We may bounce around from place to place rather than just moving from chapter 1 all the way to chapter 31. It's a bit difficult to sort of take the book of Proverbs that way. And so this will be more of a thematic approach as we look at this particular book. And tonight I want to consider the believer's commitment to the Lord in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, a very familiar section of Holy Scripture and one that I hope will be encouraging for our hearts as we consider who God is and as we consider our dependence upon Him. Notice in Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6, we are told that, Let us ask God's help as we look at this passage in more detail. Father, thank you for this word, thank you for this blessed command, and give us the grace, the ears, the hearts to receive it, and give us the grace by the power of the Holy Spirit to heed it, to obey, and to glorify, and to honor you, and to live lives of dependence upon you, to live lives of commitment unto you. And our God and Father, we confess how far short we fall in this area. We confess that as believers we have so much remaining corruption, that as believers we do lean on our own understanding. We don't always acknowledge you in all of our ways, so we confess that sin and we pray for your Holy Spirit to help us, to guide us, to sustain us, and give us grace now as we ponder this text. Give us grace now as we ponder its application in our lives for this coming week and the coming months and years in our lives. May this indeed be a great help to us, and may we receive with thanksgiving your written word. And may you fill us now with the Holy Spirit, for we acknowledge our darkness, we acknowledge our tendency toward that which is evil, We acknowledge that even by nature and even in a state of grace, we have that remaining corruption, that remaining tendency to run from you. We pray your Holy Spirit would illumine our minds and our hearts now, that you would shine the light upon the pages of Holy Scripture, and that you would cause us to receive it joyfully. And we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, last week we considered Proverbs 28.13, whoever covers his sins will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. I highlighted there the confession isn't simply just going through the motions of actually voicing or giving vent to the particular sins that one has engaged in. It involves faith. It involves looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ. It involves trust in Christ. And so I thought it would be good tonight to consider this passage that is about trusting in Yahweh. It says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your steps. And I would suggest that there are three things that we ought to observe here. There is first a command, secondly a prohibition, and then thirdly an exhortation. Note in the first place the command. He says trust. That is a command. It's an imperative. It's not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation. It's not something that might make your life a little bit better if you choose to enact it, but we are commanded to trust in the Lord with all our heart. And I would suggest that this assumes that the Lord is trustworthy. In other words, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is worthy of our trust. Our great God is a God who can be taken at His word. Our great God is the God of absolute truth. Our great God is the God who never lies. Our great God is, in fact, the one that is immutable, that is impassable, that when He enters into covenant with a sinner, He saves that sinner, He owns that sinner, and He keeps that sinner, and that sinner will never be lost because of who God is. So we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart with reference to salvation. In other words, what we are to do in terms of our approach to God is not to try and work it out, it's not to try to perform well, it's not to be moralist, but we need to trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to call upon the name of the Lord and thus we shall be saved. The Bible is very clear, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. So in the first place, this idea of trust in the Lord with all your heart has to mean for salvation. There's no other way of acceptance with God but through Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If we go or we try or we attempt to gain God by our works or by our morality, We are saying that what Christ did on the cross wasn't necessary. If it is the case that righteousness comes through the law, Paul says that Christ died in vain. Rather, we need to look. We need to look and live. The way that Moses lifted up that wilderness, that serpent, rather, in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone who looks to Him will, in fact, live. So we need to trust in the Lord for our salvation. But as well, the book of Proverbs highlights we are to trust in the Lord for all of life. God the Lord is the object of our trust, not only for our salvation, not only for Sunday, but God the Lord is the object of our trust in every area of life. The Bible is sufficient for all matters of faith and practice. The Bible is God's authoritative word, and it speaks to every area. religious practice, ethics, history, science, doctrine, whatever it may be, God's Word comes to us as the authority, as the source, as the guide, as that which should direct us for all of life. So trust in the Lord with all your heart. Matthew Poole says, his wisdom, following his counsels, his power and goodness in expecting success from him, his sovereignty in managing all thy affairs so as to please and glorify him. Charles