Wisdom is… “a tree
of life to those who
embrace her; those
who lay hold of her
will be blessed.”
WISDOM
for LIVING
Week 3
Welcome to Dingwall
Free Church
Sermons from
Proverbs
April & May 2007
Psalm 63:1-6 (p. 295)
1
Lord, thee my God, I’ll early seek:
my soul doth thirst for thee;
My flesh longs in a dry parched land,
wherein no waters be:
Psalm 63:1-6
2
(2/5)
That I thy powèr may behold,
and brightness of thy face,
As I have seen thee heretofore
within thy holy place.
Psalm 63:1-6
3
4
(3/5)
Since better is thy love than life,
my lips thee praise shall give.
I in thy name will lift my hands,
and bless thee while I live.
Psalm 63:1-6
5
(4/5)
Ev’n as with marrow and with fat
my soul shall fillèd be;
Then shall my mouth with joyful lips
sing praises unto thee:
Psalm 63:1-6
6
(5/5)
When I do thee upon my bed
remember with delight,
And when on thee I meditate
in watches of the night.
Prayer
&
Children’s
Talk
Wisdom is…
“a tree of life to those who embrace her; those
who lay hold of her will be blessed.” Prov. 3:18
What Are You
Dreaming About?
Psalm 89:15-18 (p. 345)
15
O greatly blessed the people are
the joyful sound that know;
In brightness of thy face, O LORD,
they ever on shall go.
Psalm 89:15-18 (2/4)
16
They in thy name shall all the day
rejoice exceedingly;
And in thy righteousness shall they
exalted be on high.
Psalm 89:15-18 (3/4)
17
Because the glory of their strength
doth only stand in thee;
And in thy favour shall our horn
and pow’r exalted be.
Psalm 89:15-18 (4/4)
18
For GOD is our defence; and he
to us doth safety bring:
The Holy One of Israel
is our almighty King.
Bible
Reading
–
Proverbs
3:13-32
Page 637-8
Wisdom is…
“a tree of life to those who embrace her; those
who lay hold of her will be blessed.” Prov. 3:18
Bible Reading (Pew Bible - page 637-8)
Proverbs 3:13-32
• 13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the
man who gains understanding,
• 14 for she is more profitable than silver and
yields better returns than gold.
• 15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing
you desire can compare with her.
• 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left
hand are riches and honour.
• 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her
paths are peace.
Bible Reading (Pew Bible - page 637-8)
Proverbs 3:13-32
• 18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
• 19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's
foundations, by understanding he set the heavens
in place;
• 20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and
the clouds let drop the dew.
• 21 My son, preserve sound judgment and
discernment, do not let them out of your sight;
• 22 they will be life for you, an ornament to grace
your neck.
Bible Reading (Pew Bible - page 637-8)
Proverbs 3:13-32
• 23 Then you will go on your way in safety, and
your foot will not stumble;
• 24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
• 25 Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin
that overtakes the wicked,
• 26 for the LORD will be your confidence and
will keep your foot from being snared.
• 27 Do not withhold good from those who
deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
Bible Reading (Pew Bible - page 637-8)
Proverbs 3:13-32
• 28 Do not say to your neighbour, "Come back
later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have
it with you.
• 29 Do not plot harm against your neighbour,
who lives trustfully near you.
• 30 Do not accuse a man for no reason-- when he
has done you no harm.
• 31 Do not envy a violent man or choose any of
his ways,
• 32 for the LORD detests a perverse man but
takes the upright into his confidence.
Psalm 88:8-14* (p. 116)
8
9
Closest friends you’ve taken from me;
loathsome to them is my plight.
I am trapped—escape I cannot;
misery has dimmed my sight.
Psalm 88:8-14* (2/4)
10
Daily, LORD, I call upon you;
in your sight my hands I spread.
In the grave do you show wonders?
Are you worshipped by the dead?
Psalm 88:8-14* (3/4)
11
12
Is your love shown in Destruction—
in the grave your faithfulness?
Are your wonders known in darkness,
or in death your righteousness?
Psalm 88:8-14* (4/4)
13
14
But I cry to you for help, LORD;
at the dawn to you I pray.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me,
and why turn your face away?
Proverbs - Wisdom for Living
Sermon Series - April / May 2007
• Proverbs 3:17-18, 27, 29.
Her [wisdom’s] ways are pleasant
ways, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who
embrace her; those who lay hold of
her will be blessed… Do not withhold
good from those who deserve it, when
it is in your power to act...
Do not plot harm against your
neighbour, who lives trustfully
near you.
Wisdom is a tree of
life… Do not withhold
good… when it is in
your power to act.
IS LIFE
SPECIAL?
1 – Meet Dr Death
• Worse than Miss Folly –
meet Dr Death. (Presently
in jail – responsible for 130
“right to die” deaths in the
USA).
• 'Euthanasia' literally means
“good death or dying well.”
• A Misleading use of words!
Dr. Jack
Kevorkian
(Dr. Death)
1 – Meet Dr Death
• Can medical CARE ever
include the deliberate
ending of a life?
