Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Proverbs 4:10-27 | Date: May 17, 2020 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

All right, as I’ve mentioned to you on the emails, we’re looking today at Proverbs chapter 4, verses 10 to 27. We’ll proceed assuming that Zoom will carry all of this. Jim, if there are some kind of interruptions or anything that happened, why don’t you let me know? That way we don’t have everyone trying at the same time.

Proverbs chapter 4, verses 10 to 27—we have here in these verses actually the next two admonitions of the sage to his son. Verses 10 to 19 are the, I think, fifth lecture or admonition that he gives. And then verses 20 to 27 are the sixth admonition. But we’ll take them both today and hopefully be able to work our way through it in some reasonable time. Let’s call the subject of the passage today, “A Heart for Wisdom.” A heart for wisdom. And I think you’ll see how the passage is about that, or I hope you will as we move along.

All right, Proverbs chapter 4, if you will have your Bibles with you and follow along with me. I will be referring to it quite often throughout. I’ll begin reading with verse 10.

Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

The Fifth Lecture or Admonition

All right, here we have the inspired father’s fifth lecture or admonition to his son. And in it, he rehearses for us the same kinds of themes that are now familiar to us since chapter one. Just to rehearse some of them for you, there’s the contrast between the way of wisdom and righteousness on the one hand and the way of folly and sin on the other. There’s the link or even a near parallel between wisdom and righteousness on the one hand and between foolishness and sin on the other. There’s also here the motivational clause that we’ve seen throughout these admonitions, expressing the value, the payoff of wisdom, the reminder that righteousness truly is wise. And then there’s the warning about the foolishness of sin. And there’s the concern not just to conform to the teaching, but to value it. Like he has in verse 13: “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.”

So it may sound like I’m repeating myself in these studies. I don’t really feel embarrassed by that because that’s what the inspired sage is doing in these admonitions. And in fact, it’d be a very naive father who assumed that teaching his son something once would be enough. It takes some years to grow up, and learning requires repetition. And these admonitions, Proverbs 1 to 9, in several ways are very repetitive, especially with regard to this connection between wisdom and righteousness. Over and again, he reminds his son that it is wise to be righteous, foolish to pursue sin. He seems he can’t make those links often enough.

And in fact, it’s just the connection we’re apt to forget. There is what we call remaining sin. Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child. We’ve referred to that several times through these admonitions. Foolishness is bound in our hearts from a child. And even after we grow up and even after coming to Christ and experiencing the forgiveness and the cleansing and the renewal that he gives—and all the way till we go to be with Christ—sin remains and it confuses us. When tempted to sin, we foolishly think that it’ll pay off. And we need this reminder over and over again, really every day, that it is wise to be righteous and it’s foolish to pursue sin.

So to guard his son against forgetting, in each of these lectures, the inspired sage reminds him again and again and again. This wise father reminds his son repeatedly to keep the instruction that he gives him—that’s verse 13—to guard it, to protect it, to recognize its value, to treasure it as though it’s his most prized possession, to recognize the value of it, adopt it as your own, keep it in your heart. And he’s trying desperately not just to steer his son’s behavior, but to reach his heart, to make him see that the instruction that God gives us for life is immeasurably good for us. It pays off. It results in a life without regret, a life that’s blessed. As he says in verse 12, “When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.” So in verse 13, he exhorts him again, “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” Hang on to this teaching that I’m giving you. It is enormously important.

Isn’t it ironic that although every one of us wants to get the most out of life, we so easily ignore the one prescription that never fails to give it? God has told us how to live so as to know his favor, and we have to be told again and again and again and again, and then we forget anyway. That surely says something about the human heart.

Well, the remainder of this fifth admonition, verses 14 to 19, consists of an exhortation to the life of wisdom, only now it has this other slant, and that is the wisdom of shunning sin, verses 14 to 15, with an explanation in verses 16 to 19. Verses 14 and 15 give the exhortation: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, do not walk in the way of evil, avoid it, do not go on it, turn away from it, pass on.” Why? Verses 16 to 19 explain at length:

For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

And all that to say: avoid sin at all costs. It’s foolish. It doesn’t pay off. It does not deliver what it promises. You’d be a fool to pursue sin.