Bridges comments on this particular verse. He says, this is the polar star of a child of God, faith in his father's providence, promises, and grace. He is truth itself. Therefore, he would have us take him at his word and prove his word to the utmost extent of his power." So the Lord is trustworthy, but as well, go back to chapter 2 to see that the Lord is in fact the source of wisdom and knowledge. In other words, trust in the Lord with all your heart because He is the source of wisdom and knowledge. He's not only the object that is trustworthy, He is the object that is the source of wisdom and knowledge. Notice in Proverbs chapter 2 at verse 6, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity, and every good path." You see, God is trustworthy to be sure. God is also the source of wisdom and knowledge. And the fact is, is that God gives it. Notice that in verse 6, the Lord gives wisdom. We saw that in our study in the book of James. What does James say? To those of you who lack wisdom, go enroll in the local college, buy a book on wisdom through amazon.com. Go ahead and fast and pray and spend hours up in the mountains trying to attain that wisdom. No, he says, ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. Might not be wrong to read a book on wisdom. Might not be wrong to enroll in a local college. But brethren, we go to the source of wisdom, and he gives to all liberally and without reproach. In other words, he doesn't upbraid us. He doesn't mock us. He doesn't say, wow, you're coming back again asking for wisdom. God is not like that. He is generous, He is kind, He is good, and He is, in fact, a giver of knowledge. But if you go back to Proverbs 3, with reference to this command, notice, not only the object of our trust, it's trust in the Lord, but the entirety of our trust. He says, trust in the Lord with all your heart. In other words, we're not supposed to be a divided people. We're not supposed to have one foot in Zion and one foot in the devil's parlor. We're not supposed to have one foot in Zion and one foot in the world. We're not supposed to be a people that are mixed and mingle. We are a people that are to be given wholly to our God. We are to trust in the Lord with all our heart. In other words, it is to be entire. This reminds one of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6, 4. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. The man of God is not only supposed to love God with all his heart, but he is to trust in God with all his heart. There's not to be division. There's not to be that sort of mingling. Gill says, the phrase denotes not so much the strength of faith as the sincerity of it. It signifies a faith unfamed. And I would suggest that even a weak faith could nevertheless be an entire faith. The idea here is that we are not divided with reference to our allegiance to God. You are to trust in the Lord with all your heart. Yes, for salvation, and then in all matters of life. The Lord is, in fact, trustworthy And the Lord himself is the source of wisdom and knowledge. Now note, secondly, the prohibition. He moves from the command, trust in the Lord with all your heart, now he gives a prohibition, and lean not on your own understanding. Lean not on your own understanding. So, look at the particular connection here. Our trust in Yahweh is to be entire with your whole heart, but it's also supposed to be exclusive. In other words, trust alone in Yahweh. Do not lean on your own understanding. The trust that we express with reference to the true and living God is entire, and it's also exclusive. Our trust, Bridges says, must not only be entire, but it must be exclusive. And there is this tendency in the people of God and certainly a tendency among the non-people of God to constantly lean on their own understanding. Now, just a few passages to highlight that Solomon recognizes the depravity of man. You can turn to Proverbs chapter 10. Proverbs chapter 10. We need to remind ourselves of the doctrine of total depravity as it pertains to the godless, but as a corollary, we need to understand the doctrine of remaining corruption as it pertains to the godly. But notice, just to see what Solomon thinks concerning sin. Proverbs 10.23, to do evil is like sport to a fool. Proverbs 11.3b, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. Proverbs 20 at verse 9, we'll be moving through many of these passages tonight. Proverbs chapter 20 at verse 9, who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin. That's the doctrine of depravity. There is that tendency in man to reject and resist God and to lean on his own understanding. Notice in Proverbs 21, 4, a haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin. In other words, everything he does. Proverbs 21.10, the soul of the wicked desires evil. His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. And then Proverbs 30.11-14, often thought this really does characterize our own generation. But it wasn't unique to our own generation. But certainly, look at Proverbs 30.11-14. There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. So understanding this whole idea of total depravity with reference to the godless and remaining corruption with reference to the godly, we need to appreciate that temptation to lean on our own understanding. Now, I want to offer up three examples from Proverbs of how persons lean on their own understanding. In the first place, just an outright reliance on self. Just an outright reliance on self. I think this is the most narrow definition of lean not on your own understanding. It is to rely on yourself. It is to lean on your own understanding. It is to think that you are the measure of all