Be Not Wise in Your Own Eyes

As I was directed by the Sovereignty of God to taste again for the first time of the treasures found in Proverbs 3:7-12 which reads, "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. t will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights", I cannot but help to be thankful for all the members of the body of Christ that He has used and continues to use to build me up in the faith, of which I am quite certain none of us will truly know the full extent until we see Christ in glory. But while reading this passage my mind was directed to a message preached by Thad Boyd on the subject of "Jail House Religion"; a song that was sung by the teens at Beacon Baptist Church; Tim Keller's post from April 28, 2010 on "Proverbs, Community, and the Culture"; and, messages preached from the past by Gregory N. Barkman on the subject of "Counting others more significant than yourselves", and the following words came to mind:

Be not wise in thine own eyes,
Fear the LORD and turn from lies.
For His Truth will set you free
And your healing it will be

Refreshment to your flesh and bones
Building up the others stones,
As you find in Christ your wealth,
He knits His body into health.

What may seem like trash to you,
May be a treasure He doth hue
Into a diamond sparkling bright,
Reflect the glory of His Light!

Oh, Father please remove the scales
Upon our eyes which now prevails
As we confess our ugly pride
By which Your glory is denied.

Oh, help us think of others better
And hold them not unto the letter
Of the laws of which we set
Conformed not to Your image yet.

Oh, help us see in other cultures,
Consuming not like filthy vultures,
Those for whom Christ paid the price,
For He is all our Sacrifice.

Remove from us our wickedness
And all of our self righteousness.
Renew our minds to walk within
The steps of those, who've entered in

The presence of Your Perfect Love,
Delighting in our Christ above,
As they now witness to our heart
And bid us from our sin depart.

For only in our brokenness
We know the joy of holiness.
Rejoice our hearts to fear Your Name,
As only Christ we shall proclaim!

For He Is All our Hope and Fear,
As by His blood we now draw near.
Oh, Father help us count the cost
For Jesus came to seek the lost.

As once we were apart from You
And blinded to our sentence due,
But Christ for all Your glory came,
Oh bless His Precious Holy Name. Amen

Michael E. Wood
May 3, 2010