Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4. I'll begin reading in verse 20 to the end of the chapter. Proverbs 420, my son, give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes, keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left. Remove your foot from evil. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for Your written Word. We thank You for the Proverbs of Solomon and for the wisdom that He conveys to us. And we pray that by the Spirit we would receive these things, and by the Spirit we would put these things into practice. Again, forgive us for our sins and our transgressions. Forgive us for not seeking wisdom, for not taking seriously James' admonishment, that if any of us lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. Give us grace, Lord God, to be a wise people, those who have the Word of God in their hearts, those who walk with God, those who seek to be faithful to their God. And we pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, our focus tonight is going to be on verses 23 to 27. John Flavel, that great Puritan, said, the greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God. And the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God. And that's the emphasis of verse 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. So we'll look first of all at the importance of keeping the heart in verse 23, and then secondly, the importance of watchfulness over the various outlets by which we sin. In other words, we're not only supposed to keep watch over the source, but we're also to keep watch over those various outlets described here as mouth, eyes, and feet. There is a close connection. involved in verses 23 to 27. But notice, first of all, with reference to the importance of keeping the heart, there is a command. It's not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation. It's not for a few of those in the context of the church. Rather, it is for all of us. Keep your heart. And I want us to notice that the emphasis is on our heart. Your heart, my heart, our job is not to keep the hearts of others. We are certainly called to be an encouragement. We are certainly called to help others. We are certainly called to exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. But the primary responsibility for God's people is not to police the hearts of others. We're not supposed to be like the Pharisees who simply wandered around from place to place and looked at other men and looked at their conduct. Men like that Pharisee in Luke 18 who thanked God that he was not like other men. I would imagine he was fun at parties. He was the kind of guy that would look at other people's hearts. He was the kind of guy that would police others. We are called to look after our own hearts. I think this is what Jesus emphasizes in that section in Matthew chapter seven, where he prohibits us from being judgmental. A passage no doubt misunderstood, but a passage nevertheless, very relevant to this particular topic. In Matthew 7.1, he says, judge not that you be not judged. Again, we've studied this in detail on many occasions, and we see that it's not a universal prohibition against ever exercising judgment. In fact, notice in the context of verse six, do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet. I suggest verse six demands judgment. We're supposed to be able to identify who a swine is or who a dog is so that we don't cast our holy pearls before that. The prohibition is not universal. Later on in Matthew chapter 18, Jesus is going to tell the church to exercise church discipline. Well, we certainly cannot do that without a degree of judgment. We have to make those calls as to what is sin and what isn't sin. We also know that it's not a universal condemnation in terms of judgment with reference to the civil government. Romans 13 tells us that the magistrate is armed with the sword as an avenger of God's wrath. What Jesus has in view in Matthew 7, verse 1, is an attitude of judgmentalism. It is a pharisaism. It is that wandering around, walking about, and looking at and exposing everybody else's issues and everybody else's struggles, and exacerbating them, and spotlighting them, and highlighting them. Jesus continues in verse two, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? In other words, keep your heart with all diligence. Don't look at your brother's heart, again, unless you're trying to help him, unless you're trying to encourage him, unless you're bearing his burdens alongside of him. What Jesus condemns here is not that. Jesus condemns that condemnatory attitude, that petty attitude, that pharisaic attitude. Jesus is clear. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye. And look, a plank is in your own eye. Hypocrite. First, remove the blank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." So in other words, we are to keep our own heart with all diligence. The meaning of the heart in this particular passage, it's the source. It's what a man is. all that is true of him. And we ought to acknowledge that if the source is defiled, then everything else will be defiled. If the source is rotten, then the mouth, and then the eyes, and then the feet will be rotten as well. Matthew Poole defines it this way. He says, thy heart, thy mind and thoughts, and especially the will and affections, which are the more immediate and effectual cause of all men's actions. Flavel, in a sermon on this particular passage, describes the meaning of heart here as for the whole soul or inner