He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth.
Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor when you embrace her.
She will give to your head a garland of grace. She will deliver a crown of splendor to you.”
Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.
I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths.
When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.
Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 11, 12 Meaning, David his father.
Meaning, David his father.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–13 Pro 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto…
Pro 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
Ver. 4. He taught me also.] As Cato taught his own children, and took it for no disgrace, though so great a man. "Nurture" is as necessary for children as nourishment, {Eph 6:4} which they that neglect to bestow upon them. are peremptores potius quam parentes - not parents, but parricides. One cause of Julian’s apostasy was his two heathenish tutors, Libanius and Jamblicus, from whom he drank in great profaneness. Doubtless David had Nathan the prophet, and the best he could get, to breed up his son in the best things, but yet so as himself had a main stroke in the business.
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And said unto me.] Jacobus Valentinus, {a} and some others, grounded an opinion from these words, that Solomon received this whole book of Proverbs following from his father David; but that is no way likely. The substance of his father’s doctrine he briefly sets forth in this and the five following verses, and then proceeds in his own words.
Retain my words.] As the good stomach doth food; as the good earth doth seed; that is, bene occatum, et occultatum, saith one.
{a} Praefat. in Cant. Cantic.
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 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 Said unto me: the following verses, at least as…
Said unto me: the following verses, at least as far as the 10th verse, are propounded as the words of David, that the name of so great a king and holy a prophet might add the more authority and efficacy to his counsels.
And live, i.e. thou shalt live. It is a promise in the form of a command, as Pro 3:25.
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 On vv4–13 He taught me also, and said unto me,.... The…
He taught me also, and said unto me,.... The Targum is,
"they taught me,''
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his father and his mother; and so the Septuagint version,
"who said and taught me;''
and the Arabic version,
"they both taught me, and said unto me;''
but in the Hebrew it is singular, and is restrained to the father. He taught him when he was very young, and also gave him instructions when he was older, and a little before his own death; see Ch1 28:8; he taught him by the several psalms he wrote; some of which are called "maschil", instructive or causing to understand; two of them particularly were written for him, the seventy-second and the hundred twenty-seventh psalms; he taught him in the following words. How far the words of David his father reach is not agreed on, on all hands; some think they end with Pro 4:5; others with Pro 4:6, others with the Pro 4:9, and the words of Solomon begin at Pro 4:10, some will have it that they take in the whole chapter, which is not probable; nay, others say that the whole of the book following is his, which can by no means be agreed to: it seems most likely to me that they end at Pro 4:6, and at most are not to be carried beyond Pro 4:9;
let thine heart retain my words: says David to his son: the instructions he gave him by word of mouth, concerning his moral behaviour, relating to political things, the government of the people; and especially such as concerned the everlasting welfare of his soul, or were about Wisdom or Christ, and the knowledge of divine and spiritual things; these he would have him lay up in his heart, and keep them there, as a rich treasure, to have recourse unto upon all occasions;
keep my commandments, and live: which commandments may respect him both in his private and public capacity, and in a religious and political one; how he should behave as a man, a king, and one that feared God: as well as they may respect his orders for the building of the temple, and settling and establishing the worship of God in it; by observing which he would live comfortably and honourably, and to a good old age.
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 On vv4, 7, 8, 9 Said - The following verses, at least as far…
Said - The following verses, at least as far as the tenth verse, are the words of David.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 Verse 4. He taught me also, and said] Open…
Verse 4. He taught me also, and said] Open thy heart to receive my instructions-receive them with affection; when heard, retain and practise them; and thou shalt live-the great purpose of thy being brought into the world shall be accomplished in thee.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 10 Pro 4:4-9. He taught me also, and said unto…
Pro 4:4-9. He taught me also, and said unto me — The following verses, at least as far as the tenth, are represented as containing the words of David, Solomon’s father, that the name of so great a king, and so holy a prophet, might add the more authority and efficacy to his counsels. Keep my commandments and live — That is, thou shalt live. It is a promise in the form of a command, as Pro 3:25. Get wisdom, &c., neither decline, &c. — From the belief and practice of my words. Love her, and she shall keep thee — He intimates that it is not enough to do what is good, which may sometimes proceed from worldly or sinful motives, but that we must have a sincere and fervent love to it. Wisdom is the principal thing — The most excellent of all possessions. With all thy getting get understanding — Even with the price of all, though it cost thee the loss of all that thou hast; or, in, or among all. While thou labourest for other things, see, especially, that thou do not neglect this. Exalt her — Let her have thy highest esteem and affection. She shall bring thee to honour — Both with God and men, which Solomon knew by experience. She shall give to thy head, &c. — An acceptable or beautiful ornament, such as they used to put upon their heads; shall put upon thy head a crown of glory that shall never wither. So far he seems to be repeating the words which David spake to him.
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 On v4 The counsel which has come to him, in substance,…
The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2Sa 23:2 etc.; 1Ch 28:9; 1Ch 29:17; Psa 15:1-5; Psa 24:1-10; Ps. 37.
Pro 4:7
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Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain.
Pro 4:12
The ever-recurring parable of the journey of life. In the way of wisdom the path is clear and open, obstacles disappear; in the quickest activity (“when thou runnest”) there is no risk of falling.
Pro 4:13
She is thy life - Another parallel between personified Wisdom in this book and the Incarnate Wisdom in Joh 1:4.
Pro 4:16
A fearful stage of debasement. Sin is the condition without which there can be no repose.
Pro 4:17
i. e., Bread and wine gained by unjust deeds. Compare Amo 2:8. A less probable interpretation is, “They eat wickedness as bread, and drink violence as wine.” Compare Job 15:16; Job 34:7.
Pro 4:18
Shining ... shineth - The two Hebrew words are different; the first having the sense of bright or clear. The beauty of a cloudless sunshine growing on, shining as it goes, to the full and perfect day, is chosen as the fittest figure of the ever increasing brightness of the good man’s life. Compare the marginal reference.
Pro 4:19
Compare our Lord’s teaching Joh 11:10; Joh 12:35.
Pro 4:20
The teacher speaks again in his own person.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On v10 It is instructive to see a king (whether David…
It is instructive to see a king (whether David or Solomon) not forgetting in the midst of his royal cares his domestic responsibilities. We are told — ’Youth will have its swing.’ ’So’ — adds an old Commentator solemnly — ’it may — to hell.’†1 For where else can a wayward will lead? Let us see the need of guidance of every step, both to take and to avoid. The ways of wisdom assure a happy life in the favor of God. (1Ti 4:8, with Pro 3:1-2 . Psa 34:12-14 . 1Pe 3:10-12 .) And what rest to the parent’s conscience on the deathbed will be the recollection of children, not brought up for the world, but taught in these ways! Yet this cannot be, if the rod, when needed, has been spared; if the will has been indulged; the love of the world cherished. This will be — if godly discipline has been exercised; if the Bible has been laid down as the rule of life; if habits of prayer, love to the service of God, fellowship with his people, have been encouraged. The path, though rough and sometimes lonely, is a right path, and a path of liberty. (Psa 119:32, Psa 119:45 .) The single eye will preserve a steady walk. (Pro 10:9 . Isa 48:17-18 . Mat 6:22 .) Thou shalt run, and shalt not stumble. (Pro 3:21-26 . Hos 14:9 .)
And yet the animated exhortation to take fast hold, shows the struggle necessary to retain our principles. Feeble, indeed, is our hold, when connected merely with the excitement of novelty (Mat 13:20-21 ), temporary convictions (Psa 78:34-36 ; Psa 106:12-13 ), the restraint of education (2Ch 12:1 ; 2Ch 24:2, 2Ch 24:15-18 ), unestablished knowledge (Gal 3:1-4 ), or the indulgence of sin. (Mar 6:18-26 .) Truths received only in the understanding, not becoming the daily nourishment of the soul, never fix on the heart. The fast hold of instruction is by a personal living faith; including an intense interest, and persevering pursuit; "continuing in the things which we have heard and been assured of;" cleaving with purpose of heart unto the Lord. (2Ti 3:14 . Act 11:23 ; Act 2:42 .) As Jacob detained the angel (Gen 32:26-29 ); as the spouse held fast hold of her Beloved (Song of Son 3:4 ); as the disciples "constrained the Savior to abide with them" (Luk 24:28-29 ) — So — young Christian — let her not go, Keep her, as the man "for joy" guarded his precious treasure. (Mat 13:44 .) So let thy heavenly treasure stand above every earthly blessing. Thus will it be thy life. (Pro 3:18 . Ecc 7:12 .) And while others "turn back, and walk no more" in the way, thine heart will turn to its only spring of happiness — "Lord, to whom shall I go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." (Joh 6:67-69 .)
