If you would please turn with me today to the book of Proverbs. We've recently begun making our way through this ancient book of wisdom, and we come today to verse 20 of chapter one. We'll consider verses 20 through 33 of Proverbs one. Hear now the word of the Lord. Wisdom cries aloud in the street. In the markets, she raises her voice. At the head of the noisy streets, she cries out. At the entrance of the city gates, she speaks. How long, oh simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. I will make my words known to you. because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away and the complacency of fools destroys them. but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster. Let's pray. Lord, we come once again to you asking that you would give us the wisdom that we lack, grant us wisdom so that we might navigate our way through life in this fallen, dangerous world without destroying ourselves. We pray that verse 33 would come to be true of us, that we might dwell secure and be at ease without dread of disaster, because we have listened to you and heeded your wisdom. Lord, we pray that you would grant us this request, not because we deserve it, but solely because we know you to be a gracious God who gives good things to those who ask. So we ask on the grounds of your gracious character A character that is most visibly demonstrated by your giving your only begotten son to redeem fools like us. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. And we need in these moments to enable us to understand and believe what you've said. So, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, hear us, I pray, in Jesus' name, amen. Last week we learned that we have a bias against wisdom and so we have to be told to listen to wisdom, specifically the wisdom of God-given authorities. Today's text motivates us even further to listen to wisdom by describing in perhaps frighteningly vivid detail, the consequence of not listening to the voice of wisdom. We learn that we need to listen to wisdom because if we don't, if we ignore the cry of wisdom, we will destroy ourselves. Now from time to time in the book of Proverbs, we encounter a personification of wisdom. If you think back to your school days, English class, personification is when you attribute personal qualities or human qualities to something that isn't personal, that isn't human. In our text today, wisdom shows up as a woman crying out in the streets to people whose lives hang in the balance. Now wisdom is not literally a woman crying out in the streets for people to listen, but what we're supposed to notice about the nature of wisdom is best illustrated here through the image of a woman shouting in the streets to anyone who will listen. Will the passersby listen to her or will they ignore her pleading to their own demise? And as we read this passage, we're challenged to put ourselves in the story and ask, is wisdom calling out to me? Am I listening? Or am I like so many others, just complacently ignoring the one voice that would rescue my soul from certain destruction? Well, let's see how this story unfolds and discover what we can learn from it today. The story begins in verse 20 with Lady Wisdom crying out to Mr. Simple. Verse 20, wisdom cries aloud in the street. In the markets, she raises her voice. At the head of the noisy streets, she cries out. At the entrance of the city gates, she speaks. How long, oh simple ones, will you love being simple? The setting is a crowded city with Noise coming from every direction, there are the sounds of the market, buyers and sellers trading their wares, animals bellowing, people bustling by. There are sounds from the city gates where the influential men of renown sit and govern the citizens, pronouncing judgment on this and that, weighing in on the latest current event or the next rumor. Citizens are coming and going and closing deals and establishing partnerships. It's a busy, noisy place of commerce and politics and people, and right in the middle of it is a lone voice shouting, how long, oh simple ones, will you love being simple? Now, who are these simple ones that Lady Wisdom addresses? And of all the people bustling about in the city, why does she call out to them? Well, the simpleton, Mr. Simple, we might call him, is a character that's going to show up a lot in the book of Proverbs, so it behooves us to get to know who he is. He is the open-minded person. He's not yet committed to a path of foolishness or wisdom. He's still making up his mind. Now perhaps we're tempted to think that this is a good state to be in. After all, open-mindedness is a virtue, isn't it? Who wants to be told what to think? Shouldn't we be open and receptive to a diversity of ideas and then just choose for ourselves what our truth, our creed, our morals, our path is going to be? So goes the wisdom of the age. But if you'll recall, last week we learned that we don't start out in a place of moral neutrality in life. No, our default starting position is one of bias towards foolishness. If we're simply left to figure out right and wrong, truth and falsehood, wisdom and foolishness on our own, we tend towards the wrong choices. That's the reality of life in a fallen world. And so contrary to popular belief, open-mindedness to all voices indiscriminately is not a virtue. It's not a strength. It's not something to be proud of. The simpleton is the person who is equally open to believing foolishness or wisdom. And yet because the simpleton also has a natural affinity for foolishness, there's a greater chance that he will embrace the wrong path. Another way of describing Mr. Simple would be to say that he's