Sons of God

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Address—W. Gill
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General Meeting at Des Moines, May 1982, addressed by Walter Gill.
46 in the appendix.
Am I an object, Lord, below, which would divide my heart with thee?
Which word the verdicts even flow and answer to thy constancy him #46 in the appendix.
Our heads and close our eyes.
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I'd like to turn to the book of Proverbs, chapter one.
Proverbs chapter one starting at verse 8.
My son.
Here the instruction of thy father.
And forsake not the law of thy mother, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head.
And chains about thy neck.
My son of sinners, entice the consent thou not if they say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood. Let us work lurk privily for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole as those that go down into the pit. We shall find all precious substance. We shall fill our houses with spoil, cast in thy lot among us. Let us all have one purse, my son, walk not thou in the way with them.
Refrain my foot from their path, for their feet run to evil, make haste to shed blood.
This would just serve as an introduction to what's before me.
The three times in these verses we have the the address my son as that team that I would like to follow in the book of Proverbs. But before we get into it, I would like to turn to the epistle of John first. John.
Just to establish who we are.
First, John 3.
And verse one.
Behold, what manner of love? Or I believe more simply, behold what love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we, we should be called the sons of God.
Marvelous consideration.
Or we may well say, Who are we, Creatures of the dunks?
But sons had gone now turn to the epistles of the Philippians.
The second chapter.
Philippians 2 and verse 15.
That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation or generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, sons of God. In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. One more verse in Second Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians 6 and verse 18.
2nd Corinthians 618 I will be a father unto you.
And ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
So again, by way of introduction to this subject.
Two or three things I would like to establish.
One of them is that although these remarks are addressed to sons.
I would suggest they equally apply to the daughter, to the sisters, to the young ladies in this room as well as those who are older.
You know, we had three daughters and one son.
I never sent any difference in their thought as to their position, position in our home and our family. We never made a distinction between them. Although we had only the one son, he had no more preferred place than our girls did. And so I would suggest that you sisters have a place equal with the brothers before gone.
But it isn't just a a place.
There it's a responsibility. Not just a privilege, but a responsibility. So I would like to cite 2 little instances in my own life.
Some of you knew my father.
And I remember one time when I called on him in his office, I was just a young fellow, perhaps just a teenager.
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When another man in the office saw me.
And he went to my father and he said, your boy is here.
My father corrected him. I heard him correct him.
He said. That's my son.
Not enough to say that's my boy, that's my son. And I thought and I still think.
50 years later.
At that position position of being a son of my father.
Bespoke. A real privileged place. But now there was another incident.
Which occurred, I think somewhat before that time.
My brothers and I knew.
That there were certain things that we could not just ask my mother.
My mother's permission, we had to go to my father.
And while I have no recollection of what the incident was, I remember going to my father.
And applying him with all the arguments I couldn't or something I wanted to do and I repeatedly was turned down.
That is, this was one conversation.
And finally, and I said, well, so and so is doing that. The other meeting folks are doing it. Finally I said, well, why can't I?
And I got an unforgettable answer, he said. Because you are Frank Gill's son.
That that ended the organ and that spoke of responsibility.
So those two incidents established what's before me that we have a privileged place we occupy as sons of God.
A privileged place, but we have a responsibility to conduct ourselves as.
The Epistle to the Philippians says.
Without rebuke in the midst of this generation.
It is in such disorder. Now those thoughts, Well, I would like to add 1 more.
Again turning to my children.
When my children would go out.
For some school event.
Or even a party among the meeting folks.
I think I invariably told them as they left the home. Remember whose you are?
And you know what interested me? That they never asked me what I meant.
But I never asked them what they thought I meant.
And I might say.
What I meant was they were my children and I expected a conduct.
That was becoming to our home, but equally so, I meant you, children.
The one by one confessed the Lord as your savior and as a conduct that's becoming to that. So let that be before you as you go out on this.
This party, or whatever it is on this occasion. So again, you and I are sons of gong, daughters and sons, if you will, but privileged and responsible before gone.
So now with those thoughts, turn to the second chapter of Proverbs.