man. So we see the emphasis is upon our own heart, we see what the meaning of heart is in this particular passage, and we ought to recognize as well, in terms of the command, the importance of the heart. If you don't keep your own heart, it will affect everything. If you don't watch over your own heart, it will affect mouth, eyes, and feet. Now, these are representative organs. It'll certainly affect your hands. It'll affect your emotions. It'll affect everything that you are if you don't guard the source. If you don't keep the water pure at the source, when it gets piped out into the various places, it will be poison, and we simply cannot have that. Bridges says, if the heart be seized, the whole man, the affections, desires, motives, pursuits, All will be yielded up. The heart is the vital part of the body. A wound here is instant death." So it's a most important command. Keep your heart with all diligence. So notice that. He not only gives us the command, but he prescribes for us the manner in which we are to do it. We're to keep our hearts, but it's supposed to be with all diligence. I think there's an echo here of Deuteronomy 4.9, only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself lest you forget the things your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life and teach them to your children and your grandchildren. You see there's this Corporate familial emphasis in the book of Deuteronomy remember in Deuteronomy chapter 6 here Oh Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength and then he goes on and tells us that the Word of God is there in Deuteronomy 6 has application for the individual, has application for the family, and has application for society as a whole. And one of the aspects in terms of family is that we're to diligently instruct our children with reference to keeping their own heart with all diligence. And we need to understand, diligence is necessary because of the importance of the subject. In other words, this isn't a task or a job or a duty within Christianity that's far down on the priority scale. This is one of the top tier things. Keep your heart with all diligence. Solomon isn't playing games. Solomon isn't suggesting, he isn't recommending, but he is demanding that his sons, his hearers, those who enroll in the school of Solomon, keep their heart with all diligence because of how important it is. As well, diligence is necessary because of the sinful tendency of the heart. Turn to Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20. Notice in Proverbs 20 at verse 9, who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Who can say that? You know the answer, right? The answer is no one. The answer is none of us. The answer is there is not a one under God's heaven that can actually say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin. So diligence is absolutely crucial in this matter of keeping the heart because of the natural or native tendency of the heart. This is very similar to what we read in the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 17 9. The heart is deceitful above all things. Now, this isn't the kind of stuff that you hear on the evening news when they try and explain how mad the world has become. This isn't the kind of stuff that you'll hear when persons talk about how messed up life is in the 21st century, when we see gangs, and we see drug abuse, and we see all the sorts of things that are paraded around us on a daily basis. The answer is simple. It's not an easy thing to consider. But in terms of why do people do what they do, because they're in Adam. Because they're sinners. Because total depravity is true. Because the doctrine taught here by the prophet Jeremiah is absolutely, positively, 100% accurate. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. So diligence is necessary because of the importance of the heart. Diligence is necessary because of the sinful tendency of the heart. And diligence is necessary because of the effect on the rest of man. You have to appreciate the connection between verses 23 and 24 to 27. If the heart is polluted, If the heart is not kept, it will affect the mouth, it will affect the eyes, and it will affect the feet. Bridges again says, guard the fountain, lest the waters be poisoned. Now note the reason for this particular command. We see the command stated, we see the manner specified, and now we see the reason for the command at the end of verse 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. That's the argument. That's the reason. That's the rationale. If you were to ever ask the question, why am I supposed to keep my own heart with all diligence? Because it's everything. If you are not keeping your heart, you're going to be in big trouble. How do we resist sin and temptation? How do we deal day to day? How do we seek to live, to glorify God Most High, without following this particular command? How in the world do we get out of bed in the morning without thinking about keeping our heart with all diligence? Have you ever pondered the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter 5? You know what one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is? Self-control. Think about that for just a moment. A gift of the Holy Spirit is self-control. Sometimes people get on this higher plane of Christian living. They go into this higher life mentality. They let go and they let God. God never tells you to let go and let God. God tells you to control yourself. by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who dwells in you to be sure, and the Spirit who gifted this to you in order to be able to execute it. We have to exercise self-control. That's what Solomon is emphasizing here. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. The reality is, is that nothing occurs in the external realm for a man that doesn't originate or find its source in the heart. In fact, look at Proverbs 27. Proverbs chapter 27, specifically at verse 19, as in water, face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man. And we can't see what's in the heart, we can't see the source, we can't see that sort of fountainhead, but we see or judge or know it based on those external actions. Go back to Proverbs 7 for just an illustration of this. Proverbs chapter 7, for out of it spring the issues of life. One of the issues of life that Solomon treats at length is sexual fidelity. And he does so in Proverbs chapter 7. Notice specifically. He is speaking of a young man devoid of understanding. At 7'6", he says, at the window of my house, I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding. You're already alerted to the fact that this probably isn't going to end well. He's already told you the sort of ethical trajectory that this young man is on. He's already told you that he is devoid of understanding. He's simple, not that he can't add two plus two, but ethically, he is not seeking to honor God Most High. Now notice, when this woman entices him, when this woman, according to verse 21, does so with her speech, It's always intrigued me in verse 21, with her enticing speech, she caused him to yield. It wasn't necessarily her physical appearance. It wasn't necessarily the fact that she had the attire of a harlot, as Solomon says previously in chapter 7. But it's her speech, it's her flattery, it's whatever it is she's saying in order to get this young man. to come into her bed. With her flattering lips, she seduced him. Now note verse 22, immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. Till an arrow struck his liver as a bird hastens to the snare. He did not know it would cost his life. You see, brethren, he was not mindful of the fact to keep his own heart with all diligence, for out of it, including sexual fidelity, spring the issues of life. Note the lesson Solomon draws in verse 24. Now, therefore, listen to me, my children, pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let, get this, your heart turn aside to her ways. do not stray into her paths, for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Prior to him actually occupying her bed, his heart had already gone astray. Prior to him actually engaging in this act of immorality, his heart had already departed, because he didn't keep it with all diligence. He didn't recognize that out of it spring the issues of life. Notice in Proverbs 14, by way of a positive illustration or a positive example, soundness of one's heart promotes life to the body. Proverbs 14, 30, a sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bone. You see that sort of instance of it is the origin of the source. If the heart is good, the body is good. If the heart is clean, the body is clean. If the heart is healthy, then the body is healthy. Certainly the analogy with reference to the physical realm also. I mean, you may be healthy externally, but if your heart's bad, it's going to have an effect on the external man. And then as well, notice in Proverbs 23, another positive illustration, for out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 23, beginning in verse 15, my son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice, indeed I myself. You know, it's a great motivation for kids to do what they're supposed to do because it makes their parents happy. That is a perfectly legit motivation. You know, sometimes you say, well, your only motivation is the glory of God. No, that's a primary motivation. But we ought not to remove the secondary motivation. We ought not to say that it isn't a good thing for a child to do what his parents want him to do because it makes them happy. You ever think about that? Is our purpose on life to make each other miserable? I really hope not. You know, if you say to your kid, do this and it'll make me happy. I hope the kid doesn't say, I'm going to absolutely positively not do it because I don't want you to be happy. That's terrible. That's bad. That'd be wretched. That's not a good way to live. It is a perfectly legitimate motivator to make your father or mother happy. You see that repetitively throughout the book of Proverbs. But here specifically, my son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice indeed I myself. Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off. Hear, my son, and be wise, and guard your heart in the way." Again, a positive illustration that out of it spring the issues of life. Do not mix with winebibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. In other words, recognize that the company you keep, the sorts of things you ingest, whether too much food or too much drink, has an effect upon you. So you need to keep your heart. You need to do so with all diligence, understanding that from it flows, or rather, all the issues of life come. and we need to appreciate the importance of the heart. The source or origin must be kept diligently. And now notice, secondly, the outlets that follow the mouth, the eyes, and the feet. Going back to Proverbs 4, verse 23, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Notice, put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Now, there's an intimate connection between the heart and the mouth, the heart and the eyes, the heart and the feet. But the mouth leads the path. How do we know what's in the heart of a man? We know based on what comes out of his mouth. This is precisely what our Lord Jesus Christ taught us in Matthew 12, 34. