By wisdom Yahweh founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.
Parallel Translations
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By wisdom Yahweh founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.
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The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
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The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Proverbs 3:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 104:24 Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
- Jeremiah 10:12 God has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens.
- John 1:3 All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
- Jeremiah 51:15 “He has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he has stretched out the heavens.
- Psalms 136:5 to him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Proverbs 8:27-29 When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep, when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hereby he showeth that this wisdom, whereof he speaketh,…
Hereby he showeth that this wisdom, whereof he speaketh, is everlasting, because it was before all creatures, and that all things even the whole world were made by it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the…
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Ver. 19. The Lord by wisdom.] By his essential Wisdom, by his Eternal Word; {Pro 8:30} the Lord Christ, who is "the beginning of the creation of God." {Rev 3:14} {See Trapp on "Joh 1:3"} "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," {Gen 1:1} that is, in his Son, as some interpret it. {Heb 1:2 Col 1:16} This interpretation is grounded upon the Jerusalem Targum, who translates that, {Gen 1:1} bechochmatha, in sapientia. So doth Augustine and others; and for confirmation they bring Joh 8:25; but that is a mistake, as Beza shows in his Annotations there.
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He established the heavens.] Heb., He aptly and trimly framed them in that comeliness that we now see. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." {Psa 19:1} Upon the third heaven he hath bestowed a great deal of curious skill and cunning workmanship. {τεχνιτης, Heb 11:10} But of that no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by human arts, geometry, optics, &c.; for it neither is aspectable nor moveable. The visible heavens are (for the many varieties therein, and the wonderful motion of the several spheres) fitly called Kοσμος. {a} The original word here used, ratione coniugationis plus aliquid significat quam paravit, vel stabilivit. "Conen," Mirum in modum disposuit; he hath cunningly contrived. And hence haply our ancient English word koning, and by contraction king, coming of the verb con, which signifies (as Becanus noteth) possum, scio, audeo - I can, I know, I dare do it.
{a} Coelum maxime eo nomine intelligunt Graeci. - Mercer.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain By wisdom; either,
By wisdom; either,
1. By Christ, the co-essential and co-eternal Wisdom of God the Father. Or,
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2. By that Divine perfection of wisdom, which is the fountain of that wisdom that is in man, which Solomon hath hitherto commended; and therefore the commendation of that wisdom tends to the commendation of this, which is a stream flowing from it.
Hath founded the earth; hath fixed it in the lowest part of the world.
Established the heavens, or fitted or ordered them; framed them in that exquisite order which now they have,
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth,.... He…
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth,.... He has created all things, and made the world by his Son, the Wisdom of God, Eph 3:9, Heb 1:2; not using him as an instrument; but, he being an efficient cause with him, to him, as to the first cause, the creation of all things is ascribed, Joh 1:1; and particularly the laying the foundation of the earth, Heb 1:10; and though this is true of the divine perfection of wisdom, Jer 10:12; yet from the context it appears best to understand it of the essential Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus; the Jerusalem Targum of Gen 1:1; is, "by wisdom God created", &c. and this serves greatly to set forth the dignity and excellency of Wisdom, or Christ, and so the happiness of that man that finds him; with this the account of him is closed and crowned;
by understanding hath he established the heavens: or prepared, adorned, and beautified them, by placing the luminaries in them, and directing their station, motion, and influence; the making of the heavens, with all the host of them, is ascribed to the essential Word or Wisdom of God, Psa 33:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Wisdom - Either by Christ, or by that Divine…
Wisdom - Either by Christ, or by that Divine perfection of wisdom, which is the fountain of wisdom in man.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the…
