"6 From the window of my house, Through my lattice, I looked down, 7 And as I observed the naive ones, I discerned among the youths a young man lacking good sense. 8 He passed along the street near her corner, And he marched in the direction of her house 9 In the twilight, in the evening, At the approach of night and darkness. 10 Then I saw a woman meet him, Dressed like a prostitute, with a cunning heart. 11 She is loud and defiant. She never stays at home. 12 One moment she is outside, next she is in the public squares, She lurks near every corner."

Prove 7:6-7 The loving father of Proverbs notices the "naive ones." Such ones are lacking wisdom, needing shrewdness, or foresighted prudence, to look ahead at the consequences of right and wrong decisions. They also need to comprehend God's will, and the discipline that prompts good judgment, gaining discernment, to further appreciate the difference between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, etc. The particular one he observed was lacking "good sense" [lit., "heart"], or good, pure, upright motive. May we strive for good motives first, to honor and obey God fully, with good judgment and discernment, knowing right from wrong and acting accordingly, that we may properly apply any understanding we may then gain in a useful, loving, and productively wise way, and thereby not putting the proverbial "cart before the horse."

"8 He passed along the street near her corner, And he marched in the direction of her house 9 In the twilight, in the evening, At the approach of night and darkness."

Prove 7:8-9 This one evidently knows about this immoral woman, having meditated on wrong desire, going in the direction of her house. He has seen her before, and is falling prey to the snare of her attempts to seduce one away from God's law, away from God's blessing and true happiness.

"10 Then I saw a woman meet him, Dressed like a prostitute, with a cunning heart. 11 She is loud and defiant. She never stays at home. 12 One moment she is outside, next she is in the public squares, She lurks near every corner."

Prov 7:10-12 Here the woman is described. She has a "cunning" heart, seductive, deceptive, tricky. She is loud and defiant, attributes opposite those of a loving, humble, respectful wife. As highlighted above, such sin is destructive to the spirit that helps families to thrive before God. May we rather treasure, not just physical beauty or appearances, but the genuine godly qualities that make true happiness possible--including honesty, sincerity, purity before God, with humility and integrity to Him and His law. All of this makes genuine loyal love possible between two people who seek and honor marriage as God's arrangement for a lasting relationship between a man and woman. Thus, may true marriage once again become and remain the order of the day, promoting happiness among families, communities, and entire nations.

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PSALM 119 STANZA 15A

STANZA 15 Theme: REMAIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS.

The 8 verses of stanza 15 express thoughts such as these: What determination by the psalmist to lovingly obey God! How can we avoid half-heartedness, and how does a proper motive aid us to keep God’s law?

Stanza 15A is this:
113 I hate the halfhearted ones, But I love your law.
114 You are my shelter and my shield, For your word is my hope.

113 I hate the halfhearted ones, But I love your law.

AIM TO LOVE THE GIVER EVEN MORE THAN HIS GIFTS. The Hebrew expression “hate” can mean to “love less.” Still, the psalmist seems to be contrasting his feelings for half-hearted ones with those for God’s law. Evidence abounds of God’s tremendous love for us as humans—how could we give our greatest love, the first place in our hearts, to anyone else? Half-hearted ones may go through the motions of serving God, but their hearts are really elsewhere. They need to ponder the gifts from God we each receive daily, including every breath, and worship the Giver, rather than worship any of these gifts themselves. The psalmist recognized God’s law as one of His greatest gifts, and expressed his appreciation for it, desiring to express his love for God by keeping His law. As 1John 5:3 says, “3 For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.” While we seek to encourage half-hearted ones to love God more fully, we need to guard our close associations, longing to maintain God’s favor first, along with those properly fearing God and keeping His commandments, which makes possible genuine peace, love, and truly an eventual end to hateful strife. (1Cori 15:33; Prove 13:20; Psalm 37:11).

114 You are my shelter and my shield, For your word is my hope.

DEEP TRUST AND HOPE IN GOD'S WORD. Jehovah’s word promises at least spiritual protection for His genuine servants, along with the gift of eternal life and happiness. We need to seek the honor of God’s name, representing Him well, seeking fully to live in harmony with His word. Spiritual traps and dangers abound in this world, but God can support us, our spiritual well-being, and our relationships with Him and, at least eventually, other God-fearing ones. Some may be protected physically, especially as God’s kingdom draws closer, as Jesus said to Martha, at John 11: “26 and everyone who is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all. Do you believe this?” Thus, faith, or deep trust in God and His firstborn Son, are vital for our spiritual and eternal lives. God certainly can be a shelter and a shield in a world of hardships, as we maintain our hope in God’s word, like the psalmist.

115 Stay away from me, you evil men, So that I may observe the commandments of my God.

THROUGH THE GATES OF GOD'S KINGDOM. What determination to love God! God said, in the first recorded prophecy in His word to mankind, that He would put enmity, or strife, between the offspring of His Seed, and that of the serpent, or Satan. (Genes 3:15). Now we see evil men trying to interfere with the psalmist’s strong desire to remain loyal to God by keeping all of His commandments. May we be wary of such tricks by wrongdoers, who do not yet appreciate God or His love as we do. Yes, Jesus came into the world “to save sinners,” but such ones need to show genuine sorrow over their past sins, and turn around from a wrong course to become obedient from the heart to God’s ways, to find real hope of permitted entry through the gate of God’s Kingdom. Rather than stumbling others away from serving God, they need to help and support others to obey God and His Son. (Matth 25:31-46). Perhaps, then, in God’s abundant compassion and mercy, their lives may be spared.

116 Support me as you promised, So that I may keep living; Do not let my hope turn into disappointment.