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. In other words, when a man praises God, when a man glorifies God, when a man recites catechism, or when he recites scripture verses, or when he sings psalms, or he sings hymns, or he praises, we can reasonably, rationally conclude that things are pretty good in his heart. But if a man blasphemes, if a man speaks perversity, if a man engages in the sorts of things that the Bible everywhere forbids, we must conclude that the source is faulty. The source is poison. There's something wrong with the heart if that's the kind of stuff that's coming out of the mouth. There is this close connection, an intimate connection, between the heart and mouth, for out of the abundance of the heart The mouth speaks. Notice, with reference to Solomon's prohibition in verse 24, put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Now, one of the things I did many years ago, and I'm not saying this because I'm a champ. Somebody must have said it or I must have picked it up somewhere along the line. I don't typically have innovative thoughts that are this brilliant. But I picked it up somewhere along the line. I take a pencil, and when I read through the Proverbs, if it's a mouth, tongue, or speech text, I put an M next to it. If it's a self-control text, I put an SC next to it. Self-control. If it's a diligence text, I put a D next to it. If it's a fear of the Lord text, I put an F next to it. Now, I'm not going to examine your Bibles next week to see that you all took this beautiful advice, but it's a helpful way so that when you scan through the Proverbs, your eyes alight to the particulars that are grouped together thematically. And mouth slash tongue slash speech Proverbs are abundant in the book of Proverbs. Waltke makes this observation. He says, Let me find it. He says, let me get back here. Oh, the Proverbs of Solomon are full of straight talk about talking straight. The Proverbs of Solomon are full of straight talk about talking straight. And I think that is absolutely true with reference to the Book of Proverbs. I just want to look at a few sample passages in terms of this deceitful mouth or perverse lips. In other words, the mouth's potential for evil in the Book of Proverbs. Notice in Proverbs 11. Proverbs 11 at verse 9. It says, the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor. The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor. When you were kids, maybe they don't do it anymore. When I was a kid, they said, sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. That's absolutely positively not true. Sticks and stones break bones that ultimately heal. If you destroy somebody's reputation, you destroy somebody's good name, it's hard to get that back. It's hard to unring that bell. It's hard to ever gain ground that has been destroyed by somebody else when it's come to reputation. And if you note the Proverbs of Solomon, he doesn't subscribe to that school that names will never hurt me. No, he sees the power in words. He sees the power of the tongue. He sees the power of the mouth, similarly to what we find in the book of James. Remember, James says, if anyone thinks he is religious, but he does not bridle his own tongue, this man's religion is Useless. It is vain. It is empty. It is void. Remember what James says in James chapter 3. Men can tame any type of beast. We've talked about that before. You can teach, if you're so inclined, a bear to dance. You can teach a lion to open its mouth and put your head in it. You can teach a crocodile or an alligator. I don't know which of the two species, but they open their mouths and people actually put their heads in there. James's point in James 3 is, no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil. So James toes the same line that Solomon does. And as we studied the book of James, we saw how much of proverbial wisdom lay behind James's epistle. When we speak ill of others, we have the power to destroy them. Notice, the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor. Look at chapter 12 in the book of Proverbs, in verse 17. Proverbs 12, 17, he who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword. That's just terrible. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword. That's not the way we're supposed to use our mouths. It's not the way we're supposed to use our speech. We're supposed to keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. And if we do that, then God willing, we'll be able to attain to the degree that the Spirit aids us that unruly evil that's between our lips. Verse 19, the truthful lips shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are his delight. You see, we need to keep our hearts with all diligence so that we can guard the outlet called our mouths. Turn back to Proverbs chapter 6 for just a moment. I've always thought Proverbs 6 is the most important section to memorize, the most important section to understand, specifically verses 16 to 19. We ought to know what God loves. We ought to know what God delights in. We ought to know what pleases God, but we also ought to know what displeases Him, what He doesn't love, what He abominates, what He hates. It's a good tactic for marriage as well. We not only need to know what our spouses delight in, but we also should want to know what they can't stand, what they despise, so that we don't parade that sort of thing in front of them. Why would we want to make them miserable? That's simply not a good thing for a believer. But notice in Proverbs 6.16, these six things Yahweh hates, yea, seven are an abomination to him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren. Now, within this particular list of the things that Yahweh abominates, we certainly would focus on the end of verse 17, hands that shed innocent blood. It's a particularly wonderful text in terms of abortion. God abominates abortion. God abominates the murder of the unborn or the preborn. God abominates clinics set up with sterilized instruments, subsidized federally to murder preborn babies in the place where they ought to be the most safe. But he also abominates these other things. A proud look. Brethren, we ought to oppose abortion, but we really ought to oppose pride in our own lives as well. But it is intriguing, there are two sins here, or two things Yahweh abominates that has to do with speech. Verse 17b, a lying tongue. Verse 19a, a false witness who speaks lies. So there's two things that made this list of things that Yahweh abominates that have to do with our mouths, that have to do with our speech. Turn over to Proverbs 15, verses 1 and 2. Again, looking at how to shore up that particular outlet, which is the mouth. Fix the source, guard the source, keep the source, and then put men on the perimeter. so that the mouth does not engage in wickedness against God. Proverbs 15, 1 and 2, a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Isn't that just so true? Isn't that something you just resonate with? Yeah, if I would have just answered a little bit more kindly, we wouldn't be in this mess. Why is it that our default mechanism is just to fight back? Why can't we just defer? Why can't we at times fall on our swords? Why can't we at times be wrong? Why can't we at times just say, please forgive me? What is it about us? What is it about us in terms of our Adamic nature or our remaining corruption? that we typically default to part B of verse 1. A harsh word stirs up anger. Notice in verse 2, the tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. Proverbs 17. Proverbs 17. I'm sorry, Proverbs 18. Just sampling of the text here. Proverbs 18, 21, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Again, brethren, we ought to oppose the sins committed against the sixth commandment, vis-a-vis murder of the unborn, euthanasia of the elderly and the infirm. We ought to oppose violations of the seventh word in terms of adultery or sexual immorality. We ought to oppose when the federal government steals money vis-a-vis the Eighth Commandment. We ought to oppose the Tenth Word and covetousness and certainly the first table of law, idolatry and blasphemy and Sabbath-breaking. We ought to oppose insubordination to parental authority or government authority. We ought to oppose with equal vehemence this prohibition against lying. The ninth commandment, we're not supposed to engage in abusive language with our tongues. Proverbs 25, verse 18, a man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow. Doesn't sound like sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. It's just the opposite. Solomon equates this false witness to clubs, swords, and sharp arrows. This is serious business, and we need to keep this particular outlet under control. Proverbs 26, 28, a lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin. Those are some powerful passages with reference to the power of the tongue. This is why Solomon tells us in Proverbs chapter four, keep our own hearts with all diligent for out of it spring the issues of life. One of those issues of life has to do with your mouth, with your tongue. We ought to learn the lesson of Proverbs 17 verses 27 and 28. Proverbs 17 verses 27 and 28. He who has knowledge spares his words. It's so contrary to today, isn't it? We think the guy who has knowledge is the one who's speaking the most. Solomon says, no, the guy who's speaking the most isn't necessarily the brightest bulb in the room. It's the man who spares his words. It's the man who says what is needful and necessary. It's the man who has the ability to penetrate and get to the point and speak his mind. He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Now, verse 28 ought to be committed to memory by each and every one of God's people. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. You want to be thought wise in a crowded gathering? Just be quiet. People will say, boy, that guy, he's quiet. He must be smart. He's sharp. You may be thinking about the dodo bird and whatever happened to it. You may be thinking about what you're going to have for breakfast tomorrow. You may be thinking about nothing. Women, when you ask your husbands, what are you thinking about, and they say nothing, that's honest. There are times when men are actually thinking about nothing. Now, men, when you ask women and they say nothing, you're in big trouble. Be careful. Tread lightly. Be very cautious when you hear that feminine response, nothing. There's usually something attached to that. But when you see what Solomon says here, it is better to close your mouth at many, many times during the day. Bridges says, silence is often the best proof of wisdom. Bridges elsewhere in his commentary on Proverbs says, we ought to think twice before we speak once. I think that's good sound advice. Going back to Proverbs chapter four, looked at keeping the heart, we're looking at the outlets. We've seen the mouth, notice the eyes. In verse 25, let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Again, there is a close connection between the heart and between the eyes. Notice in Proverbs 17. Proverbs 17, specifically at verse 24. Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. Proverbs 27 and verse 20. Proverbs 27 and verse 20. Hell and destruction are never full, so the eyes of man are never satisfied. So back in Proverbs chapter four at verse 25, he says, let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. What's the obvious import of the statement? Put your eyes where they're supposed to be. Look in the direction God has authorized. Now, this doesn't mean if you need to take a left, you can't look left. The idea has to do with ethics. The idea has to do with morality. The idea has to do with put your eyes where they're supposed to be. The psalmist prayed, set no worthless things before my eyes. Solomon is reiterating that particular point here in verse 25. Let your eyes look straight ahead, your eyelids look right before you. There are several examples in the biblical record where persons didn't do this and it cost them a great deal. Remember the woman in the garden. She had that sort of rational sort of mind break where, you know, the food or the fruit, rather, that the devil enticed her with was good for food, which she didn't need. She had a lush garden filled with an abundance of trees that yielded fruit that God said, you may freely eat. But when the devil comes to tempt her, all of a sudden, this tree that she had walked by on several occasions before, now was good for food. The third reason why she took that particular fruit was because it was desirable to make one wise. The philosophical insights, the godlike status, the knowledge of good and evil that the devil held out to her was just too much. But that second reason, what was it? It was very simple. It was pleasant to the eyes. She shouldn't have done it. She shouldn't have taken it. There was other fruit, there were other trees, and they were pleasant to the eyes, but they weren't under God's prohibition. This particular one was. What caused Israel failure in the battle against Ai? It was Achan. In fact, you can turn to Joshua chapter seven to see this very specifically, how it was the eye gate by which the temptation grabbed him. In Joshua 7, verse 20, and Achan answered Joshua and said, indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. And this is what I have done. When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent with the silver under it. Notice the first words in verse 21. When I saw, when I saw, when I looked at it, It had an allure, it had an appeal, it was pleasant to the eyes. It was something that I desired. And then on the heels of that, I coveted and then I took them. The anatomy of sin, it's spelled out by James in James chapter 1. Bruce Waltke again says, as long as people have their gaze fixed on heavenly truth, Satan has no advantage over them. That's the emphasis with reference to the eyes. He says, let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. In other words, think God's thoughts after him. Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Be fully embracing the word and truth of God. All keys right on. As long as people have their gaze fixed on heavenly truth, Satan has no advantage over them. And then he says, Eve fell only after she looked at the forbidden fruit. And then finally, note the feet. The feet in verses 26 and 27, the final outlet. The heart is connected to the mouth. Don't want to sing that old song. The heart is connected to the eyes, and the heart is connected to the feet. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Vis-a-vis those things affecting your mouth, vis-a-vis those things affecting your eyes, and vis-a-vis those things affecting your feet. Now note, Solomon gives two verses to the feet. Not because there are two feet, but because of the importance of it. Dedicating two verses to the foot highlights the importance of what? It highlights the importance of doing. In other words, the feet take us where we want to go. The feet are the vehicle by which we get from place to place to place. And so there is this close connection between the heart and the feet, because out of it spring the issues of life. Once we hatch a particular plan, it is the feet that brings us into that particular place. Notice. the need to ponder the path and establish one's ways. Proverbs 22, 3. Proverbs 22, 3. It and 27, 12 are the same and ones that bear memorization. Proverbs 22, 3. A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. Now, the word feet is not present, but the idea or concept is. The prudent man foresees evil and he does what? He doesn't rush headlong into it. Rather, he hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. In other words, the heart has not been disciplined, the heart has not been guarded, the heart has not been kept, and it gives vent to the feet, and they pass right into this evil, precarious situation. Notice back in Proverbs chapter 4, verses 26 and 27. Ponder the path of your feet. Let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left. Remove your foot from evil." Now, this statement, do not turn to the right or to the left, is biblical convention, something