Verse 19. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth] Here wisdom is taken in its proper acceptation, for that infinite knowledge and skill which God has manifested in the creation and composition of the earth, and in the structure and economy of the heavens. He has established the order as well as the essence of all things; so that though they vary in their positions, c., yet they never change either their places, or their properties. Composition and analysis are not essential changes the original particles, their forms and properties, remain the same.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 3:19-20. The Lord by wisdom, &c. — From…
Pro 3:19-20. The Lord by wisdom, &c. — From human wisdom, or wisdom attainable by man, of which Solomon had hitherto treated, he now digresses to divine; thereby insinuating that it ought not to seem strange that he had said so much in praise of wisdom, and had so vehemently exhorted men to seek it, since all the works of God are effected by it; and that his readers might understand that he did not call them to the imitation of men, subject to errors and vices like themselves, but to the imitation of the divine wisdom. Although Christ be the wisdom of God, and the power of God, 1Co 1:24; and although all things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made, yet it does not appear that Solomon speaks of him here, but rather of that divine perfection of wisdom which is the fountain of wisdom in man. Observe, reader, the effects which we call natural, are the productions of the Creator’s sovereign wisdom, who formed at the beginning, and who hath preserved ever since, the universe of things, with that connected chain of causes and effects with which we are surrounded. By his knowledge the depths are broken up — The great abyss of waters mixed with, and contained in, the bowels of the earth, breaks forth into fountains and rivers for the use of men and beasts: which is justly remembered here as an illustrious effect of divine wisdom, by which the earth was made habitable and the waters serviceable. And the clouds drop down dew — Under which rain is comprehended, as being of the same nature and use.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Hereto Wisdom has been thought of in relation to…
Hereto Wisdom has been thought of in relation to men. Now the question comes, What is she in relation to God? and the answer is, that the creative act implies a Divine Wisdom, through which the Divine will acts. This thought, developed in Prov. 8, is the first link in the chain which connects this “Wisdom” with the Divine Word, the Logos of John’s Gospel. Compare Psa 33:6; Joh 1:3. The words of the writer of the Proverbs take their place among the proofs of the dogmatic statements of the Nicene Creed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain We have seen wisdom, as it is in man,…
We have seen wisdom, as it is in man, with all its enriching blessings. Here we behold its majesty, as it is in the bosom of God, and gloriously displayed in his works. ’Hereby he showeth, that this wisdom, whereof he speaketh, was everlasting, because it was before all creatures; and that all things, even the whole world, were made by it.’†1 Behold it founding the earth "upon nothing;" and yet "so sure, that it cannot be moved." (Job 26:7 . Psa 93:1 .) See how this great Architect hath established the heavens, fixing all their bright luminaries in their respective orbits (Gen 1:14-16 . Psa 136:5 . Jer 10:12 ; Jer 51:15 ) — ’such a glorious canopy set with such sparkling diamonds!’†2 Each of these departments declares his knowledge — In the earth, by breaking up the depths, and gathering them up into rivers and streams for the refreshment of man. (Pro 8:24-29 . Gen 1:9-10 . Job 38:8-12 . Psa 104:8-13 ) — In the heavens, by collecting the moisture into dew, and dropping down fatness upon the parched ground;†3 each of these countless drops falling from this Fountain of life. (Job 38:28 .) Thus does every particle of the universe glitter with infinite skill (Psa 104:24 .) The earth is its pavement, and the heavens — its ceiling; both miracles of wisdom, to "declare the glory of God." (Psa 19:1 .) How beautiful is the uniformity of the two great systems of God! Both are the work of the same Architect. Both display the wisdom and knowledge of God. (Joh 1:1-14 . Eph 1:8 ; Eph 3:10 . Col 1:13-17 .) The universe is a parable, a mirror of the gospel. The manifestation of these Divine Perfections in the field of Creation opens a rich provision for our happiness. Much more let their more glorious exhibition in the great work of redemption fill us with adoring praise — "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"†4
Footnotes
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†1 Reformers’ Notes.
†2 Leighton’s beautiful fragment on Psa 8:1-9 . Works, vol. ii.
†3 Gen 27:28-29. There is a philosophical difficulty in supposing "the clouds to drop down with dew," which is the moisture rising from the lower region, sometimes a very few feet from the earth. In the East, however, the dew is said to fall from a considerable height. Gesenius states, that the Hebrew word represents a ’gentle rain.’
