Proverbs 31

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Growing up is not easy, and neither is being a parent. What does it mean to be mature? Is it being able to drink alcohol and experience pleasures that children are too young to enjoy? Surely the good life is more than partaking of what has long been forbidden.

A boy who would grow up to be a man of influence must learn the meaning of responsibility. To be responsible for the lives of others is serious business. It cannot be learned by stealing pleasures from the innocent and indulging in enjoyments that by right belong to someone else.

A man who learns how to deny his flesh and to pursue true integrity can be trusted to guard the lives of people that are in his care. Someone who never grows up will have a hard time seeing that his life is about more than himself.

The good man will have a heart for the weak and will defend the rights of the poor. He will know God as the Maker of all mankind and will honor every human being as someone created in the image of God.

Such a man learns from his youth what it means to sacrifice self for the good of those in his protection. That kind of young man becomes even better by the choice of an excellent wife.

There are many flighty girls who have seductive bodies and friendly eyes, but not very many of them would make good partners for life.

The church is destined to be the wife of the Lord Jesus for eternity. What kind of bride will we be? How should we live now as those who have this amazing destiny?

Our eyes need to be seeking out great blessing for this good Man and for all who are a part of His household. We know that we have His steadfast love and faithfulness. He has bound them around His neck and written them on the tablet of His heart. The wedding ring on His finger is inscribed with these wonderful words: “I for my beloved,” and the ring on our finger bears the reply, “And my beloved for me.” (Song 6:3) He will never leave us.

With this confidence, we are free to be the most excellent wife we can be for our glorious husband. If we rise up early in the morning it is with this in mind, that all that we do in this life we do for our Husband who is a very worthy Man.

When we care for others in our household and beyond, we know that they all belong to Him, and our actions of love for them are an expression of our devotion to Him. When we dress ourselves and others respectfully, especially wearing the righteous garments of good deeds, we do so as those who have no intention of bringing any disgrace upon our Lord. When we care for the poor in His city we feed the very people that He loves. When we work late into the evening and make good use of every gift He has given us it is because our highest desire is to please the Man who is already pleased with us.

Our Husband calls us “blessed.” We are blessed.

If we have an opportunity to live out some small portion of the glory of this eternal marriage over the course of many decades among the people of this transient world, if we can be loving and wise husbands or delightful and respectful wives, we are doubly blessed. But even if the joys of a fulfilling earthly marriage elude us, we can have confidence in the love of the Husband of the church.

The weakest disciple of Jesus has this great Man as our companion for all eternity. Serve Him with gladness today and always, and may the works that He has for you today bring you praise forever in the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, we must be men and women of character. Teach us to love integrity more than wine. Give us new hearts, that we might serve the poor and the needy. Grant that the young women within Your kingdom would have a true desire for diligence, wisdom, and generosity. Give them great skill and dignity. Grant to them excellence of thought and speech. May our young men desire women of character, women who fear You, and who are committed to serving You. May Your church rejoice in this great truth: that we together are the one bride of Christ, the greatest of all husbands, and that we are being sanctified to serve Him well now and forever.

Proverbs 30

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“Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, and what is His Son's Name?” God has revealed Himself supremely to mankind through His Son Jesus. How could we know the Lord personally unless He condescended to show us who He is? How could we understand what life would be like beyond this world of death unless God revealed to us what it meant to be a human being who passed from mortality to immortality?

The Son of God has come down from heaven to be our Redeemer. He has given to us a knowledge of the Father and of the holy land of the kingdom of heaven. The Creator of all that is seen and unseen has taught us eternal truths that have been hidden for all ages. Now we even have the mind of Christ in us, the Holy Spirit.

Shall we add our words to His? Will our musings be counted as equal in weight to the Word of God? “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

But how can we trust the Bible to be the true Word of the Lord? Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead, is our confidence. He taught that Scripture could not be broken. (John 10:30-35) Because Jesus believed in the written Word of God, so must we.

The Son of God is trustworthy. He was not a liar or a lunatic, and He is the One who said in the presence of His detractors, “I and the Father are one.” He is faithful, and His Word is a very reliable foundation for living. Our Lord knows what to give us in life so that we can experience growth in faith and love.

“There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.” The existence of evil all around us and within us is obvious to the honest observer of the human condition. But who can fix our sorrows and take away our guilt? Who can restore light to a dark world? Only the Ruler over heaven and earth, the Lord God. His solution to the woes of this world is both intellectually and spiritually satisfying.