that's utilized not only in the book of Deuteronomy, but it's also used in the book of Joshua, and it's used in 1 Kings chapter 22. It's an idiom. It's a phrase. It's a sort of a saying. And simply what it means is don't deviate from the path. I think many of our problems would be avoided if we rendered or we remembered that. Don't deviate from the path. We have clearly defined paths each and every day. Don't deviate from it. I'm not suggesting you have to be OCD and everything has to be right where it's supposed to be all the time, though I think that's a great way to live. Don't deviate from the path. If you're a man, you're a man. You're a husband. You're a father. You're a worker. Do what you're supposed to do. Don't deviate from the path. If you're a woman, same sort of thing. You're a woman. You're a wife. You're a mother. You're a worker. You're whatever. You don't deviate from the path. It's when we deviate from the path that we end up in trouble, isn't it? It's when we don't do what we're supposed to do that we do the things we're not supposed to do. It's a pretty common situation with reference to this idea of not turning to the right or the left. Again, Deuteronomy, Joshua, I'm sorry, 2 Kings. Waltke says it's a common figure for moral deviation of any sort. a common figure for moral deviation of any sort. Matthew Poole says it this way, and I think he's beautiful. He says, fly all extremes and neither add to God's commands nor take from them. In other words, don't deviate from the plan. Don't deviate from the path. If you're supposed to be at a certain place, be at the certain place. That's not to say you can't stop and look at the ducks at the park. But brethren, understand that when you deviate from the things that God calls you to do, more often than not, good things don't typically happen. It's just a practical observation that, one, we need to be aware of. Notice the real practical illustration in Proverbs 5.8. Proverbs 5, 8, remove your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house. Again, the prohibition against sexual immorality. Remove your way far from her. Do not go near the door of her house. Let that sink into you. Do not go near the door of her house. He doesn't say don't go near her bed. Don't go near her kitchen. Don't go near her bathroom. Don't go near her door. Because you're simple and you're devoid of understanding. You're a weak-willed young man. This is what Solomon is saying. Remove your way far from her and don't go near her door. Because chances are, if you go near her door, you're gonna go through her door and you're gonna go into a place where you ought not to be. Remove your way far from her. Do not deviate from the plan. And this whole emphasis on feet or walking, we see it in the New Testament, Ephesians 5, 15 and 16. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Colossians 4, 5, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Well, that's our exposition. I want to close with just a few concluding thoughts. The emphasis is keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Seek to guard the source and then deal with or shore up or send guards to those perimeter places. to make sure that you are not compromising your witness as a Christian. But I do want to show an analogy or rather a comparison or a similarity between what we see here in Solomon and what we see in Jesus. Turn to Matthew 15. Remember, Jesus described himself as a greater than Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived, but Jesus says he was a greater than Solomon. Paul tells us in Colossians 2.3 that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Jesus Christ. Notice Christ in Matthew 15 at verse 10, when he called the multitude to himself, he said to them, hear and understand. Now, just to give you quickly the background, the Pharisees, the religious leaders come to him and say, Lord, teacher, why do disciples eat with unwashed hands? Why is it that they're going ahead with their meal without having washed their hands first? They're not talking about biology. They're not talking about germ theory. They're not talking about it's a good custom or a good habit, and one that we should practice, washing our hands before we eat a meal. This had to do with ritual cleanliness. This had to do with ceremonial law. This had to do with what the Pharisees paraded themselves on, was their fastidious attention to the details of the ceremonial law. And so Jesus says, you need to think about what it is you're saying. Now notice, he comes to explain this in verse 10. He says, when he had called the multitude to himself, he said to them, hear and understand, not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the man. This defiles a man. The problem isn't what we put in. The problem is what comes out. The problem with men isn't unwashed hands. The problem with men is unwashed hearts. The problem isn't that we may contract some symptoms or some sort of a physical ailment. The problem is that we have ethical ailments that only God can rectify or only God can remedy. Now notice in verse 12, then his disciples came and said to him, do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? This is 21st century, isn't it? This is what we hear today. Don't you know that offends them? You can't say that because it will offend them. I don't want to indict our dear brother disciples here, but this is really a 21st century thing. Lord, they need safe space. They're snowflakes. They can't deal with this. Lord, don't you know that the Pharisees are offended when they hear this saying? This is what Jesus' response is. I'm sorry. I'll publish a retraction. I will apologize. I will never say anything that may ever again be perceived to offend one of those dear Pharisees. He says, every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. Leave them alone. What's the reasoning? They are blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Then Peter answered and said to him, Explain this parable to us. So Jesus said, Are you still or also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a 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 unwashed hands does not defile a man. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Ryle commenting on this particular text says, let it be a settled resolution with us to keep our hearts with all diligence all the days of our lives. Even after renewal, they are weak. Listen to this brother, he's absolutely spot on. Even after renewal, they are weak. Remember the quote from Flabel at the very beginning? The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God. The greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God. Ryle affirms this. Ryle highlights this. Ryle says the same thing. Even after renewal, they are weak. Even after putting on the new man, they are deceitful. Let us never forget that our chief danger is from within. Yes, we have outward enemies. Yes, there's the world and there's the devil, but the flesh is an enemy as well. And it's the flesh that we will have with us until the very end. The devil may actually leave us alone for a time. The devil is not omniscient. He's not omnipotent. He's not omnipresent. He is creature. There's only one creator and that is God. The devil may actually be occupied with somebody else and leave you alone for a time. you may find yourself on an island somewhere where there isn't social media, where there isn't entertainment, where there isn't an encroaching world that is thrusting their temptations upon you. But you're still going to have your heart, you're still going to have that enemy within, you're still going to have that challenge. He goes on to say, let us never forget that our chief danger is from within. The world and the devil combined cannot do us as much harm as our own hearts will if we do not watch and pray. Happy is he who remembers daily the words of Solomon. One who trusts in himself is a fool. Proverbs 28, 26. So I think that the comparison here with reference to Solomon's wisdom and Jesus is absolutely airtight. They say the same thing. Keep your own heart. with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." This ought to make us conclude that we need to guard our hearts. We need to guard our hearts through faith in the Lord. Remember Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. We cannot do this in our own strength. We cannot do this in our own ability. We must trust in God and the resources that He provides vis-a-vis the Word and the Spirit. As well, Solomon joins upon us to acquire wisdom. We need to fill our hearts with wisdom. So read the Proverbs, study the Word of God, get it in your heart, get it in your mind, do what that psalmist says, hide the Word of God in your heart that you might not sin against Him. We need as well to regulate the conduct. Yes, Deal with the heart, but also deal with the mouth, deal with the eyes, deal with the feet. Those are representative. There are certainly other members of our bodies that we need to control as well. Never forget that the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, and we need, by the grace of God, to strive to put that into practice. And then the need for constant dependence upon the Lord. When we are told to keep your own heart with all diligence, that ought to throw us into the lap of divine power, because we can't. We are inept. We are, apart from Jesus, according to Jesus in John 15, able to do nothing. And so when we're given this kind of a command, this kind of an epic command to keep our own hearts with all diligence, if that doesn't send us to the throne of grace seeking aid and assistance, I don't know what will. This is something that only God can grant us the help in. Bridges again, he says, assaulted as we are at every point, every inlet of sin must be strongly guarded. The heart, the mouth, the eye, the feet. Can I keep my heart? Certainly not. But though it be God's work, it is man's agency. Our efforts are his instrumentality. Watch unto prayer. Cherish and humble dependent spirit. Live in the atmosphere of the word of God. Resist the admittance of an evil world, even in its most plausible forms. May God help us and may God grant us grace. And may God enable us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to keep our own hearts with all diligence, knowing from it spring the issues of life. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for its clarity here in the book of Proverbs. We thank you for this sage, practical wisdom given to us by you through your man Solomon. We thank you that Jesus is the one in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We thank you for the entirety of your word and give us grace and a zeal and a desire to hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against you. Go with us now, Lord God. Cause your face to shine upon us in this coming week. May we know your nearness as our chief good, and may you keep us and protect us and preserve us. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.