Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. Sermons
I. LIFE UNDER THE IMAGE OF A PATH. It is a leading biblical image. There is much suggestion in it. 1. Life, like a path, has a starting point, a direction, and an end. 2. We have a choice of paths before us. The high road may image holy tradition and custom, the bypaths the choice of caprice or personal aberration. 3. It is only safe to follow beaten tracks. What we call "striking out an original course" may be conceited folly. "Gangin' our ain gait" is a dubious expression. 4. The selection of the path must be determined by whither we desire to arrive. 5. We are ever drawing near to some end. It alone can disclose the prudence or the folly of our choice. II. THE PATH OF THE WICKED. (Vers. 14-17, 19.) 1. Religion passionately warns against it. The language of iteration is the very language of urgency and passion. What a force there is in the mere repetition of the cry, "Fire! fire! fire!" or in the warning of the mother to the little one against some dangerous object, "Don't go near it; keep away; go further off!" Just so does Divine Wisdom deal with us children of a larger growth. Again and again she clamours, "Enter not; go not; shun it; pass not over; turn away; pass by!" (vers. 14, 15). This throbbing earnestness, this emotion of the Bible, gives it its hold on man; and should be shared by every teacher. 2. Religion describes it in powerful invective (vers. 16, 17). (1) The sleepless malice of the wicked. A common figure for the intense activity of the mind. As David had a sleepless ambition to build a temple for Jehovah; as the trophies of Marathon suffered not the glory-loving Themistocles to sleep; as care, or glowing study, or eager planning, breaks our nightly rest; - so the evil have no repose from their dark cupidities and pernicious schemes. (2) They are nourished by evil (ver. 17). To "eat bread and drink wine" is a Hebrew metaphor for living (Amos 2:8; Amos 7:12). In a similar way, the "bread of misery" and the "wine of punishment" are spoken of (Deuteronomy 16:3; Psalm 127:2; Amos 2:8). They live upon villainy, as we might say. It is the root of their being. It is horrible, but true, that a man may, as it were, draw life and energy out of a perverted consciousness, as the drunkard cannot live without the alcohol which is killing him. III. THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS. (Ver. 18.) There is a change of figure; for the image of the path, the image of the advancing light of morning is substituted. 1. Light as an image of moral goodness. It is universal, Suggests itself to and strikes the fancy of all It associates with it the images of beauty, of joy, of expansion, of futurity, of infinity. 2. The growth of light from dawn to noon as an image of moral progress. This is true of knowledge and of practice. The good man travels out of dimmer perceptions and out of doubts, into clear convictions of reason. At first he realizes little; his will is weak and untrained. But keeping his eyes upon the ideal of the good, true, and beautiful, he embodies more and more of it in conduct. As the sun rests not (to speak and think in the dialect of poetry) till it "stands" (see the Hebrew) in high noon, so the righteous is ever advancing towards the goal of a life in perfect unity with God. 3. The safety of the light is an image of the course of the righteous. Translated into distinctively Christian thought, this is following Christ (John 11:9, 10). 4. The image serves to throw into contrast the course of the wicked. "Thick darkness" represents their mind and way. It is ignorant, full of peril, yet they are unconscious of it. Instead of growth and progress, their doom is sudden extinction (comp. Proverbs 1:27, sqq.; Proverbs 2:18, 22; 3:35). - J. Avoid it. Christian Observer. The same decision of character which men evidence in their worldly affairs is necessary also in the affairs of eternity. The duty here enjoined is one by no means pleasing to the natural mind, and cannot possibly be softened down to suit the taste of the worldly man. It depends not upon our inclination, but upon the command of God. Our salvation is at stake. I. WHAT SOCIETY WE ARE TO AVOID. Now here there can be no difficulty with regard to persons of openly immoral lives, whose society none but persons like themselves can possibly approve. Again, the case of those who boldly deny religion, or are attempting to make converts to their own infidel opinions, is equally clear. But, doubtless, the maxim goes much further; so that we ought to shun the ways, not of these more notorious characters only, but in general the ways of all who do not love and fear God. These persons may be differently divided, and may have various shades of virtue and vice amongst them. A cold-hearted formalist, an inconsistent professor of religion, a man who knows what is right and Scriptural, but has no true feeling of piety in his soul, is a dangerous companion for him who would walk humbly with his God. Shall we, it may be said, go out of the world and forsake even our friends and connections in life because they may not be religious? II. HOW FAR THE SOCIETY OF THOSE WHO DO NOT LOVE AND FEAR GOD IS TO BE AVOIDED. Now here we cannot as Christians hesitate to admit that if it could be proved that the Word of God required absolute and unceasing seclusion from all who