to teach us, and it is ours to hear with attention and receive his words; and while we are hearing faith comes, even that faith which saves the soul. To take "fast hold" is an exhortation …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Great Reservoir
A sermon (No. 179) delivered on Sabbath morning, February 21, 1858 At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."--Proverbs 4:23. If I should vainly attempt to fashion my discourse after lofty models, I should this morning compare the human heart to the ancient city of Thebes, out of whose hundred gates multitudes of warriors were wont to march. As was the city, such were her armies, as was her inward strength, …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Eyes Right
A sermon (No. 2058) by C. H. Spurgeon "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."----Proverbs 4:25. These words occur in a passage wherein the wise man exhorts us to take care of all parts of our nature, which he indicates by members of the body. "Keep thy heart," says he "with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Aggravated Guilt of Him who Delivered Christ to Pilate.
"Then saith Pilate unto him, 'Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?' Jesus answered, 'Thou couldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.'" Judea was conquered by the Romans and reduced to a province of their empire, before Christ suffered for the sins of men. When the Jews conspired his death, Pilate was governor of that province. The …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

The Great Reservoir
You have seen the great reservoirs provided by our water companies, in which the water which is to supply hundreds of streets and thousands of houses is kept. Now, the heart is just the reservoir of man, and our life is allowed to flow in its proper season. That life may flow through different pipes--the mouth, the hand, the eye; but still all the issues of hand, of eye, of lip, derive their source from the great fountain and central reservoir, the heart; and hence there is no difficulty in showing …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Last Journey and Death, 1858 --Concluding Remarks.
We are now arrived at the closing scene of John Yeardley's labors. The impression which he had received, during his visit to Turkey in 1853, of the opening for the work of the Gospel in the Eastern countries, had never been obliterated; it had rather grown deeper with time, although his ability to accomplish such an undertaking had proportionately diminished. This consideration, however, could not satisfy his awakened sympathies, and, according to his apprehension, no other course remained for him …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Epistle cxx. To Claudius in Spain .
To Claudius in Spain [78] . Gregory to Claudius, &c. The renown of good deeds being fragrant after the manner of ointment, the odour of your glory has extended from the Western parts as far as here. Besprinkled by the sweetness of which breath of air, I declare that I greatly loved one whom I knew not, and within the bosom of my heart seized thee with the hand of love; nor did I love without already knowing him to be one whose good qualities I had learnt. For of him who is known to me by great …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Twenty-Fourth Day. Firmness in Temptation.
"Jesus saith unto him, Get thee hence, Satan."--Matt. iv. 10. There is an awful intensity of meaning in the words, as applied to Jesus, "He suffered, being tempted!" Though incapable of sin, there was, in the refined sensibilities of His holy nature, that which made temptation unspeakably fearful. What must it have been to confront the Arch-traitor?--to stand face to face with the foe of His throne, and His universe? But the "prince of this world" came, and found "nothing in Him." Billow after …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Notes on the Fourth Century
Page 238. Med. 1. In the wording of this meditation, and of several other passages in the Fourth Century, it seems as though Traherne is speaking not of himself, but of, a friend and teacher of his. He did this, no doubt, in order that he might not lay himself open to the charge of over-egotism. Yet that he is throughout relating his own experiences is proved by the fact that this Meditation, as first written, contains passages which the author afterwards marked for omission. In its original form …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Truth Hidden when not Sought After.
"They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."--2 Tim. iv. 4. From these words of the blessed Apostle, written shortly before he suffered martyrdom, we learn, that there is such a thing as religious truth, and therefore there is such a thing as religious error. We learn that religious truth is one--and therefore that all views of religion but one are wrong. And we learn, moreover, that so it was to be (for his words are a prophecy) that professed Christians, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
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

"Be Ye Therefore Sober, and Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." We now come to consider the coherence and connexion these duties have one to another. First, Prayer is the principal part of the Christian's employment, and sobriety and watchfulness are subordinate to it. "Be sober, and watch unto prayer." (1.) Prayer is such a tender thing that there is necessity of dieting the spirit unto it. That prayer may be in good health, a man must keep a diet and be sober, sobriety conduces so much to its …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

An Appendix to the Beatitudes
His commandments are not grievous 1 John 5:3 You have seen what Christ calls for poverty of spirit, pureness of heart, meekness, mercifulness, cheerfulness in suffering persecution, etc. Now that none may hesitate or be troubled at these commands of Christ, I thought good (as a closure to the former discourse) to take off the surmises and prejudices in men's spirits by this sweet, mollifying Scripture, His commandments are not grievous.' The censuring world objects against religion that it is difficult …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament