| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 Hear, ye sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding. |
Instruction of a father – It were well for the youth of the world if their fathers more frequently communed with them and gave them the benefit of their experiences in life. R2388:2
Instruction, reproof, guidance and counsel of children should not be left to others--to the church minister, Sunday School teachers or to mothers. R2388:2
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| 2 For good learning I have given to you, My law forsake not. |
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| 3 For, a son I have been to my father tender, And an only one before my mother. |
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| 4 And he directeth me, and he saith to me: 'Let thy heart retain my words, Keep my commands, and live. |
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| 5 Get wisdom, get understanding, Do not forget, nor turn away From the sayings of my mouth. |
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| 6 Forsake her not, and she doth preserve thee, Love her, and she doth keep thee. |
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| 7 The first thing [is] wisdom get wisdom, And with all thy getting get understanding. |
Wisdom – "The wisdom that is from above." (Jas. 3:17) R3479:5, R3603:3
Wise toward God, whatever fellow-men may consider us. R3479:5
Heavenly counsel is the essence of wisdom. R3479:5
The principal thing – However weak or strong, wisdom is the prime essential to our taking the proper course. F97
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| 8 Exalt her, and she doth lift thee up, She honoureth thee, when thou dost embrace her. |
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| 9 She giveth to thy head a wreath of grace, A crown of beauty she doth give thee freely.
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| 10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life [are] multiplied to thee. |
Years of thy life – Parental counsel may save a child from many difficulties in life and from much sickness, leading to a longer life. R2388:5
Shall be many – In giving lessons to a child, a parent may profit by and review his own experiences and their causes, and add to his own years as well as to those of his child. R2388:5
New Creatures in Christ, here called sons, are promised that, by heeding his Word, the years of their life shall be many--very many-- everlasting. R2388:6
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| 11 In a way of wisdom I have directed thee, I have caused thee to tread in paths of uprightness. |
I have led thee – By my example. This thought may be applied to the Heavenly Father as well as to an earthly. R2388:5
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| 12 In thy walking thy step is not straitened, And if thou runnest, thou stumblest not. |
When thou goest – In the spiritual way, the narrow path. R2388:6
When thou runnest – The race for the great prize of their high calling. R2388:6
Thou shalt not stumble – So long as they follow in that path in which the Lord's providences guide them. R2388:6
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| 13 Lay hold on instruction, do not desist, Keep her, for she [is] thy life. |
Take fast hold – "Lest at any time we should let them slip." (Heb. 2:1) R2389:1
Not only to hear the Lord's Word, but to act upon it, incorporate it as a very part of our being. R2389:1
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| 14 Into the path of the wicked enter not, And be not happy in a way of evil doers. |
Not into the path – Of self-will, pride, worldly ambition, selfishness. R2389:1
Go not – Once entered, we may be able to retrace our steps with difficulty, but the safe program is never to enter these by--paths. R2389:2
The way of evil – Emerging so gradually from the "narrow way" as to seem little different from it, but diverging more and more so that one may soon discern the change. R2389:2
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| 15 Avoid it, pass not over into it, Turn aside from it, and pass on. |
Avoid it – Do not permit curiosity or fearlessness to entrap you as it did Mother Eve. (2Cor. 11:3) R2389:2
Pass not by it – Do not put yourself within reach of its influence. R2389:2
Turn from it – Any pathway that has the slightest appearance of evil or the slightest antagonism to the spirit of our law of love. R2389:4
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| 16 For they sleep not if they do not evil, And their sleep hath been taken violently away, If they cause not [some] to stumble. |
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| 17 For they have eaten bread of wickedness, And wine of violence they drink. |
Bread of wickedness – There are people who make it their business in life to entrap the unwary; they earn their bread in that way. R2389:4
Others delight in sowing discord ... and mislead the spiritual sons of God. R2389:4
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| 18 And the path of the righteous [is] as a shining light, Going and brightening till the day is established, |
But the path – "Thy word is a light unto my path." (Psa. 119:105) A20
"The path of righteousness." (Psa. 23:3) R1646:5
This passage is true of every one of the Lord's children individually, but the application is specially for the entire Church as a whole. R2389:5, R1646:5; A20, A21
Of the just – The justified children of God, but especially the members of the body of Christ, the just One. R2389:5
"Light (truth) is sown for the righteous" (Psa. 97:11) ... those with faith and consequent justification. A20
"Ye, brethren, are not in darkness." (1 Thes. 5:4) R2389:6
The shining light --Its bright shining at the present time betokens that the new day, the new era of Messiah's Kingdom, is nigh. R4851:5
"God (the spirit of God, the spirit of truth) hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. (2 Cor. 4:6) E293
Through the words of the Lord and the words of the apostles. F61
That shineth – With the knowledge of God. R493:1
More and more – More and more clearly lit by the lamp, God's Word. R2389:6, R5569:1; PD41/52; Q554:4
It is our responsibility to step out from all the creeds and not support hypocrisy and error. R5851:6, R1312:2, R780:2
We are still in the dark place and shall be until the darkness gives way and the day is here. We have need of the Word of prophecy "until the day dawn." (2 Pet. 1:19) R5339:2
With the coming of many inventions, we also find fresh light shining upon the Bible. CR250:2
The difficulty with many is that they sit down and do not follow on in the path of light. A25
