My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
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.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Golden Text: "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty." Prov. 23:21.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What course in a son rejoices a father's heart? Verse 15. (2) What is cause for greater rejoicing? Verse 16. (3) What caution is given against sinners? Verse 17. (4) What is much better? Ib. (5) What does the teacher say is sure? Verse 18. (6) Is there safety in hoping in the Lord? Ib. (7) What three things is the son admonished to do? Verse 19. (8) What company should one avoid? Verse 20. (9) What reason is given? Verse 21. (10) To whom should one go for counsel? Verse 22. (11) What are excellent things to invest in? Verse 23. (12) What class of children brings joy to a parent's heart? Verses 24, 25.
NOTES.
1. Wisdom.—Wisdom is urged as the surest and safest guard against departing from a path of rectitude. This is true when the wisdom is from God. To have such guidance it is not necessary for one to be learned as the world counts learning. The poorest educated person, if a child of God, may possess the wisdom that will keep him from erring. This is the wisdom of the heart, or mind, when the mind is in harmony with the Lord. There will then be a disposition to "hear," "be wise," and to "guide" one's course aright. Verse 19. The disposition of such an one is to receive instruction, consequently the heart of the teacher rejoices, and when wisdom leads the lips to speak right things, as it inevitably will, then the deepest joy is experienced, here spoken of as the joy of the "reins," the innermost parts.
2. Envy and Intemperance.—Envy goes with selfishness, and is twin sister to covetousness. It is an unlawful desire, and always causes dissatisfaction with one's condition or possessions. When it comes into the heart, wisdom goes out. The individual has then lost his bearings; he is, as it were, without a balance-wheel, a governor, and is liable to go into all sorts of intemperance. This is not necessarily limited to drunkenness with wine. There is plenty of intemperance in other directions,—intemperance in pleasures, dress, eating, ambitions, etc. All intemperance is sin, and in a sense all sin is intemperance, as implying an improper, an uneven, use of one's God-given faculties. The results of winebibbing and gluttony are enlarged upon in this chapter, but the sure results of every kind of intemperance are the same. If the immediate effects are not poverty in earthly possessions, they assuredly are poverty of soul and spiritual drowsiness, with the accompanying clothing of filthy rags righteousness. This is the sure end or reward of the wrong course. But just as surely the results of constancy are life and health and peace unending. Verse 18. How necessary then to keep the heart pure and undefiled, free from envy and covetousness of every description. "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." Verse 17.
3. Heed to Parents' Instruction.—This is in the line of acquisition of true wisdom, for the child that honors its parents will manifest a tendency to honor God and his laws. Wise instruction wisely heeded will indeed result in joy to the father and mother, and all concerned.
4. Enduring Purchases.—The truth is that which is real, and it brings with it all the blessings that are found in Christ. These are the waters and the wine and the milk that are bought without money and without price. Yet there is a price, and that is one's self; for the possession of truth, a knowledge of it, can not be obtained without application of the faculties, and that in the right direction. "Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding," are in like manner to be purchased. But the value received is a thousandfold for the one who does the buying. See also Mark 10:28-30.
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"Origin, Progress and Principles of S. D. Adventists." Illustrated. Will not appear as Bible Students' Library No. 145, as has been advertised, on account of delay in getting cuts to suitably illustrate its pages. It will be some time before it will be ready.
"Will A Man Rob God?" will appear as No. 145, and all orders we now have for No. 145 will be filled with "Origin, Progress," etc. In ordering these pamphlets mention name as well as number.
Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal.
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