One chief cause of the wickedness which is everywhere seen in the world and in which, alas! each of us has more or less his share is our curiosity to have some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the pleasures of sin are like.
I. This delusion arises from Satan's craft, the father of lies, who knows well that if he can get us once to sin, he can easily make us sin twice and thrice, till at length we are taken captive at his will. He sees that curiosity is man's great and first snare, as it was in Paradise; and he knows if he can but force a way into his heart, by this chief and exciting temptation, those temptations of other kinds which follow in life will easily prevail over us; and on the other hand, that if we resist the beginnings of sin, there is every prospect, through God's grace, that we shall continue in a religious way.
II. "Enter not into the path of the wicked," etc.: (1) Because it is hardly possible to delay our flight, without rendering flight impossible. (2) If we allow evil thoughts to be present to us, we shall make ourselves familiar with them. Our great security against sin lies in being shocked at it. (3) There is another wretched effect of sinning once, which sometimes takes place; not only the sinning that once itself, but being so seduced by it as forthwith to continue in the commission of it ever afterwards, without seeking for arguments to meet our conscience withal! from a mere brutish, headstrong, infatuate greediness after its bad pleasures. (4) It is always the tendency and the end of sinning at length to enslave us to itself.
III. "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." Heaven and hell are at war for us and against us, yet we trifle and let life go on at random. We treat sin, not as an enemy to be feared, abhorred, and shunned, but as a misfortune and a weakness; we do not pity and shun sinful men, but we enter into their path so far as to keep company with them, and next, being tempted to copy them, we fall almost without an effort. Be not thus deceived and overcome by an evil heart of unbelief. Make up your minds to take God for your portion, and pray to Him for grace to enable you so to do.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times," vol. v., p. 208.
References: Proverbs 4:14; Proverbs 4:15. J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons,vol. viii., p. 63.Proverbs 4:14-27. R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs,vol. i., p. 138.