Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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Like to turn first of all the first kings and the third chapter First kings chapter 3.
Verse five. And Gideon the Lord appeared to Solomon, and agreed by night. God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou assured unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy, according as he walked before the untruth, and in righteousness, and in that brightness apart with thee, and thou except for him, this great kindness.
Thou has given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king.
Instead of David, my father and I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or come in, and thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which thou hast chosen are great people, which cannot be numbered for multitude that were counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil.
Who is able to judge this by great so I so great a people?
And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. Then in Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 6, Randall, as a child is born unto us, a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called. Wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.
On the throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this notice one board I'd like you to turn over to Proverbs chapter one verse one the proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. You know wisdom and instruction to perceive the words of understanding.
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity.
They give stability to the simple and to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels to understand the proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
That fools despise wisdom and instruction, my son. Hear the instruction of life, father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
They shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains above thy neck.
Thy son of sinners in pasty consent thou not.
Well, I know this is addressed to the young people, but I was thinking of these verses that follow show how when Solomon is going to come to the throne in Israel, he asked the Lord that he would give him wisdom. You know, the young people, you're growing up, you're entering a world that's full of all kinds of tangles, full of all kinds of questions. You have to make decisions every day and how important it is that God has left us.
To ourselves, he has left us just to say, well, I think this is the best thing to do.
Well, I think that is the best thing to do. He's given us His Word, He's given us instruction in His precious Word, and above all, He's given us Himself, Himself. His name shall be called wonderful counselor of the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
May I remember reading a story about a girl and she was writing into a page in the newspaper where you can write and get your questions answered. And she was writing her question out. And she got tired and she went off to bed and I stood on her desk half done. And her older sister, who knew the Lord as their Savior, had found something of the resource she had of the Lord.
She came and saw this letter, probably written out the question that was bothering her and how what was the best answer, what she should do under these circumstances.
And she just wrote across the letter. His name shall be called wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Well, I don't think the letter was ever sent. But she turned to one who more than the person who would answer her in the daily newspaper. Because there was one who cared, One who cared so much for her soul that the Lord Jesus came down in infinite love.
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God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God loved this world. He wants the blessing of all. And we're going to see how he desires that blessing. And he wants to be the one who will be your counselor and dear young people who will guide you in the pathway of life. And you won't have to look back with a lot of regrets in the path where he leads because the path where he leads. It says for ways are ways of.
And all her paths are peace. I don't mean that there won't be trials. The Lord Jesus walked in a path to please His Father, and he had trials. But oh, how precious to know that in His blessed pathway He found joy in doing the Father's will, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and it sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
His path was the Man of Sorrows, but another way it was the Man of Joy, because he was doing his Father's will and so.
The Lord was pleased that Solomon asked that. And dear young people, I want to ask you.
As you begin to face life and make a lot of decisions on your own, have you asked the Lord to guide you and direct you that your decisions might be made according to His mind and will? We have a lot of instruction in His Word. It is true there are decisions that we don't have direct instruction in the Word. We know that one time in the life of King David.
He asked the Lord about what he should do in a certain circumstance, and the Lord told him what he should do.
And he did it, but there was not a time that he, he decided to ask the leaders of the people, the heads and the Princess and everything, and they gave their advice, but that advice was contrary to the word of God. And he followed their advice. And he got into quite a problem too. Whereas when he asked the Lord, the Lord showed him, and the Lord blessed him when he followed.
The instruction that he had given him and so.
My burden for you, dear young people, is that you might find what a wonderful resource you have in the Lord and the provision that He has made for you in a tangled world like this, because things are getting more and more complicated. Says then he shall run too. And now he's run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. And there's definitely a great deal more knowledge in this world. You can press a button and find out.
Almost anything about almost any subject, because man has.
So much as the Bible says that in the last days knowledge would be increased, but it has made people any happier. Has it increased godliness? Now the world is still full violence and corruption and many broken hearts, and some of the broken hearts are in the highest positions of this world. But you know the Lord Jesus wants to guide you. And I just like to say a little bit about these opening chapters of Proverbs.
It is very interesting that in our youth God has provided our parents.
And if you'll notice carefully, the book of Proverbs is sometimes called Heavenly wisdom for our earthly path.
I want you to notice this. Notice how the 2nd chapter begins. My son, if thou receive my words and hide my commandments from thee, from with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understand thee.
