He Gives Grace To The Humble

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"He Gives Grace to the Humble tl (Proverbs 3:34)

Introduction: As we look at this passage in the book of Proverbs this morning, let us not forget the larger picture of why we are studying it. Remember, Solomon wrote the book to be a book of instruction in godliness, in wise behavior. At the beginning of the book, he wrote, "THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON THE SON OF DAVID, KING OF ISRAEL: TO KNOW WISDOM AND INSTRUCTION, TO DISCERN THE SAYINGS OF' UNDERSTANDING, TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION IN WISE BEHAVIOR, RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUSTICE AND EQUITY; TO GIVE PRUDENCE TO THE NAIVE, TO THE YOUTH KNOWLEDGE AND DISCRETION, A WISE MAN WILL HEAR AND INCREASE IN LEARNING, AND A MAN OF UNDERSTANDING WILL ACQUIRE WISE COUNSEL, TO UNDERSTAND A PROVERB AND A FIGURE, THE WORDS OF THE WISE AND THEIR RIDDLES" (1:1-6). This book has something for everyone of us here. Whether yon are young and have just begun to learn about what is pleasing to the Lord, whether you are old and already know a great deal about dghteousness and justice, or whether you are a parent seeking to raise your children in the right ways of the Lord. Each of you needs this book. Each of you needs the wisdom that i t brings. We might apply the same analogy that the Lord Jesus Christ does at the end of His Sermon on the Mount, "THEREFORE, EVERYONE WHO HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE AND ACTS UPON THEM, MAY BE COMPARED TO A WISE MAN, WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCK. AND THE RAIN DESCENDED, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BLEW, AND BURST AGAINST THAT HOUSE, AND YET IT DID NOT FALL, FOR IT HAD BEEN FOUNDED UPON THE ROCK. AND EVERYONE WHO HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE, AND DOES NOT ACT UPON THEM, WILL BE LIKE A FOOLISH MAN, WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE SAND. AND THE RAIN DESCENDED, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BLEW, AND BURST AGAINST THAT HOUSE; AND IT FELL, AND GREAT WAS ITS FALL'" (Matt. 7: 24-27). Every word of God is inspired and is to be heeded by us. To do them is to gain a blessing. But to turn away from them is to invite disaster upon your house. In this section of Proverbs, Solomon is giving to us several contrasts between the wicked and the righteous, something which he does throughout the book. It is a very effective way of teaching godly principles. He says in vv. 32-35, "THE CROOKED MAN IS AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD; BUT HE IS INTIMATE WITH THE UPRIGHT. THE CURSE OF' THE LORD IS ON THE HOUSE OF THE WICKED, BUT HE BLESSES THE DWELLING OF THE RIGHTEOUS. THOUGH HE SCOFFS AT THE SCOFFERS, YET HE GIVES GRACE TO THE AFFLICTED. THE WISE WILL INHERIT HONOR, BUT FOOLS DISPLAY DISHONOR." The verse that we will want to focus on this morning is verse 3L~, and what I want you to see is that, The Lord will resist the proud hearted tv.ho do not submit to Ris will, but He shows favor to those who are humble. IWe will want to compare and contrast these two k:inds of individuals spoken of this morning, and also the Lord's reactions to both of them. I. First, Let Us Look at the Scoffer and See How the Lord Responds to Him. A. The Scoffer Is a Very Proud Individual Who Looks Down His Nose At Everyone alld Everythillg Rise. 1. We don't oftell use the word "scoffer" today, but some of its synonyms, "scorner," "proud," and "mocker" are a little more familiar. 2. Maybe when you think of someone scoffing you see a gruff looking individual with a high and haughty look speaking very harshly to another man, ridiculillg him for something. Maybe you have your own example. Maybe at some POillt .in your life, you .have had someone cruelly make fun of you.

