Sober Mindedness
Matthew Henry, D. D. Titus 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. I. WHAT IT IS. 1. You must be considerate and thoughtful, not rash and heedless. Take time to think; learn to think freely — to think for yourselves, of yourselves. 2. You must be cautious and prudent, not wilful and heady. Fix rules of wisdom. Use reason and conscience. Be diffident of your own judgment. Study Scripture. 3. You must be humble and modest, not proud and conceited. Be not above your business, above reproof, above religion. 4. You must be temperate and self-denying, not indulgent of your appetites. 5. You must be mild and gentle, not indulgent of your passions. 6. You must be chaste and reserved, not wanton or impure. 7. You must be staid and composed, not giddy and unsettled. 8. You must be content and easy, not ambitious and aspiring. 9. You must be grave and serious, not vain and frothy. II. CONSIDERATIONS TO ENFORCE THIS EXHORTATION. 1. You are reasonable creatures. 2. You are sinners before God. 3. You are setting out in a world of sorrows and snares. 4. Multitudes of the young are ruined for want of this sobriety of mind. 5. You are here upon trial for heaven. 6. You must shortly go to judgment. III. APPLICATION: 1. Examine yourselves. 2. Exhort one another. 3. Contemplate the advantages of sober mindedness. You will — (1) Escape vanity of childhood and youth; (2) Recommend yourselves to the favour of God and all wise men; (3) Prepare for a useful and comfortable life, and a happy death. 4. Directions to make you sober minded. (1) Espouse sober principles. (2) Meditate on serious things. (3) Choose sober companions. (4) Read sober books. (5) Abound in sober work. (Matthew Henry, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. WEB: Likewise, exhort the younger men to be sober minded;