I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly." Sermons
Proverbs 5:11 (first clause) What multitudes of men and women have there been who, on beds of pain, or in homes of poverty, or under strong spiritual apprehension, have "mourned at the last"! After tasting and "enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season," they have found that iniquity must meet its doom, and they have "mourned at the last." Sin makes fair promises, but breaks its word. It owns that there is a debt due for guilty pleasure, but it hints that it will not send in the bill for many years; - perhaps never: but that account has to be settled, and they who persist in sinful indulgence will find, when it is too late, that they have to "mourn at the last." This is true of - I. SLOTHFULNESS. Very pleasant to be idling when others are busy, to be following the bent of our own fancy, dallying with the passing hours, amusing ourselves the whole day long, the whole year through; but there is retribution for wasted hours, for misspent youth, for negligent and idle manhood, to be endured further on; there is self-reproach, condemnation of the good and wise, an ill-regulated mind, straitened means if not poverty, - mourning at the last. II. INTEMPERANCE. Very tempting may be the jovial feast, very fascinating the sparkling cup, Very inviting the hilarity of the festive circle; but there is the end of it all to be taken into account, not only tomorrow's pain or lassitude, but the forfeiture of esteem, the weakening of the soul's capacity for pure enjoyment, the depravation of the taste, the encircling round the spirit of those cruel fetters which "at the last" hold it in cruel bondage. III. LASCIVIOUSNESS. (See previous homily.) IV. WORLDLINESS. There is a strong temptation presented to men to throw themselves into, so as to be absorbed by, the affairs of time and sense - business, politics, literature, art, one or other of the various amusements which entertain and gratify. This inordinate, excessive, unqualified devotion to any earthly pursuit, while it is to be distinguished from abandonment to forbidden pleasure, is yet wrong and ruinous. It is wrong, for it leaves out of reckoning the supreme obligation - that which we owe to him in whom we live and move and have our being, and who has redeemed us with his own blood. It is ruinous, for it leaves us (1) without the heritage we were meant to have, and may have, in God, in Jesus Christ and his blessed service and salvation; (2) unprepared for the other and larger life which is so near to us, and to which we approach by every step we take. However pleasant be the pursuits we engage in or the prizes we win, we shall wake one day from our dream with shame and fear; we shall "mourn at the last." - C.
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers. The Evangelist. Can any state be more distressing than that of an individual who has enjoyed the best opportunities of securing his own happiness and promoting that of others, totally failing in both these, and becoming the subject of bitter self-reproach?I. THERE IS THE ADMISSION OF HAVING HAD THE GREAT ADVANTAGE OF TEACHERS. There are scarcely any but have had some very considerable advantages and means of religious instruction. They involve you all in a serious responsibility to God and your own conscience. 1. The best, purest, most commanding instruction in the Bible. 2. The living voice of teachers, either parents or ministers, or kind friends in schools. 3. The Spirit of God unfolding the truth to your understanding and conscience; striving with your heart, and inwardly calling you to seek those things which belong to your peace. II. THERE IS AN IMPLIED CONNECTION BETWEEN INSTRUCTION AND OBEDIENCE. The text admits the obligation resulting from such advantages. "I ought to have obeyed, but I have not." 1. You are bound to obey the good instruction you have received, because it is clearly the will of God, the Being who is above all, and who holds you amenable at His tribunal. 2. By the tender and unspeakable love of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, who came forth from His Father, and became the Redeemer of men by the sacrifice of Himself. 3. By a regard to your own highest interests. Obeying the Divine precepts is the only way to secure your own peace of mind, your joy through life, your hope in death, and your immortal felicity after death. 4. By a regard to the interests of others to whom you may be related in this life. You have social relations, duties, and obligations which you ought to regard, and cannot neglect without great criminality. You ought to become yourselves, and endeavour to make them, such as God would have us all to be. 5. By the obligation which arises from your final accountableness at the bar of judgment. III. THERE IS A CONFESSION THAT INSTRUCTION HAD NOT BEEN OBEYED. This text does not express the case of those who have only partially, or in some respects, failed of obedience, but have in the main been mindful of the instruction they have received. It is applied to those who have failed altogether, and in the general habits of their mind and life have disregarded the great and holy principles inculcated upon them in early life. Some of the causes of this failure are — 1. There is in our own hearts a disinclination to serve God, and an aversion to the Divine precepts. 2. There are innumerable and incessant temptations to forsake the guide of our youth. 3. There will be a direct and powerful influence of the worst kind exerted over those who give themselves to evil companions. IV. THERE IS AN EXPRESSION OF PENITENTIAL REGRET FOR DISOBEDIENCE. The text seems to be the language of remorse. 1. A perception that our misery has resulted from wilful disobedience, not from ignorance. 2. The feeling that this disobedience has been maintained against light and knowledge. 3. The consciousness that you once possessed all the means necessary to promote your happiness and secure your salvation. (The Evangelist.) People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Almost, Assembled, Assembly, Brink, Company, Congregation, Evil, Gathered, Midst, Nigh, Point, Ruin, Utter, Well-nighOutline 1. Solomon exhorts to wisdom3. He shows the mischief of unfaithfulness and riot 15. He exhorts to contentedness, generosity, and chastity 22. The wicked are overtaken with their own sins Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 5:1-14Library The Cords of Sin'His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.'--PROVERBS v. 22. In Hosea's tender picture of the divine training of Israel which, alas! failed of its effect, we read, 'I drew them with cords of a man,' which is further explained as being 'with bands of love.' The metaphor in the prophet's mind is probably that of a child being 'taught to go' and upheld in its first tottering steps by leading-strings. God drew Israel, though Israel did not yield … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Last Things Sinners Bound with the Cords of Sin Sinners Bound with the Cords of Sin How the Silent and the Talkative are to be Admonished. How the Rude in Sacred Learning, and those who are Learned but not Humble, are to be Admonished. Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity Paul's Thanks and Prayers for Churches. "The Truth. " Some Generals Proposed. Thirdly, for Thy Actions. The Right Understanding of the Law Second Great Group of Parables. Proverbs Links Proverbs 5:14 NIVProverbs 5:14 NLT Proverbs 5:14 ESV Proverbs 5:14 NASB Proverbs 5:14 KJV Proverbs 5:14 Bible Apps Proverbs 5:14 Parallel Proverbs 5:14 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 5:14 Chinese Bible Proverbs 5:14 French Bible Proverbs 5:14 German Bible Proverbs 5:14 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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