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August 14, 1938 ,,„... Prov. 4:10-23

10. Hear, O my son, and receive my say-ings;

And the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wis-

dom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked,

And walk not in the way of evil men. 15- Avoid it, pass not by it;

Turn from it, and pass on. 16. For they sleep not, except they do evil;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

18. But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,

That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19- The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.

20. My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21. Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart.

22. For they are life unto those that find them,

And health to all their flesh. 23. 'Keep thy heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life. What subject is emphasized in this

lesson? Wisdom or the understanding of life

receives special attention. Understand-ing is shown to be indispensable to the living of the balanced life.

As understanding is developed in man, what result is seen in him?

As man learns the law of life and keeps it, the equilibrium of the law is

expressed in him and he reaps the re-, ward of long life and health. "The years of thy life shall be many."

What do wisdom and uprightness ac-complish for man?

They free him from limiting condi-tions ("Thy steps shall not be strait-ened") and confident self-control ("If thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble").

In what sense is instruction the life of man?

Wise instruction inculcates the law of life by calling it to man's attention and showing him what it consists in.

What should be a person's attitude toward evil?

One who desires to keep the law of life avoids evil ways and holds himself separate and apart from those whose work is evil. The negative way of avoid-ance is preferable to acceptance or in-difference. . "The path of the righteous is as the

dawning light." Why? Because upright conduct clarifies the

mental and spiritual perceptions so that understanding grows clearer daily.

What underlies wickedness? Ignorance is the cause of wickedness.

"The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble."

What are the issues of life? These are the outcome of our habitual

thoughts. As we control our thought life we gain control over our destiny.

September 22, 1940 k '-••• "i^v?'•.^Y7;*r?r"?T -' r -fi B:.-,..,, , P r oT* 4:10-27 will not stumble? ' I vifi. Hear, 6 .my son, and receive my sayings; ' When man is in harmony with the '•'. And the years of thy life shall be rnany!s universal life his ways are divinely or-4 11. I have taught thee in the way of wis- dered, and nothing untoward comes to 1 ' d o r f l ; him

a. -HE S . * S £ S £ £ E f t r t . t/i,r™,i,m h h e " w m h * • * * «

$-.'•. straitened; * o W °/-?

* And if thou runnest, thou shalt not Instruction in everyday practical liv-stumble. ing according to the divine standard

13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her brings the best results. Keeplierf for she is thy life' W,hat d?{S fsd°m teach m m in re~

14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, Sard t0 wickedness? I And walk not in the way of evil men. The way of wisdom is to shun all ex-15. Avoid it, pass not by it; perience in wickedness and follow either

Turn from it, and pass on. m e precepts of the moral k w or the ,& a & T S J ' t ' K X k T i - y °< " * ?"!•••,mich o f y o u c o n '

they cause some to fall. victeth me ot sin ? 17. For they eat the bread of wickedness, How does man most surely perfect

And drink the wine of violence. his understanding? 1 8 ^ ckwSk if hfe r i g h t e 0 U S i s " ** By a c t i n g from honest motives and

That skneth more and more unto the h?UinZ ***? *** dfske a i ? d t h e r

w i i l t 0

perfect day. do right, his understanding of right 19. The way of the wicked is as darkness: grows increasingly clear to him (shines

They know not at what they stumble. "more and more unto the perfect day"). 20. My son, attend to my words; Where does health have its source? * n f S ^ S V l f i S S h . , Health W fI0„ the tight con-

Keep them in the midst of thy heart. ception of God hfe, and this conception 22. For they are life unto those that find is that of the heart or subconsciousness.