And then in the second chapter begins the same way. My son, those two words forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my statute, my commandments, for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth for safety bind them about thy neck right and upon the tables.
Of thine heart, then going down the fifth verse.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. He not wise in thine own eyes fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Who is it that's giving this instruction? Notice each chapter up until the end of Chapter 7 begins in about the same way. How? That is, it's the father and the mother who are giving instruction to the children.
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Bible says honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee. And that's not only in the Old Testament, but that is repeated in the very epistle that we've been taking up in our Bible readings. That epistle has to deal with heavenly truth, that it tells us that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. It's in that very, very book that it says.
The daughter, thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise. Now I sometimes used to tell young people.
I've never seen people, I've never seen boys and girls who didn't honor their parents, who really had the blessing of the Lord in their lives.
It's very important. That's part of the wisdom of God that he's given to us in His word. And each one of these chapters, you'll notice it begins with those words, my son, the 5th, 4th chapter here, you children, the instruction of a father. So father and mother seek to give that God the instruction. And it's nice to see what parents says in this fifth verse.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine all understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. This is part of the instruction that the parents are giving to the children.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. From time to put trust in a friend, you have confidence in him. You say that friend will never let me down. They let you down. They disappoint you, don't they? They don't fulfill that trust that you put in them. And you feel very disappointed. But I want to tell you, there's nobody loves you like your parents. They think you're good at them. They say for that you might be blessed and that you might.
Have the blessing of the Lord in your life. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Be not unto thine own understanding In all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct bypass. He wants to direct our paths over and over again. We read through the Bible and we see when God be kings turn to the Lord in their times of trouble.
Maybe to be a great host, come against them and they felt absolutely powerless out of handle us at all.
But when I turn to the Lord, how remarkably he came in, how he delivered them in a wonderful way, because God is still the same today. He's still able to do more than we can ask or think You'd say to any Christian, an older person who stopped to walk in the ways of the Lord, have you found the Lord faithful? They'll say, yes, he's been faithful. I've often been unfaithful.
And often failed. But he never has. He never has our faithful unchangeable.
Friend. And then come to the 4th chapter again. Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father.
I give you a good doctrine, and forsake you not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother taught me also and seven to be Let thy thine eye, then heart return. Retain my words, keep my commandments, and live.
Then I'd like you to notice in that particular chapter in the 23rd verse, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
Keep thy heart with all diligence, Mr. Harvey's translation is keep thy heart about everything that's guarded. You know, you guard your possessions, you guard your friends. You don't want to lose them. Keep your own heart. Be careful. Our brother was talking about this morning when your heart goes out to these unfamiliar star, accomplishing something that makes you great in this world.
But what they're all going to amount to in the end, it's all forgotten, one great statesman said.
So how does the powers of glory be? But the grave that was all he saw that all ended at the grave. But you know, if you do 1 little thing, even giving a cup of cold water. And what does I think more wonderful still that I read in Malachi. But God has a book of remembrance where He keeps a record of every thought upon his name. Sometimes as we travel a boat, some of our friends, they have a.
Book that we write our names in because we've enjoyed the visit in their home and we're happy to put our names down.
Be thankful for their kind and loving hospitality. But they don't know when we think about them. They know when we're there, of course, but they don't know when we think about them. But God knows when you think about it. And he has a vote of remembrance where he keeps even the times that you think about him. Keep thy heart with all diligence above everything, scarred of it, guarded. For out of it are the issues of life. We go after the things that we love.
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A little money we're going to go after. We don't support, we're going to go after.
Friends are going to go after it, but some people have a love of friends. You may be in a place. How about for Isaac? She brought up in a place where he didn't have friends of his own age and he came to the marriage age and it was pretty difficult for him.
But the Father had made an arrangement and through the servant, the picture of the Holy Spirit of God, he went into a far country. He found a partner for him, and the light of faith was preserved as God. Interested in your friends, your partner and life? Yes, he's concerned about all those things. I mean, I'll be handy right here.
And keep thy heart with all diligence. Above everything that started her out of it are the issues of life.
Then you'll notice again in this 5th chapter thy son attended by wisdom, And bow down mine ear to my understanding, that thou mayest regard discretion. My lips may keep knowledge. In the 6th chapter begins very similar. My son shall be surety, For thy friend itself has stricken thy hand with a stranger. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth.
Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this my son, and deliver thyself. When thou has come into the hand of a friend, go humble thyself and make sure thy friend here's his father telling the son you make a mistake. And we all do make mistakes. Say go and make it right. Don't just leave it, go and make it right. And of course we need to make things right with the Lord. If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from.
Righteousness. But I say to you, if you've made a mistake, no, don't give up. The Lord still loves you. There's a way back. It's his way. Yeah. Sometimes you have to humble yourself. Sometimes you have to be willing to confess your mistake. You should. The trespass offering. The man had to not only confess his mistake, but make amends for what he had done and also bring his offering to the Lord.
We need to remember these things. Our father's instructing the child, giving him help.
And in the seventh verse, 7th chapter.
He's getting a little bit Boyer boy, he's getting a little bit older, and now he's getting friends of the opposite sex. And he has to be pretty careful. My son, keep my words and lay up thy commandments with thee. And there we have the Father sail, instructing him and warning him. Isn't this lovely that God has provided this for us? And you can't be thankful enough if you have a Christian home.
Father and mother who love the Lord.
Who seek your good more than anybody else on earth. They desire your happiness and your blessing. They desire that you should honor the Lord in your walking ways. Now we come to something a little different when we come to the 8th chapter and did all the Bible presents certain pictures to us and I believe the picture that is presented here is time has come that the boy or the girl is now going to leave home.
Now they're not going to hear their father saying, well, that wouldn't be a very wise thing to do.
I wouldn't suggest you do that. That'll get you into a problem. Father's voice, Mother's voice is not there, but there is another voice. There is that one that we read about in Isaiah Chapter 9. It says unto us, a child is born. Unto us a son is given his name shall be called wonderful counselors, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
If I say the little picture here changes, the boy or the girl is leaving home now.
If I'm a hearing father say don't do that, that wouldn't be a very wise thing to do. Mother's not saying I wouldn't suggest you do that, but does not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of the high places, by the way, and the places of the past. She tries at the she crieth at the gates, at the entering of the city, at the coming in of the doors.
I think you can easily see here this picture that's presented to us.
This is the child leaving home. He's going now. There's a lot of doors in front of him. Which door is he going to go in? Which one is he going to enter? And he can't say, Well, Dad, what do you think? He's not there. Dad's not there. That's the Lord's there. The Lord is there and he cares. He numbers the very hairs of your hair. You haven't got another friend like him. A parent's love is wonderful. And I love our dear children not as much as the Lord loves them.
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The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. He's prepared a home for me in glory.
He's willing to order all my steps and the pathway of life. There isn't anything in life that doesn't concern him. He's concerned about everything that you do. And so here is this young person in the way in the places of the past, a lot of past opening up now. Which path is he going to choose? Well, there's paths as to the employment you take up.
The apostle Paul said let every man abide in the same calling where he is called with God. Are you taking up something where you can really honor the Lord? I won't tell you you're going to be happier. Dear young person, all your life you settle in something where you can go to your desk in the morning and feel you don't have to worry about being.
Some questionable things come before you. Should I do this or that? You know there are jobs where you find it hard to fulfill them.
And still honor the Lord. And it's very important as you stand that you make these decisions. What am I going to be? What am I going to follow in life where you're standing? And wisdom is crying. Wisdom is crying. Listen to me. I know all about you. Don't know where that path leads, but I can tell you I know where it leads. And so it says here and to you, Oh man, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.
How are you simple understand wisdom and he fools be of an understanding heart.
Here, for I will speak of excellent things, and the opening of my lips shall be right things, for my mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing froward or perverse in them when you say they're very complicated, but listen to this ninth verse. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and write to them that find knowledge.
May not seem lies a step as far as the world is concerned.
Perhaps your counselors at school may want to push you into that thing, but it's something where you're going to find out later that it's going to be very hard to honor the Lord and give him a place that He should have in your life. Isn't He worthy of first place? He died in order to win your heart of mine. He provided many mansions. Have you got the glory? He's going to make us eternally happy.
And so I did beg of you, dear young people.
To listen to this voice of wisdom, never take a step and disobedience to the word of God, even a matter of unequal yoke. The Bible says he not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. What communion hath light with darkness? What part of heathen believeth with an interol? How can you make a yoke with someone who doesn't love the Lord and try to walk in the path of life together? He has no heart for the Lord.