And what this goes through in sequence?
Through this book, the several references, the several messages, and I might say that I surely enjoyed The Sunday School yesterday and the thought of this book containing those personal messages. There was a question of salvation. Here, it's a question of responsibility.
So proverbs 2 and verse one.
Says my son, If thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding, Yeah, If thou Christ after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her silver and searches for her As for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord giveth wisdom, Out of his mouth cometh knowledge.
And understanding he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of the Saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity. Yeah, every good path.
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So this is the first message that the address to you and me and are responsible position.
Receive my words.
As we go through this series of verses and messages, will find that many of them, most of them, perhaps.
Turn on the fact that we must read God's word, for I believe that's what's given us here in this first verse. If thou art, receive my words and my commandments, and I cannot stress enough.
The urgent need.
That everyone of us read God's Word daily.
Indeed I would that you would read proverbs every day and something beside.
I found it such a joy to read this book of Proverbs for quite a while now.
Every single trip through I find something new, and I'm amazed at the structure of the book, the content of it, the joy that one finds in reading the book of Proverbs. So I would urge upon you to do it. And incidentally, you've heard it many a time, I suppose.
The reminder that there's 31 books, 31 Chapters in the book of Proverbs, and it lends itself very nicely to one chapter a day. And I'm amused sometimes at my own thought when they say it and when I sit down to read my Bible in the morning.
Tomorrow morning for example, I might say oh, today is Proverbs the 1St.
It's easy to remember, then, what chapter to read. But don't just limit yourself to Proverbs. Read. Read other portions of God's Word and feed upon them. We'll talk more about this as we go along.
But here are this basic call to the sun is to receive God's word.
In the second and third verse we get a wonderful coupling, wisdom and understanding and knowledge. This is available to us.
If we're before gone and feeding upon his word, the fifth verse and the ninth verse give us some results. Immediate results, I suppose we might say.
The first verse, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. The ninth verse, then shalt thou understand righteousness, judgment, equity, yeah, every good path.
Even speaking yesterday more particularly, but some today.
About the privilege we have of a banquet place feeding upon the Lord a thing of these added things, not just feeding these privileges. We won't take time to recount them, but.
Think about them, what we just have these two results, multiplied results really and all that would be nice to just go on through that second chapter and see more results that are given us.
Now we go on to the third chapter in the first verse.
My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. For length of days, and long life and peace shall I add to thee.
In the second chapter, it was if thou receive my word.
3rd chapters we've just read My son. Don't forget it, Receive it. But don't forget it. And there's a result here too. And I believe that it does have an application in our lives in the year 1982.
We often say that earthly blessings were related to Israel, the earthly people, but Timothy, the oppressive Timothy, definitely established.
That godliness is profitable.
It's to our advantage to walk in a godly way and so we have here.
Length of days and long life and peace shall I add to thee Now, I'm not going to say that this guarantees that you're going to live past 70 years. I don't think that's the principle of it. But certainly we can take for ourselves the peace.
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It can be added in our lifetime.
By a dependent spirit and going on in the word gone.
I'll get in the third chapter, the 11Th verse.
My son.
Despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his Church.
Whom the Lord loveth and correcteth, even as a father the Son in whom he delighted.
And what an essential part this is of our lives. The chastening of the Lord, the school of God. Wonderful, wonderful place to be.
Sometimes the lessons seem hard, but I suppose invariably.
I suppose I better say almost invariably.
That the results of the school of God are such that they bring rejoice into our hearts I wouldn't want to miss.
A single lesson that I've had in my life in the school of God.
Sometimes it's for correction, sometimes it's just to establish some growth.
And so I would commend the word of God to you all again.
And again, we must not take long to dwell on these points where there's so much ground we can cover again in the third chapter, dropped down to verse 21.
My son let not them depart from mine eyes.
Heap sound wisdom and discretion.
So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck then.
Shalt thou walk in thy way safely.
And thy foot shall not stumble.
You're not amazing to see these positive statements.