things. It is to think that you are the source of wisdom and knowledge. It's not Yahweh. He's not the one that gives these things, but rather I know them and I know them better. Let's look at Proverbs 14, 12. Proverbs 14 12 there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death and Proverbs 16 25 Essentially repeats that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death Death. You see, this is what man is when he leans on his own understanding. There's a way that seems right unto him, and that way that seems right unto him involves violating God's law, lacking conformity unto God's law. doing those things that gratify His flesh, doing those things that the Father warns about in this particular book. The Father warns the Son about sexual immorality. The Father warns the Son about the harlot. The Father warns the Son about the immoral woman. And yet, what will some inevitably do? There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end is death. As well, notice in Proverbs 11. Proverbs 11, just to see this reliance on self. Proverbs 11, specifically, Verses 3 and 6, the integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful will be caught by their lust." You see the contrast. The righteous does what God calls him to do. The righteous trusts in Yahweh with his heart. The righteous does not lean on his own understanding, but the unrighteous rejects Yahweh. He leans on his own understanding in the end therein. is death. That is what Solomon tells us. He is warning his sons with reference to this. Notice in verses 19 to 21 in Proverbs 11, as righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished, but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered. And then verse 27 in that passage, he who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil. You see the contrasting statements in terms of the righteous and the unrighteous. Well, the righteous are trusting in God with their heart. They're not leaning on their own understanding. The unrighteous rejects or resists God, and that person leans on his own understanding. Notice in Proverbs 12.1, whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Notice Proverbs 12, 15 to 16. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. A fool's wrath is known at once, but a prudent man covers shame. And then Proverbs 14, verse 29. Proverbs 14 and verse 29, he who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly. Jeremiah 17 is another passage we might mention. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. I think Bridges nails this, this whole idea of lean not on your own understanding. He says, it is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without his counsel. Let me just repeat that because I think it's so important. Bridges says, it is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without his counsel. In other words, Bridges is saying we're messed up and we need help. You know, most often, that's the place where repair begins, admitting that you're messed up and that you need help. I realize that sounds like AA, but it's a biblical concept. You need to realize you're messed up and that you need help. That's the bottom line. And Bridges says, to lean on your own understanding is nothing short of self-idolatry. He says, be in the habit of going to Him in the first place before self-will, self-pleasing, self-wisdom, human friends, convenience, expediency. So in terms of this lean not on your own understanding, there is this reliance on self. Secondly, I think it evidences itself through the rejection of godly parents. The rejection of godly parents. Turn back to Proverbs chapter 1. Many of the admonitions that come, many of the exhortations that come are directed by a father to his son. Notice in Proverbs 1, verse 10. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. It's the text I used to cite with my children when I dropped them off at school. I would tell them, if sinners entice you, do not consent. I always thought that was a good thing to sort of leave them with as they left my vehicle and went into the school. But it's a Christian school, yeah. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. That is absolutely imperative. Notice as well, Proverbs 2, verse 1. My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you. Proverbs 3, verse 1. My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands. Proverbs 3, verse 11, my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord. Proverbs 4, verse 1, hear my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to no understanding. Proverbs 4, verse 10, hear my son and receive my sayings. Proverbs 4, verse 20. My son, give attention to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings. Proverbs 5, verse 1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Lend your ear to my understanding. Proverbs 5, verse 7. Therefore, hear me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. There, specifically, the context with reference to sexual immorality. You see, God has put parents over you. And a reliance on self oftentimes includes a rejection of godly parents. You need to fight against that tendency, fight and resist that tendency to lean on your own understanding. Praise God you have Christian parents, and praise God that they're telling you the right things to do. And pray to God that he will give you hearing ears so that you'll obey what your parents say. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. So when we look at this whole idea of lean not on your own understanding, certainly there is reliance on self. Certainly there is a rejection of godly parents. But then thirdly, there is a reception of ungodly influence. The reception of ungodly influence. Notice in Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13, verse 20. There's a doctrine of bad company corrupting in the book of Proverbs, and we need to appreciate that. Proverbs 13, 20, he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Isn't that just beautifully simple? Why don't you want me hanging out with that person? Because they're fools and you'll be destroyed. It just doesn't get any easier, does it? You see, this whole idea of resisting or rejecting rather godly parents, relying on oneself, oftentimes ends with persons relying as well on ungodly influence. And Solomon highlights that. Notice in Proverbs 23 at verse 17. Proverbs 23, 17, do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day, for surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off. You see the gist of this passage. Don't envy. Sinners don't look around and see what they've got and say, wow, I'd like to have that too. No, you need to fear God. You need to be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off. In other words, do not be obsessed with immediate gratification. Oh, they're having fun right now. I've got to jump on that bandwagon and do whatever it is they do. No! You need to be zealous for the Lord, fear the Lord every day, all the day, because there is a hereafter. Serving God does pay off, not in a, you know, weird Benny Hinn sort of way, but there is a blessing to be had with the people of God, and it's oftentimes caught up in a future orientation. In other words, we're like Moses. We would rather suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. This is Solomon's point. Do not let your heart envy sinners. Don't be caught up with jealousy on what they've got. Don't look at them and be allured into that specific situation, but rather resist it. Fear God always. Notice in Proverbs 23, 19 to 21. Hear my son and be wise and guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with wine-bibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. It's good counsel, isn't it? Don't hang out with that group of people. Lean not on your own understanding. You don't have the wherewithal to choose the best people that you ought to spend the most time with. Notice Proverbs 24, verses 1 and 2. Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking. So we need to understand the reception of ungodly influences is, again, to leaning on our own understanding. You know what's ironic? And you know what's sad? And you know what's a bit pathetic? Is that Solomon's own son, Rehoboam, did not take this counsel. Solomon's son Rehoboam in 1 Kings chapter 12, at the division of the kingdom, Rehoboam was challenged by a man named Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. And Rehoboam says, let me seek some counsel. And he first appeals to the godly elders that had stood in the presence of the wisest man that had ever lived, namely Solomon. He hears their counsel, and then he calls for his friends. He calls for the youths. He calls for his contemporaries. And he says, what would you have me to do? And guess who he sides with? He does not side with the godly elders in terms of what he will speak to Israel. And it was a mess. It was terrible. Certainly it was consistent with God's plan and purpose to bring that division, to bring that judgment upon the house of Israel. But from a human standpoint, what Rehoboam did was directly contrary to what Solomon had taught him to do. So we see the command, we see the prohibition. Now thirdly and finally, let's look at the exhortation. The exhortation in Proverbs 3. He says, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. So, notice we move from an entire commitment to God to an exclusive commitment to God, and now an exhaustive commitment to God. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. Not some of your ways, not your Sunday ways, not your religious life ways, but in your business ethics, in your family, in your responsibility to civil government, in your job, in your employer-employee relationships, in your society, in your neighborhood, in all your ways acknowledge Him. We are not to be the sorts of people that pick and choose wherein we will show allegiance to God. The Lord God is most high. The Lord God has absolute authority over us. And it is both our responsibility and, dare I say, our great privilege to acknowledge Him in all our ways, trusting that He shall indeed direct our paths. So, all matters of faith and practice all require us to acknowledge God. The word literally, in all your ways, know Him. be acquainted with Him, understand Him. It's the simple word, know, the way it's used so beautifully in Scripture. Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts, boasts that he knows Yahweh. And so what Solomon says, in all your ways know Him. How do we know Him? It's not by direct revelation. It's not by shimmying up Mount Sham, eating locusts and wild honey and waiting for a sign. It's through that thing that's open in your lap. It's through the word of God. It's through scripture. It's through prayer. It's through meditation. We are to know God. And this is what Solomon says. Charles Bridges comments. He says, now, if we be weaned from the idolatry of making our bosom our oracle and our heart our counselor, If in true poverty of spirit we go every morning to our Lord as knowing not how to guide ourselves for this day, our eye constantly looking upward for direction, the light will come down. I love that. Our eye constantly looking upward for direction, the light will come down. Those who seek me will find me, God says. Bridges continues, he shall direct thy paths. He says, we want no new revelations or visible