LIFE QUEST - A STUDY IN PROVERBS
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
REF:
Psalms 49:20 Man [that is] in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts [that] perish.
Psalms 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 10:23 [It is] as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
Proverbs 14:29 [He that is] slow to wrath [is] of great understanding: but [he that is] hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
Psalms 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
CONTRAST THE GAIN OBTAINED THROUGH THE UNGODLY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE WE LEARN OUTSIDE OF GOD, THE WAY OF THE OF THE WORLD; THE END IS DEATH.
Mark 8:36 {For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?} {Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?}
CONTRAST THE RESULTS OF GODLY WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING;
Proverbs 4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let [her] not go: keep her; for she [is] thy life.
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Ref:
Matthew 5:14 {Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.}
Matthew 5:16 {Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.}
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, {I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.}
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.
REF:
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: [but] he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Luke 6:45 {A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.}
Matthew 15:17 {Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?} {But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.} {For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:} {These are [the things] which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.}
Psalms 24:3-5 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
1 Peter 1:22-23 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
LET US EARNESTLY PRAY AS DAVID DID:
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalm 51:7-13