◄ Proverbs 22:19 ►
So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today--yes, you.
Study Bible
So that your trust may be in the LORD
This phrase emphasizes the ultimate goal of the teachings in Proverbs: to foster a deep and abiding trust in God. Trust in the LORD is a central theme throughout the Bible, seen in passages like Psalm 37:3-5 and Proverbs 3:5-6. In the historical context of ancient Israel, trust in God was crucial for navigating the challenges of life, including threats from surrounding nations and internal moral decay. The LORD, Yahweh, is the covenant name of God, reminding the reader of His faithfulness and the promises made to the patriarchs. This trust is not merely intellectual assent but involves a relational reliance on God's character and promises.

I instruct you today
The immediacy of "today" underscores the urgency and relevance of the instruction. Wisdom in Proverbs is often portrayed as a present need, not something to be deferred. The use of "I instruct" suggests a personal and direct communication, akin to a father teaching a son, which is a common motif in Proverbs (e.g., Proverbs 1:8, 4:1). This reflects the cultural practice of oral teaching and the importance of passing down wisdom through generations. The instruction is meant to be practical and applicable to daily life, aligning with the biblical principle that God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

yes, you
The emphasis on "you" personalizes the message, making it clear that the instruction is not just for a general audience but for each individual reader or listener. This personal address is a rhetorical device used throughout Scripture to engage the audience directly, as seen in Deuteronomy 30:19-20, where Moses calls the Israelites to choose life. It highlights the personal responsibility each person has in responding to God's wisdom. In a broader theological sense, it points to the personal relationship God desires with each believer, a theme fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, who calls His followers individually by name (John 10:3).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Solomon
Traditionally attributed as the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. He compiled these sayings to impart wisdom and understanding.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing His eternal presence and faithfulness to His people.

3. The Audience
The original audience would have been the Israelites, but the teachings are applicable to all believers seeking wisdom and understanding.
Teaching Points
Trust in the LORD
The primary purpose of the instruction in Proverbs is to cultivate trust in the LORD. This trust is not passive but involves active reliance on God's wisdom and guidance.

The Importance of Instruction
The verse highlights the necessity of receiving and heeding instruction. Wisdom is not innate but must be taught and learned through diligent study and application.

Daily Commitment
The phrase "I instruct you today" emphasizes the need for daily engagement with God's Word. Trust in the LORD is a daily decision and commitment.

Personal Application
The use of "you" makes the instruction personal. Each believer is called to internalize and apply these teachings in their own life.

Rooted in Relationship
Trust in the LORD is rooted in a personal relationship with Him. This relationship is nurtured through prayer, study of Scripture, and obedience.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does trusting in the LORD change the way you approach daily decisions and challenges?

2. In what ways can you actively seek and apply God's instruction in your life today?

3. Reflect on a time when trusting in the LORD brought peace or clarity to a difficult situation. How can this experience encourage you in your current circumstances?

4. How do the additional scriptures (Psalm 37:3-5, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Proverbs 3:5-6) deepen your understanding of what it means to trust in the LORD?

5. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your trust in the LORD is growing and not stagnant?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 37:3-5
This passage encourages trust in the LORD and doing good, promising that He will act on behalf of those who commit their way to Him.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
These verses describe the blessedness of the person who trusts in the LORD, likening them to a tree planted by water, flourishing even in drought.

Proverbs 3:5-6
This well-known passage advises believers to trust in the LORD with all their heart and not to rely on their own understanding, promising that He will make their paths straight.
Sermons
Spiritual VeritiesD. Thomas, D.D.Proverbs 22:17-21
The Words of the Wise to be Taken to HeartE. Johnson Proverbs 22:17-21
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Caused, Clear, Confidence, Faith, Taught, Teach, To-day, Trust
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 22:19-21

     8031   trust, importance

Library
The Rich and the Poor
Chapel Royal, Whitehall, 1871. Proverbs xxii. 2. "The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all." I have been asked to preach here this afternoon on behalf of the Parochial Mission Women's Fund. I may best describe the object for which I plead, as an attempt to civilise and Christianise the women of the lower classes in the poorer districts of London and other great towns, by means of women of their own class--women, who have gone through the same struggles as they have, …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

One Lion Two Lions no Lion at All
A sermon (No. 1670) delivered on Thursday Evening, June 8th, 1882, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets."--Proverbs 22:13. "The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets."--Proverbs 26:13. This slothful man seems to cherish that one dread of his about the lions, as if it were his favorite aversion and he felt it to be too much trouble to invent another excuse. …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Formation of Habits.
School Sermon. Proverbs xxii. 6. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." INTRODUCTION.--There is a district, high up in the Black Forest, where the ground is full of springs. It is a plain some nine hundred feet above the sea. Thousands upon thousands of little springs gush out of the soil; you seem to be on the rose of a vast watering-can. Now, from this great source flow a good many rivers, and they flow in very different, nay, opposite directions. …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Philip and the Emperor
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.--Prov. xxii. 29. Kallias stayed a fortnight under the hospitable roof of Olympias, and during those days he had the pleasure of seeing how greatly his honest and genial simplicity brightened the thoughts both of his hostess and of his friend. The general outline of his own future seemed now to be approximately settled. Like Philip, he had acquired an incurable disgust for Constantinople, with …
Frederic William Farrar—Gathering Clouds: A Tale of the Days of St. Chrysostom

He Accuses Abaelard for Preferring his Own Opinions and Even Fancies to the Unanimous Consent of the Fathers, Especially Where He Declares that Christ did Not
He accuses Abaelard for preferring his own opinions and even fancies to the unanimous consent of the Fathers, especially where he declares that Christ did not become incarnate in order to save man from the power of the devil. 11. I find in a book of his sentences, and also in an exposition of his of the Epistle to the Romans, that this rash inquirer into the Divine Majesty attacks the mystery of our Redemption. He admits in the very beginning of his disputation that there has never been but one conclusion …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

"But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

We Shall not be Curious in the Ranking of the Duties in which Christian Love...
We shall not be curious in the ranking of the duties in which Christian love should exercise itself. All the commandments of the second table are but branches of it: they might be reduced all to the works of righteousness and of mercy. But truly these are interwoven through other. Though mercy uses to be restricted to the showing of compassion upon men in misery, yet there is a righteousness in that mercy, and there is mercy in the most part of the acts of righteousness, as in not judging rashly, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

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

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