Positive assurances are the results of taking in God's word, feeding upon it, and digesting it, and applying it in our lives. So again, just a quick review. The second chapter. If thou would receive my words, the third chapter forget not my law, Let thine heart keep my commandments. And now 321, my son, let them not depart from thine eyes.
Keep sound wisdom and discretion, and immediately the result is stated, then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble? And the 24th verse? I really want to touch on it a little later.
In an amplified form, but they don't 24th words.
Says when thou lost down, thou shalt not be afraid, yeah, thou shalt lie down.
My sleep shall be sweet.
Go to bed with the word of God on your heart and mind, and thou liest down. Thou shall not be afraid. Ye thou shalt lie down, and I sleep shall be sweet.
I'll go to the 4th chapter.
Attempts were.
Here, O my son, and receive my sayings, in the years of thy life shall be many.
And again, we've already had this, but here it's repeated Godless with a good reason. We've had it already, the reference to the very advantage in our daily life.
If we hear God's word, receive them for ourselves and act upon to make them a part of ourselves and to go on from that tenth verse.
The 12Th Take the 12Th verse, When thou ghost, thy step shall not be straightened.
And when thou runest, thou shalt not stumble. I remember many years ago.
Sitting in a young people's meeting here in Des Moines and her brother Brown's home.
And the only thing I remember about it is this verse which he gave us.
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In what was said to be the Jewish translation.
As thou, God, step by step, I will open up the way before thee I am. I don't know what translation it came from, except that it was there attributed to the Jewish translation. But again, coupling those verses 10 and 12, Here, Oh my son, and receive my sayings in the years of my life shall be many. When thou ghost, thy steps shall not be straightened, and when thou runest, thou shalt not stumble.
For as thou goest.
Step by step I will open up the way before thee.
The 20th verse of the 4th chapter.
Says my son. Attend my words.
Incline thine ear unto my sayings, Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thy heart. They are life unto those that find them in health to all their flesh.
The ears, the eyes, and the heart feed them again. My son attend. Listen to it. Listen to my words. My son attended my words, and climb thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart to thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart for their life under those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
On the 5th chapter.
My son, A10 under my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding, that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Attend unto my wisdom, thou thine ear to my understanding The thalamus regard discretion, and thy lips may keep knowledge.
Just like the calling attention again.
But in those two verses we again get mentioned wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
It's been said that wisdom is God's part.
Wisdom is God's part. Knowledge can be acquired, we can acquire knowledge, and understanding is putting these things into practice. But you find us repeatedly through the book of Proverbs, these three things often connected.
Within one verse or two verses, and many times two of them were coupled together, wisdom and knowledge, or wisdom and understanding and perhaps the same thing, wisdom and discretion.
But again.
It's from God's Word and the study of God's word occupation. Was it attending to it? Letting it operate in my life and your? I just would command God's Word to you and urge it upon you.
Now in this 5th chapter.
The 20th verse is another expression, one almost.
Oh, not hesitate to say it, but.
It's a subject.
It isn't very nice, the 20th verse of Proverbs 5.
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger for the ways of manner before the eyes of the Lord? And he pondereth all his going.
Another two applications to this and some parallel portions that we might look at here.
At the top of my Bible, the top margin.
There's the messages of *****.
And if I made the page, the next page on the 7th chapter speaks of a Harlot's smear.
It impressed me on Saturday.
The address that was given the emphasis.
Only danger.
The awful peril of fornication.
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And since we have a lot of young folks with us, I want to reiterate the principles that were there, stated. And indeed, here in this book of Proverbs we have some of the most solemn expressions.
New young folks.
It seems almost impossible that it should be so, but you young folks are even in junior high.
And in high school, and I suppose the same thing prevails in college and at work.
And I wouldn't limit it to young folks. Anyone of us are imperiled by these things.
But especially to you young folks that are in high school, junior high and Senior High.
As I understand it, you're being told your body is your own.
Have a good time, do what you want, go as far as you want, no restraints anymore.
Now what we have here in the book of Proverbs says it will not work. You cannot get away with.
Not to enlarge upon it, I would just like to call attention of all of us.
To four expressions here in the book of Proverbs. We must go back to the second chapter for the first one.