tokens. Study the word with prayer. You see, this is achievable or attainable. The command, trust in the Lord with all your heart. The prohibition, lean not on your own understanding. And then the exhortation, in all your ways know Him. That's not esoteric. That's not just for the few that are the enlightened. That's not just for the doctors or the reverends or the whoever's in the church. It's for all of us. In all your ways, know Him. We have a way, we have an issue, we have a situation. We search the scriptures to find God's Word. We search the scriptures with reference to explicit texts. This is the way I think we ought to approach the Bible. When we come to a particular situation, we look for explicit texts. For instance, should I go out and murder? No, there's an explicit text that forbids Murder. You see, that's how you get your answers from the Word of God. It's not sort of rolling the dice or trying to read tea leaves. Now, there might be implicit answers. Should I drink and drive? Well, you know, in the Old Testament, there was the case of the goring ox. And if the master knew that the ox had the tendency to go out and gore, then the master of the ox, or rather the owner of the ox, was liable to the death penalty if his ox got out and gored. That ought to inform my mind with reference to drinking and driving. If I go out and operate a motor vehicle under, and I'm not suggesting, you know, that we even think about this. I'm trying to illustrate the point. We move from explicit, don't murder, to implicit. Does the Bible comment on drunk driving? No, not necessarily and specifically, but the goring ox certainly shows a bit of sort of similarity and analogy and responsibility. You see, there's other things in life, there might not be an explicit text, the implication might not be so readily obvious, so then we look for various principles. We look for what does God's Word say in terms of some general overarching principles to a particular issue or to a particular situation. You see, brethren, it's not magic. It's not hocus-pocus. The Bible isn't a holy horseshoe. The Bible isn't, you know, tea leaves. The Bible isn't those lines on your hands that people read sometimes to tell you if you're going to live long. The Bible is a book that is given to us by God, and God's equipped us with a mind. He's made us in His image. One of the primary aspects of that image-bearing is that we're rational humans, we're rational beings. We take our minds, our hearts, our souls, our strength to the scriptures, and we ask God, what should I do in this given situation? Now, if you think that sounds like too much work, then, you know, go be a Buddhist and just wear an orange robe and hum. I mean, this just isn't a lot of work. This is what we ought to do. What does Paul say in Romans chapter 12? He tells us we're to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, which is what? There's many ways you could translate the word. Some translate it, which is your spiritual service, which is your rational service, which is your reasonable service. In other words, the apostle's argument seems to go this way. If what I've written in Romans 1 to 11 is true, and of course, Paul would say that it's true because he wrote it under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If the gospel is true, If you were a guilty, vile, wretched, hell-deserving sinner for whom Jesus died, whom God justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, based on the federal headship of Christ, according to Romans 5, if you've received the Holy Spirit, if all of these things are true of you, if it's all according to the electing purposes and predestinating plan of God, then you present in your bodies as a living sacrifice That's reasonable. Do you follow the drift? If God has done this, then it's reasonable that you give him everything. And so brethren, when it comes to in all your ways acknowledge him, don't whine, don't snivel, don't cry and don't complain, open your Bibles and read. And then notice the incentive. I mean, God incentivizes us. He doesn't have to, just acknowledge me is sufficient. But notice what Solomon says in verse 6, "...in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." He shall direct your paths. And I want to just sketch or highlight or illustrate some of the ways that God highlights or rather directs our paths, the way that God is present in our lives. Solomon shows that he's a great theologian in 1 Kings 8. When he dedicates the temple, he gives, in terms of his prayer, a foundation. And the foundation of his prayer is what's called theology proper, or a doctrine of God. And in that particular expression of his theology proper, he highlights two things about God that we should always keep in mind. God is transcendent. That means God is removed from us. God is wholly other. God is not like us. You'll oftentimes hear Pastor Porter or myself say, he is not in the same sort of order of being that we are. He is creator, we are creature. He is transcendent. Well, Solomon upholds that in Proverbs. Notice the creator-creature distinction in Proverbs 3.19. The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens. By his knowledge, the depths were broken up and clouds dropped down the dew. In other words, Solomon acknowledges that God made the world and all things in it by the word of his power in the space of six days, and all very good. Solomon acknowledges the transcendence of God. But in 1 Kings 8, his theology proper, and in the book of Proverbs, Solomon also recognizes what's called the imminence of God. And the imminence of God means that he's near to us. He is present with us. He is in the trenches there with us. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. We always have our God present. Our God, the creator, the blessed and holy one of Israel is nevertheless present with his people in their various paths of life. And the book of Proverbs highlights that eminence of God. It highlights specifically his goodness. It highlights very particularly that he does direct paths. Notice Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. It's one of the means by which He directs our paths, isn't it? We need our paths directed in this manner, the same way that parental authority often directs the paths of inferiors with corporal punishment. In other words, there are times when correction upon an erring son or an erring daughter is a blessing to keep them on the right path. Well, Yahweh, our God, does that. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Notice in Proverbs 3, 33b. Well, again, the contrast. Verse 33, the curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses, notice, the home of the just. The Lord blesses the home of the just. You want blessing on your home? Be just, justified freely by grace, obviously, in our Lord Jesus Christ, but be a man, a woman, a boy, and a girl who are seeking to honor God in all your ways. Notice his favor upon those who seek wisdom, Christ speaking as wisdom in Proverbs 8, verse 35. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. His temporal provision, notice in Proverbs 10, 3. The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but he casts away the desire of the wicked. And then again in verse 22. This is all expressions of, or manifestations of, or evidences to the fact that God directs the paths of His people. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Notice in Proverbs 10... I'm sorry, Proverbs 10.22, the blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Notice his favor toward the good, Proverbs 12, 2. A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of wicked intentions he will condemn. Notice his protection afforded to his people, Proverbs 14, 26 and 27. In the fear of Yahweh, there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge. The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life to turn one away from the snares of death. And then, of course, in that vein, this idea of protection, notice in Proverbs 18. Proverbs 18.10, the name of Yahweh is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. Note God's care for the widow back in Proverbs 15. Again, just sketching how the paths of man are under the purview of God and how the Lord directs the paths of his people according to his will And this indeed incentivizes us to acknowledge him in all of our ways. Notice in 1525, he says, the Lord will destroy the house of the proud, but he will establish the boundary of the widow. You see, he is a champion of the defenseless. He's a champion of the widow and orphan. He's a champion and defender of the most marginalized among us. Notice his provision of intellectual stability in Proverbs 16, 3. Commit your works to the Lord and your what? Your thoughts will be established. Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. Notice his vindication of the poor, Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22, 22 and 23, do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them. And then his provision of justice, Proverbs 25, 21 and 22, if your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for so you will heat coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you." And again in Proverbs 29, 26. Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord. You see, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. And this ultimately, finally results in the blessedness of man. In other words, what's the path to true happiness in life? It's not leaning on your own understanding. It's not rejecting trust in Yahweh. It's not surrounding yourself with fools, winebibbers, and gluttonous eaters of meat. Those aren't the pathway, or those aren't the sort of stepping stones to a happy life. True happiness for the creature is what? It's the presence of his creator. The true blessing of man is ultimately in his God. You know, the Westminster Shorter Catechism starts there. What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to what? It's to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. You know, the catechism of the 21st century would be, what is the chief end of man? Well, man's chief end is to go to this university, it's to secure this particular position, it's to have this minivan, it's to have this wife, it's to have this, you know, 2.3 children, it's to have the dog, it's to have the cat, it's to have the whatever. You know, that's not... the way it's supposed to be. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That's the chief end of man. And when we, by grace, trust in the Lord with all our heart and do not lean on our own understanding, in all our ways we acknowledge Him, we know the favor of God. Turn to Proverbs 11. Proverbs chapter 11. Verse 20, those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their ways are his delight. It's not a great concept to be the delight of God. What makes God happy? And again, it's speaking in the manner of men. God is eternally always blessed in and of himself. This is an expression to us to show us something true concerning God. He is pleased with his people. Notice in Proverbs 12, 22, Proverbs 12, 22, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are what? They're His delights. Isn't that a beautiful concept? You could actually be the delight of God. It's a tough concept, isn't it? Me? I'm not a delight to anybody. Why in the world would God delight in