Consider the wonders of creation and the glories of heaven revealed to us in the Word. Think about the animals of the wild and learn even from them, but do not neglect the Word of the Creator. Meditate upon Jesus, and place your hand over your mouth in awe of the One who gave Himself in His death that we might have life in His resurrection.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God of Life, grant us energy and wisdom for living. You are the great Author of Creation, and Your Son is the Word of truth. Teach us the blessing of Your provision of daily bread. Train us to know that we are creatures. We turn to You and humbly submit to Your decrees. There is much that we do not understand, yet we know in our hearts when we have done wrong. Grant us the grace of repentance. May we learn the lessons You have for all men from observation of Your works of providence among the vast array of Your creatures.

Proverbs 29

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“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” It is pitiful to watch someone who refuses to listen to sound words. We have a God who is so patient. He is full of wisdom and compassion and He is willing to teach us.

It is such a senseless waste of passion to be unmovable in the pursuit of error. A stubborn man not only hurts himself, he makes life difficult for those around him. A man who will turn from sin and serves the Lord with the gifts that he has been given can bring great blessing even to an entire city. “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.”

Even a perfectly righteous man will not make everyone happy. Many people who imagine that they are right with God on their own terms will be full of criticism or even malice when they meet a man who seeks to rejoice in the Lord and serve Him according to His Word. “Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.” Consider the envy of the Pharisees when the sinless Son of God came to save the ungodly. They were indignant. They hated Him.

Christ continued in His love for the weak despite the violent opposition He faced from powerful religious men. Instead of being defeated by evil, He overcame evil with good. (Romans 12:21) Jesus brought forth a kingdom that will never end. “If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.”

In this fallen world the wicked may seem to be unstoppable, but a time is coming when our Righteous King will return. On that great day His victory will be manifestly complete. “When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.”

Our great Leader is with us even now by His Holy Spirit. We do well to consider the Word that He brings to us and to observe everything that He has commanded. When He disciplines us we can remember that His purposes are full of grace toward His children. We need to reject any remaining stubbornness and receive His guidance with an eager heart. “Whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, we must not stiffen our necks against You. There are dangers all around us. Only by Your wisdom will we escape the traps that seem to be on every side. When we fall, Your Son is still near, and He will rescue us. Teach us to remember the day of discipline and to learn from our trials. Your Son has kept the Law. We are blessed in Him. We should be the most gentle people, for we have been saved by Your grace. We trust You, O Lord, and we find abundant safety in You.

Proverbs 28

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“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” We understand from the New Testament that “perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) Our God has made sure promises to us that have been secured through the death of His Son. The resurrection of Jesus provides evidence for us of the life that awaits us beyond this dying world. Even now the Lord is in perfect control of all the events in our lives. Because of our God, the righteous can be as bold as lions. We live in the certainty of the promises of our King.

This does not mean that everything that we experience in our lives will be morally good or pleasant. Wickedness, poverty, and oppression are still with us. Yet as we seek the Lord we can understand justice, beauty, truth, goodness, and order. We can pursue these with the confidence that the Lord will care for us even beyond this life.

“The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding.” May the Lord continue to grant to us listening ears. We need a life that is filled with the Word of God where the Almighty King of Creation and Providence hears us when we call out to Him. “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

This good life of communion with the Lord requires the humility of confession and repentance. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” We also have this New Testament encouragement to bring our honest confession to the Lord: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Because of God's abundant grace, we can experience the joy of His mercy every day.

“Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always.” The righteous man will be as bold as a lion if he has learned how to live a humble life before the Lord. True reverence for the Lord is full of rewards. The life of stubborn rejection of Jehovah's commandments makes no sense for us. “He who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.” May God deliver us from evil decisions that will only invite further calamity into our lives.

We need to see the good provision that the Almighty has given to us through the work of Jesus Christ. In Him we not only find all that we need for salvation, we also discover true joy for living and the blessings that come from trusting God and giving generously to others in need. Greed will only poison our minds and it will never seem like we have enough. Trusting in the Lord will lead to an eternity of glorious bounty.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O God, what will we do when the wicked come against us? Grant us powerful aid from heaven when the strong would oppress the poor. We will be generous to those in need. We will not lead the simple astray. Help us to guide Your people home to You through our words and actions. Keep us tender in our sympathies and our understanding. Teach us to walk in integrity. Make us faithful in every test by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for those who have gone before us. We honor the memory of the godly, and thank You for Your grace in their lives and in ours.

Proverbs 27

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“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” God has called us to a life of humble and thankful enjoyment of Him and of the good gifts that He grants to us. The restless hearts of natural men are not satisfied with these blessings for very long. We want something more.

We look for praise from someone we can see. We cannot see God.

