Sunday, October 12, 2025 AM

Trusting the Lord Rather Than Leaning on Our Own Understanding

Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would bless our time here this morning, as you already have, as we've begun to say together and confess together, that we look to you and you alone for our authority, for our guidance, to know what is true, to know what is good, to know what is beautiful.

We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, that in him you are well-pleased and that you have given your Son to us and given us to your Son. I pray that you would give us the grace today to rejoice in this truth and bow the knee to our King, Jesus Christ.

I pray that we would rejoice in the wisdom that we find here in your Word, that you would, by your Spirit, give us the wisdom to implement this truth in our lives so that we would be ever more conformed to your Son, Jesus Christ, ever more brought into godliness, reflecting your glory, made in your image.

We pray for these many mercies in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Proverbs chapter 2. Proverbs chapter 3. I was thinking about Proverbs 2 earlier, so it stays with you. Proverbs chapter 3. We're going to be reading verses 1 through 12.

This is a portion that stands alone. It's part of chapter 3, but it's a portion of Scripture that is identifiable by a similar pattern of thought, where Solomon is instructing his son. He's giving his son some commands, some warnings, some exhortations that he very quickly, repeatedly, appends all manner of promised blessings and reward.

And this pattern goes through chapter 3, verses 1 through 12, and you can sense that it's not only a culmination of what he's already said to his son in chapters 1 and 2, but there's a new emphasis.

Here.

Yes, Solomon wants his son to hear the words of his father and mother, to treasure that wisdom and instruction, recognizing the protection that it gives and the blessing that it brings. But even as we saw in chapters 1 and 2, there was this underlying hope that Solomon's son would honor the Lord, reverence the Lord, orient his life towards his own Maker.

And here in chapter 3, Solomon makes this emphasis very clear. Now, wisdom, of course, is the theme of this book, and wisdom is the skillful mastery of our lives to the glory of God. And the evidence of wisdom is very obvious.

If you ever come upon a scene of godliness, the evidence of wisdom will be all around, undeniable. There will be righteousness in the conducting of relationships. There will be righteousness in the carrying out of responsibilities.

There will be righteousness in the care of resources. The fruit of wisdom is very obvious. And Solomon desires that to be obvious, evident in his son's life. And so he gives his son a list of vital instructions, instructions that are particularly intended to direct his son towards his Creator, to his Lord.

I invite you, if you are able, to stand with me as we read Proverbs 3, verses 1 through 12. This is the word of the Lord. My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands. For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your increase, so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father to his son. In whom He delights. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

You may be seated. When do we tend to give a list of instructions? It's usually when you find yourself in a position of responsibility, and also with the prospect of being absent from those over whom you have responsibility.

Very, very common for parents to give instructions to their children when their children are going to be left behind for a time, or their children are going to go away for a time. Parents are always giving lists of instructions.

Why?

Trying to fill the void of that personal, direct shepherding. I'm not going to be on the scene. I'm not going to be right there with you. And so, I'm leaving you with instructions, or I'm sending you with instructions.

I'm not going to be personally there. I cannot directly shepherd you and guide you and see success in your life. So, I am going to leave you with instructions, or I'm going to send you with instructions.

Now, there are some unhelpful approaches in this. Sometimes parents can give so many instructions with such specificity that there is not a hope that they are well heard or ably followed. And then sometimes instructions can be so broad, they sound like a sigh.

Don't be dumb. It's going to catch all. That's the parting instruction. Don't be dumb. Sometimes the list of instructions can come from inadequate motivations. Don't make me look bad. I don't want to worry.

Don't make more work for me. I don't want the financial responsibility. And children generally pick up on that when list of instructions are selfishly driven by parents. But why in good faith do we give instructions?

Because we want to bless our children. We want to bridge that gap of our personal guidance. We give instructions because we want to see good for them. But what if we were faced with the task of giving instructions knowing this will be the last time?

There will be no more giving of instructions. I'm leaving you, you're leaving me. This is the very last opportunity that I have to give instructions to my children. You would want the list to be robust enough to help, but short enough to remember.

Something that would stay with them. What would I say? Probably the stuff I say all the time. If I were to wrap everything up, I would say something like, Christ is King, so love God supremely, love others rightly, steward creation faithfully.

