Proverbs 10:9
Walking Uprightly
1. Walketh = one’s whole manner of life.
a. Our life consists of all the steps we take.
b. Each step is important… one step in the wrong direction can take us WAY out of the way over time.
c. Every decision we make in life is like another step we take in our walk along the road of life.
d. Every step we take sets the direction for the next step…
e. The steps taken together constitute our walk… and our walk overall constitutes our life.
f. The concept of our life as a WALK is interesting because it weaves together:
• The individual steps with the whole walk…
• The present (each step) with our life as a whole… (all the steps taken thus far… and all the steps not yet taken)
• The direction of one step (decision) and its relationship to the direction of one’s life as a whole…
2. Uprightly = integrity, completeness, innocence, simplicity
a. An upright person speaks of that which is honest, innocent, simplicity or sincerity, nothing to hide, open, and full of integrity.
b. Job 1:8 – Job walked uprightly. He was not perfect, but his walk was upright… honest with God.
c. Gen.17:1 – Abraham was commanded to be “perfect” – same root word as upright. (see margin note)
d. An upright walk (perfect walk) is not one of sinless perfection. Rather it is a life characterized by obedience…
3. An upright walk in the book of Proverbs.
a. Prov.14:2 – An upright walk is one that is conducted in the fear of the LORD.
• A man who walks in uprightness is one who fears God.
• But the fear of the Lord will also CAUSE a man to walk uprightly.
• If you fear God, you will be afraid to step out of line!
• The fear of God and a godly, upright walk go hand in hand.
• You want to learn to fear God more? Spend more time in His Word! This whole book is designed to instill the fear of God in us!
• Reading of how God dealt with men who strayed away from the upright walk should motivate us to walk uprightly… read about the flood… the Babylonian invasion… the Tribulation Period!
• Even those chapters in the Minor Prophets that you don’t seem to get much out of — it should instill the fear of God into us. That is precious!
b. Prov. 16:17 – the way of the upright departs from evil.
• The highway of the upright is to depart from evil.
• Why? Because the highway is characterized by the fear of God… which causes us to depart from evil!
c. Prov. 15:21 – An upright walk is one that is walked in the light… with understanding of spiritual things.
• An upright walk is characterized by spiritual understanding… discernment…
• I have driven down Ermer Road enough to know to look for potholes… I know where they are so I can avoid them.
• An understanding of spiritual truth will keep us safe as we walk down the pathway of life too.
• The upright walk is not constantly falling into the potholes… or stumbling over the stumblingblocks. Understanding enables him to avoid those troubles.
• 2:13 – the path of the upright is light
• Note the two pathways: the way of darkness; the other is the way of the upright… light!
• Col. 1:9-10 – pray for light… spiritual discernment that we might WALK WORTHY!
d. Prov. 2:20 – the upright walk is one that is traveled not alone, but with other good men.
• The one who desires to walk uprightly will not walk alone, but will choose good men to walk with!
• That is one of the reasons for the local church… that we might walk together… and encourage one another to keep on walking uprightly… and to admonish one another when we begin to stray…
• We NEED fellowship. If you know a believer who is trying to walk with the world and has precious little fellowship with believers… drag them away… drag them back to the path of the upright.
• Good men who walk uprightly enjoy the fellowship of other good men who walk uprightly.
e. Prov. 29:27 – the upright man is hated by the world.
• Not surprisingly, good men who walk uprightly are hated by wicked men.
• The upright are hated by the world… they hate the narrow way.
• The upright are also hated by believers who have the world in their heart… they too are not too fond of the straight and narrow way. They prefer to find a group of likeminded worldly believers… birds of a feather flock together.
f. Prov. 11:20 – the upright in the way are a delight to God.
• While the world will hate us for our upright walk… and even some believers will not appreciate the upright walk… the good news is that it is a delight to the One who counts! God!
• If you are walking uprightly in the way, you bring delight to God’s heart! Isn’t that awesome?!
Walking uprightly summarized:
Walking in innocence and obedience
Walking in the light…
Walking in the fear of God… departing from evil…
Walking in fellowship with good men who also walk uprightly…
Walking in such a way as to arouse the hatred of the world, but the delight of God!
1.) Walketh: two different Hebrew words
a. First = walk; manner of life
b. Second = to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away
2.) Surely = safely 17, safety 9, carelessly 3, securely 2, assurance 1, boldly 1, care 1, confidence 1, hope 1, secure 1, surely 1;
3.) The one who walks uprightly is SAFE!
a. Prov. 2:7 – he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
• Buckler – a small shield… for protection.
• God protects those who walk uprightly… they are safe…
• As soon as we decide to step OUT of the way… and no longer walk uprightly… we are not longer safe!