Because of the family setting in these passages, I keep coming back to application for you parents, particularly parents with children at home. This is a model. I keep saying that this is a model that you should follow. Don’t just tell your kids to do this and do that. Teach them the folly of sin. Take the time to try to reach their hearts as far as you’re able and press on them the reality that they live under God, that they must know that whether they acknowledge it or not, there is a moral order to this world put there by God himself. And they must know that to violate that order will not work out well for them. For their own sakes, they must prize the direction for life that God gives. Don’t be a fool. Be wise and live unto God.

So in this fifth admonition, verses 10 to 19, the inspired sage again admonishes his son to prize wisdom for his own good and to avoid sin at all costs.

The Sixth Admonition

Now in his next lecture, the sixth admonition, verses 20 to 27, where we’ll spend the rest of our time, he exhorts his son yet again to listen well to divine wisdom. And again, the theme is that of wise living, only this time he has some very specific points of reference.

First of all, we have, again, his call to capture his son’s attention in verses 20 and 21. “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your heart to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.” Again, he presses his son to listen up (verse 20) and to remember (verse 21). And again, he’s trying as far as he’s able to reach his son’s heart so that he will value the instruction rightly and adopt it as his own. “Keep them within your heart.”

And then again, we have in verse 22 the motivational clause. Why is it important to listen to this instruction? “Because they are life to those who find them and healing to all their flesh.” Now speaking in metaphor again, he presents wisdom here as the medicine that’s needed for life and for health, or the nourishment that’s needed for life and health. Listen up, son, you want this instruction. It will keep you from getting sick, as it were. It’ll make life blessed.

Specific Points of Application

Now notice the specific points of application in verses 23 to 27. Notice how he applies it to the various parts of the body.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Now notice his instruction this time is directed to specific body parts and functions: the heart (verse 23), the mouth (verse 24), the eyes (verse 25), and then the feet (verses 26 and 27). The heart—what we are; the mouth—what we say; the eyes—what we look at; and the feet—where we go. Clearly, the Father is trying to stress that the wisdom of God is designed to shape all of life: who we are, what we say, what we talk about, what we look at, and where we go.

I imagine, in fact, I’m sure some of you at least will remember as I do, learning the little children’s song in Sunday school. “Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go.” Anybody learn that? You’ve seen that before? You’ve heard that? Yeah. “Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go. Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go.” And then there were other stanzas. “Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do,” or “Be careful, little tongue, what you say.” Of course, you’re supposed to point when you sing it. “Be careful, little eyes, what you see. Be careful, little ears, what you hear.” That counsel is really very important, and it reflects these verses here in Proverbs 4.

We’ll get to the other functions of the eyes and the ears and the feet and so on, but we should be careful and we’ll spend some time here in verse 23. Be careful to notice the importance that he places on the heart. Verse 23—this is a verse that we all should memorize and know well: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” King James Version renders it: “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” The New International Version kind of paraphrases it here in a very good way: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Okay. So again, we have this word “keep.” Usually it’s “keep the instruction that I give you.” Here it’s “keep your heart.” Keep has the idea, the connotations, not just of preserving, but of guarding—protecting. Guard, protect, keep your heart in that sense with all diligence. And I think the NIV stresses that sense here, that nothing is more important than this. Above all else, guard your heart.

Now the heart in Scripture, as often in our own language, the heart does not refer to that organ that pumps blood. Sometimes it refers to the affections, as it often does in English, but the ancient world usually had other expressions for that. The affections were not the heart, but the kidneys or the bowels or something like that were the expressions that they had. In Scripture, in the ancient world, often the heart consistently refers to the whole inner self, all that it comprises: your psyche, your mind, your affections, your will. Your heart is that inner person that makes you, you, with all your desires, all your ambitions, your appetites, your thoughts, your plans.

In the book of Proverbs alone, the heart is the seat of wisdom. It’s the seat of trust. We trust with our heart. We have confidence with our heart. We plan and we scheme with the heart. The heart is the seat of lust. We understand with the heart. We rebel with the heart. We have intellectual pursuits with the heart. Again, the heart is that inner self that makes you, you. That’s what Proverbs 27 verse 19 says—an interesting proverb, a comparative one: “As in water, face reflects face…” So get the picture: you look into a water, a clean stream or something, and you look in, you see your face. “As in water, face reflects face, so the heart of a man reflects the man.” Your heart is who and what you are. It’s our center, the seat of our personality.

