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[0:00] So as the Lord helps us, let us turn and consider words we have in this portion of scripture we've read together. From the book of Proverbs on chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4, and again reading verse 18.

[0:18] But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

[0:33] Solomon had been given a special measure of wisdom.

[0:49] And in his wisdom he counsels us in these chapters. And he highlights the importance of listening to the instruction of a father.

[1:05] As he himself listened to the instruction of his father. And the main message that his father and our father in heaven gives us is to get wisdom and to get insight.

[1:22] This is verse 5. Do not forget and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her and she will keep you.

[1:33] Love her and she will guard you. David himself says in Psalm 119. Oh how I love your law.

[1:44] It is my meditation all the day. And obviously he seems to have imparted that love for the word of God.

[1:55] And taught his son. The importance of living according to the word of God. And embracing God's word in that way. And then as the chapter goes on.

[2:08] Solomon here. He says. Do not enter the path of the wicked. This verse 14. Do not walk in the way of the evil.

[2:19] Avoid it and do not go on it. Turn away from it and pass on. They cannot sleep unless they have done wrong. They are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

[2:34] And so on. He paints a picture of the road and the path some people live. They live an evil life. They delight in wickedness.

[2:47] And of course their end is in darkness. But now by contrast. In verse 18 as we have highlighted as our text. There is another path.

[3:00] That the Bible commends. And highlights in this verse. The path of the righteous. Is like the light of dawn. Which shines.

[3:10] Brighter and brighter. Until full day. What a contrast between. The path of the wicked. That ends in darkness.

[3:22] And the path of the righteous. That begins in light. And culminates. In the full light of day. I would like to say a few words.

[3:33] Under four headings here. First of all. The new name. Or the name that is given. To the people of God here. It calls them.

[3:45] The righteous. The righteous. Secondly. The path that they walk. It's a straight path. The path.

[3:57] Of the righteous. Thirdly. That path. Is lit. By an increasing light. Because it says here.

[4:08] The path of the righteous. Is like the light. Of dawn. And the light of dawn. May seem to be very feeble. At the beginning. But then.

[4:19] As the day progresses. It culminates. In the brighter. And brighter light. Of full day. And I think these words.

[4:30] Have a spiritual lesson. For us. Regarding. Those of whom he speaks. In this verse. He names them. The righteous. They are the children.

[4:41] Of light. No longer the children. Of darkness. As they were by nature. But they are the children. Of light. The righteous. I'd like to say.

[4:52] A few words. First of all. On. This name. That he gives. The people of God. He calls them. The righteous. Now throughout. The Bible.

[5:02] The Lord. Names his people. In different ways. For example. He calls them. His children. Of course. He himself.

[5:14] Is our God. And our father. By creation. But so far. As his work. Of salvation. Is concerned. He is our father. In a spiritual sense.

[5:26] We are his children. Adopted into his family. And he is our heavenly father. And our Lord Jesus. Commends. This prayer to us. Our father.

[5:38] Who is in heaven. So the people of God. Are the children of God. But then they're called saints. And the word saints.

[5:49] Saints. I think you find it. Almost invariably. In the New Testament. In the plural. Saints mean. People who are consecrated.

[5:59] By God's spirit. They are separated. For the Lord. And the Lord. By effectual calling. Separates. His elect people.

[6:10] Unto himself. And he gives them. His Holy Spirit. And he sanctifies them. They are dedicated. To him. And they are sanctified.

[6:21] Step by step. Until at last. They are presented. Faultless. In his presence. With exceeding joy. So they are called saints. Then you see.

[6:33] In the New Testament. Particularly. The Lord calls his people. His sheep. My sheep. Hear my voice. I know them.

[6:45] They follow me. I will give them. Eternal life. No one shall pluck them. From my hand. He feeds. He leads. He tends.

[6:56] His people. Like a shepherd does. His flock. So these three names. And there are other names also. We could have mentioned. But in this particular chapter.

[7:07] Proverbs 4. At verse 18. We find this name. The righteous. Now what does that mean? Well I believe it's got two meanings.