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Footnotes
†1 Taylor.
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 On vv4, 7 He. Hebrew is masculine. (Calmet) --- As David instructed…
He. Hebrew is masculine. (Calmet) --- As David instructed his son, so the latter teaches all how they may learn wisdom. (Worthington)
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 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 He taught--or directed me.
He taught--or directed me.
retain--as well as receive.
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keep . . . and live--observe, that you may live (Pro 7:2).
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 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 4. He taught — Directed.
4. He taught — Directed.
Retain — Rather, lay hold of, or hold fast.
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Keep — Guard or watch; implying careful effort. Comp. 1Ch_28:9-10; 1Ch_29:19.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 11, 12 4. he taught me also] Rather, and he taught…
4. he taught me also] Rather, and he taught me, R.V.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 7, 8, 13 (4) He taught me also.—Comp. David’s advice to Solomon…
(4) He taught me also.—Comp. David’s advice to Solomon (l Chron. 28:9, 10).
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 On vv4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 From this verse to ver. 19 inclusive, the teacher…
From this verse to ver. 19 inclusive, the teacher quotes the instruction which he had received of his father. His object in doing so is to show that his own teaching was in harmony with it, and therefore worthy of attention. His precepts, admonitions, and warnings are not his only, but those of his father. Other examples of David"s instructions to Solomon are found in 1Ki_2:2 1Ch_22:12, 13 28:9. And he taught; i.e. his father, for vayyoreni is masculine. The LXX renders, "They said and taught me (oi elegon kai edidaskon me )," as if the precepts which follow were the combined teaching of David and Bathsheba. This variation is due to the mention of both parents in the preceding verse. Retain; yith"mok, kal future, used imperatively, of thamak, "to take hold of," and metaphorically, as here, "to hold fast". (see Pro_3:18) The LXX Renders ereidetw , imperative of ereidw , "to fix firm." Symmachus has katecetw , "give heed to." And live; i.e. and thou shalt live, as the kal imperative, kh"yeh, from khayah, "to live," has here the force of the future (cf. Vulgate, et vives). The meaning is, "And thou shalt enjoy a long and happy life." Temporal life alone seems to be indicated, as in ver. 10. (cf. Pro_3:2) The Syriac addition, "And my law as the apple of thine eye," is probably borrowed from Pro_7:2, where we meet with the mine admonition.
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 On vv7, 8, 10, 12, 13 Wisdom is the principal thing.
Pro_4:7
Wisdom is the principal thing.
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The principal thing
I. If we consider mans spiritual state in the sight of God.
II. If we consider mans present happiness. The true happiness of man has its foundation in wisdom. I go on the supposition of Christ that a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesseth. Happiness depends on the state of the mind. It is religion only which enlightens the understanding, which influences the heart, and which brings into the favour of high heaven. Man cannot be happy, because he is subject to passions and tempers which perplex and disturb him.
1. Religion brings us into a state of mind which is calculated to make us happy.
2. It gives a blessing to all around, and inspires contentment in every state.
III. If we consider the imperishable nature of this blessing. True religion accompanies us in life; it lives with us in death; it goes with us into eternity.
IV. If we consider its sovereign and peculiar influence in improving the world. This true wisdom shall one day produce such a change that heaven shall come down to earth and dwell among men. (J. Stewart.)
The summum bonum
A modern author says the chief good must unite the following qualities: It must be intellectual, or adapted to the higher and nobler part of our nature; attainable by all, of whatever sex, age, or mental conformation; unimpaired by distribution; independent of the circumstances of time or place; incapable of participation to excess; composed essentially of the same elements as the good to be enjoyed in a future state.
I. summum bonum described.
1. Consists in the possession of the highest knowledge.
2. In the application of the highest knowledge.
II. summum bonum sought.
1. Attentively.
2. Constantly.
3. Lovingly.
4. Supremely.
III. summum. Bonum enjoyed. It will be three things to us.
1. A guardian.
2. A patron.
3. A rewarder. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
The principal thing
I. What this wisdom is. Sometimes the word refers to our blessed Lord Himself. It also means that religion of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the sum and substance.
1. He is a wise man who knows himself. Till a man knows God he knows not himself. God is, in that sense, a glass, in which a man sees himself, and the nearer he comes to that glass the more he discerns himself. A man knows himself when, as a law- condemned sinner, as a sin-condemned sinner, and as a self-condemned sinner, he stands before the eye of God. Then there is self-acquaintance--not till then. He now reads the hardest book in the world. There is no book so hard as the book of a mans own heart.
2. He is a wise man who draws near to God in Christ. He is a wise man who, under a sentence of condemnation as in himself deserved, can in Christ know how to meet the holy Lord God with humble confidence.
3. He is a wise man who, in the midst of the crookedness of this world, is led to walk straightly with God.
4. He is a wise man who knows how to meet the trials of life.
II. Why is this wisdom called the principal thing? That is the principal thing which is the only abiding thing. True wisdom, like its source, is perennial, unchanging, everlasting. And it is the only satisfying thing. It comes from God; it leads to God. It comes from above; it leads to above. It is a principle of immortality, and it trains the soul and educates it for immortality.
III. The exhortation, get wisdom. Get it; then it is to be got. It is to be got in the way of seeking. For a man to feel his lack of wisdom is the beginning of wisdom.
1. Do not mistake a counterfeit for wisdom.
2. Avoid first declensions.
3. Make a conscience of secret prayer.
4. Avoid dangerous associations.
5. Take heed as to your books.
6. Study to show religion at home as well as abroad.
7. Live upon Christ.
As your soul is under the constraint of His love it weakens the world, it makes sin hateful, it raises above self, it purifies the motives, and brings a man to walk nearly, closely with God. (J. H. Evans, M.A.)
Divine wisdom
Divine wisdom only deserves the name of wisdom.
1. Because it converseth in the highest things.
2. Because it seeks to approve itself to God.
3. Because it is both the mother and guide, or chariot-driver, of all virtue, and guides it aright.
4. It is the greatest gift God ever gave man, for it directs him to Jesus Christ, the wisdom of the Father, without whom is no salvation, and therefore no true nor lasting gain by any other wisdom. Use: To reprove such as boast much of human sciences, but make no account of heavenly wisdom. (Francis Taylor, B. D.)
Grace is wisdom, and wisdom is the principal thing
I. The commendation of wisdom. By wisdom is meant Christ the Wisdom of God; and grace, which is the only wisdom in a man. This can be shown in two ways.
1. The Lord counts nothing wisdom but godliness, and this He doth everywhere style wisdom.
2. In Gods account all things are folly without grace. The heathen were the greatest artists and philosophers of the world, those that most inquired into the secrets of nature, as in Athens and Corinth, which were universities and places far more famous than any other for knowledge, tongues, and all abilities. Take the greatest statist and politician in the world, which hath also a great show and name for wisdom. Let him be without a principle of grace, and his own policies will prove his own snare. Take the greatest men in the world, and they are wise in their own conceits, yet is their life a vanity. Wisdom acts by the highest principles. According to a mans principles are the rules of his actions. These are some of the high and excellent principles that godliness lays in the soul.
(a) That the chief beauty of the creature is holiness.
(b) The happiness of the creature consists in communion with God.
(c) Sin is the greatest evil in the world.
(d) It is better to suffer than to sin.
(e) Things seen are but temporal.
II. An exhortation to get this wisdom.
1. The excellency of grace lies in a conformity unto God.
2. From this conformity there ariseth a communion.
3. Grace fits a man for the service of God.
4. Grace turns all that a godly man enjoyeth into a blessing.
5. Grace fills the soul with all spiritual excellences.
6. Grace will preserve a man from all evil. (William Strong.)
The principal thing
Wealth, power, ease, pleasure, intellectual greatness are thought by different persons to be the principal thing. God says, Wisdom is the principal thing.
I. In what does true religion consist? It embraces three things--regeneration, justification, and sanctification; and secures a fourth--glorification. Regeneration is a change of heart; justification a change of state; sanctification a change of character; glorification is the union and consummation of all other changes.
