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There is great virtue in wisdom; Solomon never wearies of praising it. Here he adds another commendation, but he calls attention to a boundary beyond which it may not pass.

I. THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WISDOM. "A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty," etc. (ver. 22). How often have men stood behind their strong ramparts - not of stone or rock only - and looked down with complacent contempt upon the despised adversaries outside and below them; but when the shock of the battle came they found, to their dismay, that wisdom is stronger than all defences that could be raised, and that it can cast down the confidence of the proud! It is not only the city which is built of brick or stone which is at the command of the truly wise; it is also the city of falsehood and of error; it is the city of oppression and of wrong; it. is also the city of knowledge and of truth. However hard to win may be its walls, the wise man - who is the man of rectitude, of unselfishness, of purity, of diligence, of earnestness, of patience, of devotion - will strive and toil until he stands within the citadel.

II. ONE OF ITS CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS. On the one hand, a wicked (who is an unwise) man "hardeneth his face." He may be proved to be in the wrong; he may be suffering seriously for his folly; but he will not change his course. He is obstinate, perverse, proud; he will go on his way, come what will. But, on the other hand, the upright (who is the wise) man directeth (or rather, considereth) his way. Even when he is right, and things are profitable and promising with him, he is often pondering his path, looking to his chart, carefully considering whether he is moving on in the right direction. But when he has been induced to wander into some byway, and when he is admonished either by God's providence or by man's fidelity, then he seriously considers his way, and, if he finds that he has erred, he immediately retraces his steps, until he is found again in the King's highway. The habit of considering is one of the clearest marks of wisdom.

III. TWO OF ITS LIMITATIONS.

1. It cannot succeed against God (ver. 30). Good men and true, who are within the kingdom of Christ, may put forth all their mental powers and moral energies to bring about that which God has condemned; they have watched and thought and striven for the cause which has not been, as they imagined, the cause of Christ, and they have hopelessly failed. History will supply abundant illustrations.

2. It cannot succeed without God (ver. 31). Equip your cavalry, arm your infantry, and collect your artillery for the day of battle; bring forth your most experienced general, who will be ready with his most brilliant tactics; still the issue will not be determined thus. There may arise a sudden unaccountable panic; there may be a movement made by the enemy's captain wholly unexpected and practically irresistible; there are forces at work on the great battlefield of the world against which no military skill can provide. God is present there. He can act upon the mind of one man or of many men in such wise that the battle will not be to the strong, the victory not be to the seasoned troops and the confident commander. Without God's consent, without his blessing, any battle on any field whatever, military or moral, must be lost. - C.

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KJV: A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.

WEB: A wicked man hardens his face; but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.