WHAT ABOUT WHY WE FORSAKE GOD

Forsaking God

• Idolaters guilty of.
  1 Samuel 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
  1 Kings 11:33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
• The wicked guilty of.
  Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
• Backsliders guilty of.
  Jeremiah 15:6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
• IS FORSAKING
• His house.
  2 Chronicles 29:6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.
• His covenant.
  Deuteronomy 29:25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
  1 Kings 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
  Jeremiah 22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
  Daniel 11:30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
• His commandments.
  Ezra 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
• The right way.
  2 Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
• Trusting in man is.
  Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
• Leads men to follow their own devices.
  Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
• Prosperity tempts to.
  Deuteronomy 31:20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
  Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
• Wickedness of.
  Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
  Jeremiah 5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
• Unreasonableness and ingratitude of.
  Jeremiah 2:5-6 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
• Brings confusion.
  Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
• Followed by remorse.
  Ezekiel 6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
• Brings down His wrath.
  Ezra 8:22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
• Provokes God to forsake men.
  Judges 10:13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
  2 Chronicles 15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
  2 Chronicles 24:20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
  2 Chronicles 24:24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.
• Resolve against.
  Joshua 24:16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
  Nehemiah 10:29-39 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons: And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. …
• Curse pronounced upon.
  Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
• Sin of, to be confessed.
  Ezra 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
• Warnings against.
  Joshua 24:20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
  1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
• Punishment of.
  Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
  2 Kings 22:16-17 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
• Exemplified.
  Children of Israel,
  1 Samuel 12:10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

  Saul,

  1 Samuel 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

  Ahab,

  1 Kings 18:18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

  Amon,

  2 Kings 21:22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.

  Kingdom of Judah,

  2 Chronicles 12:1 And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.
  2 Chronicles 21:10 So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.
  Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
  Jeremiah 15:6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

  Kingdom of Israel,

  2 Chronicles 13:11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.
  2 Kings 17:7-18 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: …

  Many disciples,

  John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

  Phygellus, &c.

  2 Timothy 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

  Balaam,

  2 Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness

 

WHAT ABOUT OUR FORGETFULNESS

Forgetting God

• A characteristic of the wicked.
  Proverbs 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
  Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
• Backsliders are guilty of.
  Jeremiah 3:21-22 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
• IS FORGETTING HIS
• Covenant.
  Deuteronomy 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
  2 Kings 17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
• Works.
  Psalms 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
  Psalms 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
• Benefits.
  Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
  Psalms 106:7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
• Word.
  Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
  James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
• Law.
  Psalms 119:153 RESH. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
  Psalms 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.
• Past deliverance.
  Judges 8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
  Psalms 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
• Power to deliver.
  Isaiah 51:13-15 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
• Encouraged by false teachers.
  Jeremiah 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
• Prosperity often leads to.
  Deuteronomy 8:12-14 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
  Hosea 13:6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
• Trials should not lead to.
  Psalms 44:17-20 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
• Resolve against.
  Psalms 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
  Psalms 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
• Cautions against.
  Deuteronomy 6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
  Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
• Exhortation to those guilty of.
  Psalms 50:22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
• Punishment of.
  Job 8:12-13 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.
  

 