II. Why is true religion the principal thing?
1. Because it more exalts our nature and character than anything else can possibly do.
2. It puts man in possession of more solid and lasting enjoyment than anything else possibly can.
3. It provides for the whole scope of mans being, for soul and body, for time and eternity, for earth and heaven.
III. The applications of the subject. Get true religion--by forsaking everything previously sought as the principal thing; by repenting of the past, by coming to Christ in faith and prayer, by seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit; by imbuing the mind with gospel truths, submitting to its doctrines and precepts, and conforming the character to all its requirements. How great the happiness of those who have true religion! (Essex Remembrancer.)
Religion is wisdom
Mankind is constantly in search after happiness; they seek it in various ways of their own contrivance.
I. True religion is the soundest wisdom. Real religion, when it takes possession of the human bosom, always produces in its possessor a true concern for his everlasting salvation.
II. This wisdom is the principal thing, and therefore worthy of our earnest pursuit. If a man consult his own safety and happiness he will seek it in religion. Our safety and security are only in God. Religion opens to us enjoyments not to be found elsewhere. Religion adds to every mans relative usefulness. Only that usefulness which springs from religious principles will be lasting. Religion will be found to be the principal thing at the hour of death and at the day of judgment. (George Clayton.)
Religion mans only wisdom
I. The object that is set before us. We are to pursue wisdom and understanding. These words relate to that state of the human mind, when it is brought to apprehend Divine truths, and to apply those truths to the course of human action. A wise man is one who has gained, and who has taken home to his heart, the knowledge essential to the right guidance of his steps towards heaven. A man of understanding is one whose mind has been enlightened to a clear perception of right and wrong, and who has within him those just and holy principles of the law of God which lead him to pursue the good and to avoid the evil. The object pointed out to you is, the application of the science of religion to man in his present state, leading him to the discharge of duties which he owes to God, himself, and his fellow-creatures. There is no motive like a religious motive to insure the performance of a right action. There is no law equal to the law of God as a guide to what is good, and a check to what is evil. When this law reaches the heart, and becomes the governing principle of a mans conduct, it produces effects which you will look for in vain from the purest precepts of mere morality. Knowledge enlightens a man, and so great is its influence in this way, that many at the present day are actually making it the object of idolatry. We must not mistake the character of knowledge, or overrate her influence. She does much for a nation to civilise and polish it, but she does not teach us our duty to God, nor lead us to practise it. What is human knowledge compared with the knowledge of religion? Our main object through life should be to acquaint ourselves with the things of God, and to gain for our mind that Divine illumination that shall enable us to pass in safety through the varied temptations of the present world, and to reach the happiness of the next.
II. The supreme importance of this heavenly wisdom. The hearts of the fallen race of Adam are naturally fond of sensible objects. We are like little children, pleased with trifles; baubles amuse us; when, as beings destined for eternity, we ought to be contemplating heavens august realities. What have the men who have been most given to the things of the world gained even here by this earthliness? Surely, nothing that deserves the name of satisfaction. The possession of religion more than makes amends for whatever losses, or trials, or anxieties, we may experience in obtaining it. Religion is so incalculably important that we cannot estimate its value. It is profitable unto all things.
III. The diligence with which we should apply ourselves to the attainment of it. (William Curling,M.A.)
The worth of wisdom
I. Its sacred nature. Even in the ordinary concerns of life we feel the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is not limited to prudence in relation to the ordinary concerns of this life. Nor does it consist in science, however exalted its flight; nor in philosophy, however ennobling the vantage-ground on which it stands. Wisdom is the fear of God, the knowledge of God, the love of God, a right state of heart before God. The wisdom proper for man as a fallen being concerns the questions how he may obtain the favour of God, escape the punishment due to sin, obtain glory, honour, and immortality. Wisdom is connected with salvation.
II. Its supreme importance.
1. Its superiority above all other objects to which you can possibly direct your attention. Pleasure is a great attraction to the youthful mind, but happiness is often sought where it is not to be found. That alone deserves the name of happiness which will bear reflection. Wisdom, thought of as religion, is superior to fame, or wealth, or knowledge.
2. Its beneficial effects should be considered. Observe the character thus formed; its influence on conduct and practice, and its relation to the future.
III. The Scriptural method of obtaining true wisdom.
1. There must be a deep conviction of the necessity of this wisdom.
2. A diligent study of Gods Word.
3. Fervent and habitual prayer.
4. A believing application to Jesus Christ.
5. Habitual retirement for meditation.
6. Practical carrying out of good principles in all the relations of life. (J. Fletcher, M.A.)
Therefore get wisdom
The desire of knowledge is common to all human kind. All knowledge is worth the having, but far more desirable, and infinitely above all, is the knowledge of spiritual things. To this is given the name Wisdom.
I. It is possible to get wisdom. We are living in an age of weak convictions, of guesses as distinguished from beliefs, of opinions rather than established views. The most popular phase of thought in these times is known as Agnosticism. The original agnostic was Pyrrho of Ells. He was the universal sceptic, whose philosophy was merely an interrogation point. But it is possible to know respecting spiritual things. We have the faculty wherewith to apprehend them. This faculty or spiritual sense is the link binding us to God. We have it as a Divine inheritance; it belongs to us by reason of our Divine birth. We are environed by spiritual facts. I do not say that we can exhaust all or any spiritual truth.
II. It is our magnificent privilege and prerogative to inform ourselves concerning spiritual things. We are Divine and immortal. In reaching out for spiritual truth we give distinct evidence of our descent from God. The lowest attitude which men can assume towards truth is that of credulity. A step higher and we reach the doubters. Doubt is nobler than credulity. A sceptic is a better man than an unthinking bigot. But the sceptic is not a learned man, for true learning implies conviction. He is a half-educated man, and a little learning is ever a dangerous thing. Doubt is always something to move away from. There are two kinds of doubt as there are two twilights. The higher thing is belief. Faith is substance resting on evidence; the substance of spiritual things resting on evidence which appeals to the moral sense. The character of any man is measured by his creed.
III. It is our bounden duty, therefore, to have sound convictions as to spiritual truth. We have no right to allow the great problems to go by default. If there is a God it behoves us to know it. How shall we get wisdom? (Jam_1:5). God is light; open the windows, and let God shine in. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Bow down at the mercy-seat and ask God to illuminate the dark chambers of your soul. Get wisdom from God. (D. J. Burrell, D. D.)
The attainment of true wisdom
I. Show the nature of wisdom, what it is, and wherein it consists.
1. The description of its nature and causes. Aristotle calls it that intellectual virtue whereby we are directed in our manners and carriage, to make choice of the right means in the prosecution of our true end. Tully describes it as ars vivendi. Aquinas as the skill of demeaning a mans self aright in practical affairs. In Pro_14:8, we read, The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. The philosophers call four of the virtues cardinal, because all the rest turn upon them as upon their hinges. These are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Prudence, or wisdom, consists of three parts, A sagacity of judgment to make a true estimate of things, persons, times, and events. A presence of mind to obviate sudden accidents, to meet every emergency. Experience and observation of the most usual and probable consequences of things.
2. The several kinds and distinctions of it. One is a grace, or virtue, the other is not. There is a wisdom that cometh from above. There is a wisdom which is from beneath, earthly, sensual, devilish. There is a distinction in wisdom according to the several ends which men propose to themselves and the means whereby these several ends are to be attained; the gratifying of carnal appetite; peace and contentment of mind; or spiritual blessedness. So wisdom may be carnal policy, moral prudence, or spiritual wisdom.
3. The proper effects of wisdom. It directs to the right end, such as may be perfective of our natures. It directs to consult about the means, which must be fit and accommodate to the end, and must be honest and lawful in themselves. Two things every man should propose to himself in the management of his affairs, success and safety: in order to which he must observe four conditions--forecast and providence against want; wariness and caution against danger; order and union against opposition; sedulity and diligence against difficulties. These four seem to be recommended in Pro_30:24, where four living creatures are spoken of as being exceeding wise, the ants, conies (or mice), locusts, and the spider.
4. The opposite to this virtue of wisdom, by way of excess is craft, by way of defect is folly.
II. The necessity of wisdom, or the grounds of our obligation to it. Scripture gives both precepts concerning it (such as Col_4:5; Eph_5:15); and commendations of it (as Job_28:16). It is better than riches. It is itself the greatest honour, and will be a means to advance a man in the esteem of others. It is the truest and best pleasure. It is as our life. It is necessary to the safety of our persons; and to the management of our affairs with success. Objection: Is not wisdom a gift and privilege, rather than a duty? Answer:
1. Christian wisdom, for the nature and substance of it is a duty, for the degrees a gift.
2. Moral or civil prudence is also a duty. The neglect of such abilities as are suitable to a mans station is not only a defect but a fault.