†4 Rom 11:33. Full of profound thought are the words of our admirable Hooker — ’That which moveth God to work is Goodness; that which ordereth his work is Wisdom; that which perfecteth his work is Power. All things, which God in these times and seasons hath brought forth, were eternally and before all time in God; as a work unbegun is in the artificer, which afterwards bringeth it into effect. Therefore whatsoever we do behold now in this present world, it was enwrapped within the bowels of Divine Mercy, written in the book of Eternal Wisdom, and held in the hands of Omnipotent Power, the first foundations of the earth being as yet unlaid. So that all things which God hath made are in that respect the Offspring of God. They are in him, as effects in their highest cause. He likewise is actually in them; the assistance and influence of his Deity is their life.’ — Book v. lvi.5.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Wisdom. Hitherto he had spoken of that virtue. Now…
Wisdom. Hitherto he had spoken of that virtue. Now he treats of the uncreated wisdom, (Calmet) which is God the Son. (Menochius) (Jansenius) (St. Gregory, Mor. xii. 4.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The place of wisdom in the economy of creation…
The place of wisdom in the economy of creation and providence commends it to men, who, in proportion to their finite powers, may possess this invaluable attribute, and are thus encouraged by the divine example of its use to seek its possession.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19, 20. The Lord by wisdom — These verses…
19, 20. The Lord by wisdom — These verses seem to be added for the purpose of commending, in the strongest manner, the pursuit of wisdom. It is an attribute of God himself. By attaining and appreciating true wisdom, a man comes into communion with Jehovah, and participates with him in the enjoyment of the same excellency; for it is in or by wisdom that he performs all his works, some samples of which are given — a part for all. The terms here rendered wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, refer, with some discrimination, to the same thing. They are so often interchanged that we may conclude variety of diction to be chiefly the object, and not the expression of ideas substantially different.
Founded the earth… established the heavens — There is nothing in these terms inconsistent with our modern discoveries in cosmogony and astronomy.
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The language is popular, phenomenal, and poetic, and, like all similar terms in the book, neither affirms nor denies any particular philosophical theory. The wise man spoke according to the popular, or, perhaps, rather, the poetical apprehension of things. The allusion, in Pro_3:20, to the depths being broken up, is of doubtful meaning. Some expositors understand it of the ordinary operations of nature in conducting fountains of water from the bowels of the earth; others, to the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep at the flood, (Gen_7:11;) others, again, to the original separating of the waters above and below the expanse, “firmament,” in Gen_1:6, in consequence of which the clouds drop down, or, as it might be rendered, the atmosphere distils, the dew upon the earth.
Clouds… dew — As there is nothing that to an understanding mind conveys a more impressive sense of the wisdom and beneficence of the Deity than the atmospheric arrangements of the globe, the latter meaning is a very beautiful and striking one: and as the preceding verse refers to the creation of the heavens and the earth, there would seem to be no inconsistency in so interpreting Pro_3:20, especially the latter clause, unless it might be thought that the ideas are too recondite and abstruse to be attributed to the ancient philosopher. We moderns, however, are gradually learning that the ancients knew more than we once gave them credit for. Comp. Gen_1:7; Gen_7:11; Job 38.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (e) Fifth Discourse:—Wisdom as Creator and Protector (Pro_3:19-26).
(e) Fifth Discourse:—Wisdom as Creator and Protector (Pro_3:19-26).
(19) The Lord by wisdom . . .—A passage anticipatory of the doctrine of Joh_1:3. (Comp. Psa_104:24; Psa_136:5.) A further advance towards the personality of the Creator is made in Pro_8:27, sqq.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 19-26. Fifth hortatory discourse. Wisdom, the creative power…
Vers. 19-26. Fifth hortatory discourse. Wisdom, the creative power of God, exhibited as the protection of those who fear God. The teacher in this discourse presents Wisdom under a new aspect. Wisdom is the Divine power of God, by which he created the world, and by which he sustains the work of his hands and regulates the operations of nature. This eminence of Wisdom, in her intimate association with Jehovah, is made the basis of a renewed exhortation to keep Wisdom steadily in view. The elevated thought that Wisdom has her source in Jehovah might seem in itself an adequate and sufficient reason for the exhortation. But another motive is adduced intimately bound up with this view of Wisdom. Jehovah becomes the ground of confidence and the protection in all conditions of life of those who keep Wisdom.