Yet the Lord speaks. We can receive a message about His greatness by considering the universe that He created. We also have the record of His written Word given to us in the Scriptures.

In our search for honor and bounty from some other source than God we can quickly fall into trouble. We have a Friend in Jesus Christ who comes to us with earnest counsel. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” He leads us away from idolatry, pride, and rebellion and guides us home. It is a privilege to approach the Almighty through the help of Jesus.

The unseen God works through ambassadors who can be seen. When they speak according to His Word, the voice of the Lord comes to the assembly of His children. Together we draw near to heaven and the King of that realm meets us and leads us in paths of humble obedience.

We need to abide in Jesus who has become our spiritual dwelling place. “Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from home.” Though we face many deceptions and dangers in this world under the wrath and curse of God, we can ask for no better Guide to a new world of life than the One who came here to rescue us from sin and death. He frees us from bondage to evil and calls us to worship Him.

Long ago Jesus told His disciples to continue to gather for communion with these words: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19) Around the Lord's table we catch a glimpse of a new life, a new family, and a new home. Our Father in heaven calls us to the stability of holy living. “Be wise my son, and make my heart glad.”

Is this life of following God's Word without difficulty? The Lord has assured us that we will face tests and troubles under the sun, where “riches do not last forever” and a “crown” does not “endure to all generations.” Death and the grave never seem to be satisfied in this dying world, they just keep on coming. Yet Christ has conquered both for us. He not only takes us to heaven, He also shows us how to live a godly life on earth. He is well aware that in this world we will face tribulation, but we can enjoy Him and the good gifts that He gives us even now as we wait for the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven to come upon the earth.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, You know the beginning from the end. We trust You. We marvel at the perfect wisdom of Your Son. Every impulse and detail of His heart and life was perfect. He related perfectly in all family relationships. He discerned every right opportunity for friendship and service. The heart of our Savior was perfect, just as the Man Himself was perfect. His glory will last forever. His righteousness is eternal. In Him we have a secure hope and a future of grace and truth. Grant to us the mind of Christ even now, so that we might serve You rightly.

Proverbs 26

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“Honor is not fitting for a fool.” We would rather think about wisdom than folly, but the Lord writes about both. What is folly? If wisdom is about holy thinking, speaking, and living, then folly is the bad counterpart of that good life. The fool says in his heart that there is no God, and then he talks and acts accordingly. His pathway is not only fruitless, it is destructive.

But God tells us in Proverbs 26:12 that there is more hope for a fool than for a man who is wise in his own eyes. A new life is possible for anyone who will repent, but the man steeped in error who is so sure that he is right is seriously stuck. He thinks he is healthy so he has no need for anyone to heal him.

Sin poisons the soul, but does the sinner know how dangerous his situation is? If an arrogant man imagines that he is a genius who has great insights that everyone should hear, he will not have the humility to see his own folly. How can anyone avoid this kind of self-deception? Is there some connection between humble activity and clarity of the mind? Could it be that the man who will get out of bed and get to work helping someone else or supporting his family will be more likely to think in ways that are pleasing to the Lord?

The fool, the sluggard, the meddler, the clown, the contentious man, the whisperer, the hateful hypocrite, the flatterer—none of these will bring about the righteousness that God requires of man. Yet such were some of us. But we have been washed by the blood and righteousness of a noble man of integrity. He went about His humble work of obedience with perfect confidence in the promises that God had made to Him and to us. He walked in that blessed assurance. This is what life is like when it is lived in faith. A godly life does not consist in the absence of tragedy. It is the presence of God with us as we keep on going through the challenges of living in a fallen world.

How can we follow this great Savior in godly living? By the grace of God we can hear His Word of encouragement and believe. We can repent of any of the habits of our hearts that are inconsistent with heavenly life. We can ask Him for the daily strength to live a quiet and good life. We can be filled with the Spirit of God and get up each morning to do the good works that God has prepared for us.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, we need great wisdom to know when to speak and what to say. Give us caution and patience, so that we will turn to You and consider. Teach us when to be still, and when to say or do something that might be useful. Grant to us diligence in our duties. Keep us mindful of what You have given us to do, and aware of true opportunities for love and service. Cleanse us from the depths of our being. Take away all scheming and deceitfulness, for these impurities will only work toward our own destruction.

Proverbs 25

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The Lord places people in authority over others. Particularly in a time of war these rulers make life and death decisions every day. Who is sufficient for these things? Above every commander is the one King who is more than capable in wisdom, power, and love.

Leading others well is a gift from God. It requires a good ear and a sound mind, but especially self-control in speech. A ruler's voice sets people in motion. Because of his directives certain people will live and others will die.