2 3. The Lord even us some pictures in nature .in the mocking bjrd who continually harasses the predator who come close to her nest, or in the laughing hyena which seems to mock its victims or attackers. 4. Nobody Likes a scoffer. The Bible says that when a man is a hfi.b.itual scoEfer, he is especially repulsive both to God and man. _ .~ a. The ~k9~and the fool are one and the same person. "FOOLS." Jike scoEfers, MOCK AT SIN" (Prnv. 14:9). They make fun oE it, they take i t lightly. Knowing that ho.lilless is beautjEuJ in the eyes of God, you can easily see why the one {.;tho would take sin Lightly l"ou1d be a fool in His eyes. He knows that i f you do not take sin seriousJy, i t will surely destroy your soul. God does not take sin lightly, and neither should we. b. The reason that he takes sin lightly is that he is liEted up with pride, the sarne s:in that proved to be the downEall Ear the devil. Solomon says, "'PROUD,' 'HAUGHTY,' 'SCOFFER,' ARE HIS NAMES, IntO ACTS WITH INSOLENT PRIDE" (21 :24). (i) When the trans1ators4 the LXX translated the Hebrew word for scofIer;lI.rhey used a word in the Greek which means "proud," and its easy to see why. (ii) Our passage this morning is the same one quoted by James in James 4:6, and Peter in 1 Peter 5:5, where he writes, "YOU YOUNGER MEN, LIKEWISE, BE SUBJECT TO YOUR ELDERS; AND ALL OF YOU, CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, FOR GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." (iii) Pride is a very dangerous s.in which can destroy any who allow i t to remain unbroken .in their hearts. (iv) And pride is all too common among men. The devil certainly loves to leave his imprint an all oE his children. c. The one who is prideful believes himse1E to be above correction. He is always r.ight and everyone else wrong. And he doesn't take too kindly to your correction e.ither. "HE WHO CORRECTS A SCOFFER GETS DISHONOR FOR HIMSELF, AND HE WHO REPROVES A WICKED NAN GETS INSULTS FOR HIMSELF. DO NOT REPROVE A SCOFFER, LEST HE HATE YOU, REPROVE A WISE MAN, AND HE WILL LOVE YOU" (9:7-8). "A SCOFFER DOES NOT LOVE ONE WHO REPROVES HIM, HE WILL NOT GO TO THE WISE" (15:12). (1) Pride is such a strong and sinful pass.ion, that one who is prideful can't stand to be corrected by another, espec.ially by one who is perceived as inferior in his own eyes. (ii) Maybe you have exper.ienced what Solomon here writes, you have tried to bring correction and instruction to someone and have been attacked and ridiculed for your trouble. Isn't this why Solomon wrote, "HE WHO REPROVES A WICKED MAN GETS INSlTLTS FOR HIMSELF." (iLi) After being scoyched by their tongue enough times, you learn to do what he advises, "DO NOT REPROVE A SCOFFER, LEST HE HATE YOll." Rather, you should seek to REPROVE A WISE MAN," because "HE WILL LOVE YOll. H d. Because of his prideful character, ABOMINATION TO MEN" (24:9).

"THE SCOFFER IS AN

3 e. He is used by the psalmist .in Psalm 1 as an example of what one who is seeking to please the Lord should avoid. "HOW BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO DOES NOT WALK IN THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED, NOR STAND IN TilE PATH OF SINNERS, NOR SIT IN THE SEAT OF SCOFFERS!" (Ps. 1: 1). f. Solomon says that when be finally will not repent, the only way to deal with him is remove 111m from your presence, "DRIVE OUT THE SCOFFER, AND CONTENTION WILL GO OUT, EVEN STRIFE AND DISHONOR WILL CEASE '1 (Prov. 22: 10). B. To Serve as a Warning to Us, So That We Do Not Adopt the Scoffer's Way of Life, Solomon Tells Us Here What God Wi] 1 Do to Them. 1. God1t;reatfl them the way that they treat others. a. The Psalmist writes, "WITH THE KIND THOU DOST SHOW THYSELF KIND; WITH THE BLAMELESS THOU DOST SHOW THYSELF BLAMELESS; WITH THE PURE THOU DOST SHOW THYSELF PURE; AND WITH THE CROOKED THOU DOST SHOW THYSELF ASTUTE [or TWISTFD]"

(18:25-26). b. Solomon writes, "HE SCOFFS AT THE SCOFFERS." He laughs at them. He mocks them, for they have mocked Him.

2. God knows that their day is coming.

He has ordained it. "JUDGMENTS ARE PREPARED FOR SCOJ.'FERS, AND BLOWS FOR THE BACKS OF FOOLS" (J 9: 29). 3. And the prophet Isaiah writes, "FOR THE RUTHLESS WILL COME TO AN END, AND THE SCORNER WILL BE FINISHED, INDEED ALL WHO ARE INTENT ON DOING EVIL WILL BE CUT OFF" (Isa. 29:20). ~;. Many are the people today who fall into th.is category.