[7:21] First of all. It tells of. Their particular status. In the presence of God. They have been justified.

[7:33] Through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ. They have the righteousness of Christ. Imputed to them. And received by them. Through faith alone.

[7:46] They have received Jesus Christ. By faith. And now they are justified. Through faith in him. And they have no longer. A status.

[7:57] Where they are condemned. As we were by nature. But their new status is. That they are. Righteous in Christ. And they stand. In his righteousness.

[8:09] Uncondemned. As the scripture says. There is therefore now. No condemnation. To them who are in Christ Jesus. Who walk not after the flesh. But after the spirit.

[8:21] It talks about. A marvelous. Blessed status. That the people of God have. There is no condemnation. Because they stand.

[8:32] In the righteousness. Of Christ. That is one thing. And the other. Way of looking at the righteous. Is that they live.

[8:42] A righteous life. He has shown thee. O man. Micah says. In chapter 6. And verse 8. He has shown thee.

[8:53] What is good. But to do justly. Love mercy. And walk humbly. With your God. And that doing justly.

[9:05] Particularly focuses on. A righteous. A holy life. A life that is dedicated. Consecrated. To the Lord. Abraham.

[9:17] Was a righteous man. Job. Was a righteous man. Many others mentioned. Throughout the scripture. As God's people. Are termed. Righteous.

[9:27] Because their lifestyle. Showed forth. That they were justified. Through faith. And they. Consequently. Lived. A holy. Dedicated.

[9:39] Godly. Lifestyle. And this is what we have here. That the righteous. Walk on a particular path.

[9:50] The path. Of the righteous. Is like the light of dawn. Now. When did these people begin.

[10:02] To walk. On this path. Path. Well. I believe. When you look at. The experience of. People.

[10:15] On whom. Scripture focuses. You find that it's when. They met Christ. In a saving way. Think for example.

[10:25] Of the woman. Of Samaria. Think in John chapter 4. Of that particular day. When she went out. To the well of Jacob. At Sikhar.

[10:36] At noonday. Thinking there wasn't. Going to be anybody there. And she was. Carrying much. Baggage. With her. As it were. From a very.

[10:48] Questionable. Lifestyle. She was living. She. As it were. Stole out. To get some water. And run back in again. She knew that she was.

[11:00] The object of people's. Condemnation. Because of her lifestyle. But she had a meeting. With the Messiah. The son.

[11:11] Of righteousness. The light. Of the world. And she. Tried. To evade. Everything. That he.

[11:21] He said to her. Give me a drink. How is it that you. A Jew. Ask of me. A woman of Samaria. To give you a drink. The Jews.

[11:32] Had no dealings. With the Samaritans. And. She goes on. As it were. Trying to. Deflect. Everything. That he was saying. To her. And all the time.

[11:44] He was showing her. Really. What she was like. Showed her. Her hard heartedness. When she refused. Him a drink. Showed her. Her ignorance. Of spiritual things.

[11:55] When he said. If you knew. The gift of God. And who it is. Who is asking you. Give me a drink. You would have asked of him. And he would have given you. Living water. And then he said.

[12:07] Go and call your husband. I have no husband. She knew. He knew very well. What she had been like. And she realized. That he knew everything.

[12:17] About her. And eventually. He touches on. The worship. And the need to worship. In spirit. And in truth. And she says.

[12:29] Well. When the Messiah comes. He'll tell us. All of these things. And Jesus said. I am he. Who speaks with you. It's as if the light.

[12:41] Dawned in her mind. In her heart. In her understanding. This is indeed. The Messiah. He sees my hard heartedness.

[12:51] He sees my ignorance. He sees the immorality. Of my life. He sees my unspirituality. He realized. Who she was.

[13:02] She left her water pot. And ran into the city. And said to the men. Come. See a man. Who's told me everything. That I've ever done. Is this not the Christ?

[13:14] It's as if the light. Shone into her very heart. And into her soul. And it says here. The path of the righteous.

[13:26] Is as the shining light. It's as if she had. Come to the head of this path. The beginning of this path. When the Messiah met her.