• It is like taking off a shield in the midst of a battle. You could be slain!
• The enemy is hurling fiery darts at us… poison arrows. It doesn’t make any sense to remove our God-given protective shield, does it?
• Would you want to be goalie in hockey without any protective equipment? Sooner or later you’re going to get seriously hurt.
• If we walk uprightly, we have GOD as our shield and buckler. Stepping OUT OF the way of uprightness is like stepping out of our buckler… out of our layer of protection.
• Such a move can have disastrous results!
b. Prov. 3:23 – Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
• Solomon tells his son in this section that if he holds on to wisdom and discretion, then his walk will be safe.
• An upright walk is one that is conducted according to the principles of spiritual wisdom and discernment.
• Such a walk is also SAFE! No tripping up… no stumbling…
c. Prov. 28:18 – deliverance for those who walk uprightly.
• This isn’t talking about salvation from hell… otherwise, he is saying that a good life results in salvation.
• Salvation here means (as it often does in the Old Testament) deliverance from earthly troubles…
• People who drink and drive have to worry about wrapping their car around a telephone pole. The one who walks uprightly doesn’t have to worry about that. He has been delivered from that.
• This man is saved… safe… he proceeds upon sure ground.
• An upright walk is a safe walk.
• The upright man is concerned about safety… he doesn’t skate on thin ice… he doesn’t stand on the edge of cliff… he takes the safe route.
• We too should be concerned about our spiritual safety too…
• There are lots of things that might be dangerous for us spiritually… stay away!
• There may be a crowd of kids at school who are known for trouble… or who flirt with trouble…stay away…
• Your teacher gives you an important homework assignment, but you can’t remember whether she said to do 1 and 5 or 1-5. Do the safest thing… do 1-5! Better safe than sorry.
• Your parents aren’t home and you’re not sure if a certain TV show is OK or not. Take the safe route—if you’re not sure, then don’t watch it!
• The upright path will save us from getting into trouble! Always!
• Sometimes we ask the Lord to send us down an easy path. We should be asking Him to send us down a SURE path… a safe road!
d. Prov. 11:3 – the integrity of the upright will guide them…
• Not only is the way of the upright safe, it is guided in the right direction… it stays on track.
• Integrity can guide… honesty… sincerity… purity…
• How much better is it to be guided in the right direction than to wander in the wrong direction!
• When you are walking in the pathway of the upright and you come to a fork in the road, always choose the BEST way to travel… the safest… the right way…
• It may be a difficult way, but it is the safest… the best.
e. Prov. 11:6 – their righteousness will deliver them…
• Righteousness also keeps the upright safe… and delivers him from many troubles and heartaches.
• Do things right… and you will be delivered from all the troubles that come from NOT doing it right!
• Put the roof on your house right, and it will keep you warm, dry, and secure for many years to come. Put it on wrong… and it will be a headache for many years to come.
• Life is like that. Do things the right way and you will delivered from horrors of wrong decisions… wrong actions.
• Do your taxes wrong (cheating!) and you may pay a steep price. But do your taxes right… and you are safe. Righteousness in doing taxes delivers you from the IRS… and perhaps jail!
• Many believers do not enter into marriage right. They may marry an unbeliever… and may suffer for it later. The one who approaches marriage properly, will be delivered from many heartaches.
• A man who runs a business and doesn’t do his jobs right (cutting corners; etc.) will suffer… he will lose customers… earn a bad reputation.
• The same thing holds true in running a church. If we do things right (God’s way) then we will be delivered from all kinds of trouble.
• Train your children the right way… according to the priorities found in the Word… and that will deliver you from years of regret and heartaches.
• The righteousness of the upright WILL deliver them!
f. Prov. 12:6 – the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
• Once again, uprightness delivers… keeps us safe.
• Here Solomon is speaking about the safety that comes as a result of a mouth that is characterized by uprightness… honesty… sincerity… openness.
• The opposite is true too. If our mouth is NOT characterized by uprightness… it will get us into a lot of trouble! (lose friends; job; earn a poor reputation; etc…)
• Watching our mouth will keep us safe… it might prevent you from getting into a fight… from causing division…
g. Prov. 14:11 – the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
• You want your life… your household to flourish? Then walk uprightly… do things right… God’s Way…
• Flourish = blossom.
• This speaks of being fruitful… having God’s blessing upon your household.
• The alternative is not too encouraging… overthrown!
• Psalm 84:11 – the way of the upright is the way of blessing from God.
The safety of the one who is upright:
God is our buckler… shield…
We won’t stumble… safe…
Delivered from trouble…
Guided through life…
Flourishing… blessed of God