II. Having Seen the Scoffer and the Lord Harsh Treatment of Him, Let Us Look Secondly at the Afflicted and See the Lord's Gracious Treatment of Him. A. The Afflicted Person Is Just the Opposite of the Proud: He Is Humble. 1. The word here is translated as afflicted or as humble. The reason is that those who are afflicted are most usually those who are humble. You may never have thought about why the Lord brings affliction to the godly. It is to keep them humble. 2. The humble more often live in a state of suffering and affliction rather than one of worldly happiness and prosperity. a. This was true of Moses, who was called the most humble man on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3), and the apostle Paul, who said that he was "SERVING THE LORD WITH ALL HUMILITY AND WITH TEARS AND WITH TRIALS WHICH CAME UPON ME THROUGH THE PLOTS OF THE JEWS" (Acts 20:19). b. It is far better to be hUlnbl~a:nd lffl.icted, than to be prosperous and proud. It is after all the humble who inherit a,e true riches, not those ~vho are haughty. c. It is for this reason that the Lord says in the Sermon on the Mount, "BLESSED ARE THE POOR I~PIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" (Matt. 5:3); lOr more specifically in what might be considered Jesus' Sermon on the Plain, "BLESSED ARE YOU WHO ARE POOR, POR YOURS IS THE: KINGDOM OF GOD" (Luke 6: 20

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3. But are affliction and suffering the only things tbat characterize the humble'? Is there nothing more? a. The psalmist writes that the humble rejoice wl1en God is praised, "I WILL PRAISE THE NAME OF GOD WITH SONG, AND SHALL

4 MAGNIFY HIM WITH THANKSGIVING. AND IT WILL PLEASE THE LORD BETTER THAN AN OX OR A YOUNG BULL WITH HORNS AND HOOFS. THE HUMBl.E HAVE SEEN IT AND ARE GLAD" (69:30-32). b. The humb.le are those who obey H.is righteous ordinances. The prophet Zephan.iah writes, "SEEK THE LORD, ALL YOU HUMBLE OF THE EARTH WHO HAVE CARRIED OUT HIS ORDINANCES; SEEK PERHAPS YOU WILL BE HIDDEN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, SEEK HUMILITY. THE DAY OF THE LORD'S ANGER" (2: 3 ) • c. They are those [,;ho wait upon the Lord, as the psalmist writes, "REST IN THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY [<'OR HIM; DO NOT FRET BHCAUSE OF HIM WHO PROSPERS IN HIS WAY, BECAUSE OF THE MAN WHO CARRIES OUT WICKED SCHEMES. CEASE FROM ANGER, AND FORSAKE WRATH; DO NOT FRET, IT LEADS ONLY TO EVILDOING. FOR EVILDOERS WILL BE CUT OFF, BUT THOSE WHO WAIT FOR THE LORD, THEY WILL INHERIT THE LAND. YET A LITTLE WHILE AND THE WICKED MAN WILL BE NO MORE; AND YOU WILL LOOK CAREFULLY FOR HIS PLACE, AND HE WILL NOT BE THERE. BUT THE HUMBLE WILL INHERIT THE LAND, AND WILL DELIGHT IN ABUNDANT PROSPERITY" (Psalm 37:7-11), d. And [:inally they are those who receive their moral gu.idance from the Lord. "GOOD AND UPRIGHT IS THE LORD; THEREFORE HE INSTRUCTS SINNERS IN THE WAY. HE LEADS THE HUMBLE IN JUSTICE, AND HE TEACHES THE HUMBLE HIS WAY. (25:8-9). B. Not Only Are the Humble Just the Opposite of the Proud, But the Lord's Treatment of Them Is Just the Opposite as Well: "HE GIVES GRACE TO THE AFFLICTED. " ]. The Bible throughout tells us that i t is the humble whom the Lord blesses. a. The Lord says that the humble are better than the proud, "PRIDE GOES BEFORE DESTRUCTION, AND A HAUGHTY SPIRIT BEFORE STUMBLING. IT IS BETTER TO BE OF A HUMBLE SPIRIT WITH THE LOWLY, THAN TO DIVIDE THE SPOIL WITH THE PROUD" (Prov.