me? Because He's God, and He's good, and He's excellent. Proverbs 15, 8b. Proverbs 15, 8b. Don't read 8a, because we're going to come back to 8a. But look at 15, 8b. But the prayer of the upright is His delight. I've always thought that this would be a great incentive to pray as well. Isn't that a great incentive to pray? Well, why should I pray? God's sovereign. He already knows what I want. Well, He commands you to pray. It's an expression of your dependence upon God. And it's His delight. Don't you like to please your spouse? Well, you know, not really. Again, repent, forsake your wickedness. The whole idea of being married is seeking to please your spouse. You're in communion with the living God. What ought to be your aim? To glorify Him, to please Him, to bring delight to Him. Why would you rob Him of prayer? Why if God says he loves it when his children pray, you don't pray? Why do you neglect the closet? Why do you neglect the corporate prayer meeting? Why neglect the family altar? Why is it that we are a prayerless people when God delights in the prayer of the upright? If this is a real tangible way we can make God happy, then we certainly ought to be about it. In other words, we pray because God commands it, we pray because it expresses our dependence upon God, and we pray because He delights in it. And you can kind of get it when you see the human analogy, can't you? Don't you love it when your kids talk to you? Isn't that good? Again, it's kind of overrated. Again, repent, forsake your sin. It's great. You know, the kids come home, they're little, they're bubbly, they're happy, they want to see you. It's a good thing. I love coming to church on Sunday and the grandkids running over and giving me a hug. That's good. That's a delight. When they talk to me, I don't say, oh, I don't want to hear it. It's a drudgery. No, talk to me. Tell me about your rocks. We went and found some gems yesterday. I don't think they're real gems or gem just means that's where they were rocks that look nice. And the grandkids, the boys got some. And you know, what'd you do with your rocks? Did you throw them in the water? No, no, I put them on my dresser. They're great. They look good. I want to hear that. It's a delight. Why would we rob God of something that we can actually do to please him? We don't have a lot in our wheelhouse in terms of being able to please God, do we? There's not like this long list of options. Okay, I can do this, that, and the other. I can pray. Every single one of us can pray, and yet we don't. And then notice in 15.9b, but he loves him who follows righteousness. Now, I didn't want to read the contrasting parts in chapter 15, because not only do we see God's favor and hence the blessedness of man, but we ought to see the contrast with the wicked. God despises his sacrifice. Notice in 15.8a, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The way of the wicked, verse 9a, is an abomination to the Lord. The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, verse 26a. And the Lord is far from the wicked, according to verse 29. Now, far from the wicked doesn't mean that God cuts off His omnipresence or His imminence with reference to the wicked. He is present in terms of nearness, but it has to do with communion. It has to do with familiarity. Yahweh is far from the wicked. And then it goes on to say, but He is there. where he hears, rather, the prayer of the righteous. Well, brethren, that is the command, the prohibition, and the exhortation. And I want to highlight, again, the emphasis in the text. It demands entire commitment with all your heart. There's to be no division of heart in our service to God. Again, this is not natural for us, and even in a state of grace with remaining corruption, we need to pray, God, increase my entirety of heartness with reference to trusting in Yahweh. Matthew 12, 30, the Lord Jesus Christ said, He who is not with me is against me. 1 Kings 18, 21, the prophet Elijah lays down the challenge. If Baal is God, serve him. If Yahweh is God, serve him. How long will you falter between two options? In other words, don't try to have a bit of Baal and a bit of Yahweh. Rather, give your heart fully to the Lord God Most High. As well, it's to be an exclusive commitment. Lean not on your own understanding. We need to reject all rival objects of guidance and direction, certainly. wine-bibbers and gluttonous eaters of meat, certainly fools that will only lead us down a path of destruction, certainly we embrace the good and godly counsel of our parents, and certainly we are acknowledging Yahweh in all of our ways, which brings us to that exhaustive commitment, in all your ways acknowledge Him. Remember that all of life is lived before the eye of God. As well, we need to be encouraged by this particular text. Just again, ponder the last statement there. And he shall direct your paths. Isn't that good news? You're not serving Baal. Baal doesn't have eyes. that he sees with. He doesn't have ears that he hears with. He doesn't have a mouth that he speaks with. He has no nose with which to smell. Baal is a dumb, dead idol. Yahweh is the true and living God. He is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. And he pleases to direct the paths of his people who seek him on a regular basis. And then the fact that Yahweh displays. Now, I want to try and show you this. The fact that Yahweh displays this same sort of commitment to his people. In other words, God's not asking us for entire, exclusive, exhaustive commitment, while he himself is somewhat disinterested in us. or while he himself just deportions out a little bit to his people. No, the Lord our God is most glorious. The Lord