Trust In the Lord: Proverbs 3

THE PROVERBS

CHAPTER 3

Write mercy and truth upon the tablet of thy heart—Trust in the Lord—Honor him with thy substance—Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth—Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2 For length of days, and ^along life, and ^bpeace, shall they add to thee.

3 Let not mercy and ^atruth forsake thee: ^bbind them about thy neck; write them upon the ^ctable of thine ^dheart:

4 So shalt thou find ^afavour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5 ¶ ^aTrust in the Lord with all thine ^bheart; and lean not unto thine ^cown ^dunderstanding.

6 In all thy ways ^aacknowledge him, and he shall ^bdirect thy ^cpaths.

7 ¶ Be not ^awise in thine own eyes: ^bfear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be ^ahealth to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9 ^aHonour the Lord with thy ^bsubstance, and with the ^cfirstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with ^aplenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

11 ¶ My son, despise not the ^achastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

12 For whom the Lord loveth he ^acorrecteth; even as a ^bfather the son in whom he delighteth.

13 ¶ ^aHappy is the man that findeth ^bwisdom, and the man that getteth ^cunderstanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand ^ariches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of ^alife to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

19 The Lord by wisdom hath ^afounded the earth; by ^bunderstanding hath he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths are ^abroken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 ¶ My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and ^agrace to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

26 For the Lord shall be thy ^aconfidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27 ¶ ^aWithhold not ^bgood from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29 ^aDevise not evil against thy ^bneighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 ¶ ^aStrive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31 ¶ Envy thou not the ^aoppressor, and choose none of his ways.

32 For the ^afroward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

33 ¶ The ^acurse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth ^agrace unto the ^blowly.

35 The ^awise shall inherit glory: but ^bshame shall be the promotion of fools.

I love poetry and simple, easy to remember pieces of wisdom. That is why I chose to share this chapter of Proverbs for our first day of observing National Bible Week.