What parting instructions did David give to Solomon? Here Solomon is given a list of instructions to his son. Why does he do it this way? Why does he sum it up in this way? Why does he say things like, trust in the Lord, fear the Lord, on the Lord?

Where did he get this list from that he's giving to his son? What were the parting instructions that David gave to Solomon the last time David had to shepherd his son? Before David left, Solomon remained.

1 Kings chapter 2 verses 1 through 4, now the days of David drew near that he should die. And he charged Solomon, his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.

And keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.

And the Lord may fulfill His word, which He spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, He said, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.

Last word to the father to his son. With that in mind, you begin to hear these repeated themes in what Solomon says to his son. He has this in mind as he speaks to his son. This list of instructions is, I think, compellingly complete.

Trust in the Lord, verse 5. Fear the Lord, verse 7. Honor the Lord, verse 9. And what it means and what the blessing is. This list of instructions, I think, is compellingly complete. I think that these are words that will stick with you and bring value throughout your life.

This is treasure that travels. Trust the Lord. Fear the Lord. Honor the Lord. Solomon is engaging his son with a man-to-man talk that has everything to do with a God-with-man walk. I think in this dynamic where we have a father speaking to his son, that the thing we ought to remember as we look at it more closely, as we see a father loving and instructing his son and seeking his son's respect, seeking his son's trust, remember that the Heavenly Father so relates to us and treats us for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ, in whom by faith we have our adoption as sons and daughters.

With that in mind, the question that is really posed to us in verses 1 through 4 that we looked at last time was, will you forget your father's commands? Obviously, we don't want to forget our father's commands, but the rhetorical import is there.

No, I want to remember what God has said. I want to remember the things that He has told me and the promises He has made. But in verses 5 through 10, where we find this list of instructions to trust in the Lord and fear the Lord and honor the Lord, I think the question that is really posed to us, the dilemma that faces Solomon's son is this, will you rely upon your own counsel?

Will you rely upon your own counsel? Listen to verses 5 through 10 again. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruit of all your increase, so shall your barns be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

It is of interest to me when I read these instructions of a father to his son, it's interest to me as a parent to see the father instructing his son because his son is in need of wisdom, the directness but also the details, the exhortations but also the expectations where he prohibits his son but also gives promises to his son.

I find his instruction varied but repeated. I find him seeking clarity for the sake of his son. Sometimes he talks about dire consequences. Sometimes he gives warnings for the failure to obey, but more often what I find is a positive vision cast.

I find Solomon more often telling his son to look to that horizon of hope and the good that is before him. He does not neglect to warn him about the dangers to the right and left of him, but more often than that, he's pointing him to what lies ahead and the good that God has for him.

All of this is very instructive to me as a father, and I find that the promises that Solomon gives to his son and the blessings that lay ahead of him, these are not random, unconnected. They are not randomized treats from a prize jar for doing well.

That's a fitting catechism, I think, for younger children, but no, these promises and blessings are genuinely spiritually related to the obedience of the child. I say genuine because I wanted to deflect the artificiality of some readings of this.

Text.

Please know God is not a vending machine who can be manipulated to produce what we want if we simply do the right thing. If we push the right buttons in order and put the right type of obedience coin into the slot, we'll get what we want from God.

My relationship with my children is not mercenary, that they would deliver on the goods, and so I give payment. My relationship with my children is pastoral, as all parents would understand. The paternal and the maternal is pastoral.

Ultimately, you see, it is not my name on the line in their behavior and in their character. It is not my image or my glory. I do want them to hear me. I do want them to follow my example. I want them to honor me, but I cannot offer them length of days, long life, and peace.

I cannot arrange a right relationship between God and them. I can only encourage them on to the Lord, for it is His image they bear. It is His name that they should praise. It is His glory that they ought to live for.

So, three basic instructions from Solomon. Trust in the Lord, fear the Lord, honor the Lord. He explains each and yokes each to a promise. These are...this is a wonderful list of instructions. It's very complete.

What else is there to say? First of all, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lay not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Now, these are fairly famous. I mean, these are beloved verses. They are often memorized, often memorialized. This is beautifully rendered poetry. These are apples of gold in settings of silver. The command is simply this, trust in the Lord.