It’s our heart that the inspired sage says we must guard with all vigilance. Above all else, above every other responsibility—before your responsibility to make money, before your responsibility to earn a living, before your responsibility to take care of your health, before anything else—guard your heart. Protect who you are inwardly. Why? Well, he tells us: “Because from it flow the springs of life.” Everything about you springs from who you are on the inside—who and what you are inwardly, in your mind, your affections, your will, your desires. That determines everything about you. It determines all the choices you make. It determines everything that you do.

That’s why, by the way, in David’s repentance in Psalm 51, he says that God desires truth in the inward being. He desires wisdom in the secret heart. That’s why genuine repentance acknowledges the need, not just for forgiveness, but for cleansing. A clean heart is what I need. We sin because we have a bad heart. It’s our own desires that lead us astray, James tells us. And that’s why in the saving work of Christ, he secures for us not only acceptance before God and forgiveness of sins, but a transformation, a new heart programmed, as it were, after God’s law. That’s the new covenant promise.

That is why it’s such a misunderstanding to think that Christianity is all about do’s and don’ts. Genuine religion is about the inner man, the heart. This is why legalism always fails. Guiding external behavior with rules and regulations only goes so far. What is needed is a heart to do what is right. That’s why repentance is so necessary to transformation. There must be a change of mind and a change of heart before behavioral progress can be made. You struggle with a given sin, the path of progress will be marked first of all by genuine repentance, a change of heart.

Your heart is who you are. Proverbs 23 verse 7 tells us—this is the King James Version—”As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. That’s just like the other proverb we saw, that as in water, face reflects face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Show me what you think about, and I’ll tell you what you are. It’s like that old saying: you’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. Punctuation is very important in that little thing. You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. What you think on the inside, what you are inwardly, that’s who you are.

And it’s because the heart is who we are, and because who and what we are inwardly determines everything else about us, this sage wisely exhorts his son: above all else, guard your heart. Guard your heart with all diligence. Why? Because out of it are the issues of life. Protect your heart from evil influence. Feed your heart wholesome thoughts, healthful thoughts. Make sure the influences of your heart are wisdom oriented. Don’t let your heart linger on sensual or covetous thoughts. Don’t nurse bitter feelings. Don’t nurse resentment or greed or selfishness or anger. Don’t let sin infect your heart and steer the course of your life astray.

Be careful what you think about. Be careful what you watch. Be careful what you listen to. Be careful that your continual exposure to evil all around you doesn’t desensitize you to sin and foolishness. Above all else, guard your heart. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Moses tells us in Psalm 90, “Apply your heart to wisdom.” That’s what Proverbs 4:23 is telling us. Guard your heart. Apply it to wisdom. Read God’s word. Think on it. When you get up in the morning, think on it all day long. Hide it away in your heart as a protective against sin. Think on things that are above, Paul says. Guard your heart.

And this is why this wise father presses his son so, not just to conform outwardly, but to imbibe his teaching and prize it in his heart. This is what the admonitions of Proverbs 1-9 are all about. Listen to wisdom. Program your mind after what is wise. Why? Because this will determine everything else about you. Everything about you stems from what you are inwardly. And so you must give every diligence to guard your heart and protect it from evil influences.

Now, I suspect that that idea of the central importance of the heart explains the connection to verses 24 through 27. Verse 24: oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say. Verse 25: oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see. Verses 26 and 27: oh, be careful, little feet, where you go. That’s a paraphrase, of course. But the point here is not only that we must avoid saying and looking at things that we shouldn’t. The point is more than just “don’t go to places where you shouldn’t go.” Of course, that’s at least what he is saying here. But it’s more than that. When you engage in talk about things that are not wholesome, and when you let your eyes wander to things that are unhealthful, or when you deviate in your path even a few degrees off center and walk in the counsel of the wicked or in the way of sinners, it’ll deform your heart and it’ll skew everything about you. If you are wise, you will guard your heart carefully, lest a diseased heart steer you into a life of regret.

So instead, make the things of God your topic of conversation. Fellowship with the people who influence you to wisdom and righteousness. When you pick up your Bible and read, you’re not just fulfilling some obligation of behavior; you’re guarding your heart. When you think on the Scriptures and mull over the things of God and memorize the Scriptures, you’re guarding your heart. When you spend time with other Christians and observe their walk with Christ, you’re guarding your heart. When you fellowship with them and engage in wholesome conversation, you’re guarding your heart. And that is the very most important thing about you.