[13:38] And it's as if she saw herself. In his light. And she didn't like what she saw. And it's not the same with ourselves. When the scripture.

[13:50] Highlights. Our personal situations. Highlights what we're like. In our mind. Our pride. Our selfishness.

[14:00] Our unspirituality. Our worldliness. We realize. Something we didn't really know before. And why? It's because the light.

[14:12] Has shone. Into our souls. You remember in Pilgrim's progress. The Pilgrim having left.

[14:23] The city of destruction. With his burden on his back. And he's crying. Life. Life. Eternal life. And he goes into this law of despond. And.

[14:37] His friend. Who was with him. He came out on the wrong side. And went back to the city of destruction. Destruction. But he was helped out. On the side.

[14:47] Furthest away. From the city of destruction. By evangelist. And the evangelist says. Do you see that gate? And he said no.

[14:59] Do you see that shining light? I think I do. I think I do. Well keep that light in your focus. And go for it.

[15:12] That's the light at the head of the way. And. I think that fits in with what we have here. That the path of righteousness.

[15:24] It's as if. It begins with the enlightening of our mind. As to who we are. Our sinnership. Our lostness.

[15:35] Our need. As perishing sinners on the way to eternity. And it is the light. Of God shining into our hearts. That gives us.

[15:46] To see that. When the apostle is writing to the Corinthian church. He says. God. Who commanded the light.

[15:58] To shine out of darkness. Hath shined. Or shone into our hearts. Giving us the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God.

[16:09] In the face. Of Jesus Christ. So the new path. That these people. Is on. Is a path.

[16:21] Of light. A path of light. But. It is a path of increasing light. See what it says.

[16:33] It is like the light. Of dawn. Like the light of dawn. We all know what dawn is like. Don't we? And that is the way things are.

[16:47] Sometimes. Spiritually. You see yourself. A little. Under the preaching of the gospel.

[16:59] It is as if you realize. That you are not as good. As you thought you were. And the more you hear. The word of God explained. The more it highlights. The imperfections.

[17:11] And shortcomings. And sin of your life. And you realize. That you have to do something about it. And having. Had your sins.

[17:23] Brought before you. Then by the work of God's spirit. You are led to see. Jesus Christ. As the answer. To your dilemma.

[17:33] As a sinner before God. He convinces us. Of our sin. And misery. As the catechism says. And then. He enlightens our mind.

[17:44] In the knowledge of Christ. It's a shining light. An increasing light. And the more you go on.

[17:55] In the wilderness journey. On this path. The more you realize. How sinful you are. The more you realize.

[18:06] That your heart is deceitful. Above all things. And desperately wicked. Who can know it? The more you realize.

[18:17] What the scripture says. That there is none righteous. No not one. We have all sinned. And come short. Of the glory of God. God. And how do you realize that?

[18:31] Because the light of God's word. In the hand of God's spirit. Shines into your mind. Into your conscience. Into your deepest recesses.

[18:43] And gives you to realize. Your need as a sinner. But. This light also.

[18:55] Gives you to realize. More and more and more. The glory of Jesus. The path of the righteous.

[19:07] Is like the light of dawn. Going back to the woman of Samaria. She didn't have. A complete understanding.

[19:19] Of herself. That day. She met the Lord. Neither did she have. A full understanding of Jesus. Of his offices.

[19:30] As prophet. And priest. And king. She didn't understand. The depths of his love. She didn't understand.

[19:41] Much about him. But as he revealed himself. To her. And as he reveals himself. To us. We see more and more. Of his glory.

[19:52] More and more. Of his long suffering. More and more. Of his grace. More and more. Of his beauty. The church of old said. Let him kiss me.

[20:04] With the kisses of his mouth. For your love. Is sweeter than wine. And then. Throughout the song of Solomon. She gives a list. Of.

[20:15] The beauties. And glories. Of the Messiah. And then. We see her. Walking. Coming up. From the wilderness. And what is she doing?

[20:26] Leaning. Upon her beloved. She has got to know him. And the more she gets to know him. The more she loves him. And the more she loves.

