By Wisdom and Knowledge ...

Houses have been sometimes built through wickedness but never established. By wisdom and knowledge, they are built as it were on a rock, to stand firm against every blast. Convenient furniture is desirable, as well as a sure house; and this also is a fruit of that wisdom and industry which belongs to religion.

Wicked men are represented by Solomon as entertaining their imaginations with high expectations of the precious substance, with which robbery and fraud will fill their houses. But what wicked men vainly expect godly men find, if God sees it to be good for them. Should the wicked prosper in their pursuits, their joy is mingled with the racks of a tormenting consciousness of guilt, and the apprehensions of a speedy end to the pleasures of sin. If godly men are disappointed in their expectations and wishes as to this world, they have the consolation of knowing that they have mansions of blessedness prepared for them in Christ's father's house, and that their substance is the better and enduring substance, laid up for them in Heaven.

Although the Old Testament dispensation of grace abounded in promises of earthly blessings yet many of the ancient saints met with innumerable crosses and afflictions. They were obliged to dwell in dens and caves of the earth. They were destitute, afflicted, tormented and still they believed that God was faithful to his word, although outward events contradicted it. Or if at any time, doubts of God's faithfulness and goodness arose in their minds, they resisted the abominable thoughts so derogatory to the Highest and called themselves brutes and idiots before God.

How inexcusable then must it be for us, who live in the sunshine of the Gospel, to give place to blasphemous doubts of the providence of God, and the truth of his word when God does not think fit to give splendid palaces and fine furniture to his people! The promises respecting this life, belong to godliness under the New Testament as well at the old but they are to be understood in a consistency with the nobler promises that respect spiritual blessings, and the happy influence which crosses of different kinds have in the accomplishment of these promises.

When God appoints poverty and losses to the wise and bereaves them of the native fruits of their honest labors and temperate course of life, he is not breaking, but fulfilling, his word. And the most afflicted saints will find reason to say in the end of their curse, "we know that all your judgments are righteous, and that you in faithfulness have afflicted us."

[George Lawson]

Proverbs 24:3-4 ... Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. ❤

Unfailing Graounds

Christians have unfailing grounds of satisfaction and contentment, for they know that all their affairs are managed by a wise and gracious Providence.

The calamities which the believer suffers are unstinged to him through the Redeemer's cross, which, like the tree that Moses cast into the waters of Marah, makes bitter things sweet.

He is not visited with any unnecessary evil, and those evils which visit him are made good on the whole, by the tendency which they have to do him good, and make him good.

Reproaches and tribulations, sicknesses and deaths, are the common lot of men. And they are very evil things to those who are strangers to God but they are good to those who love God, for they are appointed and useful means to make them partakers of God's holiness, and prepare them for that blessed world where sins and sorrows are no more!

[George Lawson]

Romans 8:28 … And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 … For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.❤

Death to The Righteous and The Wicked

Must not the righteous leave the earth too?  Yes! But the earth is a very different thing to the righteous, and to the wicked.

To the righteous this world is a place of preparation or Heaven.  To the wicked this world is all the Heaven they will ever have.

Death is a kind messenger sent to the righteous by their heavenly Father calling them to the possession of their eternal inheritance! To the wicked, death is a messenger of wrath summoning them to the abodes of misery!

Death is the beginning of happiness to God's people. Death is the final conclusion of all that the wicked counted their happiness.

To the righteous death is a translation to a glorious eternity! To the wicked death is everlasting destruction and woe!

[George Lawson]

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Deuteronomy 32:29 ... O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

Mark 16:16 ...  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Matthew 25:45-46 ... Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.❤

Plowing of the Wicked

How is the plowing of the wicked, sin when they are commanded to plow, and severely reproved for the neglect of that work by which they ought to support themselves and their families?

Whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do we are required to do all to the glory of God. But the wicked man neither eats nor drinks, nor plows, nor sows, to the glory of God and therefore he lives in a course of sin, even when he is employed in those actions which are most innocent or necessary.

His soul is infected deeply with the venom of sin, which spreads itself over all his life. For to the unbelieving and impure, there is nothing holy. They are corrupt trees and no fruit that grows upon them can be good. Their hands are defiled with sin, and their fingers with iniquity and, therefore, everything they touch must be defiled by their impurity!