Three inferences:
1. No wicked man can be truly wise.
2. Grace and holiness are the truest wisdom.
3. If wisdom be the principal thing, then let it be our principal endeavour to attain it. (Bp. John Wilkins.)
The best treasure
The figure of merchandise is still maintained. Work, plan, seek, toil, are the watchwords of true zeal in this matter. It is as if the youth were face to face with many attractions--say, beauty, wealth, ease, pleasure, and the like--and whilst he is estimating their claims the father exhorts him, saying, Get wisdom, get understanding; do not be deceived; insist upon having the brightest treasure, and on no account be victimised by men who would urge you to sacrifice future satisfaction to immediate gratification. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The best thing to get
Wisdom is of incomparable value, as it enables us to turn every other good to a right use.
I. The true nature of wisdom.
1. Wisdom is not synonymous with knowledge.
2. Wisdom is not merely the equivalent of prudence in relation to the ordinary concerns of life.
3. Wisdom is not identical with philosophy.
4. Wisdom consists in reverence of the Divine, in the knowledge of God, and a right state of the heart in relation to God. It is, in a word, religion. It is the choice of the highest end, pursued by the best means. It consists in discharging aright those obligations which we owe to our glorious Creator.
II. The supreme importance of wisdom.
1. Remark its superiority to all other objects of human regard. True wisdom sought and won and worn appeases the hunger and thirst of the soul.
2. The beneficial results of gaining wisdom. Formation of virtuous and Christian character. Avoidance of evil. Eternal gain.
III. The proper means of obtaining wisdom. (W. E. Daly, B. A.)
Application to wisdom and learning recommended and enforced
I. What is meant by wisdom? Cicero calls wisdom the knowledge of things Divine and human, and of their efficient causes.
II. Wisdom is the guide to virtue. Virtue is the right discharge of our duty in every station of life. Virtue contains the whole art of right and happy living. Did learning afford no assistance to virtue; were pleasure the only benefit arising from study; it must on every account be allowed to be an amusement of the noblest kind, and every way best suited to the nature of man. He is most likely to prosper in this life whose mind is best cultivated and enlarged with the truest notions of things, and who joins to that cultivated understanding a corresponding practice, not less excelling in virtue than in knowledge. Honour, too, is a general attendant upon wisdom. Moreover, the love of wisdom and the practice of virtue, will tend above all things to lengthen our present existence.
1. God, the great Father of the world, has created you a reasonable being, and endowed you with faculties. The duty lies on you to improve and enlarge them.
2. Your parents on earth do everything to help you in getting wisdom.
3. Society has a claim upon you. Then cultivate liberal science as the handmaid of sublimer knowledge. Moral virtue and the improvement of the heart are graces which give to science its lustre, and to life its worth. They expand and enlarge the soul. Cultivate liberal science under the sanction and guidance of religion. (W. Dodd, LL.D.)
The excellency of wisdom
I. An encomium of wisdom. She is commended to us as the most excellent of all things. She holds the principality amongst those virtues that ennoble, enrich, and adorn the mind of man.
II. An earnest persuasion, backed with arguments, to endeavour the acquisition and improvement of this excellent virtue. Wisdom is an excellent, energetical virtue of the mind of man, whereby, upon a clear apprehension and right judgment of things, the whole soul is carried Out, in a well-governed order, in an earnest and constant pursuit of the most excellent attainments. There is a threefold act of wisdom.
1. To propose the most excellent end.
2. To elect the best means.
3. To engage the most earnest endeavours in the diligent use of these means.
III. Wherein does the excellency of wisdom lie?
IV. This excellency is attainable. It cannot be commended in vain. Mans work in the world cannot be done without wisdom. God has given man a rational soul. Wisdom may be attained by--
1. A due government of mans self.
2. A serious consideration of a mans state.
3. A diligent study of the Holy Scriptures. (Thomas Willis, D.D.)
The wisdom and importance of religion
1. Religion is the principal thing, as it is the care of our principal part--our rational and immortal nature.
2. Wisdom is the principal thing, for this secures our principal interest.
3. Wisdom is the principal thing, as this comprises everything that is amiable, virtuous and excellent.
4. Religious wisdom is the principal thing, because, while it secures our main interest, it promotes all our subordinate interests.
5. This heavenly wisdom is the principal thing, for without it worldly wisdom will do us no good.
6. Religious wisdom is the principal thing, as it is of universal importance. (J. Lathrop, D.D.)
Religion and virtue a sovereign good
1. Widely different are the effects of moral good which is the object of religion. The contemplation of an infinite Being, the study of His astonishing works and dispensations, are objects which will afford unceasing employment and satisfaction for the most exalted faculties of the sublimest genius. The constant progressive improvement of the soul in virtue and happiness, and the continual approaches to the perfection of its nature, are ends worthy the existence not only of man, but even of the highest angel.
2. Another condition requisite to constitute the sovereign good is, that it be conducive to our well being. Happiness is not made up of transient raptures. It consists in the enjoyment of permanent serenity and calm satisfaction. Of such felicity what can afford a fairer prospect than a virtuous and religious disposition? This tends to preserve the desires and passions within due subjection, to prevent them from inflaming the imagination and biasing the judgment. Such a disposition enables us to view objects in their true and proper colours, unadorned with fictitious and delusive attractions.
3. The third quality requisite to constitute the sovereign good is, that it should be suitable to all times, places, and conditions of life. Even when flesh and heart fail, when the world, with all its attractions, can no longer amuse, then will the consolations of religion and virtue still support us, and shed beams of comfort and hope to dispel the dreary shades of the dark vale of death.
4. A fourth condition implied in our idea of the sovereign good is, that it should be durable and inadmissible. The satisfactions of religion and virtue, being derived from God, are permanent and unchangeable as the source from whence they spring. Not even death, which tears us from every sublunary pleasure, can destroy these satisfactions, (B. C. Sowden.)
Wisdom
(a sermon to the young):--
I. What that wisdom is which is here so earnestly recommended. It is twofold, viz., speculative and practical, or wisdom of mind and wisdom of conduct Speculative wisdom, or wisdom of mind, consists in the knowledge of our true happiness and the way to it. Practical wisdom, or wisdom of conduct, consists in the steady pursuit of it in the right way.
II. How it is the principle thing. It is that which ought in the first and principal place to be minded, secured, and preferred before everything else; the one thing needful, in comparison of which everything else has but a very inconsiderable importance.
1. Though wisdom, as now explained, be the principal thing, it is not the only thing that deserves our regard. The very term principal thing implies that there are other things of a subordinate consideration that ought to be minded in a proper degree. The affairs of the present life claim some of our thoughts and time.
2. Wisdom is the principal thing, so the importance of every other thing is to be measured by its connection with, or relation to it.
III. How wisdom is to be attained.
1. Accustom yourselves to a habit of thinking on the best things. Wisdom begins with consideration, the want of which is the source of universal folly.
2. Would you be wise, let me beseech you to consider the importance of improving the opportunities and advantages of your present education. 3.Would you be wise indeed, you must carefully inform yourselves of the will of God and every branch of your duty from the sacred Scriptures.
4. Would you be truly wise, you must not only take care to furnish your minds with a knowledge of the Christian principles in general, but of those duties and principles in particular which will best adorn that character and station wherein you may hereafter appear in the world.
5. In order to be truly wise, you must take care to know yourselves; and particularly your constitutional sins.
6. Cultivate a sense of your constant dependence on God for everything, and acknowledge that dependence daily.
7. Think often of death.
8. Earnestly pray to God to make you wise. (John Mason, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v4 "Wisdom doth live with children round her knees." -…
CHAPTER 5
EDUCATION: THE CHILDS THOUGHT OF THE PARENT
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"Wisdom doth live with children round her knees." - Wordsworth.