I suppose every parent has had to answer his child who wants to go to this or that event. You’ve said no. But the child wants to know why. Because you have said no, that’s enough. He wants to know why. Because you’ve said no, that is enough. But you want to teach your child, too. And so you explain. And often, it’s not that the given activity or event is itself wrong. It’s just that the circumstances of the event are not such that promise the influence of wisdom. They promise instead the influence of folly, and it’s better for your children’s heart that they not go. And it’s in the interest of their heart that you don’t allow them to go.

And it’s the same for every one of us at every age. The importance of Proverbs 4:23 is just massive. That’s what it says. It’s life-shaping. The heart determines everything about us. So guard your heart with all diligence, because out of it are the issues of life.

This principle is reflected in the New Testament as well. I mentioned earlier Colossians chapter three, verse one. In Colossians chapter three, the apostle Paul famously launches into an extended exhortation regarding Christian behavior. He commands us against things such as immorality, malice, slander, obscene talk. He commands concerning relationships in the home and the workplace. He commands virtues like compassion and kindness and humility and meekness, patience and unity and all of that. And all of that is enormously important. But he couches it all in terms of the inner man. We are to be people whose ambitions are set on things above, people in whose heart the peace of God rules. We are to be people in whose heart the word of God dwells richly. We’re to be people who do all that we do for the glory of Christ. In short, we are to be people who are transformed from the inside out.

Now, of course, what this passage from Proverbs ought to do is drive us to see our need of Christ. What we need is what the new covenant promises in him: a new heart. We’ve experienced that in part, and thankfully it shows. But we look forward to the day when this work of God in us will be complete. But until then, we have to strive to be what we are. You’ve heard me say that a hundred times. We must strive to be what we are. We must guard our hearts and deny every evil influence and pursue every good influence. Our concern is not only right behavior externally—what we do, what we don’t do. Our concern is who and what we are inwardly. So we must not only guard and protect our hearts; we must nourish our hearts. Strengthen them in grace. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” Paul says. So the wisdom—the wisdom of God—shapes you from the inside out.

Approach the Scriptures with that conviction driving you. Every time you pick up the Bible, do it with this conviction driving you: that this is good for my heart. This is nourishment. This is protection from foolishness and regret. We Calvinists make a lot of the fact that it is ultimately only the sovereign God who can change the heart. That’s a necessary emphasis and it’s a truth we revel in. But we must never forget that the sovereign God who changes the heart uses means to do it. James tells us, for example: “Of his own will…”—of God, of God’s own will—”Of his own will he brought us forth.” Well, there’s the sovereignty of God in salvation. “Of his own will he brought us forth.” It’s a wonderful truth. But you remember the rest of the verse: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth.” It is by means of his word that we were all given life. And it’s by means of his word that we were converted. And it’s by that same word our transformation of heart continues.

Keep, guard, protect—indeed, strengthen your heart by feeding it the things of God. Do that diligently, Proverbs says. Keep your heart with all diligence so as to shape the course of a life without regret. What verse 23 means, very simply, is that you cannot expect spiritual success without continued and prolonged attention to God’s word, without a careful avoidance of sinful influences.

Now, following the family context here in Proverbs 1-9, we should see this again as a model for parents. What this father wants is to protect and direct his son’s heart to wisdom and to direct his son’s heart away from folly. That’s the parent’s responsibility in a nutshell: direct your child’s heart to wisdom and away from folly. Teach them the importance of it. Make sure they know that this is life-shaping business. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Life is in large measure the result of our choices that we make. Yes. But because of that, guard your heart in order to ensure wise choices. Guard your heart. This is every bit as important for Dad and Mom: to guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life. God give us a heart that is shaped by wisdom, both for his honor and for our good. I recommend it. I would urge you to do it. If you have not already memorized Proverbs 4:23, write it out and memorize it. Put it on the refrigerator door. Right now would be a good time to begin because you’ve already heard the verse now about 15 times this morning. Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life.

All right, as we’ve done before, any discussion on this? Pastor Greg, any input? Pastor Boyd is not able to speak, I guess.