10 “Hear, O My son, and receive My sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go; Keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is as the shining light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.”
Golden Text.— “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” Prov. 1:10.
Suggestive Questions
(1) What injunction have we in the beginning of the lesson? V. 10. Note 1. (2) In what way has our Father taught us? In what paths has He led us? V. 11. Note 2. (3) What will be the result of following these paths? V. 12. (4) Of what are we to take fast hold? Why? V. 13. (5) Against what path are we earnestly warned? And against what way? V. 14. (6) How can we keep out of this way? V. 15. Note 3. (7) What is said of those who go in that way? V. 16. Note 4. (8) What of their eating and drinking? V. 17. (9) What is said of the path of the just? V. 18. Note 5. (10) How is the way of the wicked contrasted with the path of the just? V. 19. Note 6.
Notes
1. Obedience.—Verse 10 is in principle another version of the fifth commandment. The acme of honor to one’s parents is obedience. The father of us all is God, and the psalmist says, “Give unto the Lord the glory [margin, ‘honor’] due unto His name.” Ps. 29:2. Again we find the Scripture says, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22); “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God; . . . and a curse, if ye will not obey” (Deut. 11:26, 28). In harmony with this Jesus says, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matt. 19:17. A specific sign of honor to God is to keep His Sabbath (Isa. 58:13, 14), and the commandment says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God” (Ex. 20:10). Another injunction is, “Honor the Lord with thy substance” (Prov. 3:9), and the specific commandment is, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” (Mal. 3:10); and again, “Bring an offering and come into His courts.”
2. “The way of wisdom.”—The psalmist says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments; His praise endureth forever.” Ps. 111:10.
3. “Avoid it.”—The prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” implies diligence and wisdom on the part of the petitioner to avoid temptation. One who deliberately runs into temptation can hardly expect to be delivered from it.
4. “They sleep not.”—Their night meditations are upon the gratification of their own carnal desires; their actions are mischievous; therefore they are as those of whom the Saviour said they “loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19.
5. The “path of the just” is the path of faith. “The just shall live by his faith.” Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17. Then it is the Word of God that shines on the path of the just; consequently the more of the Word we have in our minds, the more light there is on our pathway. David says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105. Paul says that in the Gospel of Christ is “the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.” Rom. 1:16, 17. Then the path of faith, or “path of the just,” is a progressive path, and the farther we walk in it, the more light we have from God’s Word to enable us to continue in it—“unto the perfect day.”
6. A great contrast.—While the “path of the just is as the shining light,” “the way of the wicked is as darkness.” And the darkness of sin begets the darkness of ignorance—“they know not at what they stumble.” Christ came as the Light of the world, all of which lay in darkness. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” John 1:11. Rejecting the Light, they were left in ignorance of His Messiahship, and they stumbled over Him, not knowing at what they stumbled. He was “to the Jews a stumbling-stone, and to the Greeks foolishness.” Peter says that when they crucified Christ, they “did it ignorantly;” but it was a wilful ignorance, as they had chosen the way of darkness, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Mark 7:7. Reader, which path have you chosen?