"He taught me, and said unto me," etc. Pro_4:4
THIS chapter begins with a charming little piece of autobiography. Unhappily the writer is unknown. That it was not Solomon is plain from the fact that an only son is speaking, and we know from 1Ch_3:5 that Solomon was not an only son of his mother. But the naiveté and beauty of the confession are the same, whoever was the speaker. The grateful memories of a fathers teaching and of a mothers tenderness give point and force to the exhortations. "Do I urge upon you, young people, the claims of Wisdom?" the author seems to say. "Well, I speak from experience. My parents taught me her wholesome and pleasant ways. Though I was an only son, they did not by a selfish indulgence allow me to be spoiled. They made me bear the yoke in my youth, and now I live to thank them for it."
There is a great temptation to spoil art only child, a temptation which few are able to resist. Parents can deny themselves everything for their idol, except the pleasure of making the child a despot; they can endure any pain for their despot, except the pain of resisting him and instructing him. And accordingly they have sometimes to experience the shame and anguish of their childrens curses, like that Carthaginian mother, of whom it is related that her son, a convicted criminal, passing to execution, requested that he might whisper something to her, and, coming near, bit off her ear, saying that it was his revenge because she had brought him up so badly. Very different are the feelings of our author; he owes much to his parents, and is eager to acknowledge what he owes. God has no kinder gift to give us than a hallowed home, the memory of lessons from the lips of father and mother, the early impressions of virtue and wisdom, the sacred streams which rise from that fountainhead, and that alone, and run freshening and singing and broadening all through our lives.
With this happy example of good home influence before our eyes, we will come to consider briefly two points which are suggested by it: first, the importance of these early impressions; second, the main features of the discipline presented in the chapter.
I. Not without reason has a great cardinal of the Roman Church said that if he may have the children up to the age of five, he will not mind in whose hand they may be afterwards; for it is almost impossible to exaggerate the permanent effects of those first tendencies impressed on the soul before the intellect is developed, and while the soft, plastic nature of the child is not yet determined in any particular direction. Things which we learn we can more or less unlearn, but things which are blended with the elements of our composition, made parts of us before we are conscious of our own personality, defy the hand of time and the power of conscious effort to eradicate them.
John Paton, that noble missionary to the New Hebrides, has given us a vivid picture of his early home. It was a plain lowland cottage, with its "hut and hen," and between the two a small chamber with a diminutive window shedding diminutive light on the scene. To this room the children saw the father retire oftentimes a day, and shut to the door; they would occasionally hear the pathetic pleadings of the voice that prayed, and they learnt to slip past the door on tiptoe. They got to understand whence came that happy light upon their fathers face: they recognized it as a reflection from the Divine presence, in the consciousness of which he lived.
Let a child draw his first breath in a house which possesses a sanctuary like that; let him come to know by his quick childish perceptions that there is in his home a ladder set up from earth to heaven, and that the angels of God go up and down on it; let him feel the Divine atmosphere in his face, the air all suffused with heavenly light, the sweetness and the calm which prevail in a place where a constant communion is maintained, -and in after years he will be aware of voices which call and hands which reach out to him from his childhood, connecting him with heaven, and even the most convincing negations of unbelief will be powerless to shake the faith which is deep as the springs of his life.
We learn to love, not because we are taught to love, but by some contagious influence of example or by some indescribable attraction of beauty. Our first love to Wisdom, or, to use our modern phrase, Religion, is won from us by living with those that love her. She stole in upon us and captured us without any overpowering arguments; she was beautiful and we felt that those whom we loved were constantly taken and held by her beauty. Just reflect upon this subtle and wonderful truth. If my infancy is spent among those whose main thought is "to get" riches, I acquire imperceptibly the love of money. I cannot rationally explain my love; but it seems to me in after life a truism, that money is the principal thing; I look with blank incredulity upon one who questions this ingrained truth. But if in infancy I live with those whose love is wholly centered upon Religion, who cherish her with unaffected ardor and respond to her claims with kindling emotion, I may in after life be seduced from her holy ways for awhile, but I am always haunted by the feeling that I have left my first love, I am restless and uneasy until I can win back that "old bride-look of earlier days."
Yes, that old bride-look - for religion may be so presented to the childs heart as to appear for ever the bride elect of the soul, from whose queenly love promotion may be expected, whose sweet embraces bring a dower of honor, whose beautiful fingers twine a chaplet of grace for the head and set a crown of glory on the brow. {Pro_4:8-9}
The affections are elicited, and often permanently fixed, before the understanding has come into play. If the childs heart is surrendered to God, and molded by heavenly wisdom, the man will walk securely; a certain trend will be given to all his thoughts; a certain instinctive desire for righteousness will be engrafted in his nature; and an instinctive aversion will lead him to decline the way of the wicked. {Pro_4:14}
The first thing, then, is to give our children an atmosphere to grow up in; to cultivate their affections, and set their hearts on the things eternal; to make them associate the ideas of wealth and honor, of beauty and glory, not with material possessions, but with the treasures and rewards of Wisdom.
II. But now comes the question: What is to be the definite teaching of the child? For it is an unfailing mark of the parents who themselves are holy that they are impelled to give clear and memorable instruction to their children. And this is where the great and constant difficulty emerges. If the hallowed example would suffice we might count the task comparatively easy. But some day the understanding will begin to assert itself; the desire to question, to criticize, to prove, will awake. And then, unless the truths of the heart have been applied to the conscience in such a way as to satisfy the reason, there may come the desolate time in which, while the habits of practical life remain pure, and the unconscious influence of early training continues to be effective, the mind is shaken by doubt, and the hope of the soul is shrouded in a murky cloud.
Now the answer to this question may, for the Christian, be briefly given, Bring your children to Christ, teach them to recognize in Him their Savior, and to accept Him as their present Lord and gracious Friend. But this all-inclusive answer will not suffer by a little expansion on the lines which are laid down in the chapter before us. When Christ is made unto us Wisdom, the contents of Wisdom are not altered, they are only brought within our reach and made effectual in us. Bringing our children to Christ will not merely consist in teaching them the doctrine of salvation, but it will include showing them in detail what salvation is, and the method of its realization.
The first object in the home life is to enable children to realize what salvation is. It is easy to dilate on an external heaven and hell, but it is not so easy to demonstrate that salvation is an inward state, resulting from a spiritual change.
It is very strange that Judaism should ever have sunk into a formal religion of outward observance, when its own Wisdom was so explicit on this point: "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." {Pro_4:20-23} The Greek version, which was very generally used in our Lords time, had a beautiful variation of this last clause: "In order that thy fountains may not fail thee, guard them in the heart." It was after all but a new emphasis on the old teaching of the book of Proverbs when Jesus taught the necessity of heart purity, and when He showed that out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, and all the things which defile a man. {Mat_15:19} Yet this lesson of inwardness has always been the most difficult of all to learn. Christianity itself has always been declining from it and falling into the easier but futile ways of externalism; and even Christian homes have usually failed in their influence on the young chiefly because their religious observances have fallen into formalism, and while the outward conduct has been regulated, the inner springs of action have not been touched.
All conduct is the outcome of hidden fountains. All words are the expression of thoughts. The first thing and the main thing is that the hidden fountains of thought and feeling be pure. The source of all our trouble is the bitterness of heart, the envious feeling, the sudden outbreak of corrupt desire. A merely outward salvation would be of no avail; a change of place, a magic formula, a conventional pardon, could not touch the root of the mischief. "I wish you would change my heart," said the chief Sekomi to Livingstone. "Give me medicine to change it, for it is proud, proud and angry, angry always." He would not hear of the New Testament way of changing the heart; he wanted an outward, mechanical way-and that way was not to be found. The child at first thinks in the same way. Heaven is a place to go to, not a state to be in. Hell is an outward punishment to fly from, not an inward condition of the soul. The child has to learn that searching truth which Milton tried to teach, when he described Satan in Paradise, -
"… within him hell He brings, and round about him, nor from hell
One step, no more than from himself, can fly
By change of place
Which way I fly is hell, cries the miserable being,"
"myself am hell;
And in the lowest deep, a lower deep,
Still threatening to devour me, opens wide,
To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven."
We are tempted in dealing with children to train them only in outward habits, and to forget the inward sources which are always gathering and forming; hence we often teach them to avoid the lie on the tongue, to put away from them the froward mouth and perverse lips, {Pro_4:24} and yet leave them with the lies in the soul, the deep inward unveracities which are their ruin. We often succeed in bringing them up as respectable and decorous members of society, and yet leave them a prey to secret sins; they are tormented by covetousness which is idolatry, by impurity, and by all kinds of envious and malignant passions.