If speaking.
Of a strange woman.
Only greeted the second chapter, Proverbs in the 16th verse.
To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words, the 18th verse, her house inclineth unto death.
Now the 5th chapter.
In the fifth verse.
Again, it's a strange woman.
The fifth verse says her feet go down to death.
Steps take hold on hell.
I'll go to the 7th chapter.
And the last burn?
Her house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death.
That's not all. Go to the 9th chapter.
In the last verse.
He know not that the dead are there and that her guests.
God's word forbidden. And here we see something of God's appraisal of it. Now, I by no means to mean to say what we have here, that our guests are in the depths of hell. I don't mean to say that one who's failed in this way has lost his salvation. Certainly from the earthly viewpoint, you can ruin your life.
By ignoring God's warnings.
And again, you young folks, when you're told these things in school.
Do not hear those things. Remember, God's standards have not changed.
Remember what God's word says.
Now, to go on, we'll come back to this subject in a little bit and let's go on to the 6th chapter.
In the first verse.
Hi, son.
I'll be surety for thy friend. If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth.
Are taken with the words of thy mouth.
This should automatically remind us of the unequal yoke.
And I might say in passing that in this series of verses.
Goes on into the 7th chapter. I picture it as.
As no one is at home in his father's house and these are basic instructions getting me ready to go out into this world.
And here's the warning on the unequal yield.
If thou be surety for thy friend, or if thou stricken thy hand with a stranger, I believe that's an expression that relates to the these the Mid Eastern countries, where, in contrast to our shaking hands to establish a contract or an agreement, they would plot their hands together, and that established the relationship. So if thou stricken my hand with the stranger, thou art smeared with the words of thy mouth.
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Are taken with the words of thy mouth. And so the warning is, as a Christian, you have no business making such an arrangement. What are you going to do about it? We'll go on at the third verse. Do this now, my son, Deliver thyself. When thou come into the hand of thy friend, go humble thyself, and make sure thy friend give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine islands. Deliver thyself as a roll from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the follower.
That is, you acknowledge that you made that agreement, but because you belong to the Lord Jesus, you must break the agreement and do it as quick as you can.
Notice we think of as business arrangements.
But you may have a girlfriend or a boyfriend.
Who doesn't belong to the Lord Jesus?
You better break off that relationship.
Better than breaking off?
Because here's a message from heaven itself.
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art sneered with the words of thy mouth. Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth, and break that relationship as soon as you can.
How the 6th chapter again 20th verse?
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Bind them continually upon thine heart.
And tie them about thy neck.
No one would die, just diverge for the moment. I was thinking of these messages as from heaven itself, from God our Father speaking to us as Son. It seems to speak more of home here, your Father and your mother, in the home from which you come.
Keep thy father's commandment and forsake, not the law of thy mother. And it's an expression that's used several times in Proverbs. We had it in the first chapter.
And I'm not sure just the real distinction to me between these two, but it would seem all. I would just suggest that we got two or three things coupled in proverbs. One of them is knowledge and discretion.
And someone has applied that in this very verse that we have thy Father's commandment.
And the law of thy mother father's commandment may be rather rigid. This is it, he said. This is the commandment, and the mother more tender and soft.
Says this is the way to apply that now.
And truth and mercy is another couple that we might apply. The Father again says this is the truth.
And the Mother adds mercy. This is the way it's to be applied knowledge or a wisdom on the part of the father discretion in applying that wisdom. I would just suggest that they're kind of a distinction might be made between this.
Thy father's commandment and the law of thy mother. Certainly we can be thankful for godly fathers, godly mothers, who have marked out the way.
And shown us the path that they had determined.
Undergone in large school and they passed it on to their children and maybe we can pass it on to our children.
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Now I'd like to go on, though it says, buying them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. So now Gauss, yet shall keep lead thee.
When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Where the commandment is a lamp.
And the law is light and reproof of instruction or the way of life, as a lot said in those verses. Again, let's apply it to the word of God.
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The 22nd verse, when now ghost, it shall lead thee.
