Watch Out for Thorns and Snares

Select Verses from Proverbs 22:3-14

3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

    but the simple go on and suffer for it.

5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;

    whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.

8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

    and the rod of his fury will fail.

10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,

    and quarreling and abuse will cease.

11 He who loves purity of heart,

    and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.

12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

    but he overthrows the words of the traitor.

13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!

    I shall be killed in the streets!”

14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;

    he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

The prudent are the cautious, the wise, the sensible. They are those who are watchful and who keep an eye out for danger so that they are not caught in the devil’s trap unaware. So, when they see danger, they retreat. And in this context, the “simple” are the opposite of the prudent. So they are the unwise, foolish, senseless, reckless, and the irresponsible who go by their feelings and by the lusts of their flesh and who do not take thought to their ways to do what is right, but they follow after their fleshly instincts, instead.

They are the sluggards, the lazy, the crooked, those who sow injustice, the scoffers, the self-indulgent, the intoxicated to sin, those who lust after what is not theirs to possess, the liars, the unfaithful, the adulterers, the traitors, the users, the manipulators, and abusers. They are those who go after the forbidden and who seek not honor, dignity, righteousness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and loving kindness. For they are the selfish who want what they want regardless of who gets hurt in the process.

They are also those who live in a fantasy world which they create for themselves to have what they want if only in their own minds, if they cannot get what they want live and in person. They are the sexually addicted, too, who are addicted to pornography and all kinds of sexual deviance and perversions of sex for their own self-gratification. So what they may not be able to attain in real life they attain by pretending and dreaming and fantasizing that it is real. For they are thinking only of themselves.

Now, with regard to the self-indulgent, described above, and the consequences of their sinful actions, they may not always face much in the way of consequences in this life. Many of them go on in their sins for very long periods of time because they are not being faced with serious consequences inflicted upon them, at least not enough to get them to change, or perhaps not much at all in this present life. And we have many of them within the gatherings of the church who are given permission to sin.

But, if not in this life, they who walk by the flesh and not by the Spirit will one day be judged by God and they will face the wrath of God, even if they have professed faith in Jesus Christ with their lips. They will one day suffer the consequences of their rebellious ways. One day the words of the traitor will be exposed and he will be judged by his lies. Those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus and yet live for the flesh, to please the flesh, and who continue in deliberate and habitual sin, will one day face God’s wrath.

So, we are to be those who are wise and who are discerning and who shun evil and who walk in the ways of the Lord in righteousness and in holiness and in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands. Sin must no longer be what we practice, but obedience to God should be our practice. We are to be those who are humble before our Lord and who walk in the fear of the Lord, believing his words to be true, and who honor God with our lives. For we are to be the pure of heart who guard our souls against all evil.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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