There is something even ghastly in the very virtues which are sometimes displayed in a highly civilized society like ours. We perceive what appear to be virtues, but we are haunted by an uncomfortable misgiving that they are virtues only in appearance; they seem to have no connection with the heart; they never seem to bubble up from irrepressible fountains; they do not overflow. There is charity, but it is the charity only of the subscription list; there is pity, but it is the pity only of conventional humanitarianism; there is the cold correctness of conduct, or the formal accuracy of speech, but the purity seems to be prudery because it is only a concession, to the conventional sentiments of the hour, and the truthfulness seems to be a lie because its very exactness seems to come, not from springs of truth, but only from an artificial habit.
We are frequently bound to notice a religion of a similar kind. It is purely mimetic. It is explained on the same principle as the assimilation of the colors of animals to the colors of their environment. It is the unconscious and hypocritical instinct of self-preservation in a presumably religious society, where not to seem religious would involve a loss of caste. It may be regarded then as the first essential lesson which is to be impressed on the mind of a child, -the lesson coming next after the unconscious influences of example, and before all dogmatic religious teaching, -that righteousness is the condition of salvation, righteousness of the heart; that the outward seeming goes for nothing at all, but that God with a clear and quiet eye gazes down into the hidden depths, and considers whether the fountains there are pure and perennial.
The second thing to be explained and enforced is singleness of heart, directness and consistency of aim; by which alone the inward life can be shaped to virtuous ends: "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Make level the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left." {Pro_4:25-27} As our Lord puts it, If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. This precept has frequently been given in the interests of worldly wisdom: The boy is told that if he means to get on he must concentrate his thoughts and refuse to let any of the seductions around him divert his attention. Singleness of eye may be the most ruinous of evils-if a man has only a single eye to his own advantage, and pursues nothing but his own pleasure. The precept is given here however in the interests of heavenly wisdom, and there is much to be said for the view that only the truly religious mind can be quite single-eyed. Selfishness, though it seems to be an undivided aim, is really a manifold of tumultuous and conflicting passions. He only, strictly speaking, has one desire, whose one desire is God. The way of wisdom is, after all, the only way which has no bifurcations. The man who has a single eye to his own interest may find before long that he has missed the way: he pushes eagerly on, but he flounders ever deeper in the mire; for though he did not turn to the right hand nor to the left, he never all the time removed his foot from evil. {Pro_4:27} The right life then is a steady progress undiverted by the alluring sights and sounds which appeal to the senses. "Look not round about thee," says Ecclesiasticus, {Ecclesiasticus 9:7} "in the streets of the city, neither wander thou in the solitary places thereof." We are to learn that the way goes through Vanity Fair, but admits of no divergences into its tempting booths or down its alluring alleys; the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the vainglory of life, are not to distract the mind which has but one purpose in view. The path is to be kept level; {Pro_4:26} as we should say, an even tenor is to be preserved; we are to follow the plain unexciting path of duty, the beaten track of sober rightness. For while it is the mark of all unhallowed ways that they plunge up and down from despondency to wild elation, from giddy raptures to heartstricken depression, it is the sure sign of Gods hand in our life when the paths are made level. {Pro_5:21} Ah those tempting ways, on which shine the false lights of imagined duty, of refined selfishness, or of gilded sensuality. Surely it is the result of Wisdom, the gift of Gods grace, to keep the eyes "looking right on."
But it is time to sum up. Here is a great contrast between those whose early training has been vicious or neglected, and those who have been "taught in the way of wisdom, led in paths of uprightness." It is a contrast which should constantly be present to the eyes of parents with a warning and an encouragement. The unfortunate child whose infancy was passed in the midst of baleful example, whose heart received no instruction from parents lips, grows up like one stumbling in the dark, and the darkness deepens as he advances; observers cannot tell-he himself cannot tell-what it is at which he stumbles. {Pro_4:19} There is the old ingrained vice which comes out again and again after every attempted reformation; there is the old shuffling habit; there is the old unhallowed set of the thoughts and the tastes; there is the old incurable pharisaism, with its tendency to shift all blame on to other peoples shoulders. It is all like the damp in the walls of an ill-built house. In dry weather there are only the stains, but those stains are the prophecy of what will be again when the wet weather returns. The corrupt ways have become a second nature; they are as sleep and food to the wretched creature; to abstain from iniquity creates the restlessness of insomnia; if he has not been spreading an influence of evil and leading others astray, he feels as if he had been deprived of his daily food, and he is consumed with a fiery thirst. {Pro_4:16-17} Even when such a one is genuinely born again, the old hideous habits will appear like seams in the character; and temptations will send the flush along the tell-tale scars.
On the other hand, the life which starts from the sweet examples of a hallowed home, and all its timely chastisements and discipline, presents a most entrancing history. At first there is much which is difficult to bear, much against which the flesh revolts. The influences of purity are cold like the early dawn, and the young childs spirit shrinks and shivers; but with every step along the leveled road the light broadens and the air becomes warmer, -the dawn shines more and more unto the perfect day. {Pro_4:18 margin} As the character forms, as the habits become fixed, as the power of resistance increases, a settled strength and a lasting peace gladden the life. The rays of heavenly wisdom not only shine on the face, but suffuse the very texture of the being, so that the whole body is full of light. Eventually it begins to appear that truth and purity, pity and charity, have become instinctive. Like a well-disciplined army, they spring at once into the ranks, and are ready for service even on a surprise. The graces of holy living come welling up from those untainted inner springs, and, be the surroundings ever so dry, the fountains fail not. The habit of single-eyed devotion to right avails even where there is no time for reflection; more and more the seductions of the senses lose their point of attack in this disciplined spirit. There is a freedom in the gait, for holiness has ceased to be a toilsome calculation, -the steps of the spiritual man are not straitened. There is a swiftness in all action, -the feet are shod with a joyous and confident preparation, for the fear of stumbling is gone. {Pro_4:12}
With daily growing gratitude and veneration does such a one look back upon the early home of piety and tenderness.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v5 Pro_4:8. Exalt or “esteem.”
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_4:8. Exalt or “esteem.”
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Pro_4:9. Last clause, or “she shall compass thee with a crown of glory.”
Pro_4:10. As is all other instances (see Notes on Chap. Pro_3:2), Miller translates the promise: “And they shall grow greater to thee through years of life.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_4:5-13
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL
I. Human nature has many needs.
1. There are the needs of the body, which begin upon our entrance into life, and never cease until the day of our death. These are common to all men, and keep every man in an attitude of getting all through his life. It is the demand of these needs—the effort to get what will supply them—that is the motive-power which keeps the world of men in motion.
2. Men’s needs are multiplied in proportion to the greatness of their sphere and their intellectual activity. The needs of a judge upon the bench are more than those of a crossing-sweeper. Both have some wants in common, but the intellectual and social position of the former has multiplied his needs far beyond those of the latter. The needs of a master in a house of business, or of a mistress in a family, are more than those of their servants. They have more claims to meet—more responsible positions to fill. But the aim of each individual man, woman, or child is to supply their natural or acquired—their real or their supposed—wants, whether material, or intellectual, or spiritual.
II. There is one need above all other needs—one thing to be gotten before all other gettings—viz: Wisdom, taking the word to mean godliness. The husbandman finds that the field that has been given him to till needs many things before it will yield him a golden harvest. But there is one thing, among others, that is indispensable, viz: the sunlight. He will plough, and harrow, and sow in vain if this want is not supplied. So all a man’s gettings will fail to bring him a harvest of soul-satisfaction if this primal element be wanting.
III. The blessings which will follow the getting of godliness. They have already been enumerated in chap. Pro_3:21-26. See homiletics on that paragraph. On Pro_4:9 see homiletics on chap. Pro_1:9.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_4:5. We cannot do it directly, but there immediately follow the rules to be observed, “forget not,” etc. It is astonishing how much is made of attention. It is the only voluntary thing, not muscular.—Miller.
For so much a man learns as he remembers. The promise also of salvation is limited to “keeping in memory what we have received” (1Co_15:2).
1. Because of the excellency of it. Things of high birth are excellent. This wisdom is from above (Jas_3:17). Things rare are precious. True wisdom is not found in many.
2. Because of the pleasure of it (chap. Pro_3:17). No content in the world like that wisdom gives.
3. Because of the profit of it. Every trade will tell you that wisdom thrives, and folly beggars men. So in spiritual things.