are not partakers of true religion, it would be our duty to obey the command. But it is not necessary, or indeed Scriptural, to suppose that this separation from all worldly things and persons is thus entire and absolute, for then, as the apostle argues, we must needs go out of the world. We may lawfully have commerce and transact our daily affairs with various persons who are not partakers of true religion. Neither, again, must we forsake the professing Church of Christ merely because many hypocrites and false members are to be found connected with it. In this world the tares and the wheat must thus grow together, and to try completely to separate them would be a vain attempt. Nor, still further, are we so to forsake the society of men as to prevent our labouring for their salvation. We may converse with sinners for their good. What we are then to avoid is unnecessary familiarity with sinners and a disposition to comply with their sins. When David would describe "a blessed man," he speaks of him as not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful. If our intercourse with men be so conducted as to weaken our affections towards God, destroy the tenderness of our conscience, make us forget or neglect our souls, or unfit us for prayer and communion with our Maker, we may be assured we have transgressed the Scriptural limit. III. But it may be asked, WHY, AFTER ALL, IS THE PATH OF SINNERS TO BE THUS CAREFULLY AVOIDED? Why should Solomon so multiply his cautions — "Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away"? What is the real danger? The duty under consideration ought to be attended to, both for our own sake and for that of others. Let us suppose, then, that a person is really in earnest respecting his salvation, and let us examine what will be the effect of his neglecting the duty in question. Alas, how hard will he find it to preserve the true spirit of religion in the midst of worldly society! Evil example will gradually prevail. The conversation of the wicked has far more power to corrupt the righteous than the conversation of the righteous to amend the wicked; just as it is much easier for the healthy to become diseased by communication with the sick than for the sick to be restored by communication with the healthy. One reason why the society of those who are not truly religious will be a great hindrance to the Christian is that if he will not give up the dictates of his conscience he must expect to meet with the scoffs of men. There would be less danger to the Christian in mixing with sinners if it were not that they are always ready to entice him to their evil ways. Good men, it is to be lamented, are not usually as anxious to bring their companions to the knowledge and practice of true religion as bad men often are to tempt the good to wander from it. Many a person, after feeling his heart impressed with the things belonging to his eternal peace, has been fatally ruined by mixing with those who viewed his religion with suspicion or contempt, and were desirous to make him forget the sacred impression. Besides, if we truly desire to serve God, the company of the wicked will be offensive to us. But the strongest reason for obeying the command in the text is that our salvation is endangered by the society of the wicked. The man of wisdom hath taught us, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." () A noble ship, with British colours flying was making its way across the ocean on a summer afternoon. Yet the face of the pilot wore an expression of deep anxiety, and he cast many uneasy glances in one direction, while steadily steering the opposite way. The captain came up to him with a pale and anxious countenance. "Surely we must now be safe?" "It is best to err on the right side. We can easily get too near, but we can hardly keep at too great a distance." What was this mysterious peril? It was a whirlpool, one of those deceitful eddies which, once approached, will draw the finest vessel irresistibly into certain destruction. There are worse whirlpools on land than those of the ocean. There are sins which, if you once come within their influence, are almost sure to drag you into their vortex of ruin. Is not drunkenness one of these? Is not gambling one of these? Is not dishonesty one of these? Sins of every kind have something of this fatal fascination, but some more than others. Keep at a distance from the path of the destroyer. ()
People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Aside, Avoid, Pass, Travel, TurnOutline 1. persuades to wisdom
14. and to show wickedness
20. He exhorts to sanctification
Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 4:14-16 5537 sleeplessness Library Monotony and Crises
'When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.'--PROVERBS iv. 12. The old metaphor likening life to a path has many felicities in it. It suggests constant change, it suggests continuous progress in one direction, and that all our days are linked together, and are not isolated fragments; and it suggests an aim and an end. So we find it perpetually in this Book of Proverbs. Here the 'way' has a specific designation, 'the way of Wisdom'--that is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureFrom 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 Links Proverbs 4:15 NIV
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