A commanding officer faces so many different situations that require much wisdom. He must make good choices concerning the character of those around him. When he weighs evidence before making a decision, he must have sound judgment concerning the truth of what he has heard from his advisers. If he makes unwise plans others will suffer loss.

How will he help those who come to him for direction? What will he say to his subjects in their times of brokenness? How will he treat his adversaries? Will he give his enemy “bread to eat” if he is hungry and “water to drink” if he is thirsty? Will he have grace toward those who are defeated and humility before the Lord God Almighty? How will he live with those who are closest to him—the members of his own household? Will he have the insight necessary to see the schemes of wicked people and courage enough to stand in their way? Will he have self-control?

We only know the quality of a commander after he has been tested. The Captain of our salvation has faced the most horrific trials for us. He fought the good fight. He finished the race. He kept the faith. He is the Supreme Ruler over all.

When we face our greatest losses, it is comforting to consider that Jesus is the King of a kingdom that will never fail. Let us listen to His Word and care for each other by the power of the Holy Spirit. And let us wait patiently for the appearing of our King.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious Lord, You know so many things that seem beyond us. What joy there is in seeking out knowledge in the right way! Thank You for the life of order and character that You have decreed for Your servants. Teach us to discover the way of goodness as we grow in years. May we remember the lessons that we have already learned. Make these to be good habits in a life that is well-ordered. How should we treat our enemies? How can we deal with the contentious? What is the right way to care for the poor? Lord, we will surely travel down fruitless pathways if we ignore Your wisdom. What great benefits You have given to us in a right consideration of the lives of those who have gone before us.

Proverbs 24

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Wisdom has moral content. It is not just about being smart, it is about being good. It is the same as following Jesus, since Jesus is the Wisdom of God who came to live and die for us. To follow Jesus is to follow wisdom.

Living our lives in envy of evil people is foolish and wrong. Jesus did not fall for that trap.

Wisdom is a step by step endeavor. It is the way a godly person is built up. It brings the moral growth that leads to the fullness of what a Christian adult should be.

We need Christian adults. They are warriors for the love of the cross. They do not allow themselves to be so entangled in sin as to be of little use to the eternal purpose of Almighty God. People addicted to folly cannot rescue the weak from disaster since they are running toward trouble all the time themselves. They lack spiritual discernment.

Those who are following the Lord's way of wisdom do stumble, but they get up again by His grace and they grow in the Lord. They honor Him and obey governing authorities that He has established. They know who holds the key to the future and attend to His Word.

A life of wisdom is lived out in the pursuit of integrity. You cannot agree with everyone about everything and be wise. Jesus corrected the Pharisees sharply in their wrong understanding of the Law and in their rejection of the Son of Man. Paul instructed Titus not only to teach sound doctrine but to strongly correct those who contradict it. Wisdom is not just another way of being polite. Some of the things that Jesus said and did were viewed by others as very rude.

“Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.” Some situations call for sharp and honest correction. Pursuing wisdom prepares a person for these moments. The Spirit of God will help the Lord's courageous servant to find the right words to say at just the right time. Attempting to please man at the cost of obeying the Almighty does not lead to that kind of victory.

The righteous man lives in relationship with his Father in heaven. He knows that God knows all things, and he does what pleases his Father. This is the moral house that he has learned to build, brick by brick, decision by decision. Others may have imagined that a little stealing and scheming would yield a more glorious mansion with far less work, but this is not the way of wisdom.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, there is a way of evil and a way of wisdom. Teach us to run from one, and to follow the other. We need Your strength to live wisely in our daily lives. Encourage our hearts in wonderful ways. Teach us to move along in righteousness and truth. Worry will never solve our problems. Grant to us a respect for governing authorities. We need to turn away from wickedness, and to pursue truth, diligence, humility, and even love. Thank You for Your grace. Train us to see the obvious lessons that You have provided all around us that we might live a life of true wisdom.

Proverbs 23

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Young people often feel like they have heard it all before. A wise person is able to enjoy repeated instruction in the truth, gaining new insight from old words.

We already know about gluttony and drunkenness. Who has not heard that greed is a bad way to go? The Lord's children have been taught that God watches over the poor and that He will not allow the weak to be abused forever. We are aware that people need to raise their children with loving discipline. It is not a surprise that pursuing pleasure with someone who sells her body is a very bad idea for lots of reasons.

