Proverbs 4:25

Proverbs 4:25

The rule of life, the comfort of life, the strength of life, the life of life, is, first to have an object, and then to live up to that object steadily and unquestioningly. A distinct, sufficient purpose, and a determined pursuit, give reality to life and make the man.

I. The primary thing, then, is to have an object in life which will be (1) worthy of our being; (2) suited to our character; (3) attractive to our tastes. For if it fail in any one of these three things, it will not long be our goal. To fulfil these three conditions, there can only be four things in which an object can be found victory, usefulness, eternity, Christ.

II. There are three snares which beset and entangle the feet of a man, who has resolved to live for some great end. (1) Retrospection. Do not look back. Do not look back at past attainments, for they are nothing. Do not look back at old sins, for they are gone. The Christian religion is to cut off the guilty past, and to separate a man from himself, and from his own history. (2) Introspection. Do not look in. A great many people waste a great deal of time to no profit, but rather to much discouragement, and much hindrance to their spiritual advancement, by pulling their own hearts to pieces. (3) Circumspection. Do not look around at circumstances. They are mere accidents. Looking at the waves and listening to the wind, Peter sank. A wrestler must never let his eyes drop. A racer must never look away from the winning-post, nor the ploughman from the end of the furrow, nor the helmsman from his needle's point. Thousands of things are coming and going every day at our sides. But what are they all? They roll on the surface, but they cannot touch the deeper thing below. They dart, meteor-like, but my star is fixed.

J. Vaughan, Sermons,12th series, p. 117.

References: Proverbs 4:27. Preacher's Monthly,vol. ii., p. 467. Proverbs 5:1. R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs,vol. i., p. 148. Proverbs 5:8. Clergyman's Magazine,vol. vi., p. 332.Proverbs 5:11. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xi., No. 667. Proverbs 5:11. H. W. Beecher, Sermons,4th series, p. 481.Proverbs 5:15. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven,1st series, p. 179. Proverbs 5:16. Preacher's Monthly,vol. vii. p. 191.Proverbs 5:21. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven,1st series, p. 183.Proverbs 5:22. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xvi., No. 915; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 25.Proverbs 6:1. R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs,vol. i., p. 159. Proverbs 6:9. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 63.Proverbs 6:10; Proverbs 6:11. S. Cox, Expositor,2nd series, vol. vi., p. 405.Proverbs 6:11. Preacher's Monthlyvol. vii., p. 191.Proverbs 6:16. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven,1st series, p. 188. Proverbs 6:20. F. Wagstaff, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xvi., p. 332.Proverbs 6:20. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven,1st series p. 190. Proverbs 6:22. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xvii., No. 1017; Preacher's Monthly,vol. viii., p. 184.