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth. The emphatic position of the word Jehovah, "the Lord," at the beginning of the sentence, (cf. Ps 27 Ps 97 Ps 99) as well as the nature of the discourse, indicates a new paragraph. The description of the creative Wisdom of Jehovah may have been suggested to the mind of the teacher by the mention of the tree of life, in ver. 18 (Zockler); but the connection between this and the preceding passage has to be sought for in something deeper. The scope of the teacher is to exhibit, and so to recommend, Wisdom in every respect, and after showing her excellence in man, he now brings her forward as the medium of creation, and hence in her relation to God. By wisdom (b"kokhmah); Vulgate, sapientia; LXX, sofia . It is evident that Wisdom is here something more than an attribute of Jehovah. "By Wisdom" means "by, or through, the instrumentality of Wisdom." While the corresponding and parallel expressions, "understanding," "knowledge," militate against the idea of a hypostatizing of Wisdom, i.e. assigning to Wisdom a concrete and objective personality, yet the language is sufficiently strong, when we connect this passage with ch. 1 and 8, to warrant our regarding Wisdom as something apart from yet intimately connected with Jehovah, as an active agency employed by him, and hence this description may. be looked upon as an anticipation of that which is more fully developed in ch. 8., where the characteristics which are wanting here are there worked out at length. The rabbins evidently connected the passage before us, as well as ch. 1 and 8, with Gen_1:1, by rendering b"reshith, "in the beginning." by b"kokhmah, "by Wisdom." Our Lord identifies himself with the Divine Sophia, or Wisdom. (Luk_11:49) And the language of St. John, "All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made", (Joh_1:3) which assigns to the Logos, or Word of God, i.e. Christ, the act of creation, (cf. Joh_1:10, and especially the language of St. Paul, in Col_1:16) argues in favour of the view of some commentators who understand Wisdom to refer to the Second Person of the Trinity. The Logos was understood by Alexandrian Judaism to express the manifestation of the unseen God, the Absolute Being, in the creation and government of the world; and the Christian teachers, when they adopted this term, assigned to it a concrete meaning as indicating the Incarnate Word (see Bishop Lightfoot, in Col_1:15). For the passage, see Psa_33:6 Psa_104:24 Psa_136:5; and especially Jer_10:12, "He hath established the world by his wisdom," etc.; Jer_51:55; Ecc 24:2, seq. Hath founded (yasod); Vulgate, fundavit; LXX, eyemeliwse . The same verb is used in Job_38:4 Psa_24:2 Psa_78:69, of the creation of the earth by God. While the primary meaning of yasad is "to give fixity to," "to lay fast," that of konen, rendered "he hath established," is "to set up," "to erect," and so "to found," from kun, or referring to the Arabic and Ethiopic cognate root, "to exist," "to give existence to." The marginal reading, "prepared," corresponds with the LXX etoimase . The Vulgate is stabilivit, "he hath established.
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Vers. 19, 20. Wisdom the principle of the creation.
Perhaps the mention of the tree of life has reminded the writer of the early account of the creation in Genesis 1, it. He thus traces the visible world and its order to its spiritual root in the mind of God. He gives a brief sketch of the construction of the cosmos, according to the ancient mode of thought. Both heaven and earth are fixed and made fast; and the water masses divided into those above and those below the "firmament;" the consequence of which is the gushing forth of the clouds in rain. The modern scientific knowledge of the world may be used to impart a rich context to these simple conceptions of the early imagination.
I THE WORLD IS AN ORDER. The Greeks expressed this idea in the beautiful word "cosmos." It includes symmetry, beauty, variety, harmony, adaptation of means to ends. To recognize these in the visible world is an intellectual delight, and a motive to the purest reverence.
II THIS ORDER IS REDUCIBLE TO A UNITY. Formerly we looked Upon the world as a collection of independent forces. Science showed us the correlation, interdependence, interaction of these forces. Now she has risen to the grand conception of the unity of all force; and thus arrives at the same goal with religious thought.
III THAT UNITY OF FORCE IS GOD. It is often forgotten that the generalizations of science are but logical distinctions cause, law, force, etc. What are these without Being, Personality, as their ground? Empty names. Religion fills these forms with life, and where the scientific man speaks of law, she bows before the living God.
IV SCIENCE AND RELIGION ARE AT ONE. When we talk of their opposition, we are using a figure of speech. What they represent, these names, is two different directions of the spiritual activity of man. What needs to be cured is narrowness and partialism on the side of both scientific and religious men. For there is no real cleft in the nature of our knowledge. All genuine knowledge is essentially a knowledge of God, of the Infinite revealed in and through the finite. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth.
Pro_3:19
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth.