And it is repeated and emphasized when he says, acknowledge Him. Trust in the Lord, acknowledge Him. You see that verse 5, trust in the Lord. Verse 6, acknowledge Him. So, the command is emphatic because it's repeated.

It's comprehensive, trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. You see how comprehensive the command is? It is thorough, not only your heart, but all of your ways. It's internal and external.

What goes on inside and what goes on about you. This has to do with your decisions that you make in your heart, the directions you take with your life. The command is very personal. Solomon says, trust in the Lord with all your heart, the Lord and you.

My son, consider the Lord and you. Consider your relationship to the Lord and how you are to put your attention upon Him. He says, trust in the Lord and acknowledge Him. Now, I think that perhaps, I mean, I don't know, but I think perhaps Solomon may have remembered a time when his son, believing and fearless, leapt off a ledge or a set of stairs into his father's waiting arms.

That would be trust. That's a picture of trust. And the whole time, the son would keep his eyes on the father, watching for the father's attention, anticipating the father's readiness and strength. That's acknowledgement.

Trusting the Lord and knowing He is who He is reinforces that trust. These are terms, trust and acknowledge. These terms are native to faith, entrusting and understanding. What is Solomon saying? What is the father doing?

He's teaching the son to trust His Creator, to acknowledge His Maker as His heavenly Father. Rely on Him and trust yourself to Him because of what you know about Him and you know Him to be this. Do you know Him?

So you trust Him. Trust Him because you know Him. The path to manhood is through faith. The basis for manliness is godliness. Solomon says, with all your heart, in all your ways, trust Him, acknowledge Him.

When he speaks of the heart, he's speaking of the seat of your inner concern. The navigation that you set out by your desire, the hope that you sketch out on the map. X marks is the hope. But not only with all your heart, but also in all of your ways.

The origin of your outer course is your navigation, not on the map, but on deck when you're at the wheel of the ship. Both the heart and the will are envisioned here. Everything about you, all of your affections, all of your desires, all of your plans and your hopes, and then how you execute that, how you orient your life and organize your life and make those decisions.

All of your heart and all of your ways. The heart is the compass by which a man sets sail, his will, the ship's wheel and rudder. And so Solomon is saying, whoever or whatever dominates the heart and whatever directs the head owns that man's horizon.

And son, I want the Lord to dominate your heart.

I want the Lord to direct your head.

I want the Lord to own your horizon. That's what the father wants for the son. Without this, a person experiences the condition known as double-mindedness. Double-mindedness. Now, what's the concern?

Solomon says, son, I want you to trust the Lord and know the Lord. What's the concern? I don't want you to lean on your own understanding. I don't want you to lean on your own understanding. How often do we think we know?

Well, we don't. Have you ever experienced that? You think you know. You really didn't. Pride says, I'm not limited and weak the way the Bible says. I know my condition better than the Bible knows me. I'm more of an expert on me than God is.

God says, I don't really know me. My heart is a seat for the wicked who know it. God looks at the heart of man I know. But you know what? I'm more of an expert on me and therefore others than God is. Lean not on your own understanding.

Give up that pride. Solomon, notice here how he says your own understanding. Notice what he's doing. Solomon is cautioning his son against the most likely saboteur of his son's own heart and ways, his own hope and blessing.

It's not Satan. It's not somebody else. It's his own son. Son, you are likely to sabotage your own blessings.

It's you.

You're trying to lean on your own understanding.

Don't do it.

Solomon cautions against self-reliance. He cautions against pride. He cautions against men going their own way. He cautions against autonomy. Do you remember what Jesus offers us? Oh, you who are weary and heavy laden.

I have discovered that in my own life and also in my pastoral ministry, I've discovered that those who are most weary and heavy laden are those who are dragging around a big bag of pride. But Jesus offers what?

When Jesus says, come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, he says, I will give you rest. And he doesn't give you your own personal segue to go scoot around and zoom about and enjoy the day.

What does he offer to you?

A yoke.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

Right?

He is lowly of heart. He is gentle. His burden is not burdensome. His yoke is not heavy. He says, take my yoke upon you. You know what a yoke is? Stop thinking eggs.

Don't think eggs.