What then must the wicked do? Must they leave off all work, lest they should sin in doing it? By no means. Their business is to get free of that plague of sin which spreads infection to everything they meddle with. Let them have recourse, like the leper, to Christ that He may make them clean and then being pure, everything will become pure to them.

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 21:4 ...  An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ... Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ... In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.❤

It is Far Better to Dwell in a Poor Cottage

The upright man is far happier in the poorest circumstances than a wicked man in his greatest prosperity. Though a wicked man surmounts his neighbor as far as the cedars of the mountain overtop the creeping shrubs of the valley yet he shall be filled with the strokes of divine vengeance. Though he dwells in a magnificent palace, the tempest of divine indignation shall beat it down!

But the righteous man, though at present he appears like the incarnate Savior, a tender plant shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon. And though his dwelling place is but a tent, it shall flourish, and prosper, and grow into a heavenly mansion! It is far better to dwell in a poor cottage where the blessing of God rests, and in which is heard the melody of joy and praise than in a palace which lies under the curse of the Lord!

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 14:11 ... The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Luke 18:24-25 ... And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Matthew 16:26 ... For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?❤

If God Withheld

The holiest of men need preservation from the worst sins, for they are conscious that they might fall into the deepest mire of iniquity if God withheld His mercy.

[George Lawson]

Psalm 119:117 ... Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

1 Peter 1:5 ... Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Philippians 2:13 ... For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Psalm 118:1 ... O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.❤

To His Own Soul

How painful must it be to the heart of a parent who neglected the training of his child, to see the that child walk in the paths of wickedness. Every wicked act in such a child must be a wound in the heart of his cruel father, who by his cruel negligence, left his child to be a prey to the devil and, carried captive by that cruel tyrant, to be employed in his hellish drudgery!

If the father lives to see him die in such a situation, what a hell must it be to his own soul! Even the agonies of a wounded conscience are unequal to the torment of reflecting that, in spite of all the obligations of nature, he allowed his poor child to be carried away by Satan to the Lake of Fire; where he is now justly cursing the parent who brought him into the world, because he never used the proper means for preventing that horrible misery, to which he is now reduced.

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 19:18 ... Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

Proverbs 13:24 ... He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Proverbs 22:15 ... Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13-14 ... Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.❤

The Malicious Man

An angry man is dangerous but, if you are on your guard, the danger will soon be over.

The malicious man is far worse, and much more dangerous, for his hatred ferments in his heart, and in the mean time, he is projecting methods for wreaking his malevolence in such a manner as will be safest to himself, and most hurtful to its object. He is not like the dog that barks before it bites otherwise you might stand to your own defense. But he is a dog that fawns upon you, and, when you are never dreaming of it, viciously attacks you, and inflicts an unexpected and dangerous wound.

Solomon warns you that your safety lies in refusing to trust him, even when he makes the largest professions of friendship. When he speaks charming words, believe him not, although he should swear to the truth of all he says. If you have any reason, from your knowledge of a man's character, or from his former behavior, to think that he is one of this stamp, and capable of such wicked conduct his ardent professions of love should rather confirm than remove your suspicions of him. For the darkest designs are always covered under the greatest shows of virtue and friendship.

You may as safely believe the devil himself, as one who joins malignity of heart with flattery and caresses for he is a man after the devil's own heart! His character is a compound of all those vices of the blackest and the vilest kind, which make a consummate villain, and render a man a disgrace to human nature, by his exact resemblance to those infernal fiends who are to be dreaded equally for their malice and subtlety.

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 26:24-25 ... He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.



Proverbs 29:8 ... Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.

1 John 2:11 ... But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.❤

Remember That You Are a King's Son

When a young prince asked a certain philosopher to give him a directory for his conduct, all his instructions were comprised in one sentence: "Remember that you are a king's son!"

All Christians are advanced to spiritual honors of the most exalted kind. They are the children of God, and heirs of the eternal kingdom and ought to resemble their heavenly Father, who is the God of holiness. Their dignity obliges them to a behavior worthy of it, and of Him whose grace has conferred it.