gullible. Easily misled, all the while thinking that he is exhibiting great discernment. He's an easily manipulated knave, and everybody seems to know it except Mr. Simple himself. So in this exchange between Lady Wisdom and Mr. Simple, what do we learn about the nature of wisdom and the nature of simple-mindedness? Well, first, let's consider the nature of wisdom. And the first thing we can't help but notice about Lady Wisdom is that we can't help but notice her. She's shouting in the street. I mean, where is the decorum? Where is the propriety? Evidently, her message is of such importance, and she has such a sense of urgency in conveying that message that decorum and propriety are thrown to the wind. Souls are at stake. It's not a time for whispering. It's a time for shouting in the streets. In the previous paragraph that we considered last Sunday, wisdom shows up as a parent's voice pleading with the son. Wisdom comes from the caring heart of a loving father, a concerned mother. Listen to me, my son, says wisdom. And that's a beautiful and appropriate setting for wisdom. But now, in verses 20 and following, wisdom is just one voice among many. It's still the voice of wisdom, but it is obscured by a hundred different voices in the marketplace. Wisdom is no longer speaking to a son. She's speaking indiscriminately to anyone who will listen, particularly the person who hasn't made up his mind about wisdom. And I think we notice something about the nature of wisdom in this shift in setting from the previous paragraph. We see that wisdom is still wisdom, whether it shows up in the intimate instruction of a parent or in the alarming shouts of a street vendor. Wisdom is not something that only benefits teenagers. It's something that benefits all people, anyone who will listen, from the youngest citizen to the leaders and influencers. From the most obscure member of society to the VIPs who are sitting in the gates of the city, all need to hear and heed the voice of wisdom. So this street setting demonstrates the universality of wisdom and the accessibility of wisdom. Wisdom, wherever and however and to whomever it is given, is still wisdom. Augustine once said, all truth is God's truth. In other words, it doesn't matter whether I discover a particular truth from studying a verse in the Bible or from observing the world around me. If it's true, it's from God. If it's from God, it's true. All truth is God's truth. The same can be said of morality. If it's moral, if a particular behavior is virtuous and good, it is from God. There's no such thing as a morally good act that did not originate from God, with God, who is the embodiment and definition of moral perfection. The same can also be said of beauty and justice and wisdom. Any good thing, if it is truly and objectively good, comes ultimately from God. And so wisdom, wherever it shows up, is God's wisdom. And God, who loves wisdom, ensures that his wisdom shows up all over creation. In the loving instruction of parents, in the marketplace, in the political sphere, on the street corner. Wisdom is present and wisdom is crying out to anyone who will listen. And what is she crying? Verse 23, if you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. I will make my words known to you. And what an incredibly gracious promise. If a simpleton would simply listen to the corrective voice of wisdom and heed it, he will be counted among the wise with all the privileges and the benefits that accompany that regal status. Now, if God's wisdom is offered graciously and indiscriminately to anyone and everyone who will listen, then nobody can excuse their refusal to listen to wisdom on the grounds that they weren't raised in a Christian home or weren't discipled in a good church. We cannot say, well, it's not my fault that I'm not wise or that my life hasn't turned out any better than this. No, while there are immeasurable benefits and advantages to being raised in a covenant home by godly parents and in the church influenced by righteous, wise Christians, wisdom, God's wisdom, is being heralded everywhere for anyone who will listen. If we refuse to listen, we're without excuse because the problem is not with Lady Wisdom or our access to wisdom. Wisdom is everywhere. Right knowledge of truth and morality and beauty and good living is available. If we lack that knowledge, it is, verse 22, because we hate it. And this tells us something next about the nature of the simple person, this character who has not yet chosen the path of wisdom or of foolishness, but is pretending to simply be neutral. Simpletons may give the impression that they're sophisticated and discerning, but that's not an accurate assessment of their character. What we're going to see is that left to themselves, the simple choose foolishness because they love foolishness. Notice the verbs that are being used to describe the actions of the simple in verses 22 and following. The simple ones love being simple. They hate knowledge. They refuse to listen. They ignore counsel. They despise reproof. These are very active verbs, things that the simple are choosing to do. They're volitional. They're intentional. Now think about it. We don't hate, despise, and refuse things that we consider to be neutral, do we? If something is morally neutral or intellectually inconsequential, we just let it be. We don't intentionally, actively oppose it and resist it. These responses on the part of the simple ones indicate moral awareness and choice. Simpletons are pretending to be morally neutral and detached and impartial, but they're not. They're actually extremely vested in their beliefs and morals, the beliefs and morals