, mem> "Keep them fmy sayings] in the midst And health to all their flesh. r

o £ fty heart 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence; - vI_ y ,., ' , , __ c ,

For out of it are the issues of life. F o r ™*/* a r e Me unto those that fiad, 24. Put away from thee a wayward mouth, them, J

And perverse lips put far from thee. And health to all their flesh." 25. Let thine eyes look right on, rT. , , , ; ' t -,r

And let thine eyelid! look straight be- How does one keeP one S heart Wtth

fore thee. ' ill diligence? 26. Make level the path of thy feet, By guarding one's habitual as well as

And let all thy ways be established. 5 n e ' s random thoughts, thus establish-27. Turn not to the right hand nor to the i n g ^ h e a r t i n h a b i t s 0f thought that

Remove thy foot from evil. are in harmony with Truth How does one establish oneself in

Lesson Interpretation right habits of thought? 1V,, , , , . . . By refusing to consider error in either What does experience teach us in re- &> Q r f h ^ b c o n s i s t e n t l y

gard to long life? reflecting on what is true and right. Tha the following of wisdom and f h } •„ in ex.

Z ^ r o ? f T h * ^ ^ Police in wisdom and understanding? that one gams through experience is ^ . „ ^ n ^ ;„ not lost or forgotten but endures. F a i t h f u l P r a c t i c e and persistence n

What insures that man's steps will the course that one has chosen lead to not be straitened and that in running he Pe r f e c«on and mastery

"Let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the

left: Remove thy foot from evil."

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August 2 5 , 1946 Pro v. 4 :14 -23 ._

Enter not into the path of the wicJardf And walk not in the way of evil men,' Avoid it, pass not by it; .': Turn from it, and pass on. For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless

they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is as the

dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the

perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life unto those that find

them, And health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence;

__ For out of it are the issues of life. ; Why is education of such tran-scendent importance to youth? '""•"" ;

Because it enables youth to recog-nize what is right and follow it with-out the necessity of gaining this knowl-edge by experience. It is not necessary

.to undergo negative experiences in order to learn to live the life of Godj Life is too sacred to be wasted in neg| ative living. i

In what respect does man-made law parallel the divine law? \

Man-made law takes account of moral law and inculcates'it. The divine law includes the moral law. j

Is the keeping of the divine law, unfailingly obligatory? j

It is. He who disobeys the divine1

law shortens his days, besides putting! beyond his realization the satisfactions that come from willing and faithful obedience. - i

Does the habit of doing what it right improve our understanding of;-Truth? ; -\

Yes. Upright thought, speech, and] action clarify the thoughts and quicken.] the understanding. '} .How do we keep our heart with all,

diligence? . - ' -t ;iiJ3y guarding our hidden thoughts, and' motives until our mental habits :becbrhe instinctively right and- truei ^;d|scipHned subconsciousness that;'.isj •feady to carry out the behest? of the] ^fe&'animvalaaijluCaici m tr&wdclcl

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August 10, 1947 Prov. 4:23-27

,RzIfek>» Eda**thm.r*n<f*flr-KM* by pennSaioa 23. Keep tF heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee. -Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight

before thee. Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the

left: Remove thy foot from evil.

How do we keep our heart with all diligence?

By guarding our unspoken thoughts and motives until our thinking habits come into full harmony with Truth. 1 What state of mind aligns us with divine order?

The state is formed by disciplined thinking and the action of the will.

I? discipline a necessary part of our training in the use of the spoken word?

It is necessary to discipline ourselves in order to avoid "a wayward mouth, "and perverse lip§h,:^TdJougntless speech sometimes destroys or nullifies much good work that has been done silently.

Is purposefulness an asset in keep-ing our heart with all diligence?

Yes. We need to keep our goal in mind and advance unflaggingly toward it. "Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight

before thee." How do we attain poise and stead-

fastness? By maintaining our sense of balance

mentally and becoming conscious of God, thus knowing the peace of being: infolded in divine love. "Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established."

Is the habit of checking on our progress helpful?

It is. With the goal in mind we can-not afford to deviate from our pur-pose or fill our life with meaningless ups and downs. "Turn not to the right hand nor to the

left: Remove thy foot from evil."