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Earthly and heavenly wisdom
There is but one wisdom for God and man. Mans true wisdom is a pattern of Gods wisdom. A man to prosper in the world must get the very same wisdom by which God made and rules the world. In the last hundred years science has improved in a most wonderful way, and is improving every day. This improvement has taken place simply by mankind understanding this text, and obeying it. For more than sixteen hundred years after our Lords time mankind seem to have become hardly any wiser about earthly things, nay, even to have gone back; but about two hundred and fifty years ago it pleased God to open the eyes of one of the wisest men who ever lived, Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, and to show him the real and right way of learning by which men can fulfil Gods command to replenish the earth and subdue it. He taught that the only way for man to be wise was to get Gods wisdom, the wisdom with which He had founded the earth, and find out Gods laws by which He had made this world. You can only subdue nature by obeying her. You can only subdue a thing and make it useful to you by finding out the rules by which God made that thing, and by obeying them. If you want to rule, you must obey. If you want to rise to be a master, you must stoop to be a servant. If you want to be master of anything in earth or heaven, you must obey Gods will revealed in that thing; and the man who will go his own way, and follow his own fancy, will understand nothing, and master nothing, and get comfort out of nothing in earth or heaven. The same rule which holds good in this earthly world which we do see holds good in the heavenly world which we do not see. The same rules which hold good about mens bodies hold good about their souls. The heavenly wisdom which begins in trusting in the Lord with all our hearts, the heavenly wisdom which is learnt by chastenings and afflictions, and teaches us that we are the sons of God, is the very same wisdom by which God founded the earth, and makes the clouds drop down dew. Gods wisdom is one--unchangeable, everlasting, and always like itself; and by the same wisdom by which He made our bodies has He made our souls; and therefore we can, and are bound to, glorify Him alike in our bodies and our spirits, for both are His. Illustrate: The only sure way of getting power over people is by making friends of them, making them love and trust us. The Lord Jesus ate and drank with publicans and sinners, who went out into the highways and hedges, to bring home into Gods kingdom poor wretches whom men despised and cast off. Christ also pleased not Himself. There was the perfect fulfilment of the great law--stoop to conquer. Christ stooped lower than any man, and therefore He rose again higher than all men. (Charles Kingsley.)
Divine purpose in nature and revelation
Faith in God and the obedience which arises from faith have at all times, and in almost all circumstances, been beset with difficulties. Counter influences to the work of the Holy Spirit of God have been supplied by the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. But, in addition to this constant action in the same direction of the world, the flesh, and the devil, there are also agencies, which vary with time and place, and the nature of which it is very desirable that we should examine and recognise with reference to the time and place in which our own lot may happen to be cast. Mathematicians are familiar with formulae composed of terms, one of which shall be constant and the others circulating with the time. I would venture to compare the dangers of infidelity to such a mathematical formula. First you have your great constant term, the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil; strong in Eden as it is now, strong now as it was in Eden; but then you have a number of terms which increase and decrease in magnitude, depending on time and place and circumstances, some such as we can afford to neglect, some which we shall neglect at our peril. Some of the difficulties and trials of faith are not more dangerous than extinct volcanoes, like those of which we find the traces in these islands; some like Vesuvius have been mischievous in time not so long past, and may become mischievous again; others are in active operation and are dangerous now. What corresponds to the active volcano in our time?
I. Let me lead up to the answer to this question by first indicating some few active or conceivable dangers to faith which do not seem to me to be the special danger of our own time.
1. Suppose, for example, that in an unscientific age people have built up a cosmical system which makes the earth the centre of things, and arranges all else in accordance with this fundamental hypothesis--translating, in fact, into the form of a geocentric theory the mere rough, uncorrected impressions of the senses: and suppose that the theory so constructed comes to be regarded as a truth of Divine revelation, so that men see their theory reflected from the page of Holy Scripture, and not unnaturally consider the truth of one bound up with the truthfulness of the other. Then, it seems manifest, that the first discovery of the fact that the earth is not the centre of the universe, but only a tiny ball, the extinction of which would scarcely affect the solar system, and would be absolutely imperceptible as a loss to the sum of existing matter, would of necessity shake the minds of men who had been led to regard their theory of the heavens and the earth as a portion of revealed truth, and that some would probably fall from their faith. The Church has gone through such an experience as this. The volcano is extinct now.
