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TEXT: Proverbs 3:19-35
SUBJECT: Exposition of Proverbs #6: God's Wisdom and Ours
Tonight brings us to the sixth sermon in our study of Proverbs. Its theme is epitomized in 4:17: "Wisdom is the principal thing". This is true, not only for the child of God (to whom Proverbs is addressed), but also for our Heavenly Father. "Wisdom is the principal thing" to us because it is "the principal thing" to God. In vv.19-20, we're reminded of His wisdom; in vv.21-35, we're urged to get some for ourselves.
Wisdom directs the Lord in all He does, vv.19-20: "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew". Three Divine works are recalled:
1.Creation. In Wisdom He "founded the earth" and "established the heavens". The universe testifies to both His mechanical and artistic genius. Even under the curse, things work reasonably well; an order remains. But the orderliness of creation isn't monotony; He has endowed creation with an almost infinite variety. And what does this melding of unity and diversity prove but the Wisdom of our Creator? "O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all".
2.Judgment. In Wisdom "the depths were broken up". This looks back to the Flood. When the wrath of God burst upon the Ancient World, it came from two directions: above and below. Rain poured down from above; springs gushed up from below. God was behind both. But what was the Flood? Was it the result of a Divine temper tantrum? It wasn't. It was an act of extraordinary wisdom. It was a worldwide judgment which furthered God's plan to bring about a worldwide salvation. Another stroke of genius!
3.Preservation. In Wisdom "clouds drop down the dew". The sun provides necessary light and heat. Left to themselves, they would shrivel up the earth and drain it of its life. But they're not left to themselves; clouds filter the light and reduce the heat; dew refreshes all life. Neglect is a sure sign of folly (see 24:30ff.). Thus, the clouds and dew recall our Creator's Wisdom.
In short: God's wisdom is obvious in all His works. You needn't be a deep thinker to know that; open your eyes and the Divine Wisdom rushes in like a flood. It ought to be recalled, admired, and praised. But we mustn't stop there. We must go on to imitate it. In this way, the sublime vv.19-20 seque into the mundane verses to follow, vv.21-26.
Wisdom ought to direct all we do.
It will do us good, vv.21-26: "My son, let them not depart from your eyes--keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of the trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught".
Wisdom must be sought and retained. The man who never seeks it will never have it. The man who has it, had better not rest on his laurels; wisdom gotten by hard work may by lost by inattention. No one ever gained more wisdom than Solomon; no one ever lost more than he. How do we get it and keep it? By not "letting them depart from our eyes". This means: by staying in the Word; not just reading it daily, but by delighting in it and making it your "meditation day and night". We ought to do spiritually what the Pharisees did literally: Bind Scripture to our hands and make it the frontlets between our eyes.
Wisdom will animate our souls and adorn our outer lives. It will provide refuge from the waves of anxiety which crash upon our souls and sweep so many away. It will prevent self-inflicted wounds. It will protect us from the schemes of wicked people. It will bring us into closer fellowship with God. These are some of the benefits of Wisdom.
They're on display in the life of our Lord Jesus. Wisdom moved Him to do--not His own will--"but the will of Him who sent" Him. Wisdom produced a life free from hypocrisy; demanding the highest ethical standards, He lived in such a way that no one could "convict [Him] of sin". Was a man ever more beset by troubles than He? Yet who is freer from worry? Traps were placed all around Him; He never stepped into one. God was His "confidence"; His "foot [was never] caught". Perfect wisdom had this effect on our Savior. We won't attain that fulness, of course. But we can be wiser than we are; much wiser. These blessings come to us in proportion to our wisdom. Therefore, "in all of our getting, get understanding".
Examples of wisdom bring this chapter to a close, vv.27ff.
Wisdom is financially responsible, vv.27-28: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, `Go and come back, and tomorrow I will give it', when you have it with you".
The wise man budgets his money in order to pay his bills. Obligations are his priority; what he owes is more important to him than what he wants.
Wisdom is kind, vv.29-30: "Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm".
It doesn't plot against neighbors or wish them ill; rather, it keeps an eye on their property.
It doesn't look for a fight. Charles Bridges comments on v.30 with his customary insight:
"A propensity to embroil ourselves in quarrels kindles strife instead of following the rule of peace. This spirit is a great hindrance to holiness and inconsistent with a true servant of God. Irritable persons strongly insist upon their rights, or what the conceive to be due to them from others. `Is there not--say they--`a cause?' But impartial observers frequently judge it to be striving without a cause; that no harm has been done; none at least to justify the breach of love; that more love on one hand, and more forbearance on the other, would have prevented the breach; that there is utterly a fault--why do ye not rather take wrong? How valuable is a close application of the self-denying law of Christ! How earnestly should we seek from Himself His own meek and loving spirit! `O Lord, pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace, and of all virtues; without which, whosoever liveth is accounted dead before Thee'".
Wisdom is content with the blessing of God alone, vv.31ff: "Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways; for the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret counsel is with the upright. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the habitation of the just. Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools".
The wise man is satisfied with the LORD. Therefore, he doesn't envy the wicked man's riches or power or prestige. He realizes the sinner may have all of these things, but doesn't have "the one thing needful". The wise man agrees with Paul: "Godliness with contentment is great gain". Therefore, he has no interest in getting what everyone else has. For, after all, having Christ means he has everything!
Conclusion:
These verses provide a strong incentive for the pursuit of theology. Most people think studying the attributes of God is dry, dull, and impractical. Nothing could be further from the truth! Paul tells us to "Be imitators of God as dear children" (Ephesians 5:1). But how can we imitate Him if we don't know Him as He is? Knowing Him as He is is another way of saying studying the attributes of God. This ought to be our greatest joy and most practical pursuit. For knowing Him will make us like Him. And the believer has no hope higher than this. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is".
Therefore, you ought to become wise because the Lord is wise. Let us seek wisdom, therefore, not as an academic pursuit, but as an act of worship.
"To the only wise God, our Savior,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power, both now and ever.
Amen."
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