Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Three important precepts
The words are very direct and personal.
I. The precept contained in the word “hear.” I take it to mean, “Hear the gospel.” “Take heed what ye hear.”
1. Take care that you hear with a view to obtaining faith in the Lord Jesus.
2. Hear without prejudice.
3. Hear for yourself.
4. Hear when the sermon is done.
5. Hear the gospel as the voice of God. He that hath an ear towards God will find that God hath an ear towards him.
II. The precept contained in the words “be wise.”
1. Try to understand what you hear. Try to know saving truth.
2. Believe the gospel as it comes from God. This is an age of doubt. But it does not take any great quantity of brain to be a doubter.
3. Be affected by what you have heard.
4. Take care that you do not wander into evil company.
5. Take care to do what you hear.
III. The precept contained in the words “guide thine heart in the way.” There is but one “way.” The “way” is often described in Scripture. It is the way of faith; of truth; of holiness; of peace. It is a narrow way. Then put your heart into your religion. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The self-discipline suitable to certain mental moods
In our course through life our minds are liable to be placed in certain states of feeling, strongly marked, and for the time strongly prevailing. And this by causes, by influences and circumstances, independent of our will. We might call them moods--by some they are denominated frames. These states of feeling should be carefully turned to a profitable account; we should avail ourselves of what there is in them specially adapted to afford improvement. The states of feeling to which we refer are such as are not essentially evil. They may be called a kind of natural seasons in the soul. These varied feelings are of the two great classes, the pleasing and the unpleasing; the latter being felt oftener and more sensibly. Take the image of a person in a high state of exhilaration; his soul over-running with delight, his countenance lighted up with animation. What will be the benefit of this if he do not exercise reflection, if he do not “guide his heart”? It may lead to direct evil. At the best, he will just indulge himself in the fulness of his satisfaction. He will have no use of his delight but to enjoy it. One point of wisdom in such a case may be, somewhat to repress and sober such an exhilaration of the heart. Some of this exhilaration should be directed into the channel of gratitude to God. It should lead a man to watch narrowly to see what kind of nature he has to be acted upon; a sad nature, truly, if he finds that the more its wishes are gratified the worse it becomes, if left to itself. The spring and energy of spirit felt in these pleasurable seasons of the heart should be applied to the use of a more spirited performance of the Christian duties in general, but especially to those that are the most congenial. How much time is passed by mankind collectively in a state of feeling decidedly infelicitous, as compared with their experience of animated pleasure! And how small a portion of this painful feeling is turned to any good account! There are occasional states of darkened, gloomy feeling, in which sensibility becomes pensiveness, and gravity sadness. The immediate cause may have been some untoward turn of events; some painful disappointment, or death of friends, or constitutional tendency, or defective health. But this infelicitous season of the soul may be turned to lasting advantage. When the disorder is mainly due to bodily conditions, expedients of alleviation may properly be sought. But at such times opportunity is given for serious consideration. Are there no great and solemn questions which you have hitherto left undecided? This is reasonable pleading. It is but requiring that a man should not be willing to come out from a temporary and special state of feeling without having availed himself of that advantage which it has specially offered him. Apply to another state of feeling--an indignant excitement of mind against human conduct. (John Foster.)