Think the farm. Think the farm. The big wooden curved beam laid across the necks of two animals, both pinned in by a big U punched through the top. A ring in the middle to hook the chain, to pull the plow, to pull the wagon, whatever the burden is.

But when it's time to learn, when it's time to learn, you bring the young, fresh, new animal that doesn't know the commands, doesn't know how to do this work, and they are yoked to the experienced strong ox.

And the lines of the yoke are only upon that ox when it's time to learn. Come, learn from me. Take my yoke upon you.

It is easy.

It is light. This ox already in the yoke is hooked to the plow. He's hooked to the heavy load and he pulls. And the other one who's brought in to learn is yoked to the one who has all the power and all the knowledge and all the wisdom.

And as he goes, so the other one goes with it and learns and learns and learns as the work is done. That's why Jesus says, come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

And then says, we're going out to the field to plow. Hang on a second. I didn't think that rest and plowing fields go together, but they do when you're yoked with Christ and learning his ways. So lean not on your own understanding.

Lean not on your own understanding. You know, the child may at one point decide against leaping into the father's arms. He says, I don't need you to catch me. I'll do it myself. I can make the jump. I don't want the help.

Those who reject Christianity and call it a crutch have not rightly assessed the function of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not a crutch. It's straight up life support. You have no idea. They detect in the saints, both heresy and heretics, apostasy from their own doctrine of autonomy.

What is the doctrine of prideful man? That we would lean on our own understanding and there's nowhere else to lean. Leaning on one's own understanding is the highest virtue of God-haters. How can you know anything unless you have your own understanding?

They bow to God-mocking experts, reverence God-denying hypotheses, and offer their children to God-profaning instructors. And if they find someone bold enough to confess, I don't lean on my own understanding, but I trust in the Lord with all my heart.

Well, they rage against them and against Christ. But may our children ever be so bold. It's important for us to put this into the proper context. It is appropriate for our children to grow into greater measures of independence from parents, to begin to leave off those excuses and take on responsibilities.

But there is no sense in which mothers or fathers should ever teach their children to be independent from the Lord. May they not learn that from our own example, but may they learn the opposite by our own speech, by our own actions.

Do we convey our continued dependence upon the Lord that we're still children, we have a heavenly Father? Did Solomon live long enough to detect in his son, Rehoboam, that same folly of leaning on his own understanding?

I wonder, did he see in his son, Rehoboam, the same patterns of pride that dominated Solomon's own latter years? How far more peaceful, restful, joyous, and hopeful to humbly confess and reflect with David, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Notice, He shall direct your paths. That's the comfort, isn't it?

The command is, trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge Him. What's the concern? Lean not on your own understanding. What's the comfort? He shall direct your paths. That's the promise.

That's the assurance that we should be living with, that in this promise is expressed both intensely and in an ongoing fashion. The idea is that God certainly will and will keep on straightening out, untangling, and clarifying the paths of those who trust in Him.

What's the indication? Well, it's that Solomon knows his son needs constant redirection. His son needs constant instruction. His son needs constant clarification throughout all of his decision-making.

Solomon needed that for himself. That's why he prayed for wisdom. Solomon is not going to be around forever. His son must learn to rely upon the Lord, and only the Lord can be so steady and present and true.

It's only so far that a parent can reach for their child. The comfort is that the Lord, in our humble trust in Him, as we utterly rely on Him, that He's going to untangle our paths, that He makes them clear as He clears them.

Remember the description of Christ as our captain, our trailblazer, our archegos, that He places the trail, He takes us along. So, to those who trust Him and acknowledge Him, forsaking the reliance upon the self, what do we find?

We find that the Lord is an able and ready Savior. We find that the Lord is an everyday and every way Savior. I can't help but reflect on the question that Andrew reminded his children of in the baptistry last week.

What is your only comfort in life and in death? Well, the answer from the Heidelberg is this, that I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this instruction that we have received today to trust in You. May we trust in You and lean not on our own understanding. Thank You for the comfort of the promise that You will untangle our ways and lead us through.

Help us to rejoice in our position as children, to embrace that humility and live out that reliance and to know our rest in Christ. Thank You for Your love for us, and we pray these things in Christ's name.

Amen.