What about our path, your path and mine day-to-day path?
While the Lord leaves us here, we can get lots and lots of instructions from the word of God. When thou goest, the Word of God will somehow instruct you as to the passage of the phone with regard to your work, your companionship, your home, and of course, as to heaven itself, when thou ghost, it shall leave thee. When my sleep is, it shall keep thee wonderful thing to read the word of God.
Before we go to bed, I remember our brother. Doctor Rule emphasized that to me, and I generally tried to follow it, although I have to confess to a real failure. But he said, the last thing you ought to put in your head at night is the word of God. I'll have to say, though, that I tend to fall asleep in my chair, and sometimes I don't do justice to the word of God, and I'm ashamed of myself for that. But when thou sleepest.
At Choctri. And then when thou awakest, they shall talk with thee.
You wake up in the night 1:00 two o'clock 3:00.
You wonder what? Why are you away? It's nice to just lift your heart, to go on and say.
Is there something that you would say to me?
And maybe the Lord doesn't answer. Maybe there isn't anything you want to reach your conscience and heart about. But it's nice just to meditate on God's Word, what you had put in your mind when you went to bed.
To think about it, and I pretty well promise that sleep will come back pretty quickly after that, somebody has said. Or Satan wakes up in the night and you think about God's word, he'll get you back to sleep quick.
I don't know that we should count on that. But I say, when you awaken in the night, it's nice to have God's word before him. So we have. When thou gross that shall lead thee, when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee. And when thou awakest it's autocracy. I want to add one thing to him.
I speak from experience.
When you go to the hospital, it'll be a wonderful comfort.
Being a wonderful comfort when you're in trouble.
When you're in the hospital yourself or with a loved one, the word of God that you stored up.
The Holy Spirit can bring it and make it good in your heart and conscience when you're there in the hospital.
And again just to briefly touch on at the 23rd verse says the commandment is a lamp and the law is light would take us to the 119th Psalm about the word of God being a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. So the word of God contracts itself.
Now we must go on though, and in the 7th chapter.
First verse.
My son, keep my words and lay up my commandments. With thee I have virtually a duplication of what we've already had. Maybe it's the third time it's expressed the urgent appeal from our God and Father to you and me as sons and daughters to read His word, to let it act in your heart and mind. My son, keep my words and lay up My commandments with thee keep my commandments and live.
And my law is the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart, Say in the wisdom of thou art my sister, and call understanding like kinswoman, that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
How I'd like you to keep that place and turn back to the book of Job.
Job 23.
I've been reading Job lately and I have to say what a remarkable, what a wonderful man he was going to be. Great to meet him in the glory.
To talk to him about his book and his experiences, But now the 23rd chapter of Job. Just one little expression in the middle of verse 12.
Jerome says I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
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I'd like to paraphrase it.
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more necessary than my breakfast.
I mean that.
You could time yourself some time reading a chapter.
It won't take 5 minutes even if you go over it slowly, but I don't want you to stop with one chapter. I think you should read somewhat something besides the one chapter in Proverbs, but it wouldn't take long. You could sacrifice a little at breakfast time. You could get up a little earlier.
Job says I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
For now, let's look at what Jeremiah says about it.
Jeremiah 15.
Jeremiah Jeremiah 15 verse 16.
Says thy words were found and I did eat them.
My word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine harm, for I am called by Thy name, O Lord Godfold.
Thy words were found right here in the book, and I beneath them. Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.
So back to the 7th chapter. Keep my my son, Keep my words and lay out my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments and live and my laws, the apple as I know, buying them upon my fingers. Write them upon the table of thine heart, Say into wisdom thou art my sister, and call understanding thy kinswoman. Now the next verse says that they may keep thee from the strange woman.
From the stranger which flattereth with her words, we already talked about that strange woman.
In connection with promiscuity.
The alcohol breakdown of morality in the world and so close to us and being urged upon young folks at school. I want to take a little different aspect though, and that is to consider that this strange woman and the stranger.
Something in the world itself, the world system making its claims upon us.
There are no need to specify what those claims might be. There could be greatness, fame.
