INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 22
"...2 things which are more valuable ...than great riches - 1. To be well spoken of ...2. To be well beloved, to have an interest in the esteem & affections of all about us" "The greatest man in the world must acknowledge God to be his Maker" "...the poorest has the honour to be the work of God's hands as much as the greatest." "All stand upon the same level before God, as they do also in the grave." "We must so reverence God's majesty & authority as to submit with all humility to the commands of his word & the disposals of his providence." "He that keeps his soul, that watches carefully over his own heart & ways, is far from those thorns & snares, for his way is both plain & pleasant." "Ill-gotten gains will not prosper" "Abused power will not last." "What the scorner does. ...he sows discord & makes mischief wherever he comes." "A man in whose spirit there is no guile, & whose speech is always with grace, God will be his friend, Messiah, the Prince, will be his friend." "He defeats all the counsels & designs of false & treacherous men, & turns them to their own confusion." "Sin is foolishness; it is contrary both to our right reason & to our true interest." "Children need to be corrected, & kept under discipline, by their parents; & we all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father (Heb. 12:6, 7)." "It is a desirable thing to know, not only the words of truth, but the certainty of them, that our faith may be intelligent & rational, & may grow up to a full assurance." "He that robs the poor will be found in the end a murderer of himself." "Those we go with we are apt to grow like." "We must not associate ourselves, nor contract an intimacy, with men of broken fortunes, & reputations" CHAPTER 23 "The sin we are here warned against is luxury & sensuality, & the indulgence of the appetite in eating & drinking, a sin that most easily besets us." "...mortify that appetite which has such a power over thee: Be not desirous of dainties." "Be not those that will be rich, that desire it as their chief good & design it as their highest end. I Timothy 6:9." "Immoderate labour, that we may have to hoard, is our sin & folly." "Riches are very uncertain things" "They make themselves wings, & fly away." "We are that really, both to God, & man, which we are inwardly" "If what a wise man says in his wisdom will not be heard, let him hold his peace, & try whether the wisdom of that will be regarded." "Our great care must be about our children's souls; we must not see them in danger of hell without using all possible means, with the utmost care & concern, to snatch them as brands out of everlasting burnings." "The wisdom of children will be the joy of their parents & teachers, who have no greater joy than to see them walk in the truth. 3 John 4." "All the days of our life we must constantly keep up an awe of God upon our spirits, must pay a deference to his authority, & have a dread of his wrath." "The consideration of the end will help to reconcile us to all the difficulties & discouragements of the way." "Children will be a joy to their parents if they be righteous & wise. Righteousness is true wisdom" "If the heart be guided in the way, the steps will be guided & the conversation well ordered." "Truth is that by which the heart must be guided & governed, for without truth there is no goodness." "The intents of our hearts must be fastened. We must make it our own act & deed to devote ourselves to the Lord, & we must be free & cheerful in it. We must not think to divide the heart between God & the world; he will have all or none." "The drunkard & the glutton hate to be reformed, though they are told they shall come to poverty, nay, though they are told they shall come to hell." "Whoredom... Take heed of making any approaches towards this sin, because it is so hard to make a retreat from it" "It is a sin which bewitches men to their ruin." "Covet not that which please the eye, in hopes that it will please the taste; but let thy serious thoughts correct the errors of thy senses & convince thee that that which seems delightful is really hurtful, & resolve against it accordingly. Let not the heart walk after the eye, for it is a deceitful guide." "All sin will be bitterness in the end" "...drinking that which is strong & intoxicating. ...It makes men impure & insolent." "The tongue also grows unruly & talks extravagantly" "What ridiculous incoherent nonsense men will talk when they are drunk" "Their judgments are clouded, & they have no more steadiness & consistency than he that sleeps upon the top of a mast" "So perfectly lost is he to all sense of virtue & honour, & so wretchedly is his conscience seared, that he is not ashamed to say, I will seek it yet again." CHAPTER 24 "Do not think with them, for their heart studies destruction to others, but it will prove destruction to themselves. Do not speak like them, for their lips talk of their mischief." "It is therefore thy wisdom to have nothing to do with them." "Men may by unrighteous practices build their houses, but they cannot establish them, for the foundation is rotten (Hab. 2:9, 10)" "As we grow in knowledge we grow in all grace. II Peter 3:18." "A wise man will compass that by his wisdom which a strong man cannot effect by force of arms." "In our spiritual conflicts we need wisdom, for our enemy is subtle." "Let young men take pains to get wisdom, that they may be qualified for public business, & do it with reputation." "If vain thoughts lodge in the heart, they defile it (Jer. 4:14)." "Be of good courage... & God shall strengthen thy heart." "Those that have tasted honey need no further proof that it is sweet, nor can they by any argument be convinced of the contrary; so those that have experienced the power of truth & godliness are abundantly satisfied of the pleasure of both; they have tasted the sweetness of them" "The just man falls, sometimes falls 7 times perhaps, into sin, sins of infirmity, through the surprise of temptation; but he rises again by repentance, finds mercy with God, & regains his peace." "If wicked people prosper, we must not therefore incline to do as they do." "Those that are of restless, factious, turbulent spirits, commonly pull mischief upon calamity shall rise suddenly." "We must prefer necessaries before conveniences" "...we must not avenge ourselves, because he has said, Vengeance is mine." "Those that are to give instruction to others must receive instruction themselves" CHAPTER 25 "Wicked people are the dross of a nation, the scum of the country, &, as such, to be taken away. If men will not take them away, God will. Psalms 119:119." "It were to be wished that a wise reprover should always meet with an obedient ear, but often it is not so." "We are cautioned to take heed of excess. We must use all pleasures as we do honey, with a check upon our appetite, lest we take more than does us good & make ourselves sick with it." "...we have therefore need to pray, Deliver my soul, O Lord! from lying lips. Psalms 122:2." "The way to turn an enemy into a friend is, to act towards him in a friendly manner." "Heaven is a country afar off; how refreshing is it to hear good news thence, both in the everlasting gospel, which signifies glad tidings, & in the witness of the Spirit with our spirits that we are God's children." "It is here represented as a very lamentable thing" "For the righteous to fall into sin in the sight of the wicked" "For the righteous to be oppressed, & run down, & trampled upon, by the violence or subtlety of evil men" "For the righteous to be cowardly" "The good character of a wise & virtuous man implied. He is one that has rule over his own spirit; he maintains the government of himself, & of his own appetites & passions, & does not suffer them to rebel against reason & conscience." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Job To Song Of Solomon, Mac Donald, pgs. 915 - 940.
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AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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