[20:38] To lean upon him. The Lord teaches us. By his word and spirit. And. He gives us. Greater and deeper light.

[20:50] On who he is. And who. We are. But not only. Is this light. Dealing with our understanding.

[21:01] I believe also. It deals with. Our measure of grace. In the day of our conversion.

[21:13] When we are born again. God by his spirit. Plants in our heart. The primary graces. Of faith. And hope. And love.

[21:25] We cannot bring these things. To operate in our own hearts. And lives. It is a direct. Intervention. Of God himself. In the moment of regeneration.

[21:37] He plants these. Saving graces. In our hearts. And they begin. Operating. By faith. We receive.

[21:47] And rest. Upon Jesus Christ alone. As he freely offered to us. In the gospel. Our love goes out to him. Because he first loved us.

[21:58] And our love goes out to his people. And his cause. Our hope extends beyond this world. Just like the hope of the apostle Paul. As you read in 2 Timothy chapter 4.

[22:10] He's languishing. In a prison in Rome. Awaiting his execution. And he says. Henceforth. Or from now on. There is laid up for me.

[22:21] A crown of righteousness. Which that. Judge. Will give me at that day. And not to me only. But also unto all them. Who love his appearing.

[22:32] He looks beyond the prison walls. To our hope. To be realized. On the other side of. Of death. But.

[22:44] The grace of. Faith. We need to have it strengthened. And. When difficulties and trials.

[22:57] Come our way in life. As Christians. We need to be strong in faith. We. Encounter all kinds of.

[23:08] Trials. And afflictions. And disappointments. In ourselves. And maybe in others. And we need to have. Our graces.

[23:19] Strengthened. To keep our eyes. On Jesus. And on God. In whose hands. Our providence is. Remember that he's the author.

[23:30] Of our providence. And however difficult. Our providence might become. We always. Need to remember. That it's in his hands. And we need to be.

[23:41] Trusting in him. In the darkest of days. And when the hills. Are most steep. And the current. Is most strong. Running against us. We need to be strong.

[23:53] In faith. Think of Abraham. And think of the promise. He received. That he would have a son. And that through that son. So many blessings.

[24:05] Would come. To the whole world. And then. After some time. God says to him. Go and sacrifice. Isaac. Isaac your son. Well what a test of.

[24:18] Of Abraham's faith. That was. You see. Abraham's faith. Strengthened. In response. To that.

[24:28] Because God gave him strength. And we need to have. That strengthening. That greater. And greater. Input. As it were. Of grace.

[24:40] From the Lord. Just as he promises here. That this shining light. Is as the light of dawn. And it becomes. Brighter and brighter.

[24:51] Or. Become stronger. And stronger. As we go on. Through life. Oh you see. There are so many difficulties. In my life.

[25:03] I feel so weakened. I don't know. Which way to turn. Well the Bible tells us here. Which way to turn. Turn to the one.

[25:15] Who has placed. His grace in your heart. From the beginning. And he promises. Where he has begun. The good work. He will not.

[25:25] Stop doing that. Good work. Until the day. Of Jesus Christ. He will perform it. He will give you. Growth in grace. And in knowledge.

[25:36] He will give you. Deeper understanding. Of who he is. And what he is able. To do for you. It's amazing. That.

[25:47] Very often. It's through the most difficult. Circumstances. That our grace. Does grow. In this world. Jesus says.

[25:58] You will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome. The world. So there is growth.

[26:09] In understanding. And growth. In grace. There should be. And will be. Growth. In holiness.

[26:20] Because. Those. Whom the Lord. Has separated. By his effectual calling. In the day of regeneration. He will continue.

[26:31] To sanctify them. In their thinking. In their outlook. In their speech. In their character. Day by day. By day.

[26:43] And when they look. In the mirror. Of scripture. They wonder. Is this indeed. Happening. In my life. When I see myself.

[26:54] And my failings. And my shortcomings. Is it indeed. Something that's happening. In my life. That the Lord is sanctifying.

