Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding. 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 man's 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.WEB: Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding. |
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