that stand in opposition to wisdom. So if the Simpletons are not just morally unaware, but conscientiously opposed to wisdom, then they are also morally responsible for their blatant rejection of wisdom. One pastor made the point that as we encounter the various types of fool in the book of Proverbs, there will be times when it appears that their foolishness is the result of a predetermined and arbitrary stroke of fate that has dealt them an unkind hand. But the simpletons encounter with Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 1 indicates that the painful consequences that follow him through life are the results of individual choices made. To put it bluntly, it is their fault, not their fate. They have access to wisdom, but they are rejecting that wisdom, which makes them morally responsible for their foolishness. Well, Lady Wisdom has graciously and generously offered an amazing promise to Mr. Simple, but Mr. Simple has chosen what he naturally loves. He's chosen the path of foolishness. So what does wisdom do? Well, wisdom cannot approve of this self-destructive decision, so she must condemn the foolishness of it, and that's exactly what she does in verses 24 through 31. Wisdom condemns the simple. Verse 24. because I have called and you refuse to listen, because I have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you. Mr. Simple laughed at wisdom's counsel. Now wisdom will laugh at the destruction of this fool. Mr. Simple mocked Wisdom. Now Wisdom will mock the Simple. When Wisdom, full of urgency and concern, was shouting at the top of her lungs in the marketplace and the city gate, Mr. Simple simply ignored her and went about his business. Now as Mr. Simple begins to experience, verse 27, the terror and calamity and distress and anguish of a life poorly lived and foolishly squandered, Lady Wisdom will ignore Mr. Simple's plea for help. And there's a very telling shift in tone that occurs at verse 28. You may have noticed it. Up to this point, Lady Wisdom has addressed the simple one directly in the second person. But at verse 28, there's a distancing of Wisdom's care and concern and her promises and pleading. She begins speaking about the simple ones instead of to them. She addresses them in the third person. In response to their continual rejection of her counsel, there comes a point when she rejects them and will have nothing more in the way of favor or even association to do with these fools. The door suddenly slams shut. Their chance to heed and obtain wisdom with all of its blessings is lost. Verses 28 through 31 describe a final irreversible judgment. Listen to the chilling description, verse 28. then they, the simple ones, will call upon me wisdom, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. This condemning proclamation declares the simple one guilty and then sentences into an irreversible absolute judgment. The simple ones had their chance at a successful, fulfilling life, but they squandered it. Why? Because they loved this imagined freedom of being morally uncommitted. People will deny all sorts of undeniable realities in order to vindicate that inexcusable behavior, or to defend that indefensible thing that they love, or to justify that untenable belief. People will convince themselves that there is no consequence or penalty for foolishness, that God would never actually condemn someone to an eternal hell, that my choices today won't adversely affect my happiness tomorrow. They tell themselves, surely this decision or that value, this belief or that affection isn't such a big deal. It won't have eternal ramifications like all of my wise counselors keep telling me. They're just overreacting because they like to be controlling or because they don't know how to have any fun. But when the final verdict falls, the simpleton gets exactly what he sought. Verse 31, they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. They are granted the freedom of choosing their own course, their own path, and it ends up being a calamitous, self-destructive path of misery. This quote from Bruce Waltke summarizes it well. He says, people deny the doctrine of final judgment because they do not want to believe that this life has awesome dignity, a dignity that invests their current decisions with consequence that is eternal. Well, verses 32 and 33 summarize the lesson of the whole matter. These verses give us the moral of the story. Let's read it. First, the negative moral, verse 32. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them. If you want to destroy your life, all you have to do is nothing. Be complacent about righteousness. Be complacent about truth. Disregard wise counsel by simply turning away from it, and it will kill you. And then the positive side of the moral, verse 33. But whoever listens to me, listens to the pleading voice of wisdom, will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster. Do you want peace? Do you want security? Do you want to be at ease? Do you want to avoid disaster? Of course we do. Then all we have to do is listen, and by listening, it means to hear and to heed the cry of wisdom. You know, this passage is all about the importance of listening to wisdom, but it never defines wisdom. Now we'll get glimpses here and there throughout the book of Proverbs of what wisdom is. And so we want to be looking for those glimpses. And one of those glimpses of what wisdom is shows up right here in our context. It's in verse 29, which says, of those who rejected wisdom's cry, they did not choose the fear of the Lord. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning. It's the starting point for wise living, which means that wise living is holy living, righteous living. It is living a life that is opposed to wickedness as God defines wickedness. Wisdom is living a life that knows God and believes God and therefore fears God and obeys God. If we expand our source to the whole of scripture, we realize that wisdom is something that cannot exist apart from God. It is God's truth. It is biblical ethics. It is Christian affections lived out in the real world. There is no truth, goodness, or beauty without God. That's why the disciples said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. That's why Paul, pedigreed, credentialed Paul said, whatever gain I had, I count it as dung for the sake of Christ. I count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It's why Jesus said, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. And your Word, God's Word, is truth, and you shall know that truth, and that truth, the truth of God's Word, will set you free. Christian, this means that we need God in order to be wise, and in order to be good, and in order to be free. The idea, this worldview of Mr. Simple, that we can somehow have wisdom, that we can live a fulfilling and productive life without God in some sort of unbiased state of neutrality is anything but neutral. It is in fact the path of foolishness. Ultimately, it is the path that rejects the one who defines wisdom and who demands wisdom and who in truth offers wisdom in countless ways to anyone who will take it. We cannot be wise apart from God and to reject wisdom is to reject God. What then ought we to do to ensure that we don't miss the cry of wisdom? Well, for starters, we can listen to Wisdom's cry in the very passage before us today. And the first thing she tells us, verse 22, is to be careful what you love. Be careful what you love. The simple person loves the very thing that will keep him foolish. So be careful of what holds your affections. Take note of what you're delighting in. That's where the two paths, one towards joy and one towards self-destruction begin to diverge. They diverge at the point of our affections, what we love. So be careful what you love. But not only ought we to be careful what we love, we also need to be careful what we hate. Verse 22, fools hate knowledge. What do you hate? What makes your mind recoil or your lips snarl, your affections run dry? Because if this is your reaction to anything that God says ought to be a delight, you're beginning to head down the path that ends in calamity and misery. Be careful what you hate. We also learn, Not to simply take note of our affections, what we love, what we hate, we need to take note of our complacencies. Verse 32, the simple are killed by simply turning away, not caring. And the complacency, the apathy, the non-committal attitude of fools is the thing that ends up destroying them. Take note of your complacency in matters where you shouldn't be complacent. If God reveals in his word that something is important, that some habit or belief or affection ought to be a big deal, then you had better make it a big deal. The road to self-destruction is paved not so much with wicked intent as with the absence of intent. Take note of your complacencies in matters of wisdom. And then finally ask yourself, In what ways am I exposed to the voice of wisdom? When is Lady Wisdom shouting at me? And then a crucial follow-up question to that, when I am within earshot of wisdom's cry, am I listening? Am I heeding what she's saying? As we close this morning, I wanna draw our attention to a verse that we considered two weeks ago and may have forgotten. You see, it's possible that you sit here this morning, maybe distraught over the countless missed opportunities that you've allowed over the course of your lifetime. Opportunities to hear lady wisdom and set your life heading down a promising path towards success and contentment and fulfillment. But like the simple ones in Proverbs 1, you've squandered those opportunities time and time again. It's possible that you sit here this morning believing that quite possibly it's too late for you. You're destined to be a simpleton, a Mr. Simple, a fool. You've let past failures increase your complacency towards the things of God, towards the paths of righteousness, towards the life of wisdom. Well, friend, Proverbs 1.4 is for you. Proverbs 1.4. Why does the book of Proverbs exist? Why did God inspire a fool like King Solomon to write these things down? Why has the Holy Spirit preserved these verses so that we can sit here today and read them and wrestle with them and come to understand them? Verse four, in order to give prudence to the simple. There's grace in that to give prudence to the simple. Simpletons can learn wisdom. Complacent fools worn out by their own failures can change. It is not too late for me or for you to learn wisdom and to enjoy the promises that wisdom offers. God is a God who delights in making wise the simple. He delights in making the path towards self-destruction a path of redemption. He delights in making the sinner a saint. You see, not only is wisdom wise, wisdom is gracious. Wisdom goes looking for fools and pleads with them to listen. It is not too late to start listening. Let's pray. Father, you are the all-wise God, and we are so often the all-foolish simpleton. Please forgive us and change us. Give us ears to hear and hearts that want to hear and minds that are capable of hearing and souls that trust and obey what we hear you say. Thank you, God, for Jesus Christ, who was wisdom incarnate, who endured in our place the eternal calamity that we were heading towards. It is to him that we look for wisdom. It is in his name that we pray, Amen.