The Bible was not written for one man, nor for one age; but for all men and all ages, adapted to the circumstances as "meat in due season." (Matt. 24:45) R24:5*
If our presentations (specifically, on the covenants) are read in their proper connections, they will be found to be harmoniously progressive. R4334:5
The Reformation movement and the close of the 2300 days (Dan. 8:14) found us free from certain falsities; but this did not mean that all the precious truths were properly located. R4534:6
Followers of the reformers have accepted creeds formulated in that period and consider it unorthodox to make any further progress. D60, D61
Unto – The same Bible which accomplished the Reformation work is necessary to the Christian's growth and knowledge today. R183:5
The perfect day – When it comes, men will not need the lamp, for then there will be sunlight; the knowledge of God will fill the earth. R5055:3
We are now in the beginning of that perfect day. SM555:1; R1646:6
The dawning light of a new age shows us God's character of love and illuminates the Bible, making its teachings more reasonable. PD41/52
Since we have not yet reached the perfect day we cannot know how much more brightly our lamp may shine in the future. R2389:6; A21
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| 19 The way of the wicked [is] as darkness, They have not known at what they stumble. |
Way of the wicked – "None of the wicked shall understand." (Dan. 12:10) R2390:4
The Bible sheds no particular brilliancy upon the world's pathway. R2389:6
At what they stumble – The Christian world stumbles over the second presence of Christ. He is a "stumbling stone" and "rock of offence." (1 Pet. 2:8) R2390:1
The present social order of Christendom is to stumble and be wrecked in the time of anarchy. R2390:1
They stumble at the light, the very thing that should be a blessing to them. R4361:2*
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| 20 My son, to my words give attention, To my sayings incline thine ear, |
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| 21 Let them not turn aside from thine eyes, Preserve them in the midst of thy heart. |
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| 22 For life they [are] to those finding them, And to all their flesh healing. |
Health to all their flesh – Pure, noble, holy thoughts not only elevate the mental and moral constitution, but also have an invigorating influence upon the physical system. R2014:6
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| 23 Above every charge keep thy heart, For out of it [are] the outgoings of life. |
Keep thy heart – Mind, affections. R2249:4, R4904:5, R5746:6
Our will, our intention, our desire, our effort. R5747:3, R4827:2, R5246:2, R5247:1; CR109:6; R1703:3
As the natural heart is the center of life, it is used as a symbol of the center of our affections, including the will. R5246:2, R5746:6, R1562:6
Kept fully in the love of God. (Jude 2) R1563:4
Signifies keeping guard over our sentiments, a critical inspection of every motive of life. R4345:2, R4639:5, R5747:1
The Christian's new heart is to be kept loyal to God, to the principles of righteousness, to his covenant. R5747:4
Though but few take the step of entire consecration to God's will, fewer live it out practically, keeping their hearts constantly submissive to the Lord's will. R1563:4
By communion with God in prayer, and through the Word of truth, our hearts are kept in the love and service of God. R1502:2
Also means activities in love and helpfulness, and the cultivation of thoughts in accord with the divine. R4345:3
The difficulty with many is that they look for some great battle, instead of averting the great battles by keeping their minds cleansed from secret faults. R4904:6
If the Divine Plan of the Ages does not satisfy our heart's longings there is something wrong with our hearts. CR54:3
With all diligence – You cannot be too diligent about it. CRI09:6
If we do not keep our hearts, some ambitious desire will creep in. CR56:4; R4462:2
We are not competent to keep our heads, but we are competent and responsible for keeping our hearts. R4345:2
If our hearts are loyal, God is able to keep our poor heads. R4535:6
Margin, "Above all keeping, keep thy heart." R4249:1*
If we are to be victors, it must be by constant vigilance, which the Lord will bless. CR56:4
We must not only acknowledge sin and strive against it, but also root out of our hearts every longing for everything not thoroughly approved by the Lord. R4904:4
Injustice sometimes becomes entrenched in human minds so that an attempt to establish righteousness is considered treason and rebellion. R4777:5
The "Vow" has assisted many in exercising diligence in keeping their hearts in the love of God. R4299:2
Out of it – If your heart is your garden, what you plant is what you will grow there, if you keep the weeds away. CR56:4
If the heart is right, the actions will regulate themselves accordingly. R1502:2
If the principles of truth and righteousness be fixed in the heart, then out of the good treasures of the heart the mouth will speak words of truth, soberness, wisdom and grace. R1937:2
Issues of life – Results of life. R5747:5
The testings are along the line of fitness for life eternal or death eternal. R4462:2, R4345:3, R4639:4, R4904:2, R5747:5, R4293:6; CR109:6; CR55:4
If Mother Eve had kept her heart she would have had the right to the tree of life; but failing, she came under the sentence of death. CR55:3
It is highly important that all our conduct in life be under the direction of a pure heart. R5747:2, R5246:3
If the heart is kept strictly under control in harmony with the Lord and his Word, all opposition of the world, flesh and devil shall not be able to overcome us. R2280:5
Pure thoughts have an invigorating influence upon the physical system, while unholy thoughts tend toward the germination of the seeds of disease already in the human race. R2014:6
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| 24 Turn aside from thee a froward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee, |
A froward mouth – The words are an index of the heart. R1937:1
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| 25 Thine eyes do look straightforward, And thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
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| 26 Ponder thou the path of thy feet, And all thy ways [are] established. |
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| 27 Incline not [to] the right or to the left, Turn aside thy foot from evil! |
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