4. Because of the necessity of it, which is the strongest argument. Without it die, nay be damned.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_4:6. Jerome wrote to a friend, “Beg now for me, who am grey-headed, of the Lord, that I may have Wisdom for my companion, of which it is written, “Love her and she shall keep thee.”
Forsake her not, and thou will love her, for love is bred by continuing together; love her and thou will not forsake her, for love liketh not of parting. The manner of speech seemeth to intimate a union of marriage, and indeed Wisdom is a fit spouse for man’s noble soul.—Jermin.
We turn an eye to Wisdom, and she turns an eye to us. We watch and she watches. In our ungodly state we cannot think of Wisdom that she does not turn and step back to us by common grace. And, if we think so long, and strive so earnestly as that she comes up to us and is full in sight, then each new fondness fascinates her and brings her close. Each wise thing that we do makes us wiser.—Miller.
It is worse with him that leaves good, than with him that never did it (2Pe_2:21). One goes blindfold to hell and hath less pains there; another, seeing, hath more.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_4:7. Make religion thy business, other things do by the bye. As Cæsar, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, carried his books in his hand above them, but lost his robe.—Trapp.
It can have no place if it has not the first place. If it be anything it will be everything.—Bridges.
The mistake of the principal thing is that which maketh the principal disorder in man’s heart.… But as that is light which showeth the light unto us, so that is the principal thing which showeth the principal thing unto us, even wisdom alone.—Jermin.
I. What we are to acquire. Both divine and human learning, which differ as means do from the end. Were there no divine learning, human learning would lose great part of its value: limited to the present life, it must terminate on the confines of the grave. And had we no human learning, now that the days of inspiration have passed, we should not be able to attain that which is divine. II. How we are to acquire it. We must be taught by those who were in the world before us. Weeds and thistles only will be the spontaneous produce if the ground is not broken up and good seed sown. III. Why we are to acquire it. The pleasures of wisdom exceed all others—in kind, degree, and duration.—Bishop Horne.
The world’s maxim, on the contrary, is—money is the principal thing; therefore get money; and with all thy getting, get more.—Fausset.
Amidst all thy other acquisitions acquire this, without which all others will be useless and even hurtful.—Menochius.
“With,” rather “by means of” (see “Critical Notes”). We are to turn all our gettings into the channel of more grace. We are to use all our properties for growing wiser. We are to grind up all our corn into the bread of spiritual nourishment.—Miller.
Venture all for wisdom rather than miss it.
1. What we lose is transitory, what we get is durable. A fee-simple is better than a leaf.
2. What we lose is hollow and empty, what we get is full and substantial. A sound timber tree is better than one hollow within, though the latter make a bigger show.
3. What we lose is vain, what we get is profitable. A piece of gold is better than a counter.
4. What we lose is often matter of danger, what we get is matter of safety and security.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_4:8. On this recommendation of religion it is the more necessary to fix our attention because it is often refused to it by men of the world. Their notions of honour are apt to run in a very different channel.… A distinction must be made between fame and honour. The former is a loud and noisy applause; the latter a more silent and internal homage. Fame floats on the breath of the multitude; honour rests on the judgment of the thinking. Fame may give praise while it withholds esteem; true honour implies esteem mingled with respect. The one regards particular distinguished talents; the other looks up to the whole character. It follows, therefore, that in order to discern where man’s true honour lies, we must look at the whole of what forms a man. A mind superior to fear, to selfish interest, and corruption; governed by this principle of uniform rectitude, the same in prosperity as in adversity, such is the mind which forms the distinction and eminence of men. And such a character is formed solely by the influence of true religion. II. The honour which man acquires by religion and virtue is independent and complete. It is independent of anything foreign or external. Wherever fortune is concerned it is the rank which commands our deference. Where some shining quality attracts admiration, it is only to a part of the character that we pay homage. But with goodness, it is the whole man whom we respect. III. This honour is divine and immortal. It is honour not only in the sight of man, but of God, whose judgment is the standard of truth and right. It enters with man into a future state; and continues to brighten through eternal ages.—Blair.
Not only “get,” “keep,” and “love” her, but also “exalt her.” We are apt to think less of those things which we have, however precious, after the novelty has worn off. Beware of this feeling in religion. Religion richly repays in kind all that we can do to “embrace” her. She exalts them who exalt her (Psa_30:1), and gives them fresh reason for exalting her (Psa_37:34).—Fausset.
Pro_4:9. She is the diadem which bindeth up the shattered thoughts of man’s understanding: she it is which covereth and succoureth the broken cracks of man’s invention: she it is which delivereth the authority of sovereignty to the head, and maketh the head to be the head, in bearing rule and commanding the inferior affections and lusts of the heart and other members.—Jermin.
Crowns were anciently given to many sorts of persons as tokens of general favour and esteem.
1. To wise men and learned; to those who excelled in the arts and sciences. Godly-wise men deserve them much better.
2. To men famous for justice and other moral virtues; to good lawmakers and judges. Godly-wise men excel in theological virtues, which are far more excellent.
3. To conquerors. A wise man is a conqueror over his passions and affections, which make other men, and great ones too, very slaves.
4. To bridegrooms when they were married. A wise man is married to Wisdom, the fairest bride in the world.
5. To kings on their coronation day. So shall godly men be crowned when they die. They know how to rule their own souls here, and to direct others, and to get an eternal crown in Heaven. A beggar being once asked what he was, answered: “I am a king!” “Where is thy kingdom?” “It is in my soul. I can so rule my external and internal senses that all the faculties of my soul are subject to me.” And who doubts that this kingdom is better than all the kingdoms of the world?—Francis Taylor.
Pro_4:11. He may boldly call to be heard who himself doth what he teacheth. Christ placeth doing before teaching (Mat_8:19), for good doing leading the way, though teaching doth not follow, yet good works can, as clear as the light, teach those that look upon us. Paul saith, “We have received grace and apostleship to the obedience of faith; one would have thought he should have said rather to the government and direction of faith, but he saith, obedience, because examples do direct and govern better than words.—Jermin.
The two branches which constitute the sum of parental tuition—instruction and direction—teaching truth and guiding to duty. The one part relates to knowledge, the other to practice. In all rightly conducted education, the two should never be disjoined. To teach duty without truth is to teach action without motive—virtue without its principle. To teach truth without duty is to teach motive without the practice to which it should lead. They are both partial, and, if kept asunder, both worthless.—Wardlaw.
Pro_4:12. Having a good mixture of zeal and knowledge; so that thy zeal doth quicken thy knowledge, and thy knowledge guide thy zeal.—Trapp.
The way of wisdom is indeed narrow, but in a narrow way there may be large steps; for though our feet may be straightened from going aside, yet they are not straightened from going on apace.—Jermin.
As “goest” refers to the ordinary course, so “runnest” refers to extraordinary undertakings, wherein the believer has to put forth more than common energy.—Fausset.
The word straightened seems to express the case of one in difficulty and perplexity—contradictory impulses and obstacles pressing and hindering him on every side, perpetually producing embarrassment and apprehension—hedging up the way, and hemming us in, and destroying the freedom and comfort of advancement. Such is the case of a man who walks according to a worldly and carnal policy. He is ever at a loss. As circumstances are ever shifting, he is ever shifting his principles and plans to suit them. But the “wisdom from above” inspires a simplicity and a unity of principle by which a vast amount of this painful and agitating perplexity is taken away.—Wardlaw.
Pro_4:13. Often a ship’s crew at sea are obliged suddenly to betake themselves to their boats, and abandon the sinking ship. Such a case was recently reported of an American whale-ship in the South Seas. The huge leviathan of the deep, wounded by the art of man, ran out the distance of a mile by way of getting a run-race, and thence came on with incredible velocity against the devoted ship. She began to fill.… the word was given. All hands went to work, and soon all the seaworthy boats were loaded to the gunwale with the prime necessaries of life. The deck was now nearly level with the water, and the boats shoved off for safety. After they had pulled a hundred yards away, two resolute men leaped from one of the boats into the sea, and made towards the ship. They disappear down a hatchway. In a minute they emerge again, bearing something in their hands. As they leap into the water the ship goes down; the men are separated from each other and their burden in the whirlpool that gathers over the sinking hull. They do not seem to consult their own safety. They remain in that dangerous eddy until they grasp again the object which they had carried over the ship’s side. Holding it fast, they are seen at length bearing away to their comrades in the boat. What do these strong swimmers carry, for they seem to value it more than life? It is the compass! It had been left behind, and was remembered almost too late. Now they have taken fast hold of it, and will not let it go. Whatever they lose, they will at all hazards keep it, for “it is their life.” When shall we see souls, shipwrecked on the sea of time, take and keep such hold of the truth as it is in Jesus?—Arnot.
