How to find knowledge. The use thereof.

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid

treasures;

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD giveth wisdom out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

10 When

wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: 16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take, they hold of the paths of life.

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. LECTURE 1015.

Against being enticed to forsake God.

In order to attain unto the sound practical wisdom set before us in this book, we must exert ourselves in the search after it; we must diligently seek it by the appointed means of prayer and study of the word of God. It is, as our Lord said, "like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and And we ought especially buyeth that field." Matt. 13. 44. to remark the reason here assigned to prove the necessity of exertion on our part; "For the Lord giveth wisdom.” That it is the gift of God, this by no means excuses us, as many seem to

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think, in taking no pains for its attainment; but rather this is a motive binding on our consciences to study and to pray with all our power; even as the apostle Paul also has exhorted us, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," for this very reason assigned, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2. 12, 13.

This reasoning may be justly applied to every kind of temptation, to the zeal, exertion, and stedfast resolution, with which we ought to encounter every trial. And here especially let us observe, that this is our best way to escape from the snares laid in our path either by evil disposed men, or by abandoned women. If we would not consent to the enticement of sinners, let us both exert the utmost of our strength, and at the same time rely with implicit confidence on the strength which God alone can give us. Let us reason with ourselves on the foolishness of bartering our everlasting happiness for the delusive prospect of present pleasure. But manifest as this folly is, and foolish, nay almost mad as we must be, to make this fatal bargain, let us not trust that we should be able to resist the solicitations of sin, except so far as God is pleased to give us the wisdom which is from above.

That woman, who was created on purpose to be a help meet for man, should still often prove the means of tempting him to his ruin, is no more than we might expect after the fall of Adam through the persuasion of Eve. And so great is the corruption of heart, where the restraints of principle and modesty have been thoroughly broken through in a wicked woman, that such an one is often made mention of in Scripture as a type of an idolatrous church. And to be entangled in the evil company of such an one represents to us the case of those who forsake God for idols. Let us therefore understand the words before us not only in their more obvious application, but also as a warning against the practices of idolatry. And let us beware lest we be ensnared, either by the lusts of the flesh, or by the idols of wealth, honour, ease, or luxury, to turn aside from the way of life into the path that ends in everlasting destruction.

Exhortations to various duties.

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of GOD and man.

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy

bones.

9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled

with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

LECTURE 1016.

Religion the way of pleasantness and peace.

Lest we should forget the divine precepts here given us, we are exhorted to bind them about the neck, and to write them upon the tablets of the heart. These figures of speech shew us how closely we need to cherish the recollection of God's commandments,

as well as of his mercy and truth. To know these things once

is not enough. To feel them deeply at intervals is not enough. It is easy to feel thus, and to sin wilfully between whiles. But we must not expect to enjoy the blessings attached to the keeping of God's commandments, unless we keep them consistently, unless for this end we remember them constantly. And with a view to this we must give heed to the exhortation following: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." We may reason wisely as to the folly of forgetting any thing of such supreme importance as God's holy

will and commandment; but they who reason wisely are often found to act foolishly. And the only way to be secure from the foolishness of disobeying God, is to trust in Him with the whole heart.

Great and manifold are the blessings here promised to those, who, instead of trusting in their own wisdom, and walking in their own ways, "fear the Lord, and depart from evil." It shall redound to their prosperity here and hereafter. Not only the increase of wealth, but also of health and strength of body, are mentioned as consequences, which follow, under God's blessing, on the fulfilment of his gracious will. But even in the Old Testament, where temporal blessings are most largely dwelt upon, it is added by way of caution to the devout, lest they should form expectations never to be realized: "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." And in the New Testament, where these words are brought forward as strictly applicable to Christians, we are further taught to glory in tribulation, and are led to look upon a lot of poverty, sickness, or sorrow, as matter of thankfulness to God, when He thinks fit to send it, no less than when it pleases Him to give us wealth, and health, and joyfulness.

And yet it is not less true of religion now, than it was of old, and ever has been from the first, that "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." The being wise unto salvation, the knowledge of the truth together with the love of it, the understanding of God's ways together with the doing of his will, these things are infallibly productive of true peace and true pleasure even in this present life. They do indeed expose us to strife, and make us liable to many a pain, which we might escape by loving the world, and serving Satan. But then they give us peace in the midst of strife, and pleasure that prevails over pain. They give us peace of mind, and joy in the soul. They usually tend also in the main to our present health and prosperity. But at all events they ensure our everlasting happiness. And what is worthy to be mentioned in comparison of this? What need we grudge to suffer, to lose, or to forego, if we may thereby be made more meet to partake of the riches of eternity, of pleasures at God's right hand for evermore?

Further exhortations to duty.

19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when

it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

LECTURE 1017.

Of knowing the right means towards life eternal.

The word "wisdom" in this book seems usually to mean practical wisdom, the being wise unto salvation. But here we are told that "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens." This must mean the skill exercised by God in the work of creation. And again, "By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." God knows the means, yea, devises the means, needful for attaining to these wondrous ends. This is divine wisdom in Him. For man it is enough to know the means of attaining unto life eternal, means not of his own devising, means devised and revealed to him by God. The man who knows these is wise. And the divine wisdom attainable by man, has this point in common with the wisdom of God, each is the knowing the right means towards the end proposed, the knowing them, and the knowing how to use them.

Let us study in this book of God's teaching the means towards