Proverbs 15:19

1. Intro.
1. Proverbs is a book that consist of instructions for life
2. there is not a moral truth in the Book of Proverbs which does not also have a spiritual aspect
1. God has made us body and soul, and He would have us serve Him with both
2. there is a part of us that is material, and there is a part that is spiritual; and both need guidance such as the Holy Spirit gives us in the Bible
3. the Lord would not have the highest spirituality divorced from common-sense
3. while we are in the world we are not to regard ourselves as if we have nothing to do with earth
1. we are to look to our lower nature, and order it in accordance with the will of the Lord
2. it is not enough that our hearts are cleansed; our bodies are to be washed as well
3. we are in the world, and we must eat, and drink, and work, even as other men do
1. all this must be brought under the rule of wisdom, even as our spiritual life is
2. the Christian's faith does not come to man merely to create holy joy and heavenly emotions; it comes to help him in the business of every day life
4. grace is intended to sanctify all the relations of life
1. we are to make the common things of this world sacred to God
2. we are not to be so spiritual that they cannot do a good day's work
3. the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is meant for this world as well as for worlds to come
4. it is a good thing to have practical teaching in connection with sound doctrine, and common-sense in connection with deep spirituality
2. the moral meaning of our text
1. a slothful man is the opposite of a righteous man
1. "The way of the slothful man" is placed in contrast, not with the way of the diligent man, but with "the way of the righteous"
1. to show that the slothful man is the very opposite of being a righteous man
2. the sluggard is not righteous, for he does not render to God according to the strength lent to him, nor to man according to the work assigned him
2. A sluggard is not a righteous man because he misses a main part of rightness
1. seldom is a sluggard honest: he owes more labor to the world than he pays
2. he is guilty of sins of omission, for he fails in obedience to one of the laws laid upon man: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" Gen 3:19
1. he aspires to eat his bread without earning it
2. he would, if he could, eat bread for naught, or eat the bread for which others toil; and this is either coveting or stealing
3. the sluggard evades the rule which has been given to the church: "if any would not work, neither should he eat" 2 Thes. 3:10
2. if we avoid sloth we have not done enough, we must also be righteous
1. if being industrious was sufficient, the text would have said: "The way of the slothful is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the diligent is made plain"
2. to be industrious by doing a great deal of mischief is not commendable
3. to rise up early, and to sit up late, merely for selfish ends, will not secure a blessing
4. there is a diligence which is produced by greed, or ambition
5. many wear themselves to skin and bone to gather that which is not bread, to hoard up that which can never satisfy them
6. we are to become the servants of righteousness when we escape from the servitude of sloth
3. a slothful man's way is like a hedge of thorns
1. unthinking people suppose that the sluggard lives a happy life, and travels an easy road
2. nothing is more wearisome than having nothing to do
3. labor of a holy sort has ten thousand times more joy in it than purposeless leisure
4. the way of the sluggard is also difficult
1. every mole-hill is a mountain to him, and every straw is a stumbling-block
2. the first thing these people do in the morning, is to look out and see a difficulty
3. a man who neglects his duty, will find his way increasingly difficult until it becomes almost impassable [hedge of thorns]
4. we cannot neglect the ordinary duties of life and not suffer for it
4. the other truth of the text is equally clear-a righteous man's way becomes plain
1. When a man is truthful, honest, and walks in his integrity, soon his way opens up before him
2. good men have trials and adversities, but in the long run if a man walks in his integrity and faith, the Lord will turn the darkness into light before him
3. "The way of the righteous is made plain." Only wait and watch, and you shall see the salvation of God
4. if we keep close to God, and make Him our guide even unto death, we will have no need to trouble ourselves about our way---the Lord will make it plain
3. the spiritual meaning of the text
1. spiritual sluggard's way is the way of unbelief, because the opposite of his way is the way of the righteous
1. he is not altogether dead to religious matters, he hears sermons, and attends the house of God
2. he fails in faith: he has not faith enough in the truth of the things which he professes to believe, to ever be affected by them in his daily life
1. when a man believes that there is a hell, he does something to escape from it
2. when a man believes that there is a heaven, he has an ambition to partake in its glories
3. the spiritual sluggard does not believe after this fashion
1. he says, "It is true;" but he acts as if it were false
2. he is too much a sluggard to become an infidel; he is too lethargic to argue against the truth which condemns him; so he nods in agreement; it is the nod of sleep
4. he has not faith enough in prayer to continue in it till he is heard in heaven
5. he listens to the preaching of the gospel, but as a sluggard he lets what is said go in at one ear, and out at the other: he grasps nothing, feels nothing, retains nothing
2. people who are in this state cannot quite give up religion, and yet they have never really taken to it
1. ministers always preach such dreadfully long sermons
1. the sermon is not long to those who feed upon the word
2. to those who sleep at the table it is intolerable
3. the whole service is dreary to them, though to believers it is bright and happy
2. the Bible does not interest them, because it requires so much thought
3. to us it is a Book which sparkles with the divinest truth; it is the Book of God
3. these know neither the pleasures of the world, nor the pleasures of grace
1. painful is this predicament, for they enjoy neither good nor evil
2. if they were to go out into the world, and plunge into the pleasures of it; they would know one side of life
3. they dare not do that, for they have too much conscience, too much training in religious ways
4. but they don’t have enough religion to be happy in Christ
5. one of these days he will come to the end of his way, and will see that a hedge of thorns has blocked him out of heaven
4. notice that the righteous man's way shall be made plain
1. the way of the righteous is the way of faith, they see him who is invisible, and they trust in God
2. they look for their pardon through the precious blood of Jesus Christ
3. they look to Christ Jesus for everything
4. God is with those who trust in Him; and what or whom shall we fear when God is with us?
5. in due time the way of the righteous shall be made plain, and that is all we should desire or expect