Proverbs 23:26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
My son
This phrase is a tender and intimate address, often used in the wisdom literature of the Bible, particularly in Proverbs. It reflects the relationship between a father and his child, symbolizing not only a biological connection but also a spiritual and instructional bond. In Hebrew, "ben" (בֵּן) is used, which can mean son, grandson, or even a member of a group. This term emphasizes the importance of the familial and covenantal relationship that God desires with His people, akin to a father guiding his child in the ways of wisdom and righteousness.

give me your heart
The heart, or "lev" (לֵב) in Hebrew, is considered the center of one's being in biblical thought. It encompasses not just emotions but also the mind, will, and inner life. To "give your heart" is to offer one's entire self, including thoughts, desires, and decisions, to God. This phrase calls for a complete and sincere devotion, urging believers to prioritize their relationship with God above all else. It is a call to surrender and trust, recognizing that true wisdom and life are found in aligning one's heart with God's will.

and let your eyes delight
The eyes are often seen as the windows to the soul, and in biblical literature, they represent perception, focus, and desire. The Hebrew word "ayin" (עַיִן) is used for eyes, and it signifies not just physical sight but also spiritual insight and understanding. To let one's eyes "delight" suggests finding joy and satisfaction in what one sees and perceives. This phrase encourages believers to focus their attention and desires on what is good, pure, and aligned with God's truth, finding joy in His guidance and commandments.

in my ways
The "ways" refer to the paths or courses of life that are in accordance with God's wisdom and commandments. The Hebrew word "derek" (דֶּרֶךְ) is used, which means way, road, or journey. This term implies a manner of living that is consistent with God's character and purposes. The call to delight in God's ways is an invitation to walk in obedience and righteousness, finding fulfillment and purpose in living according to His divine plan. It is a reminder that God's ways are higher and lead to life, peace, and blessing.

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 wrote Proverbs to impart wisdom and understanding.

2. The Father
In this verse, the speaker is often understood as a father figure, possibly Solomon himself, who is imparting wisdom to his son. This can also be seen as God speaking to His children.

3. The Son
Represents the recipient of wisdom, often seen as a young person or a disciple who is learning and growing in understanding.

4. The Heart
In Hebrew culture, the heart ("lev") is the center of one's inner life, encompassing emotions, will, and intellect.

5. The Ways
Refers to the paths or lifestyle that align with wisdom and righteousness, which are pleasing to God.
Teaching Points
Wholehearted Devotion
The call to "give me your heart" emphasizes the importance of complete and undivided devotion to God. It is a call to prioritize God above all else in our lives.

Delighting in God's Ways
To "let your eyes delight in my ways" suggests finding joy and satisfaction in living according to God's wisdom and commandments. It is about aligning our desires with God's will.

The Heart as the Center
Understanding that the heart is the center of our being, we must guard it and ensure it is aligned with God's purposes. This involves regular self-examination and repentance.

The Role of Discipline
Proverbs often speaks of discipline as a means to wisdom. Giving our heart to God involves submitting to His discipline and guidance.

Intergenerational Wisdom
The father-son dynamic in Proverbs highlights the importance of passing down wisdom and values from one generation to the next, emphasizing the role of mentorship and discipleship.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to "give your heart" to God, and how can you practically do this in your daily life?

2. How can you ensure that your eyes "delight in God's ways"? What practices can help you align your desires with God's will?

3. In what ways does the concept of the heart in Hebrew culture challenge or affirm your understanding of your inner life and relationship with God?

4. How can you apply the principle of intergenerational wisdom in your family or community? What steps can you take to mentor or be mentored?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced joy in following God's ways. How can this experience encourage you to continue seeking His wisdom?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:5
This verse emphasizes loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength, which aligns with the call to give one's heart fully to God.

Matthew 22:37
Jesus reiterates the greatest commandment, which is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, echoing the call for wholehearted devotion.

Psalm 119:105
The psalmist speaks of God's word as a lamp to the feet and a light to the path, connecting to the idea of delighting in God's ways.
A Gift God Asks C. A. Salmond, M.A.Proverbs 23:26
Characteristics of a Great LoveW. H. H. Murray.Proverbs 23:26
First Give the Heart to God, and Then Delight Will FollowT. Christlieb, D.D.Proverbs 23:26
Giving the HeartHomilistProverbs 23:26
Giving the Heart to God a Reasonable DutyN. Emmons, D.D.Proverbs 23:26
God Requires the HeartT. Hannam.Proverbs 23:26
God's Appeal to ManJ. O. Griffiths.Proverbs 23:26
God's Request and Man's DutyFrancis Tucker, B.A.Proverbs 23:26
Heart in ReligionHomilistProverbs 23:26
ObservationChurch of England MagazineProverbs 23:26
On Giving the Heart to GodMiles Jackson.Proverbs 23:26
The Divine RequestR. Treffry.Proverbs 23:26
The Divine RequisitionJ. Summerfield, M.A.Proverbs 23:26
The Gift for GodR. Newton, D.D.Proverbs 23:26
The Gift of the HeartA. Mursell.Proverbs 23:26
The Gift of the Heart to GodHenry Wonnacott.Proverbs 23:26
The Heart a Gift for GodProverbs 23:26
The Heart for GodH. Smith.Proverbs 23:26
The Heart Given to GodChristian ObserverProverbs 23:26
The Heart: a Gift for GodC.H. Spurgeon Proverbs 23:26
The Hearts of Young People Demanded for GodJohn Oakes.Proverbs 23:26
The Surrender of the Heart to GodJohn Grose, M.A.Proverbs 23:26
The Surrender of the Heart to GodDaniel Moore, M.A.Proverbs 23:26
The Harlot's True CharacterE. Johnson Proverbs 23:26-28
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Delight, Heart, Observe, Watch
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 23:26

     6745   sanctification, nature and basis
     8435   giving, of oneself

Proverbs 23:26-27

     6239   prostitution

Proverbs 23:26-28

     4841   narrowness

Library
A Condensed Guide for Life
'My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. 17. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but 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. 19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 20. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

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

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