2. Again, suppose that an artificial theological system has arisen, and that ingenious men, puzzled by the mysteries of Christian faith, have devoted their energies to attempts to explain them; or, if not to explain them, at all events to formulate them, and to make it possible to express in precise language that which probably language is incapable of expressing. Suppose, for example, that you have a subtle distinction between substance and accidents, and that you apply this distinction to define by language the nature of the presence of Christ in the holy Sacrament: you build up, in fact, the dogma of transubstantiation; and devout worshippers accept the dogma, and to question its truth is considered equivalent to denying the faith itself. What is to happen when the progress of human thought, or the discernment of some God-given teacher, blows the subtle figment of substance and accidents to the winds, and leads men to deny that the presence of Christ can be expressed by any such formula as that which transubstantiation professes to be? Is it not probable that the explosion of a dogma so closely bound up in general opinion with Christian orthodoxy will shake many minds?
3. But there is another danger, not connected with intellectual subtleties, of which the transition from Mediaeval to Reformation times affords an example, and of which, unfortunately, there have been examples since. The thing which brought on the Reformation more than anything else was the unholy lives of men--pope, priest, and people. And the want of holiness on the part of those who should be patterns to the flock has ever been, and ever will be, when it is conspicuous, one of the principal stumbling-blocks that can be placed in the way of those who would follow Christ. This volcano is not extinct. I fear it never will be.
4. Once more, it is not so long ago since we were told, on high authority, that the peculiar danger to the faith belonging to our own days was that which arose from the destructive results of modern criticism. But God was with His servants in the burning fiery furnace; and I think I am only saying that which expresses the conclusions of some of our soundest scholars, when I assert that the Gospels have come out of the furnace unhurt, and that the smell of fire has not passed upon them.
II. Well, then, what is our special difficulty or danger just now? It seems to me that it may be described by such a phrase as this: the denial of the being of God on the ground of supposed scientific conclusions. The fool, says the psalmist twice over, hath said in his heart, There is no God; and, if it were only the fool who said so, he might very well be left alone in his folly. No, we must accept the fact that a certain number of persons of high scientific position tell us that a careful examination of nature leads to the conclusion that it exhibits no purpose, and that it is all evolved out of primeval matter without any creative power such as that which believers in God are wont to assume. Fix your mind upon this one point. I am going to put out of the question the beneficence of the Creator, and the moral order of the universe, because I wish to concentrate attention upon the one consideration of purpose or design; if there be no design, there cannot well be beneficence or morality, and if there be design, beneficence and morality will (so to speak) take care of themselves. Moreover, design is that which is much more closely connected with physical studies than beneficence and morality. Give me design in the visible region of nature, and I shall have no fear as to the possibility of detecting the manifestation of purpose and will in the region of morals and of grace. But take design out of nature, tell me that the heavens and the earth are spontaneously evolved out of matter (whatever that may mean), that the men, and beasts, and creeping things are one, that the life of man has come from nothing, is nothing, and tends to nothing--and then I confess that all the glory of the universe, all the brightness of existence, all that makes life worth living, seems to me to be gone, and that there is nothing hopeful or joyous left. When I am told by a man of scientific eminence that it is only superficial observers who attribute purpose to nature, and that if I examine sufficiently I shall find that all things come of themselves, it seems to me that this is very much like telling me that ignorant folks may imagine that there is some purpose in locomotive engines, but that if any one will visit Crewe, and see them made, he will put aside all notion of purpose as unworthy of an educated mind. The ordinary observer who sees a train pass at full speed may have an ignorant feeling of wonder at the machine which moves it, while the careful observer in the factory will see that, after all, a locomotive engine is a comparatively simple affair, and easily made when you know how to do it; but there need be, and there ought to be, no difference of opinion as to the wisdom by which the locomotive was made and the understanding by which it was established. And so life is as completely a mystery, and as truly Divine, whether you read in Genesis that God spake the word and living things were made, or whether you read in modern books of the evolution of protoplasm. I take my stand upon design as upon a foundation stone; if any one denies it, I can go no further; to attempt to do so would be like discussing optics with a person who did not believe in sunshine, or geometry with a man who denied Euclids axioms. Granting, however, the existence of design within the small region of our own experience, we feel a logical and imperative necessity of postulating design beyond that region. This necessity extends, I think, to the whole material universe. I, who can examine my own frame and the mechanism of the world, and the countless arrangements by which the order of things is maintained, feel myself compelled to conclude that the same principle extends to those parts of the universe which I cannot so directly or so completely examine. I know that gravitation and light extend over space immeasurable, I can have no doubt as to the principle of design extending quite as