Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible. I'm John Stangey,
Speaker 1: and today we're in Proverbs chapter twenty two, and we'll
Speaker 1: be reading from the New American Standard Bible. A good
Speaker 1: name is to be more desired than great wealth. Favor
Speaker 1: is better than silver and gold. The rich and the
Speaker 1: poor have a common bond. The Lord is the maker
Speaker 1: of them all. The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
Speaker 1: but the naive go on and are punished for it.
Speaker 1: The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Speaker 1: are riches, honor, and life. Thorns and snares are in
Speaker 1: the way of the perverse. He who guards himself will
Speaker 1: be far from them. Train up a child in the
Speaker 1: way he should go. Even when he is old, he
Speaker 1: will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor,
Speaker 1: and the borrower becomes the lender's slave. He who sows
Speaker 1: iniquity will reap vanity, and the rod of his fury
Speaker 1: will perish. He who is generous will be blessed, for
Speaker 1: he gives some of his food to the poor. Drive
Speaker 1: out the scoffer, and contention will go out. Even strife
Speaker 1: and dishonor will cease. He who loves purity of heart,
Speaker 1: and whose speech is gracious, the King is his friend.
Speaker 1: The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but he overthrows
Speaker 1: the words of the treacherous man. The sluggard says, there
Speaker 1: there's a lion outside. I will be killed in the streets.
Speaker 1: The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit. He
Speaker 1: who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it.
Speaker 1: Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.
Speaker 1: The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Speaker 1: He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself,
Speaker 1: or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
Speaker 1: Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
Speaker 1: and apply your mind to my knowledge. For it will
Speaker 1: be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they
Speaker 1: may be ready on your lips, so that your trust
Speaker 1: may be in the Lord. I have taught you today,
Speaker 1: even you have I not written to you excellent things
Speaker 1: of counsels and knowledge, to make you know the certainty
Speaker 1: of the words of truth, that you may correctly answer
Speaker 1: him who sent you. Do not rob the poor because
Speaker 1: he is poor. Or crush the afflicted at the gate,
Speaker 1: for the Lord will plead their case and take the
Speaker 1: life of those who rob them. Do not associate with
Speaker 1: a man given to anger, or go with a hot
Speaker 1: tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find
Speaker 1: a snare for yourself. Do not be among those who
Speaker 1: give pledges, among those who become guarantors for debts. If
Speaker 1: you have nothing with which to pay, why should he
Speaker 1: take your bed from under you? Do not move the
Speaker 1: ancient boundary which your fathers have set. Do you see
Speaker 1: a man skilled in his work, he will stand before kings,
Speaker 1: He will not stand before obscure men. Let's pray. Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege to be able to look look at it,
Speaker 1: and as believers in your son Jesus Christ, we thank you,
Speaker 1: Lord that you've opened up our eyes and opened up
Speaker 1: our hearts, and you have opened up our minds to
Speaker 1: be able to receive the wisdom found in your word. Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for counseling us, and that your Holy
Speaker 1: Spirit is present with us and within us to make
Speaker 1: your words abundantly clear to our hearts and our minds,
Speaker 1: and Lord, we pray that we would be generous toward
Speaker 1: the poor. We pray Lord that we would correct our children.
Speaker 1: We pray Lord that we would resist temptation as we
Speaker 1: rely on your power. We pray Lord that we would
Speaker 1: be diligent in the work that you give to us,
Speaker 1: and that all aspects of our lives would show that
Speaker 1: our desire is to bring honor and glory to the
Speaker 1: name of your son, Jesus Christ. So we're grateful again,
Speaker 1: Lord for the privilege to be able to look at
Speaker 1: your word today, and we pray that you'd speak to
Speaker 1: us with your power throughout the course of this day.
Speaker 1: We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,