Proverbs (Part 068) - Pro 6:22

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22. Pro 6:22 - "When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." A. Having exhorted his son to keep the commandment of his father and not forsake the law of his mother (Pro 6:20), Solomon now gives him some of the benefits of doing so. i. The "it" in this verse is the commandment (Pro 6:20, 23). ii. In that Solomon was a prophet speaking under the inspiration of God (2Pe 1:21), his commandments to his son are also God's commandments to His sons (Heb 12:5-7 c/w Pro 3:11-12). iii. Therefore, this verse applies to the word of God in our lives. iv. This verse shows us how the scriptures should be an integral part of our daily lives while we go about our business (when thou goest), while we sleep (when thou sleepest), and when we get up the next morning to do it all again (when thou awakest). B. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; i. As we go through our day and our life, the word of God shall lead us. a. Lead v. - I. To conduct. 1. trans. To cause to go along with oneself. †a. To bring or take (a person or animal) to a place. 2. a. To accompany and show the way to; to conduct, guide, esp. to direct or guide by going on in advance; to cause to follow in one's path. b. People today frequently speak of God leading them to do this or that. c. This verse explains how God actually leads His children: using the scriptures as their guide. (i) God doesn't lead us through dreams, visions, auditory instruction, impressions, or feelings, but rather through His word. (ii) Direct revelation, prophecies, and dreams from God ended when the New Testament was completed and the vision and prophecy was sealed up by the end of the first century (Dan 9:24) (see part 4 of the 70 Weeks Prophecy series: https://pastorwagner.com/sermons/70-weeks-4/). ii. Before we make any decision we should ask ourselves "what saith the scripture?" (Rom 4:3). a. By meditating in the word of God day and night and doing what is written therein we will make our way prosperous and have good success wherever we go (Jos 1:8). b. We must hide God's word in our hearts (Psa 119:11). c. It will lead us as we go if it is on our minds while we walk by the way (Deut 6:6-7). d. When we turn to the right hand or the left it will be as a voice in our heads telling us which way to walk (Isa 30:21). C. when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; i. Hiding the word of God in our hearts and living wisely by it will give us good sleep (Pro 3:21, 24). ii. Keeping God's commandments will keep us while we sleep by the following: a. We will not have a guilty conscience due to sin (1Jo 3:21) which keeps us up a night. b. We will not have taken on too much responsibility, done too many things, or acquired too much stuff that will require too much of our time and keep our minds running at night so that we can't sleep (Ecc 5:12). c. We will not be poor due to stupid financial decisions (Pro 21:17; Pro 28:22) or laziness (Pro 20:4) which will result in being stressed about money or living in a dangerous place and therefore not being able to feel safe and get good sleep. d. We will not be involved in dangerous activities with dangerous people (Pro 13:20) which will cause of to lose sleep at night because of worry or fear. iii. Believing and practicing what the scriptures teach is one of the means by which God gives His children good sleep (Psa 4:8; Psa 127:2). D. and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. i. If the scriptures are hidden in our hearts and are regularly in our thoughts, they will talk with us as soon as we wake in the morning (Deut 6:6-7). ii. They talk with us through our inner man with whom we commune (Psa 4:4; Psa 77:6). iii. The LORD gives us counsel through His word (Psa 119:24), and then our spirit instructs us with the counsel we have learned from the scriptures (Psa 16:7).