These are all facts that bear repeating, but we should also consider the bigger picture and not just the specifics that happen to be mentioned here. Proverbs is not only a list of select prohibitions. The book presents a godly perspective on life that we need to embrace more deeply every day. It teaches us to have a reverence for a God who deeply loves His children. If we see Him rightly, we will be helped with thousands of moral dilemmas that may not even be mentioned in the Bible.

Consider just one of the phrases in Proverbs 23: “Let not your heart envy sinners.” Here is a very versatile word of wisdom for the person that can receive it. Those who have little reverence for God have a very different way of thinking about life. If they do not believe in a coming judgment and the resurrection of the dead, if they do not embrace the fact that Jesus ascended into heaven and that when we die, we face the One who has gone to prepare a place for His children, they will imagine that this life is everything. Because of this fundamental error they will make many wrong and harmful choices. An adversary may make the way of instant gratification look like fun for a brief time, but envying sinners is still a very costly mistake that is corrosive to the human heart. But if we do not see the greatness of the Lord, will we just get stuck in ungodly jealousy?

Christ, through His death and resurrection, has secured a future for us that is worth hearing about again and again. Embrace Him and His eternal kingdom, and a thousand particulars of how to live a godly life and how to avoid dangerous folly will become increasingly pleasing to your soul.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of Glory, forgive us for our many follies. Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we should do it all for Your glory. We must hear Your instruction and apply our hearts to the truth. What do we say? How do we bring up our children? How do we work, and what is our way of having fun? In all of these things we need Your wisdom. We long for the health, safety, and fruitfulness of future generations. Drowning ourselves in wine will never solve our problems. It will do us no good to pretend that we are stronger than we really are. You are God, and we are not. Our lives and the lives of our descendants are surely in Your hands.

Proverbs 22

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“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” The pursuit of money is the passion of many. Where does it all lead? Can it satisfy? How many people pursue wealth above all, and yet find that riches seem to be far from their grasp?

If we want to have economic security, some strategies for pursuing that goal are better than others. If being comfortable is our highest most prominent goal, it may lead to choices that are against the Word of the Lord. God is in charge of everything. Won't we all do better by seeking the Giver of every good gift as our highest desire?

What should we do when fear, greed, and covetousness arouse our interest more than the Lord? Repent. Tell Him about it. Ask for forgiveness, and let our minds be renewed by the Word and Spirit of God.

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” If we seek a prudent mind, a humble spirit, a generous heart, and the integrity of a good name, we will discover a better way to live than will come from thinking that we exist to make money. God's people will serve Him better by paying attention to matters of character than in giving our hearts over to covetousness.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Clarity of spirit is not only important for adults, but also to any children or grandchildren we may have. The young ones will see the patterns of the grown-ups around them. Our descendants are being instructed by our passions. The Lord's covenant people need to be examples of humility and character, trusting the Lord to hold those who are in our charge in that good training throughout their lives. A worthy parental example will be very hard to run away from in the end.

What does the “sluggard” say? “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” Children may try to live a life of laziness and immorality in a world that has very different values than they were once taught. Will they really settle for the food that pigs eat after seeing the peace and fruitfulness of the Lord's ways in the homes of their younger days? Like the wayward son in Luke 15, eventually they will think about the place they came from and about the father they have left behind. We need to wait in faith for their eventual return from a far country. We should put our confidence in the Lord and pray for the wayward souls that we love so dearly.

Have we disciplined our children in the ways of character? Was lying and stealing applauded in our homes, or did it win the young ones some form of correction? Was it “survival of the fittest” in the playroom, or did not the strong have to share with the weak? Was laziness rewarded in our houses? Didn't our children have to learn how to work hard in school and at home? Did we show them in word and action that God was more important than anything else?

We can certainly find fault with our parenting and with our submissiveness as children. Even our wisest and most righteous acts cannot be compared with the perfect righteousness of the Son of God. He saw the way of His Father and He loved it and followed it. Did it lead Him to great wealth? In a way it did. The Son of God did His work very well, and now He is our eternal King with authority over everything in heaven and on earth. Yet the pathway to glory for Jesus was through suffering. His cross brought the generosity of divine forgiveness to us.

Have we failed as parents and children? Yes, but Jesus forgives us and has a better way of life for us now, even when it seems too late for a new beginning.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father, how do we continue to make poor choices when the way of life is so clear? Help us to remember again the lessons that we learned in our youth. For what good reason have we abandoned the counsel of the godly? There is no hope for us in adultery and indolence. We will only be the joke of those who scoff at those who fall. Train us up again in righteousness from Your holy Word, for the way of Your Word is perfect. The way of our own foolishness will not be better for us and for others than the life of truth and grace in Jesus Christ. Grant us fresh resources from Your abundant wisdom.