Let Christians remember who they are, and how they came to be what they are and act in befitting character!

[George Lawson]

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1 Peter 1:14-16 ... As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.


Romans 8:17 ... And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.


Titus 3:7 ... That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.❤

The Sins of Men

The sins of men, unless pardoned through the blood of Christ, shall be their everlasting destruction. For he who turns away from God turns his back upon eternal happiness. And he who cherishes iniquity warms the most venomous of serpents in his bosom!

Lost sinners owe their ruin to their willful hardness of heart, their abuse of divine mercy, and their indifference to God's salvation.

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 1:32 ... For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

Joel 2:13 ... And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Luke 15:7 ... I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.❤

The Gifts of God

Gifts have a very strong influence in gaining love. They are like precious stones in the eyes of those who receive them, charming their eyes, and powerfully turning their affections to the giver. The influence of gifts is almost universal, for they work upon the heart of the wise and the benevolent, as well as of the foolish and selfish.

What influence should the gifts of God have upon our hearts! They are more numerous than the hairs upon our head, and far more precious than pearls and diamonds! Surely they must have a constraining influence upon every heart that is not harder than the nether millstone.

[George Lawson]

Romans 6:23 ...  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


2 Corinthians 9:15 ... Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.



Titus 2:13-14 ... Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.❤

A Pitiful Compensation

If men could obtain what they seek by sin, it would be a pitiful compensation for eternal misery in Hell!

[George Lawson]

Romans 13:2 ... Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Matthew 10:28 ... And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 16:26 ... For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?❤

A Fool Finds Pleasure in Evil Conduct!

It is a sign of prodigious folly for a man to take pleasure in sin, which gives mortal wounds to the soul, provokes the wrath of the Almighty God, and could not be expiated, but in the groans and blood of a Redeemer.  And yet all wicked men take pleasure in sin. It is with the utmost propriety, that Solomon gives the name of fool to the wicked and allows the character of wisdom to none but the godly.

The godly are not wise in every instance of their conduct, for weakness and temptation too often betray them into sin yet they hate sin, and long to be rid of their indwelling corruption.  This is the difference between the disposition of godly and wicked men, with relation to sin. Wicked men may for many reasons abstain from the outward commission of sin but godly men hate sin, and everything that leads to it.

Sin is not only practiced by the wicked but it is loved by them. Folly is their joy, and therefore they sin even without a temptation. It is their food and drink to sin, and they roll iniquity under their tongue as if it were a sweet morsel. They do not hate those sins that are condemned by God's Word but the Word that condemns them. They dislike salvation itself because it is a deliverance from sin.

But the wise man's employment is to walk uprightly. He hates the sin that dwells in him, and loathes himself for his impurities. He takes pleasure in holiness, and loves the law of God, because it testifies against his iniquities. He joins earnestly with the Psalmist in that prayer, "O that my ways were directed to keep your statutes!" And instead of being satisfied with such a degree of holiness as may amount to the lowest evidence of true grace he will not count himself completely happy, until his grace is completed in the glory of the heavenly state!

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 10:23 ... It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Proverbs 14:9 ... The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:21...  Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

Proverbs 19:28 ...  There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

Isaiah 66:3 ... He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

2 Peter 2:13 ... And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

Psalm 12:8 ... The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.❤

Either God or They Must Change

We must not willingly enter into the company of fools. But if, through ignorance of their character, we happen to do so we must not stay in it, lest we be corrupted by their foolish conduct. We are either like those whose company we frequent or shall soon be like them. Evil companionships will efface our impressions of the evil of sin, and corrupt our own morals and character.

Lukewarm professors, who are perhaps the least dangerous of bad companions, will, if we take pleasure in their company transfuse their Luke warmness into us.

When are we to leave the company of a foolish man? As soon as we perceive that he has not the lips of knowledge. As trees are known by their fruit, so men are known by their words and works. But they are soonest known by their words, which are the most plentiful and the easiest products of the heart.

We are not to suppose men to be fools without evidence but profane or foolish words come from folly in the heart. A godly man out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things but an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth evil things.