Pleasure, whatever it might be, nothing to do with morality.
But the world wants to make claims upon us all.
They they would attract young folks in many ways. Now the word of God will keep us from that. We have no business dealing with that rural system that's characterized as the strange woman or the stranger which may be distinguished from the strange woman. I'm not just sure how.
But we get different aspects in the world, and God's Word will protect us, deliver us from those claims that are made upon us. But it stems from the Word of God being operative in our hearts. And So what we have here it it's solemn to read especially the 5th chapter and the 7th chapter and then the latter part of the 9th chapter.
It's regard to the claims that this strange woman.
Makes upon us, and she does it so quietly. You may walk into it innocently, and nevertheless there are claims that are made upon you, but God's word will preserve you. Do not forget or Jeremiah said, I'm called by thy name, And again what we have in the God in the epistle of John, that we should be called the sons of God. Oh, don't you ever forget, And as I said to my children.
Remember whose you are. You and I belong to the Lord of glory, to the living God. And we're sons and daughters of here. So the 7th chapter now.
Really concludes this series, except we go on into the latter part of Proverbs. And as I said, it seemed to me it appeals to me that these early admonitions are getting started for life's path, now, if you will.
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There are about 15 chapters that we skip over. There's no mention of this anymore when we come to the 23rd chapter.
And it seemed to me that there's a measure of maturity in the ones that are being addressed, the one who's addressed.
And the 23rd chapter in the 15th verse.
Says my son. If thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine, yeah, my reigns shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things.
We're on the way now.
Sort of on our own.
Not so dependent. Not getting that basic instruction, but has it taken effect?
My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice.
I dare say that we can without any doubt say that God, the living God looks down upon his children here and it gives joy to his heart when he sees one or another and many another walking with him, regardless of the cost. Seemingly unknown, unheralded. The world might say you're getting nowhere, but that heart is in tune with heaven.
My son, thine heart be wise, My heart shall rejoice, Even mine Yeah, my reign shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things. The 19th verse. Hear thou my son, and be wise and guide thine heart in the way.
Now, coupled with these things in this chapter are some solemn warnings.
In the 17th verse it says let not thine heart envy Sinner.
Honestly, the danger is to keep up with the Joneses, as the world says.
Ah, don't be envious. We're strangers here. We're on the way home.
Then the 20th verse says be not among wine giver. Be careful in this connection.
The 30th verse, they that carry long at the wine are warned to avoid that. But then there's one more thing.
And that's the 23rd verse by the truth and sell it not.
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. Our time is running out. We can't dwell on these things, but.
It seems to me that.
These are such important things, reminders as we're going on the way now.
Wallace on our own, not tied till home. We're out on our own, but still we appeal. The message comes from heaven.
As to the means, the dangers, the perils that were up against now, the 26th verse of chapter 23 says, my son, give me thine heart.
I want an appeal, that is.
I say one pictures best person, but it's actually you and me.
One pictures us out on our own.
But being observed from heaven itself.
And the heaven that called from heaven, says my son, give me thine heart. What's so important about it? Well, if we turn back to Chapter 4.
Keep that place, if you will, in chapter 4.
Verse 23 says Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.
Keep thy heart with all diluted.
Out of it are the issues of life.
You know, it's a simple thing for me to say that my heart belongs to my wife.
I love her very much and I like her too and we like to do things together.
So it's in that.
In that light that I believe, our Heavenly Father says, give me thine heart.
Not make me the object of your life. I don't mean in Contra distinction to my wife. We know how this is.
Were companions together, but as a son of God.
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Lord says, give me thine heart. Now if we could quickly look at this, the other verses in that 4th chapter, 24th verse, Put away from the forward mouth and frivolous lips put far from the left. Thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before the corner. The path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil.
Now, Lot said, in those verses, there's a reference not only to the heart, but the mouth and lips. What are you saying? What's your conversation? Is it in keeping with the high calling that we have the 25th verse, the eyes and the eyelids? What are you looking at? What's your object? Did you go along this path? What's attracting you? Is it all the billboards, all the things that are on the side of the road that the world seeks to use for?
