EGW WritingsProverbs 5

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Lt 21, 1894

9LtMs, Lt 21, 1894, par. 9

O, how can God bear with the misdeeds of those who have had great light and advantages, and yet follow the course of their own choosing, to their eternal harm? Solomon, who had solemnly charged the people at the dedication of the temple, “Let your heart be perfect with the Lord your God” [1 Kings 8:61], chose his own way, and in his own heart separated from God. The mind that was once given to God and inspired of God to write the most precious words of wisdom (the book of Proverbs)—truths which are immortalized—that noble mind, through evil associations and yielding to temptations, became inefficient, weak in moral power, and Solomon dishonored himself, dishonored Israel, and dishonored his God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 40, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 40, 1898, par. 15

Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, but after a time his wisdom became mingled with chaff. When came the chaff? After a manhood of such glorious promise, a change came in Solomon’s history. He did not continue true to his purity and allegiance to God. He broke through the barriers which God had erected to preserve His people from idolatry. The Lord had singled out Israel as a nation, making them the depositaries of sacred truth, to be given to the world. But Solomon cherished pride of political powers. He encouraged alliances with pagan kingdoms. He procured the silver of Tarshish and the gold of Ophir, but it was at the expense of destroying sacred trusts. Evil communications corrupted good manners. One false movement led to an acquaintance with idolaters. He formed marriage alliances with the daughters of pagan worshipers, and his wives led him away from God. His separation from God through communication with idolaters ruined him.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 41—Apostasy at the Jordan

PP 461.2

“The lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.” Proverbs 5:3, 4. “Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: lest thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labors be in the house of a stranger; and thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed.” Verses 8-11. “Her house inclineth unto death.” “None that go unto her return again.” Proverbs 2:18, 19. “Her guests are in the depths of hell.” Proverbs 9:18.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 3 (1876 - 1882)

Lt 6, 1880

3LtMs, Lt 6, 1880, par. 26

Your impure mind has been imparting its burdened, foul waters to the minds of those who had not heretofore had a suspicion of evil of you. Some of these cases you have made prostitutes. Their first lesson in licentiousness was taught by you, and their feet have taken hold on hell and remained in the path of destruction (Proverbs 5:5), where you first lured them on. And there have been those who have corrupted their ways before God, the poor lost sheep you have professedly sought to be laboring to bring back to the fold, and have sanctified their sins by uniting with them in defiling, disgusting iniquity.

Radiant Religion

Marriage Only the Beginning of Love, June 23

RRe 176.1

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Proverbs 5:18.

Lift Him Up

Our Infallible Judge, November 5

LHU 323.2

The Lord is exact and infallible in His comprehension. He understands the working of the human mind, the active principles of the human agents He has formed, just how they will be moved upon by the objects that come before them, and in what manner they will act under every temptation that can try them and in every circumstance in which they are placed. “The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings” (Proverbs 5:21). “The eyes of the Lord are in every place” (Proverbs 15:3). “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven” (Job 28:24). “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9). He knows the things that come into our minds, every one of them.... God pities the poor, self-deceived souls who are trampling upon His truth. Let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest. Pity and deplore the blindness of the minds that are under the dominion of Satan, but restrain your own wrath and passion, and do not pass your judgment upon them. Leave in God’s hands the despisers of His truth. The right and liberty of passing judgment upon others is not given to you. It was not given to Moses to pronounce judgment against rebellious Israel. The glaring weakness of His agents, as displayed by Moses, will bring its reward....

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 66, 1911

25LtMs, Lt 66, 1911, par. 5

Let us ever bear in mind that our work is to be one of advancement. We are to follow on to know the Lord. God understands the actuating principles of every mind. He has witnessed the persistent, rebellious course of some whom He has warned and counselled <repeatedly>. His all-seeing eye has noted the determined following of human devisings. “The way of man is before the Lord. He knoweth the thoughts.” [Proverbs 5:21; Psalm 94:11.] “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” [Proverbs 15:3.] He looketh to the ends of the earth, and He seeth under the whole heavens. The Lord searcheth the hearts.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 13 [Nos. 1000-1080]

MR No. 1056—Reveal Christ’s Spirit while Defending Truth and Pointing Out Error

13MR 311.2

The Lord God is exact and infallible in His comprehension. He understands the working of the human mind, the active principles of the human agents He has formed, just how they will be moved upon by the objects that come before them, and in what manner they will act under every temptation that can try them and in every circumstance in which they are placed. “The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings” [Proverbs 5:21]. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place” [Proverbs 15:3]. “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heavens” [Job 28:24]. “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” [1 Chronicles 28:9]. He knows the things that come into our minds, every one of them. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” [Hebrews 4:13].

Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2

Chapter 87—Psychology and Theology

2MCP 782.1

“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings” (Proverbs 5:21). “The eyes of the Lord are in every place” (Proverbs 15:3). “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven” (Job 28:24). “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9). He knows the things that come into our minds, every one of them. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).—Letter 18, 1895.