far; in fact, I feel it to be an inevitable, if not an absolutely logical, conclusion, that the whole material universe is the outcome of one mind, and is governed by that same mind. But this is not the whole of the argument, or even the most important part of it. The transition from design in the material world to purpose in the moral world seems inevitable. Great intellects amongst ourselves do not employ themselves in merely making ingenious toys; the steam-engine would never have been constructed if the comfort of man and the needs of commerce had not demanded it. And this world deprived of its moral aspects, what would it be but a gigantic toy? Is it conceivable that there should be design in every sinew, and nerve, and limb of which mans body is composed, and no purpose in those thoughts, and affections, and feelings, and aspirations, and hopes, which are as truly a part of himself as his heart or his lungs? Let it be granted that purpose in nature is a delusion, and that evolution will explain everything, and then, no doubt, this argument all vanishes; if there be no purpose in nature, then it is impossible to argue that there is any purpose extending beyond nature; but let it be once admitted that the hand and brain of man are full of purpose, and then I think it is difficult not to extend the admission from the wonderful region in which mans hand and brain are occupied to a more wonderful region still, which transcends nature altogether. In other words, it is difficult to believe that God, having manifested a great purpose in the formation of man, has not a still greater purpose concerning him and his destiny. The step from nature to revelation, though in one sense a long one, in another sense seems to be no step at all; the purpose of which I have, as I believe, a clear proof in natural science, indicates a deeper and better, though more mysterious purpose still. Mans endowments are too great for the mere prince or primus of the animal world; his spiritual nature is cabind, cribbd, confind in a mere mortal tenement of flesh and blood; and, therefore, when I read of God speaking to man, making His will known, giving him commands which it is life to obey and death to resist, condescending to receive from man worship and love, I seem to find in all this the proper corollary to all that nature teaches me concerning design in the construction of man; it makes man, of course, a more mysterious being than he would otherwise have seemed to be; but, on the other hand, it makes the history of man--taken as a whole--more simple and more intelligible, because it supplies an adequate solution of the questions, What is man? and Why was man created? And thus we seem to pass by a safe and sure path from the simplest indication of design in nature to the highest doctrine of Divine revelation. Oh, what has happened in these latter years of the worlds history to snatch from us the blessed inheritance of faith in God, which has come down to us from the days of our fathers? I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth--is there anything in science to deprive us of this great truth? Does not science emphasise the word Maker, and at least nod assent when the human heart adds the word Father? And though science may have got to the end of its teaching in this article of the creed, is there not something in the conception of a God and Father, which leads up to the belief in a revelation made to His children through Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord? And certainly if Jesus Christ be accepted in the fulness of His manifested being, there can be little difficulty in accepting as the crown of Divine Revelation the blessed truth of the being of the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life. If I am told that scientific discovery is depriving me of all that I most value, if men who pretend to guide me declare that the faith of Christendom is folly, and desire again to raise altars to The Unknown God, if I am told that there is no purpose in nature and that therefore I myself am purposeless and meaningless, a mere bubble upon the infinite stream of time, am I not justified in contending with all my might against such a pitiless system, and in claiming God as my Father, and the knowledge of Him as my most precious possession? (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_3:20. Depths, &c., “were the floods divided” into rivers…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_3:20. Depths, &c., “were the floods divided” into rivers and streams for the blessing of man. Dew, or “gentle rain,” or else the clouds signify the lower regions of the atmosphere where the dew is formed.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_3:19-20
ONE OF THE PROOFS OF GOD’S WISDOM
I. God had a personal existence before the world. If we say that a man founded an institution—built a house—we imply that he existed before the institution or the house, and that he exists as a separate identity from that which he has built or founded.
II. The world did not come by chance—it is not an orphan; it had a Creator, a Father. The world is not eternal. The Lord founded it. He “laid the foundations of the earth” (Job.).
III. That the world which God has made bears the impress of Infinite Wisdom. Scientific investigation and discovery bear out the assertion of Solomon, that the Lord “by wisdom founded the earth.” The discoveries of astronomers reveal to us more and more the “understanding” which “established the heavens.” Solomon here selects one example of the wisdom of God, as displayed in relation to the earth, viz., the process by which it is watered—by which God “maketh it soft with showers, and thus blesseth the springing thereof” (Psa_65:10), and so gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. This “philosophy of rain,” as it has been called, is one which illustrates creative wisdom in a remarkable manner. Dr. Ure says, “To understand the philosophy of the beautiful and often sublime phenomenon, so often witnessed since the creation of the world, and essential to the very existence of plants and animals, a few facts derived from observation and a long train of experiments must be remembered.