[27:06] Me. Well. He is sanctifying. His people. Because it says. That the path. Of the righteous. Is like the light.

[27:16] Of dawn. Which shines. Brighter. And brighter. Until the full day. I remember. Visiting an old lady.

[27:26] Once. Years and years ago. Down at back. We used to visit. Older people. After the prayer meeting. On Thursday night. And. I remember her saying.

[27:39] That. When she began. Following the Lord. First of all. She wasn't really. Aware of. Sin as such. She just felt. Thrown.

[27:50] To the Lord. And to his people. But she said. Look at me today. I feel. My heart. Is like a bubbling pot. Of porridge.

[28:00] My fresh. When you see. When you turn up. The heat. On a pot of porridge. It bubbles up. And spatters. All over. She said.

[28:11] That's the way. I see my heart. Today. And who was giving her. That awareness. It was the Lord himself. And she was. Running to Christ. The saviour of sinners.

[28:23] She was able. To forgive her sin. And cleanse her. From all unrighteousness. Although. All that she was doing. Was sitting by the fire. All day. The shining light.

[28:39] The light of dawn. Shining brighter. And brighter. And then it says. The full day. In the authorised version.

[28:52] It says. The perfect day. The full day. Well this is talking about. Heaven I believe.

[29:05] Where there is. No darkness. Where there is. No illness. Where there is no death. Where there is no sorrow.

[29:18] Where there are no clouds. Like we so often have. In our journey. Through life here. You know that. In the pilgrim's progress.

[29:30] And I would commend. The pilgrim's progress. To you all. To read it. And reread it. Such an amazing. Book. Of Christian experience. And when Christian.

[29:41] And hopeful. Come to the Jordan of death. Christian feels that the. Billows are coming over him. But hopeful. Shouts to him. I feel the bottom.

[29:54] And it is good. I feel the bottom. And it is good. And that's the way it is. With the people of God. Despite the darkness.

[30:05] And the difficulties. Even the horror of death itself. The sun hasn't. Yet come to its. Full day.

[30:16] But only when death. Is no more. Will the sun. Will the sun have come. To its zenith. And full strength. In your experience.

[30:28] And in mine. What does it say? The sun. The sun shall no more. Go down.

[30:39] Neither shall the moon. Withdraw itself. They need no light. Of the sun. In another. Picture we have. For the Lord.

[30:50] God. Giveth them light. And the lamb. Is the light. Of heaven. There. There. There. There. There will be. No questionings.

[31:02] No disappointments. No trials. And what's amazing. As well as everything else. And this could be a whole sermon on its own.

[31:15] Is the fact that everyone. Who comes into the full. Light of. The day of heaven. Will have this. Full assurance.

[31:27] That this blessing. I know. Enjoy. Will never. Ever. Ever end. That full assurance.

[31:39] Of. The continuing nature. Of this glory. Into which the Lord has brought me. By his grace.

[31:51] He gives grace. And glory. And withhold no good from them. Who uprightly. Do live. Maybe you have a day.

[32:02] Today with clouds. This will be a day. With no clouds. Maybe you have. Have a day. With tears. This will be.

[32:14] A day. When God wipes away. All tears. From the eyes. Maybe you have a day. When sin. Is so strong.

[32:24] And temptations. Are so strong. And you're afraid. You're going to lose. Your foothold. But there. Nothing. Shall enter in. That defiles.

[32:36] Or worketh abomination. Or maketh a lie. Or to be among the righteous. Or to be among the righteous. Saved by God's grace.

[32:48] Justified by his spirit. Having a lifestyle that is righteous. And dedicated to God. Or to be enjoying. Enjoying. And basking.

[32:59] In the experience. Of his saving grace. Here. And increasing. In our knowledge. And appreciation. Of our saviour. And his salvation.

[33:11] For us. And to be receiving. More and more. Assurance. In our hearts. That he is ours. And that we are his.

[33:22] And when the great. Day comes. Our sun. Will no more go down. Neither shall the moon.

[33:34]  Withdraw. Itself. May God bless. These thoughts to us. Let us pray. Thank you. Thank you.