WHAT ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

• Given by inspiration of God.
  2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
• Given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
  Acts 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
  Hebrews 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
  2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
• Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them.
  Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
  Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
  John 7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
• Christ taught out of.
  Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
• ARE CALLED THE
• Word.
  James 1:21-23 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
  1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
• Word of God.
  Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
  Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• Word of Christ.
  Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
• Word of truth.
  James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
• Holy Scriptures.
  Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
  2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
• Scripture of truth.
  Daniel 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
• Book.
  Psalms 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
  Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
• Book of the Lord.
  Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
• Book of the law.
  Nehemiah 8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
  Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
• Law of the Lord.
  Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
  Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
• Sword of the Spirit.
  Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
• Oracles of God.
  Romans 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
  1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
• Contain the promises of the gospel.
  Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
• Reveal the laws, statutes, and judgments of God.
  Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
  Deuteronomy 4:14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
• Record divine prophecies.
  2 Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
• Testify of Christ.
  John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
  Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
  Acts 18:28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
  1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
• Are full and sufficient.
  Luke 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
  Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
• Are an unerring guide.
  Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
  2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
• Are able to make wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
  2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
• Are profitable both for doctrine and practice.
  2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
• DESCRIBED AS
• Pure.
  Psalms 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
  Psalms 119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
  Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
• True.
  Psalms 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
  John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
• Perfect.
  Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
• Precious.
  Psalms 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
• Quick and powerful.
  Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• Written for our instruction.
  Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
• Intended for the use of all men.
  Romans 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
• Nothing to be taken from, or added to.
  Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
  Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
• One portion of, to be compared with another.
  1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
• DESIGNED FOR
• Regenerating.
  James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
  1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
• Quickening.
  Psalms 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
  Psalms 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
• Illuminating.
  Psalms 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
• Converting the soul.
  Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
• Making wise the simple.
  Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
• Sanctifying.
  John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
  Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
• Producing faith.
  John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
• Producing hope.
  Psalms 119:49 ZAIN. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
  Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
• Producing obedience.
  Deuteronomy 17:19-20 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
• Cleansing the heart.
  John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
  Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
• Cleansing the ways.
  Psalms 119:9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
• Keeping from destructive paths.
  Psalms 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
• Supporting life.
  Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
  Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
• Promoting growth in grace.
  1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
• Building up in the faith.
  Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
• Admonishing.
  Psalms 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
  1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
• Comforting.
  Psalms 119:82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
  Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
• Rejoicing the heart.
  Psalms 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
  Psalms 119:111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
• Work effectually in them that believe.
  1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
• The letter of, without the spirit, killeth.
  John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
  2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
• Ignorance of, a source of error.
  Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
  Acts 13:27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
• Christ enables us to understand.
  Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
• The Holy Ghost enables us to understand.
  John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
  1 Corinthians 2:10-14 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. …
• No prophecy of, is of any private interpretation.
  2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
• Everything should be tried by.
  Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
  Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• SHOULD BE
• The standard of teaching.
  1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
• Believed.
  John 2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
• Appealed to.
  1 Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
  1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
• Read.
  Deuteronomy 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
  Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
• Read publicly to ALL.
  Deuteronomy 31:11-13 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
  Nehemiah 8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
  Jeremiah 36:6 Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD’S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.
  Acts 13:15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
• Known.
  2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
• Received, not as the word of men, but as the word of God.
  1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
• Received with meekness.
  James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
• Searched.
  John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
  John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
• Searched daily.
  Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• Laid up in the heart.
  Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
  Deuteronomy 11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
• Taught to children.
  Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
  Deuteronomy 11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
  2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
• Taught to ALL.
  2 Chronicles 17:7-9 Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
  Nehemiah 8:7-8 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
• Talked of continually.
  Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
• Not handled deceitfully.
  2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
• Not only heard, but obeyed.
  Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
  Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
  James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
• Used against our spiritual enemies.
  Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
  Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
  Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
• All should desire to hear.
  Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.
• Mere hearers of, deceive themselves.
  James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
• Advantage of possessing.
  Romans 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
• SAINTS
• Love exceedingly.
  Psalms 119:97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
  Psalms 119:113 SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
  Psalms 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
  Psalms 119:167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
• Delight in.
  Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
• Regard, as sweet.
  Psalms 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
• Esteem, above all things.
  Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
• Long after.
  Psalms 119:82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
• Stand in awe of.
  Psalms 119:161 SCHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
  Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
• Keep, in remembrance.
  Psalms 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
• Grieve when men disobey.
  Psalms 119:158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
• Hide, in their hearts.
  Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
• Hope in.
  Psalms 119:74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
  Psalms 119:81 CAPH. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
  Psalms 119:147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
• Meditate in.
  Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
  Psalms 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
  Psalms 119:148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
• Rejoice in.
  Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
  Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
• Trust in.
  Psalms 119:42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
• Obey.
  Psalms 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
  Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
  John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
• Speak of.
  Psalms 119:172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
• Esteem, as a light.
  Psalms 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
• Pray to be taught.
  Psalms 119:12-13 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
  Psalms 119:33 HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
  Psalms 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
• Pray to be conformed to.
  Psalms 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
• Plead the promises of, in prayer.
  Psalms 119:25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
  Psalms 119:28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
  Psalms 119:41 VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
  Psalms 119:76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
  Psalms 119:169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
• They who search, are truly noble.
  Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• Blessedness of hearing and obeying.
  Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
  James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
• Let them dwell richly in you.
  Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
• THE WICKED
• Corrupt.
  2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
• Make, of none effect through their traditions.
  Mark 7:9-13 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. …
• Reject.
  Jeremiah 8:9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
• Stumble at.
  1 Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
• Obey not.
  Psalms 119:158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
• Frequently wrest, to their own destruction.
  2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
• Denunciations against those who add to, or take from.
  Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
• Destruction of, punished.
  Jeremiah 36:29-31 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.

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