“The highway of the upright”
[Proverbs 16:16-24]
What is your favorite gospel song? I really like the gospel song ‘The blessed man’. So I frequently listen to the song and sing along with it while driving. The first part of the lyrics of verse 1 of the song reads: ‘You are God's blessed man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! … .” Here, “the highway to Zion” refers to the main road leading to Zion City (Jerusalem Temple). And the content of this lyrics is based on Psalms 84:5 – “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion!” The saying that the psalmist had “the highway of Zion” means that he longed for going to the temple in Jerusalem, praying to God in the temple, and desperately wanting to meet God and have fellowship with Him (vv. 1-4). The psalmist’s soul yearned so much for God's courts, even to the point of fainting (v. 2). However, as he lamented his sadness because of his far distance, the psalmist expressed his wish to go to the temple of the Lord. According to Dr. Yoon-sun Park, the Israelites living abroad at that time had pains and difficulties such as ‘Tear Valley’ in their plans and efforts to visit the temple in Jerusalem. However, it is said that if they persevere and pass through it, they will end up in ‘a place of many springs,’ that is, the comfort and joy of the soul. And it is said that there was a spiritual experience of seeing God while receiving the gift of heaven, such as the ‘early rain (Park). Is there the highway of Zion in our hearts? Do we have an earnest desire for the true city of Zion, the New Jerusalem Temple in Heaven?
If we look at Proverbs 16:17, King Solomon says: “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life.” Based on this word, I want to think about two things regarding the highway of the upright man under the heading “The highway of the upright.”
First, the highway of the upright is to depart from evil.
Look at Proverbs 16:17a – “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil ….” This truth that the highway of the upright departs from evil reminds us of Proverbs 16:12, which we already meditated on last week's prayer meeting. In other words, the good king who pleases God hates evil. Furthermore, today's text Proverbs 16:17 first half reminds us of Proverbs 16:6 saying, “And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” The key point that all these Bible verses is the first half of Proverbs 8:13. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; ….” After all, the lesson that the Bible teaches us in Proverbs 16:17 is that the upright man departs from evil, because he fears God and hate evil. This also means that the upright man has the wisdom of God like the good king who pleases God that we meditated on last week. Based on Proverbs 16:16, it also means that the upright man, who has the highway, is a person who knows that getting wisdom is better than getting gold and silver. Since he knows the value of wisdom, and because he gains it, he fears God and departs from evil. What, then, is the wickedness that the upright man who has the highway leaves? It’s “pride”. Look at Proverbs 16:18-19: “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.” The upright man gains wisdom and fears God, so he departs from evil, especially pride. The reason is because he knows that pride goes before destruction (v. 18). Not only does he depart from the pride, he isn’t with the proud. The reason is because the upright man knows the words of Proverbs 16:5 – “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” Another evil that the upright man with the highway departs is “laziness”. Look at Proverbs 15:19 – “The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, But the path of the upright is a highway.” What does it mean? Since the wicked man is lazy, he doesn’t work hard in sweating but acts craftily. As a result, in the life of the wicked man, he is surrounded by difficulties such as thorns from east to west and south to north. But the way of the upright man is like a highway. The reason why the upright man who faithfully fulfills his responsibilities is as smooth as it is well laid out because he not only fears God and follows His will, but also he doesn’t procrastinate and works diligently (Internet).
We are those who have the highway of Zion. We are those who walk on this pilgrimage path, longing for and hoping for a new heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem. And as we walk this pilgrimage path, we must hate all evil and depart from them because we fear God. As the apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, we must avoid every kind of evil. And we must move forward toward the New Jerusalem, our city of Zion in the distance. I remember the gospel song called “Pilgrim’s Song”: ‘My Zion city in the distance Oh holy place Father's house/ I stayed up all night to go to my longing house/ Even if this body hurts on the sea/ Today here and tomorrow there, I will preach the Gospel of the Lord/ When I approach my distant path and rest in the garden / The Lord will know all my troubles/ Even though this body may be weary in the empty fields or in the desert/ Oh my Lord Jesus will love me and protect me.’
Second and last, the highway of the upright watches his way.
Look at Proverbs 16:17 – “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life.” The upright man who departs from evil, that is, the true believer doesn’t fall for the temptation of sin, but bravely departs from the temptation of the sin (Park). How can a truthful saint resist the temptations of sin and depart from it? The reason is because he gives attention to the word of God. Look at verse 20a: “He who gives attention to the word will find good ….” In other words, the upright believer who fears God meditates on the word of God day and night. Therefore, he has the wisdom that God gives him (vv. 21-23). And with the wisdom of God, he discerns everything rightly and listens to His word, and obeys it. And the reason that the true believer can obey God's word is because he has humility (v. 19). In other words, the upright Christian who fears God is with humble people and humbles his heart. And he pays attention to the word of God and obeys Him and keeps His way faithfully. He can do that because he trusts in the Lord (v. 20). Therefore, the upright Christian respects the authority of God's word and follows it carefully (Park). Therefore, when the temptation of sin comes, he discerns by the word of God and departs from evil.
When I meditated on these words, I remembered the words of Psalm 119:9-11: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” Like the psalmist who pays attention to the word of God and keeps it in his heart so that he may not sin against God, King Solomon, in Proverbs 16:20, is also encouraging us to bravely resist the temptation of sin and depart from it by giving attention to the word of God. In order for us to pay attention to the word of God, above all else, we need God's wisdom and humility. The reason is because only with the wisdom and humility of God can we listen to His word and obey Him. The fool and the proud never heed or listen to God's word. Rather, such a person sins against God by disobeying His word.
The wise, humble and truthful Christian who fears God walks the path of the Lord by obeying His word and keeps it well. He never leans left or right in walking the path of the Lord. Not only that, but he keeps his mouth well (v. 23) and glorifies God with it. He glorifies God with his mouth by instructing his mouth and promoting instruction (v. 23). Look at verse 23: “A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.” That is, the upright Christian is wise in heart and keeps his lips. And through his lips he “promote instruction” (vv. 21, 23). How can he promote instruction? He does so by speaking “Pleasant words”. Look at verse 24: “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” What does it mean? “Pleasant words,” that is, God's word, is like “a honeycomb”. So it is sweet to our hearts and a medicine to our bones. So the prophet Jeremiah also confessed in Jeremiah 15:16 – “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, ….” In this way, the word of God becomes joy and delight to our souls. Therefore, we must eat the word of God, which is joy and delight to our hearts, and obey His word and walk faithfully in His way. Then we can say that we are truly upright (truthful) Christians.
We are the people who walk one way. We are Jesus' disciples walking the way of Jesus. We are the pilgrims who walk the way of the cross Jesus walked. As we are heavenly people who are walking up to the higher place, we must be upright and truthful. And as the upright Christians, we must depart from evil, especially pride and laziness. We must keep relying entirely on God, paying attention to His word, departing from evil and guarding our own way. We must humbly obey God's word with wisdom to fear God and faithfully walk the way of the Lord. Not only that, we must guard our mouths well and use our mouths to speak pleasant words that promote instruction. I hope and pray that all of us may walk the highway of the upright.