• Can death be a treatment?
• The Bible places a high
value on human life - but
does not demand
preserving life at all costs.
Dr. Jack
Kevorkian
(Dr. Death)
1 – Meet Dr Death
• See past the apparent
compassion of EXIT, etc.
• Comes down to intention: Dr,
are you trying to treat or to
kill?
• To help an actor to make a
graceful end to a performance
is NOT the same as pushing
him off-stage before the end of
the play.
Dr. Jack
Kevorkian
(Dr. Death)
1 – Meet Dr Death
• Why shouldn’t a “Downs” baby
be helped to die? Why
shouldn’t a depressed person
be allowed to say they have
suffered enough?
• You would put an animal out of
it’s misery – why not a
person?
• The answer: Because of
God’s WISDOM.
Wisdom is a tree of
life… Do not withhold
good… when it is in
your power to act.
2 – Meet the God of Life
• Wisdom is God's truth,
enabling God's people to live
in God's world, in God's way.
• She is a Tree of LIFE, not
death. (He is the Lord of Life!)
• Wisdom trains us to think
biblically, not just emotionally.
• Wisdom gives three principles:
Wisdom is a tree of
life… Do not withhold
good… when it is in
your power to act.
2 – Meet the God of Life
a) The Principle of Love
• The most loving thing for
dotty old granny?
• Proverbs 14:22 - show love
(hesed) and faithfulness:
compassion, like God’s love
for Israel.
• It’s a costly love: it’s creative
love, not giving up easily.
He who oppresses
the poor shows
contempt for their
Maker
Proverbs 14:31
2 – Meet the God of Life
b) The Principle of Justice
• Will we be biased? Against
the weak? Euthanasia was
popular with Nazis.
• All non-voluntary euthanasia
is a form of Nazism –
deciding that another
person’s life is in the way, it’s `Those who plan
what is good show
a worthless life.
love & faithfulness.'
Prov. 14:22
2 – Meet the God of Life
c) The Principle of Life
• Life is a gift of God - on loan
to us.
• Death is an unwelcome
intruder. (The fear of the
LORD adds length to life, but
the years of the wicked are cut
short - 10:27.)
• Jesus is the great life giver.
‘Long life is in
her right hand’
Proverbs. 3:16
2 – Meet the God of Life
c) The Principle of Life
• 1 Pet. 2:24 - He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, so
that we might die to sins and live
for righteousness; by his wounds
you have been healed.
• All through history the church,
following her Lord, has been
committed to caring and healing.
• Life is precious – it is a gift.
‘Long life is in
her right hand’
Proverbs. 3:16
3 – Meet Dr Life
1 - Meet Dr Death
2 - Meet the God of Life
• God’s way of wisdom –
relieve pain, care for the
needy, love as Christ loved.
• Bring spiritual care and hope
to the living and the dying.
• The modern Hospice
Movement is both Wise and
Christian to the core.
Dame Cecily
Saunders
1918-2005
3 – Meet Dr Life
1 - Meet Dr Death
2 - Meet the God of Life
• What do we do for granny?
• ‘Do not plot harm against your
neighbour…’ but plan to care.
• “We consider the Lord Jesus Christ as the
one by whose death we can have peace
with God and by whose resurrection we
can have victory over death and the grave
through faith. To him alone we must look
for healing in body and soul, for time and
eternity... What is aimed at in Bethesda is
Christian treatment for all.”
(Rev Alex Murdo MacLeod, Bethesda).
St Columba’s
Hospice
Highland Hospice
3 – Meet Dr Life
1 - Meet Dr Death
2 - Meet the God of Life
• Cecily Saunders started St
Christopher's Hospice in 1967.
She often said to her patients:
• “You matter because you are
you, and we will not only
enable you to die with dignity,
but to live until you die.”
• Who would you rather care for Dame Cecily
you? Dr Death, or Dr Life?
Saunders
Highland Hospice
1918-2005
3 – Meet Dr Life
1 - Meet Dr Death
2 - Meet the God of Life
• Is the God of Life your
God?
• Proverbs 3:7 -
Do not be wise in
your own eyes; fear
the LORD, shun evil.
This will bring health
to your body and
nourishment to your
bones.
The path of life leads upward for
the wise to keep him from going
down to the grave.
Proverbs 15:24
Psalm 82
(Michael Perry version)
God is KING - Be warned, you Mighty;
God is Judge through all the land:
order your affairs with justice,
rule with firm but gentle hand.
Help the weak, support the needy,
take to heart the fatherless;
prove the rights of those who suffer,
meet the poor in their distress.
‘Ode to Joy’ 87.87.D
Psalm 82
(Michael Perry version 2/2 )
There are lands that have no honour,
hear no wisdom, see no light;
blind, they stumble in the darkness,
leaderless they shake with fright.
Tremble, all you mighty rulers;
every nation, know God's worth:
power and wealth are God's possession,
who alone shall judge the earth!
Please join us in
The Church hall for a
Hot or Cold drink
God Calls Us to
delight in Christ
and to Share
His Hope.
Proverbs 27:19