Delivers Thee from Evil Men

Driving home: But when the bible describes these things it does so in such a way that unless a man is utterly seared his conscience he sees the picture and says god have mercy upon me lest i go down that road and incur your wrath and …

Compares the Bible's graphic descriptions of evil, which aim to incite horror and repentance, with the world's 'realism' in literature and arts, which often incites depraved lust and leads to sin.

of what shall i say the victorian prudery by which the way of evil men would be veiled no no the scripture speaks in some of its most graphic descriptive portions of the way of evil but never in such a way as to incite your desire for evil that's the difference between the realism of the bible and the so-called realism of our own day as found in literature and found in the theater and the arts and in every realm of society people say look life is ugly life is full of immorality life is full of murder life is full of rape and incest and homosexuality so why hide it ah but the difference is this...

9:44 - 11:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now since the scripture says out of the abundance of the the heart, the mouth speaketh. Since the Bible teaches that your mouth is an echo of your heart, the fact that their speech is perverse and froward is simply a rev…

Uses the preacher's own efforts to influence thoughts with words to explain how words shape thoughts, thoughts shape character, and character determines destiny, whether for good or evil.

You see, words shape thoughts. Thoughts shape character, and character determines destiny. How am I seeking to convey thoughts to you tonight? By words.

13:58 - 14:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now since the scripture says out of the abundance of the the heart, the mouth speaketh. Since the Bible teaches that your mouth is an echo of your heart, the fact that their speech is perverse and froward is simply a rev…

Describes froward men as having 'the bit in their teeth' and shaking their neck like a wild colt, illustrating their stubborn, unrestrained rebellion against God.

Now what's true with words based upon the Scriptures is true with men who speak perverse things. And so Solomon recognizes that his son, his pupil is going to go out into a world in which he's going to rub shoulders with forward men. Men who have the bit in their teeth, who say in the words of Psalm 2, let us break their bands asunder, cast away their cords from us, who shake their neck like a wild colt, and say, I will not be subject to the Lord God of heaven and of earth. And so with that disposition of heart, they speak things that are reflective of it.

14:53 - 15:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry out day after day for heavenly wisdom to enter your heart and be pleasant to your soul, so you can recognize and be kept from perverse speech.

Illustrates how young people can feel bullied or impressed by seemingly knowledgeable and successful men of perverse speech, highlighting the need for wisdom in the heart to discern truth.

And you see a young man feels as it were bullied by the men of perverse speech. They seem to be men who are knowledgeable. Many times they are men who seem to be successful. And so the young man is as it were impressed with this semblance of success and these words which pour out of this perverse man, perverse words can have a tremendous influence unless the young man has had the words of heavenly wisdom laid up where?

16:35 - 17:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry out day after day for heavenly wisdom to enter your heart and be pleasant to your soul, so you can recognize and be kept from perverse speech.

Uses the example of clever, impressive high school or college teachers who manipulate students' minds with perverse ideas, emphasizing the need for divine wisdom to resist their influence.

And so he says, my son, divine wisdom is given to preserve you from the way of evil men. Outstanding characteristic of evil men, they speak perverse things. But oh my son, remember to the law, to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And I say to you dear young people, some of you who face high school teachers whom I've described tonight, very clever young men and women.

18:14 - 18:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Let true wisdom enter your heart and knowledge be pleasant to your soul, so you are not sucked into the depraved delights of evil men, knowing true delight is found only in Christ and holiness.

Uses the analogies of a bird not delighting in the ocean, a fish not delighting in the air, and children not delighting in spinach but in ice cream, to explain that delight comes from something suitable to one's nature and desires, thus illustrating how evil men delight in evil because it suits their depraved nature.

notice what he says their delights are depraved speech perverse their way of life apostate but their delights are depraved listen verse 14 who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil or as the King James says the frowardness of evil men they delight to do evil themselves and they delight in the perversity of other men's evil now let's look at these two things they rejoice to do evil when does a thing bring you joy let me ask you kids then what makes you happy when you say when the long-winded preacher says and now for the last point you can go home and go to bed what makes y...

32:23 - 33:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Let true wisdom enter your heart and knowledge be pleasant to your soul, so you are not sucked into the depraved delights of evil men, knowing true delight is found only in Christ and holiness.

Extends the bird and fish analogy to show that just as they joyfully move in their natural elements, so evil men's alacrity in sin demonstrates their joy and delight in it.

who rejoice to do evil they're never happier than when they are consciously committed to a course that is in contradiction to God's holy law this is one of the great indictments that God brought upon his people through the prophet Jeremiah look at the statement in Jeremiah 11 and verse 15 God says to Jeremiah pray not for this people what a terrible thing when God forbids his servants even to pray for a people neither lift up nor cry nor pray for them for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me because of their trouble what hath my beloved to do in my house seeing she hath wroug...

34:59 - 36:27 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Evil men are crooked in their ways and wayward in their paths, meaning their lives are distorted from God's straight path and lack fixed principles. They justify their actions and…

Quotes Matthew Henry's description of crooked paths as having 'many windings and turnings to escape the pursuit of their convictions,' illustrating the deceitful nature of evil men's ways.

and wayward in their paths just a word of definition crooked in their ways and wayward what do they mean when something is crooked it's distorted and I believe what Solomon has in mind is simply this man was made to obey God in obedience to him is the straight path and everything else is a crooked path wayward it means to turn aside their paths have been turned aside from that good and acceptable and perfect will of God their paths are not according to the law or to the gospel Romans chapter 3 they have all gone aside into what into crooked paths their paths are devious Matthew Henry has a cho...

40:48 - 42:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Evil men are crooked in their ways and wayward in their paths, meaning their lives are distorted from God's straight path and lack fixed principles. They justify their actions and…

Uses Hugh Hefner and the Playboy empire as an example of someone whose path is devious, yet he tries to convince the world it is a 'straight path of liberation,' contrasting it with the 'puritanic ethic'.

not wanting to remind themselves that the way leads unto death their paths are devious they do not know they do not live by fixed principles that come with the authority of God their path as it were is a path of putty shaped according to every whim and dictate of their own deep hearts the pressure of their peers the influence of society about them what a contrast with the path of the righteous that is laid with the solid granite blocks of God's eternal character as expressed in his own holy law the problem with these who walk in such paths is that they are not as good as they are to be they of...

42:17 - 43:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You see a godly young man or woman in the presence of an ungodly man or woman is a constant barb in his conscience there's only one thing you do with a barb in your conscience get it out

Tells the story of a young man who gets his heart tied to an unconverted girl, leading to an unequal yoke and bitter tears, illustrating the subtle dangers and bitter fruits of sin that the young often don't foresee.

in their efforts and secondly they are subtle in the manner in which they seduce to sin like their father the devil they traffic in lies and half truths and so often the young have not lived long enough to see that they are but half truths some of us who've lived a little longer have seen the bitterness that comes when that naive young man thought he could get his heart strings tied up with that unconverted girl and never let the relationship develop serious enough to marry her oh he knows we've lived long enough to see the tragedy of how that relationship developed to the place where the guy ...

48:08 - 49:38 Read in full sermon