(1) Were the atmosphere everywhere at all times of a uniform temperature we should never have rain, or hail, or snow; the water absorbed by it in evaporation from the sea and the earth’s surface would descend in an imperceptible vapour, or cease to be absorbed by the air when it was once fully saturated.
(2) The absorbing power of the atmosphere, and consequently its capability to retain humidity, is proportionately greater and warmer than in cold air.
(3) The air near the surface of the earth is warmer than it is in the region of the clouds. The higher we ascend from the earth, the colder do we find the atmosphere. Hence the perpetual snow on very high mountains in the hottest climate. Now, when from continued evaporation the air is highly saturated with vapour, though it be invisible and the sky cloudless,—if its temperature be suddenly reduced by cold currents descending from above, or rushing from a higher to a lower latitude, its capacity to retain moisture is diminished, clouds are formed, and the result is rain. Air condenses as it cools, and, like a sponge filled with water and compressed, pours out the water which it cannot hold. How singular, yet how simple, the philosophy of rain. Who but Omniscience could have devised such an admirable arrangement for watering the earth?” Solomon could not have known how the earth was watered, but he knew enough to awaken his admiration of Providential love and skill.
IV. The exhibition of God’s wisdom in creation is intended to lead men to listen to his Word of Revelation. To this end the subject is introduced here by the preacher. When such a Being speaks, it must be worth men’s while to listen and obey. The heavens and earth have a speech or language (Psa_19:1-2). They counsel us to seek Him who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,”—Him “whose word shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_3:19. Hitherto Wisdom has been thought of in relation to men. Now the question comes: What is she in relation to God? and the answer is: That the creative act implies a Divine wisdom, through which the Divine will acts. We have, as it were, the first link of the chain which connects this wisdom with the Divine Word, the Logos of St. John’s Gospel (Joh_1:3).—Plumptre.
The wisdom, so spiritual as to belong only to the pious, nevertheless has its reachings into all wisdom, as we saw in chap. Pro_1:10, where it is called “wisdoms,” as embracing all forms of it. Creative wisdom, therefore, is part of the broad array. But now, as a more important teaching, creative wisdom must include the spiritual. God could not found the heavens without that holy character that makes the system possible. Its enormous intricacies could not be kept up without the harmonising influences of holiness. Government, of course, is built upon it; justice, of course, is a part of it; and the whole world would be an unmeaning mass unless Jehovah, by wisdom, shaped it, viz., in those diviner forms in which He is the governor as well as the builder and original schemer of the universe. God would not have built the world without holiness, and therefore, in the very strictest sense, “by wisdom He founded” the heavens, because only that holy light, which is the light of love, could be the inspiring motive for building the habitations of His creatures. We are to understand this verse as meaning, therefore, first, that creative light merges into all light, as one grand omniscience; but, second, that creative light would be nothing without spiritual light; that God’s love and justice were the very spring and harmonious law whereon all are builded.—Miller.
The spirit of the recommendation seems to be that, as it is “the Lord which giveth wisdom,” that which comes from such a source must be worthy the desire and the solicitation. Think of what Wisdom, as it exists in Deity, has done!—the wonders it hath wrought! This will recommend God’s lessons.—Wardlaw.
The river and the fountain are both of one nature, and when pure water hath been looked on in the stream, it is a pleasant thing to behold it in the conduit head.—Muffet.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Yahweh founded the earth ... established the heavens
Yahweh founded the earth ... established the heavens
The writer speaks of Yahweh creating the earth and the heavens as if he were laying the foundation of a building. AT: "Yahweh created the earth ... made the heavens" (See: Metaphor)
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the depths broke open
In ancient thought, water existed under the earth. This phrase refers to Yahweh causing that water to come out of the earth and make the oceans and rivers exist. AT: "he caused the rivers to flow" or "he caused the oceans to exist" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
dew
water that forms on the ground at night
translationWords
wise
Yahweh
found
earth
heaven
know
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:19-20 God’s wisdom created harmony in the universe. Having…
3:19-20 God’s wisdom created harmony in the universe. Having wisdom means living in conformity with principles embedded in creation.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.