16: 18-19). b. It is their voice which He promises to hear when they call to Him, "0 LORD, THOU HAST HEARD THE DESIRE OF THE HUMBLE; THOU WTLT STRENGTHEN THEIR HEART, THOU flILT INCLINE THINE EAR" (Ps. 10 : 1 7) • "THOU DIDST CAUSE JUDGMENT TO BE HEARD FROM HEAVEN; THE EARTH FEARED, AND WAS STILL, WHEN GOD AROSE TO JUDGMENT, TO SAVE ALL THE HUMBLE OF THE EARTH" (76:8-9). c. It is to sucb that the Lord sent His anointed Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, to preach the good news of salvation. Isaiah wrote, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE THE LORD HAS ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEftlS TO THE AFFLICTED; HE HAS SENT ME TO BIND UP THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES, AND FREEDOM TO THE PRISONERS" (61: 1-2). d. It is to these that the Lord shows His "grace", or H.is unmerited favor. 2. Indeed, we would have to say that He had already shown tbem His grace for they could not be truly humble without it. But to those who are humble, He blesses them with an even greater grace. III. The Lord Gave to Us These Proverbs of So.l01110n So That We Might Gain Instruction in Righteousness. A. And So I Would Ask You Now to Let the Scriptures Search Your Hearts to See I [ You Are Sitting in the Seat of the Scoffer, or i f You Are Occupying the Lowly Place of the Meek and Humble.

5 J. ReaLize first that the.f'e are d_iffering degrees with which you or I may struggle with any sin. It is not all or nothing.

a. Just because you may not have c01Il111.itted actua..1 murder does not mean that you have not broken the 6th commandment by hating your neighbor. b. Just because you may not have committed actual aclu1 tery with a man or woman other than your spouse, does not mean that you are not gui1 iy of breaking the 7th c01Il111fmdment. c. Sins may be greater or smaller, but they are still sins. 2. And so I waul d ask you who are here this morn.ing, do any of these characterisUcs of the scoffer describe you in any degree? a. Do YOll as the scoffer take sin .lightly? When someone YOll know sins, do you excuse it and put it out of your mind? Do you refuse to carry out your Lord's method of reconcil.iation by confronting them with their sin? Do you easily excuse sin in yourself? Isn't that mocking sin, at least in some degree? b. Are you a person who is characteri;;:ed by pride? Do you hate to have others correct you when you sayar do something wrong? Do you lash out at tbem or try to find fault with them so that tbe.ir admonition is discredited in your eyes and in the eyes of others? c. Realizing that this is a book addressed to you children as well, are any of these things true of you? Do you excu.se any sinful behav.ior in yourself? Do you resist being corrected by those whom the Lord has placed in authority over you? d. The Lord gives to all of us a stern admonition this morning. Beware lest there be in you a heart which scorns anything of the Lord's, lest He scorn you in the end and cast you into perdi ti all. 3. You and I have no right to s.H in judgment on God's Word. a. The proper response of the child of God is to humbly receive what God says and to do it w.ith all of your heart. b. To do anything else is to be a judge of God's Word, and not a doer of it. c. If you should find that you have the heart of a scoffer, that you are sitting in the pla.ce o.f the proud, the purpose of passages such as this are not to condemn you as an end in itself, but: that you might seek after God. d. Why does God give us His Word after all, except Wet we might learn that we are sinners and seek after fAflf"that tore might be saved? e. Jesus said that He did not come to destroy men's lives, but: to save them. f. If the spirit of unbroken pride reigns in your life this morning, seek after God that He might break it and set you free by the grace of Christ. If you do not seek Him, you shan surely perish. But: if you do seek Him with an your heart, you w:i.1llmost probabJyjfind. -== g. Don't rest until you have a firm and solid hope of your salvation. And then seek the rest of your time on earth to live a humb.Ie and submissive 1.ife to God. B.

On the Other Hand, Are You Occupying tl1e Lowly Place of tlle Humble?

1. Do you re]O:Lce when God .is glorif.ied and praised? Are you one who is not afra.id to search out tl1e whole counsel of God and do it to tl1e best of your abiLi ty? Do YOll wai t upon the Lord to deliver you from all of your troubles and to give you gu.i.dance, .~. . tJ and direction in aU of your life? ~cr"-·.e~\",,,·J::d.:;).IL ......&:(;>~ (.'OCV< • • UAJ'- ~'<­ 2. It- this describes you, then God here is promis.ing -you a great .~ ­ blessing. a. It indicates that God has given to you grace already, for

only tIle heart of the true Christian will delight in real

ImmDity.

b. It is to you that God has sent His Son to deliver you from

cdl m:isery and destruction forever.

c. i t is to you that God has determined to give the kingdom,

"BLESSED ARE THE HUMBLE, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH"

(Ma t t. 5: 5 Y.

d. Jt. is to your prayers that He has bound Himself to listen. e. .And it is for your good that He promises to work out all of

the afflictions which He brings into your lit-e to keep YOll

liumb.le and to work godliness in you.

f. Thank tIle Lord for His blessings .in your life, and strilre

~ilith all your m:ight to serve Him with even great humility,

and the Lord will bless you and allow you to have an even

[uller reward .in heaven. Amen,

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