Did you do want to please the Lord? Because you're His?
We say you'll change. Well, now he's taking a great rest. Sometimes God does in his mercy. I know of a particular person. And she married a boy that wasn't saved, and she humbled herself. And the Lord did goodness save him, and he became a good father to the family too. But then the Lord took him away.
And you wouldn't perhaps hardly believe this, but she said, well, he saved my first husband, he'll do it again for me. And she went into a second on April Oak. As far as I know, she's still alive today, her husband and his dad, as far as I know, he died about Christ out of sorrow.
Sorrow, it's true, God is gracious, He does come in, but don't presume that he's raised. He may let you reap the fruit your own self will.
So it goes on here and it says here.
High wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witting inventions. It's quite an interesting verse. Find out knowledge of what he inventions. You can get books, magazines that you can buy and they'll tell you about some of the new adventures and whether they're good or not. The consumers digest them. They'll tell you whether they are all right or not. But well, maybe sometimes they're pretty helpful.
But you know, the Lord knows everything before him. He knows whether that move is going to be for the best or not. He's the truth. Consumer Digest. Very many people have gone in the path of self will and they found to their sorrow it didn't turn out the way they expected. But our God knows everything and His knowledge is unsearchable. There's something hid from the Lord. And so it says He finally acknowledged a witty invention.
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The fear of the Lord is the hate evil pride and arrogance fee and the evil way and the forward mouth do I hate council is mine and sound wisdom. I have understanding like that, but they don't have the strength to help you out when the problem comes, but the one who asked you to walk in the path of obedience.
Strength he's able to do more than we ask or think, which is an honor with the a durable riches of righteousness. My fruit is better than golden, much than fine gold in my revenues and choice silver I lead in the way of righteousness and in the midst of the paths of judgment. Then he calls them that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasures.
Now the Lord takes the place of the Creator.
Here, but He is the 22nd verse. The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before the His works of old. I was set up from everlasting from the beginning. Wherever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abounding with water before the mountains were settled before the hills was I brought forth, while a jetty had not made.
The earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the earth.
When he prepared the heavens, I was there, but he sat a compass on the face of the death. When he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep. In this wonderful description of how this one whose name is called, Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, He's the Creator. And when they made this world, He was thinking of you.
This is a wonderful expression, that when he made his delights for with the sons of men, his delights were with the sons of men. Now it's often been said.
Could have made the world all one color pretty dull and all one color. Isn't there a tremendous variety of colors? We had different foods today. We could have made our food taste all the same. Very often when you get drugs or anything, they taste all the same. They don't give you all of my variety, but God gives you all these endless varieties. Why does He do this?
Because he left not himself without witness that he did good, sending rain from heaven and fruitful seasons milling, filling men's hearts.
With food and gladness, God is good. You want your boyfriend and you're surrounded with 1000 reminders that He wants your blessing. He made this world which you live so beautiful and all these things that you can't enjoy richly. But man has spoiled it by sin. And we see all the finest things in this world have been spoiled by sin, but God has made it beautiful for the good of man.
Are you going to refuse to listen to him?
Are you going to go your own way as in Isaiah 53? All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to His own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. But boundless grace. And He saw us turn aside and do all those wrong things. Finally took His beloved Son. Your heart and mind was no better than the crowd.
That cried away with him. Crucify him.
And yet he still loves us, he still loves us. He's calling out a people for his name. If he has saved you, he has heavenly glory for you. But you do young people. He cares for your pathway through this world. He wants you to have a happy pathway with his blessing. Will you listen to the instruction that he gives you? Will you go by that any other meetings are rather have brought before us that he has shown ways that we can show our.
To him.
As in Romans chapter 12 and verse one. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable intelligence service. Somebody does a great deal for you. And did you ever say to them, well, please, I'd like to do something for you, if you'll just tell me something that I could do to show my gratitude for what you've done for me. And the Lord has done great things for us.
And he tells us in his word, there are ways that we can show our gratitude. We can in choosing our friends in life and choosing the job that we're going to follow and choosing a group of Christians with whom we're identified. We hear a common expression. It's been nice to meetings, go to the Church of your choice without a God of Savior, but now you just choose the way you want to go and worship him. It's not that right?
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We have a choice from the disciples.