our God responds to his people entirely, exclusively, and exhaustively. Our confession of faith describes God in this way, and I think it's most glorious. It says that He's most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute. Now, if you think back to the scripture reading in Jonah chapter 3, and I may have alluded to it along the way in this sermon, I said that God is immutable. That means He does not change. He cannot change. I also said that God is impassable, that God does not go through emotional change. Well, the fact that he's immutable and impassable led to this formulation. Again, he can't be most if he's subject to change. Most means, get this, it means most. There's no growth, there's no diminishment. There's no increase, there is no taking away. The Lord our God is most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will for His own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Now, you may struggle with this idea that He's entirely and exclusively and exhaustively committed to us. God's able to do that because He is a most pure spirit. He is pure act. He's not parceled out among the rabble. He doesn't give you 33 and a third percent, you 33 and a third percent, you 33 percent. All that God is, He is for each and every one of His people. He's not a compounded being. He's not put together in parts. He's not spent at the end of the day. He isn't weary. He doesn't need rest. He doesn't need sleep. He doesn't need to go on vacation. He never undergoes burnout. He's never too tired to deal with his people. When you pray to God, you don't get a piece of his attention. You get all of God. All that is in God is God, and that is all available for his people. So it's not outlandish for me to suggest that God's commitment to you and I is entire. It's exclusive. It's exhaustive. Now, if you say, well, that's a theological construction. We need to see that in the Bible. Please turn to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah the prophet, Jeremiah 32. Jeremiah 32 is a promise of the new covenant, what God intends to do with reference to His people. Now, it's spoken in an Old Covenant context, so there's some language that is appropriate to that Old Covenant context, but the promises are with reference to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and His incarnation in His work of redemption to gather His people together in that glorious church. Notice in Jeremiah 32, 36, now, therefore, thus Excuse me, says the Lord, the God of Israel concerning this city of which you say it shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I've driven them in my anger and my fury and in great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. Yes, now notice this language. I will rejoice over them, to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land." Notice the language, with all my heart and with all my soul. Brethren, when you or I pray to God, we don't get just a little bit. It's not the case that he's answering calls in China. We come to him here in North America and he says, hang on, I've got to deal with this lot over here. And all that God is, he is to all of us. Get it out of your head that he's somehow divided. Get it out of your head that he's like us. Get it out of your head that he can't multitask. Get it out of your head that he can't always be all that he is to all of his people in the same way. But I got God on a good day. Tuesdays are the best. Go to God on Tuesday. You seem to get whatever it is you want. That's not how we're supposed to think of God. God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He doesn't change. He doesn't fluctuate. He doesn't get better. He doesn't get worse. He is most. And as most, He gives Himself to His people entirely, exclusively, and exhaustively. Now, again, that doesn't mean we exhaust him, and it doesn't mean we somehow mess with him. The point is, he's not asking us to do something in Proverbs 3, 5 to 6, that he is not willing and able to do for us. Well, brethren, I hope this is an encouragement. Certainly Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 speaks to a whole world and life view. We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We are to see that all our ways are before God. We ought to see the absolute necessity of trusting in Him with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding, but acknowledging Him and thus knowing that He will direct our steps. Well, let us pray. Father, thank You for Your Word, and thank You for Your grace, and thank You for the fact that You are all that our Bible says You are. And help us to not approach You in a piecemeal fashion. Help us not to think that You are a divided or a compounded being or that You are made up of God parts, help us to recognize that you are indeed pure spirit, and what you are, you are for the good of your people. May this be an encouragement to us, may it be a means of help to us, and may we as well appreciate this text, and may we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, seek to put it into practice. And again, forgive us that we so often fall short, forgive us that we so often don't acknowledge you in all our ways, Help us, Lord God, to repent, but help us as well to rejoice in the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ kept all the demands of God's law, that he died on our behalf, that he rose again. And may this not diminish our desire to do what you call us to do, but may it empower it. May you encourage us. May the grace of the gospel be the impetus to pursue holiness in our lives. Go with us now, we pray, and grant us help and strength and grace. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.