This commandment should strike terror into the wicked! Since God will not allow His redeemed children to keep company with them on earth it cannot be supposed that He will admit them to His own eternal home in Heaven. Either God or they must change before they can be received into Heaven!

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 14:7 ... Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ... Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Acts 20:28-29 ... Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.❤

A Virtuous Woman

A virtuous woman fears the Lord, reverences her husband, manages her house with prudence and care, behaves charitably to the poor, and kindly to all.

To what should we compare such a woman? Should we compare her to a bracelet, or say that she is a necklace of gold to her husband? Such comparisons would be quite below her worth. She makes him as happy as a king, and procures him such respect and honor, that she deserves to be compared to that royal ornament that encircles the head of Majesty. She is to her husband, a crown enriched with those lovely virtues, which shine with more radiant luster than diamonds! She is health to her husband's bones, for the sight of her amiable behavior, and the pleasure of her society, inspires him with that habitual cheerfulness which does good like a medicine.

But the woman who lacks virtue disgraces her husband, and is as rottenness in his bones. Her peevish temper or her passionate behavior, her extravagant expenses or her sordid avarice, the levity of her speech or the scandal of her vices  make him the object of pity or scorn when he is abroad, and fill him with anguish at home. She is not a help but a torment to him. A man may get out of a fever in a few weeks at   the misery of this living disease is that it will prey upon a man's bones and spirits, until the death of one of the married parties brings relief.

Let wives consider seriously, whether they wish for happiness and honor to their husbands or misery and disgrace; and whether it is better for themselves to prove helpers to the joy, and crowns to the head of their husbands r living plagues to them, and fires to consume their vitals!

Let husbands give honor to their wives, and encourage them in virtue, by their kindness and approbation. What tender love does Christ show to those whom He is pleased to betroth to Himself in loving-kindness! So ought husbands to love their wives.

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 12:4 ... A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs 31:10 ... A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Ephesians 5:21 ... Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.❤

Sought With An Ocean of Tears

The prayers of these desperate rebels are like the howling's of a dog! They are cries extorted by strong necessity and intolerable anguish!

Sinners miserably delude their own souls by proposing to live in the indulgence of their sins and die in the exercise of repentance. True repentance is never too late but late repentance is seldom true!

Prayers are of no use in the eternal world. The day of grace is at an end, and the wretched shall cry in vain to the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lord and of the Lamb.

Behold, now is the accepted time, now the Lord waits to be gracious. But the day is coming which is cruel with wrath and fierce anguish! No place shall then be found for mercy though sought with an ocean of tears!

The punishment is indeed tremendous but the sin that cause it is atrocious! It is no less than a contempt and hatred of the counsels of the Lord. What is this, but an undeniable proof of enmity against God Himself? And will not God avenge Himself on His enemies?

When men do not chose the fear of the Lord, but prefer the base pleasures of sin, they give plain proof of their hatred to God. How then, can they escape the damnation of Hell?

They laughed at God's threatening's, as if they had been idle tales and God shall laugh at them!

They despised His counsels and He shall despise their prayers!

They were always rebellious, and continued unchanged under all admonition and God will prove an immutable avenger, and will pay no regard to their cries for help.

They took pleasure in sin and God will laugh in punishing them on account of it.

God is not to be blamed but on the contrary, He will be eternally glorious as their Avenger. His insulted mercy will be glorious in the punishment of His despisers. His unsullied justice shall shine in dispensing to the workers of iniquity, the wages of their wicked works!

Sinners never think they have drunk deep enough of the poisoned cup of sin but they shall at length be filled with it. Then shall it satiate them when they find that intolerable misery is its native consequence. That cup which now delights the lover of evil will then be found a cup of fury, and the wicked must drink it down to its bitterest dregs!

He who cherishes iniquity warms in his bosom the most venomous of serpents! Sinners owe their ruin to their willful hardness of heart, to their abuse of divine mercy, and to their indifference to God's salvation.

If the prosperity of fools leads them to the indulgence of sin, and the neglect of holiness, it renders their damnation more certain and more dreadful!

[George Lawson]

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Proverbs 15:29 ... The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Psalm 34:21 ... Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

Matthew 25:46 ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.❤