We're going to keep that last Passover, and the Lord was about to institute the Feast of Remembrance.
They didn't choose the place. Face that, Lord, where wilt thou that we prepare? And so the Lord gave them specific instructions they might have said, or that we can hardly expect to find a man bearing a picture of water. That's not the custom around here. But they did, and followed him to the house where he entered them, and when the power was coming, sat down the 12 apostles working, and he told them it was his desire to keep that Passover.
And then then to institute that supper. How precious. Does this mean anything to you? Does it touch your heart? I tell you, each one of your young people, and we were older too, thought of an interest in your life. He has more interest than anybody else in your life. He's provided your parents to help you. You can be thankful if you have Christian parents, even if they're not Christians. They seek your happiness. They may not seek it in the right way, but even if they're not.
Christians, they feel that your happiness.
The broad suture happiness and he thinks it in the right way and he's proved he's loved here. Has he saved your soul? Do you belong to him? Have you ever asked him what he wants you to do about that job, about that schooling, about that friendship, about the group of Christians with whom you should associate? Is it just Oh well, I think it's nice proof. Like young people there and I can go there or he's saying, Lord, a couple of thou have you do.
People, I want to encourage you and I want to tell you to again, thought has provided your parents and I want to encourage you to honor your parents. This is the day of disobedience to parents. This is the day when young people, because we're living in such a changing generation, they feel their parents are outdated and don't understand. Well, it's true, we're sort of a little bit behind the times in many things, but as I can say that we as parents do seek the blessing of our children.
And we know that there are paths that are marked out in God's Word tells about David. And David, he served his own generation by the will of God. And so recall to serve in our own generation, fathers and mothers are living in this generation. They're trying to help you. They understand a little bit of the generation that they live in, and they're trying to help you and encourage you.
But above all, I want to say again, when you put the Lord Jesus first, I want you just to think of what He did for you. I want you just to stop.
And your time and just say, what did he do for me? He went to Calvary. He died for me before my sins in his own body on the tree. He prepared a home for me in the glory. He's the captain of my salvation, bringing me to glory. And he told me that even if I'm unfaithful, he, he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. And those who are saved are eternally secure.
Why? Because of the work that Christ accomplished on the cross of Calvary of little birds, I just like to notice in the eighth of Romans.
This chapter of Romans, verse 38 and 39, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
Our Lord, for I speak about this, I'm just going to tell another story that happened to us years ago, quite a few years ago, we were preaching on the street in city of Ottawa where I live, and the young man came up to us who used to work for the Army and he said that I'm a believer. I have something very interesting to tell you. He said. I was in the services and they among the chaplains, I worked for the chaplain, he said. And he said when a man is taken in that's very seriously wounded and brought into the hospital.
We always have to ask him what church he belongs to so we get the right pastor for him. And he said when this man was brought in, he said, he said, I asked him what church do you belong to? And he said, I'm appalled persuasion. And he said I never heard of that. He said, I asked a couple of other fellows around, did they ever hear that group That was new to me. He said Paul's persuasion. And he said to dear ma'am, he was just having a way. He said he quoted.
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Lovely verses. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But the thing I wanted to point out to you, which is very precious to me, that this is a very unusual thing. In English the sentence begins in the singular, I am persuaded, but in the IT ends in the plural.
Separate us from the love of God. This is very interesting, isn't it? Usually in English we're taught if we begin a sentence in a singular, we should finish it in singular plural, we should finish it in plural. Why this change? Well, some Christians are persuaded of eternal security and some are not. But whether they're persuaded or not, it's true. Whether they're persuaded or not, it's true. I am persuaded.
That nothing can separate us from the love of God.
What you think, Christ Jesus our Lord, what a wonderful salvation we have that's all in Christ. What a wonderful Savior we have. What a wonderful counselor. And I'd just like to encourage you to young people, honor your parents.
Don't. Don't show any disrespect to them. They think you're good and you're blessed. You're blessing. And above all, you have the best counselor that can be provided, and that is the one who inhabits eternity, who made this world, who knows all about you, numbers the very hairs of your head, which no friend has ever done.
He knows all about you, and when you trust him for you ask him for counsel. The Lord was pleased because Solomon, instead of just asking for riches and wishes, he said that he might have wisdom, and the Lord was pleased with that. So you ask him. His name is wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.