Fasten and do not let slack. One rough grapple is not enough. Wisdom insidiously glides away if we give time to the arch deceiver. We are like a child trying to wake: he grasps the apple that one gives, but slackens as drowsiness creeps back.—Miller.
I. Because many thieves lie in the way to rob us of what wisdom teaches.
1. The devil steals away the seed of the word (Mat_13:9).
2. Wicked men also, by seducing us. Sometimes by persecuting us to make us forsake the truth (Mat_13:21).
3. The world with its cares and profits seeks to take this treasure from us (Mat_13:22). The flesh presents many pleasures to us which drown our wits.
II. Because we may lose wisdom ourselves by negligence.—F. Taylor.
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.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 13 Pro 4:10 - Pro 4:19.
Proverbs
THE TWO PATHS
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Pro 4:10 - Pro 4:19.
This passage includes much more than temperance or any other single virtue. It is a perfectly general exhortation to that practical wisdom which walks in the path of righteousness. The principles laid down here are true in regard to drunkenness and abstinence, but they are intended to receive a wider application, and to that wider application we must first look. The theme is the old, familiar one of the two paths, and the aim is to recommend the better way by setting forth the contrasted effects of walking in it and in the other.
The general call to listen in Pro 4:10 is characteristically enforced by the Old Testament assurance that obedience prolongs life. That is a New Testament truth as well; for there is nothing more certain than that a life in conformity with God’s will, which is the same thing as a life in conformity with physical laws, tends to longevity. The experience of any doctor will show that. Here in England we have statistics which prove that total abstainers are a long-lived people, and some insurance offices construct their tables accordingly.
After that general call to listen comes, in Pro 4:11, the description of the path in which long life is to be found. It is ‘the way of Wisdom’-that is, that which Wisdom prescribes, and in which therefore it is wise to walk. It is always foolish to do wrong. The rough title of an old play is The Devil is an Ass, and if that is not true about him, it is absolutely true about those who listen to his lies. Sin is the stupidest thing in the universe, for it ignores the plainest facts, and never gets what it flings away so much to secure.
Another aspect of the path is presented in the designation ‘paths of uprightness,’ which seems to be equivalent to those which belong to, or perhaps which consist of, uprightness. The idea of straightness or evenness is the primary meaning of the word, and is, of course, appropriate to the image of a path. In the moral view, it suggests how much more simple and easy a course of rectitude is than one of sin. The one goes straight and unswerving to its end; the other is crooked, devious, intricate, and wanders from the true goal. A crooked road is a long road, and an up-and-down road is a tiring road. Wisdom’s way is straight, level, and steadily approaches its aim.
In Pro 4:13 the image of the path is dropped for the moment, and the picture of the way of uprightness and its travellers is translated into the plain exhortation to keep fast hold of ‘instruction,’ which is substantially equivalent to the queenly Wisdom of these early chapters of Proverbs. The earnestness of the repeated exhortations implies the strength of the forces that tend to sweep us, especially those of us who are young, from our grasp of that Wisdom. Hands become slack, and many a good gift drops from nerveless fingers; thieves abound who will filch away ‘instruction,’ if we do not resolutely hold tight by it. Who would walk through the slums of a city holding jewels with a careless grasp, and never looking at them? How many would he have left if he did? We do not need to do anything to lose instruction. If we will only do nothing to keep it, the world and our own hearts will make sure that we lose it. And if we lose it, we lose ourselves; for ‘she is thy life,’ and the mere bodily life, that is lived without her, is not worth calling the life of a man.
Pro 4:14 - Pro 4:17 give the picture of the other path, in terrible contrast with the preceding. It is noteworthy that, while in the former the designation was the ‘path of uprightness’ or of ‘wisdom,’ and the description therefore was mainly of the characteristics of the path, here the designation is ‘the path of the wicked,’ and the description is mainly of the travellers on it. Righteousness was dealt with, as it were, in the abstract; but wickedness is too awful and dark to be painted thus, and is only set forth in the concrete, as seen in its doers. Now, it is significant that the first exhortation here is of a negative character. In contrast with the reiterated exhortations to keep wisdom, here are reiterated counsels to steer clear of evil. It is all about us, and we have to make a strong effort to keep it at arm’s-length. ‘Whom resist’ is imperative. True, negative virtue is incomplete, but there will be no positive virtue without it. We must be accustomed to say ‘No,’ or we shall come to little good. An outer belt of firs is sometimes planted round a centre of more tender and valuable wood to shelter the young trees; so we have to make a fence of abstinences round our plantation of positive virtues. The decalogue is mostly prohibitions. ‘So did not I, because of the fear of God’ must be our motto. In this light, entire abstinence from intoxicants is seen to be part of the ‘way of Wisdom.’ It is one, and, in the present state of England and America, perhaps the most important, of the ways by which we can ‘turn from’ the path of the wicked and ‘pass on.’
The picture of the wicked in Pro 4:16 - Pro 4:17 is that of very grossly criminal sinners. They are only content when they have done harm, and delight in making others as bad as themselves. But, diabolical as such a disposition is, one sees it only too often in full operation. How many a drunkard or impure man finds a fiendish pleasure in getting hold of some innocent lad, and ‘putting him up to a thing or two,’ which means teaching him the vices from which the teacher has ceased to get much pleasure, and which he has to spice with the condiment of seeing an unaccustomed sinner’s eagerness! Such people infest our streets, and there is only one way for a young man to be safe from them,-’avoid, pass not by, turn from, and pass on.’ The reference to ‘bread’ and ‘wine’ in Pro 4:17 seems simply to mean that the wicked men’s living is won by their ‘wickedness,’ which procures bread, and by their ‘violence,’ which brings them wine. It is the way by which these are obtained that is culpable. We may contrast this foul source of a degraded living with Pro 4:13, where ‘instruction’ is set forth as ‘the life’ of the upright.
Pro 4:18 - Pro 4:19 bring more closely together the two paths, and set them in final, forcible contrast. The phrase ‘the perfect day’ might be rendered, vividly though clumsily, ‘the steady of the day’-that is, noon, when the sun seems to stand still in the meridian. So the image compares the path of the just to the growing brightness of morning dawn, becoming more and more fervid and lustrous, till the climax of an Eastern midday. No more sublime figure of the continuous progress in goodness, brightness, and joy, which is the best reward of walking in the paths of uprightness, can be imagined; and it is as true as it is sublime. Blessed they who in the morning of their days begin to walk in the way of wisdom; for, in most cases, years will strengthen their uprightness, and to that progress there will be no termination, nor will the midday sun have to decline westward to diminishing splendour or dismal setting, but that noontide glory will be enhanced, and made eternal in a new heaven. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. That blaze of growing glory, possible for us all, makes the tragic gloom to which evil men condemn themselves the thicker and more doleful, as some dungeon in an Eastern prison seems pitch dark to one coming in from the blaze outside. ‘How great is that darkness!’ It is the darkness of sin, of ignorance, of sorrow, and what adds deeper gloom to it is that every soul that sits in that shadow of death might have been shining, a sun, in the spacious heaven of God’s love.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7, 10, 13 General Information:
General Information:
The father continues to teach his children what his father taught him.
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Acquire wisdom
"Work hard to gain for yourself wisdom" or "Get wisdom"
do not forget
"remember"
do not reject
"accept"
the words of my mouth
Here the word "mouth" represents the person who speaks. AT: "what I am saying" (See: Synecdoche)
do not abandon wisdom and she will watch over you; love her and she will keep you safe
The writer speaks of wisdom as if it were a woman who protects the person who is faithful to her. (See: Personification and Metaphor)
do not abandon wisdom
This can be stated in positive form. AT: "hold tightly to wisdom" or "be faithful to wisdom"
love her
"love wisdom"
translationWords
wise
reject
word
watch
love
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 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 4:4 my commands: The words that describe the father’s…
4:4 my commands: The words that describe the father’s teaching are used elsewhere in Scripture for God’s law. Fathers represent God to their children; the instruction of wise fathers conforms to God’s law.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.