The 26th verse pondered the path of thy feet. Where are you going?
And last, in the 27th verse removes thy foot from evil. Where do you stand right now?
The time doesn't have lost and expand upon it, but it seems to me that.
For some song things they are forced to remember.
Now the 24th chapter.
13th verse says my son.
Eat thou, honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste.
Now if with this we read in the 25th chapter.
I'm sure there are better taught brothers and I, but the 27th verse says it is not good to eat much honey. So for men to search their own glory is not glory.
If I can take the liberty to suggest that the eating of honey here.
Speaks of a sort of a self satisfaction.
In something that you and I may have accomplished, that you may have accomplished.
I look back over my business life in particular. There's something that I like to think about. I made some marks.
But as I told some of the folks that I worked with, you'll never see a name plate that says Walter Gill did this. But when I look at it, I can say I did that. I played a part in that.
I I played a part in a Telegraph system.
That grew and is an important part of American business.
I helped in the building of a pulp mill that our brethren up.
At Eureka, CA called Uncle Walt's Mill. I was only a small part of it. But I think what we have here, my son. Eat thou, honey, because it is good. Said Don't get occupied with that now. Don't think how good you are. Sure, be confident of yourself. That's good. But don't be occupied with it. Good to have some ambition. Some ambition. It's good to think well of yourself.
But don't get occupied with it, my son. Eat thou, honey, because it is good in the honeycomb, which is sweet as I take. But don't overdo em.
Now in the 24th chapter, the 21St verse says my son.
Fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change.
Share thou, the Lord, Here is our attitude, our relationship above.
And honor the king her earthly relationship. There are other verses that speak about our relationship with the king.
How is the proper attitude with the proper?
Voice that is, words that are spoken. We may indeed stand before great men. We may stand before kings. So here again on the path as we're going along, two reminders.
You stand before God and you're a witness before men, so don't forget those relationships, my son.
The Lord.
And the king honored the king.
Now the 27th chapter.
Gives us the last one.
2711.
My son.
Be wise and make my heart glad.
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That I may answer him, that reproaches me.
A wonderful one. It reminds me of Dear Job.
Sound. I've been reading about job recently.
That man is the most admirable man.
But there was a day, as you surely all remember, when Satan appeared at one of the meetings, if we can say that up there in the courts of glory, when the sons of God came before God and Satan appeared.
And it tells us that God said, Satan, what have you been doing? Well, he said. I've been going up and down the earth.
Looking over the scene, and I dare say that that includes Des Moines in Oakland, CA and many another place, and that that same kind of thing may be going on right now.
But here our Father and the glory.
Says be wise to make my heart glad that I may answer him that reproaches me.
Is it possible?
But Satan, the accuser of the brethren?
Would stand before God and say.
Sure, so and so says he trusts you, he believes in you. But what kind of conduct is that?
When? When he accused? When God called his attention to Job.
God gave Joan the highest commendation. Satan could not bring an accusation against it. But could Satan to day bring an accusation against you or me? Oh, I trust nothing. We do know that if there's been failure, there's a means of correction, and that's a wonderful thing. But here is the closing statement, the closing message from heaven, for you and for me, my son.
My daughter be wise, and make my heart glad that I may answer him that reproaches me.
At the privilege and a responsibility. Now in closing, let's go back to the 4th chapter.
Here it's not my son.
Perhaps a warmer expression. Chapter 4 and verse one. Hear ye, children, the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding, For I give you good doctrine forsaking not my law. The fourth verse.
The second clause, let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live, get wisdom, get understanding, forget it, not near the decline from the words of my mouth.
Forsake her not, she shall preserve thee. Love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honor. When noticed, embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she delivered to thee.
In the 8th chapter.
The fourth verse.
Unto you, O man, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men, O ye simple, understand wisdom, and ye fools me of an understanding heart. Here for I will speak of excellent things in the opening of my lips shall be right things, for my mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my life. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There's nothing.
Forward to perverse in them. They're all plain to him that understands and write to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction and not sober knowledge rather than choice. Gold for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desire are not to be compared to.