The Ministry of Healing

Searching Into Divine Mysteries

MH 433.5

“The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.” Proverbs 5:21.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 108, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 108, 1893, par. 5

The Lord can, in a moment, blot out of existence the whole scene of nature. The houses built and supposed by the skill of man to be indestructible—fire-proof—He touches with His fire and they consume away. Nothing can stay the progress of His fire. He “removeth the mountains, and they know it not”: He “overturneth them in His anger.” He “commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.” He “shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.” “The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His reproof.” “The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence.” “The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all their goings.” “The eyes of the Lord are in every place.” “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth unto the whole heaven.” “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” Job 9:5-7; 26:11; Nahum 1:5; Proverbs 5:21; 15:3; Job 28:24; 1 Chronicles 28:9. He knoweth the things that come into our minds every one of them. There is not “any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 18, 1895

10LtMs, Lt 18, 1895, par. 6

The Lord God is exact and infallible in His comprehension. He understands the working of the human mind, the active principles of the human agents He has formed, just how they will be moved upon by the objects that come before them, and in what manner they will act under every temptation that can try them and in every circumstance in which they are placed. “The ways of man are before the [eyes of the] Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.” [Proverbs 5:21.] “The eyes of the Lord are in every place.” [Proverbs 15:3.] “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heavens.” [Job 28:24.] “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” [1 Chronicles 28:9.] He knows the things that come into our minds, every one of them. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” [Hebrews 4:13.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 180, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 180, 1897, par. 3

“The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.” Proverbs 5:21. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place.” Proverbs 15:3. “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.” Job 28:24. “The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” 1 Chronicles 28:9. He knoweth the things that come into our minds, every one of them. There is no creature “that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 160a, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 160a, 1898, par. 1

“The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.” [Proverbs 5:21.] The eyes of the Lord are in every place; He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven. The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. He knows the things that come into our minds, every one of them. There is not a creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. “He hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” [Jeremiah 10:12.] He is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” [Isaiah 28:29.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 137, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 137, 1903, par. 19

“Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.” [Psalm 147:5.] “The ways of man are before the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.” [Proverbs 5:21.] “He revealeth the deep and secret things. He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.” [Daniel 2:22.] “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” [Acts 15:18.] “O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things; to whom be glory forever.” [Romans 11:33-36.]

A Call To Stand Apart

Chapter 4—You Can Come Home Any Time

CSA 12.5

A great famine arises, he begins to be in want, and he joins himself to a citizen of the country, who sends him into the field to feed swine. To a Jew this was the most menial and degrading of employments. The youth who has boasted of his liberty, now finds himself a slave. He is in the worst of bondage—“holden with the cords of his sins.” (Proverbs 5:22.) The glitter and tinsel that enticed him have disappeared, and he feels the burden of his chain. Sitting upon the ground in that desolate and famine-stricken land, with no companions but the swine, he is fain to fill himself with the husks on which the beasts are fed. 23Christ’s Object Lessons, 199, 200.

Christ’s Object Lessons

Chapter 16—“Lost, and Is Found”

COL 200.1

A great famine arises, he begins to be in want, and he joins himself to a citizen of the country, who sends him into the field to feed swine. To a Jew this was the most menial and degrading of employments. The youth who has boasted of his liberty, now finds himself a slave. He is in the worst of bondage—“holden with the cords of his sins.” (Proverbs 5:22.) The glitter and tinsel that enticed him have disappeared, and he feels the burden of his chain. Sitting upon the ground in that desolate and famine-stricken land, with no companions but the swine, he is fain to fill himself with the husks on which the beasts are fed. Of the gay companions who flocked about him in his prosperous days and ate and drank at his expense, there is not one left to befriend him. Where now is his riotous joy? Stilling his conscience, benumbing his sensibilities, he thought himself happy; but now, with money spent, with hunger unsatisfied, with pride humbled, with his moral nature dwarfed, with his will weak and untrustworthy, with his finer feelings seemingly dead, he is the most wretched of mortals.

Education

Chapter 34—Discipline

Ed 291.1

“Fools make a mock at sin.” Proverbs 14:9. We should beware of treating sin as a light thing. Terrible is its power over the wrongdoer. “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 5:22. The greatest wrong done to a child or youth is to allow him to become fastened in the bondage of evil habit.

Steps to Christ

Chapter 3—Repentance

SC 34.1

Even one wrong trait of character, one sinful desire, persistently cherished, will eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel. Every sinful indulgence strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. The man who manifests an infidel hardihood, or a stolid indifference to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of that which he has himself sown. In all the Bible there is not a more fearful warning against trifling with evil than the words of the wise man that the sinner “shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 5:22.

The Ministry of Healing

Pantheistic Theories

MH 429.2

“His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,
And he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 30:5, 6; 5:22.

The General Conference Bulletin

December 1, 1895

GCB December 1, 1895, Art. A, par. 3

A great famine arises, he begins to be in want, and he joins himself to a citizen of the country, who sends him into the fields to feed swine. To a Jew this was the most menial and degrading of employments. The youth who had thought to make the world his servant, now finds himself its slave. The glitter and tinsel that enticed him have disappeared, and he feels the cruel burden of his chain. He has boasted of his liberty, but he is the servant of corruption. He is in the worst of bondage,—“holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 5:22. Sitting upon the ground, in that desolate and famine-stricken land, with no other companions than the swine, he would fain have filled himself with the husks on which the beasts were fed. Among all the gay companions who flocked about him in his prosperous days, and ate and drank at his expense, there is not one left to befriend him. Where now is his riotous joy? Stilling his conscience, benumbing his sensibilities, he thought himself happy in scenes of revelry; but now, with money spent, with hunger unsatisfied, with pride humbled, with his moral nature dwarfed, with his will weak and unreliable, with his finer feelings seemingly dead, he is the most wretched of mortals.

Homeward Bound

What’s Wrong With Procrastination? March 24

HB 101.5

Even one wrong trait of character, one sinful desire, persistently cherished, will eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel. Every sinful indulgence strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. Those who manifest an infidel hardihood, or a stolid indifference to divine truth, are but reaping the harvest of that which they themselves have sown. In all the Bible there is not a more fearful warning against trifling with evil than the words of the wise man that the sinner “shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” (Proverbs 5:22.)—Steps to Christ, 32-34.