to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints. Sermons
I. CONDITIONS ON MAN'S SIDE. The enumeration is climactic, proceeding from the less strong to the stronger expressions. 1. Receptivity. The open mind and heart, ever ready to "adopt" true sentiments and appropriate them as one's own. The point is not to ask - Who says this? By what channel does it come to me? But - Is it sound? is it true? If so, it is for me, and shall be made my own. Truth is common property. 2. Attention, concentration, assimilation. "Keeping her commands with us." The thorough student finds it necessary to exercise his memory, and to help it by the use of notebooks, where he hides his knowledge. So must we hive and store, arrange and digest, our religious impressions, which otherwise "go in at one ear and out at the other." Short germ sayings may be thus kept in the memory; they will burst into fertility some day. 3. Active application. In figurative language "bending the ear" and "turning the heart" in the desired direction. The mind must not be passive in religion. It is no process of "cramming," but of personal, original, spiritual activity throughout. 4. Passionate craving and prayerfulness. "Calling Sense to one's side, and raising one's voice to Prudence" - to give another rendering to ver. 3. We must invoke the spirit of Wisdom for the needs of daily conduct; thus placing ourselves in living relation with what is our true nature. Fra Angelico prayed before his easel; Cromwell, in his tent on the eve of battle. So must the thinker in his study, the preacher in his pulpit, the merchant at his desk, if he would have the true clearness of vision and the only genuine success. True prayer is always for the universal, not the private, good. 5. Persevering and laborious exertion. illustrated by the miner's toil. The passage (Job 28.), of extraordinary picturesque power and interest, describing the miner's operations, may help us to appreciate the Illustration. The pursuit of what is ideal is still more arduous than that of the material, as silver and gold. It is often said that the perseverance of the unholy worker shames the sloth of the spiritual man. But let us not ignore the other side. The toil in the spiritual region is not obvious to the eye like the other, but is not the less really practised in silence by thousands of faithful souls. We should reflect on the immense travail of soul it has cost to produce the book which stirs us like a new force, though it may appear to flow with consummate ease from the pen. Such are the conditions of "understanding the fear of Jehovah," or, in modern language, of appropriating, making religion our own; "receiving the things of the Spirit of God," in the language of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 2:14). It is the highest human possession, because permanent, inalienable, and preservative amidst life's ills. II. CONDITIONS ON THE SIDE OF GOD. If religion be the union or identification of the soul with God, he must be related to us in such a way as makes this possible. 1. He is wisdom's Source and Giver. He not only contains in himself that knowledge which, reflected in us, becomes prudence, sense, wisdom, piety; he is an active Will and a self-communicating Spirit. The ancients had a glimpse of this when they said that the gods were not of so grudging or envious a nature as not to reveal their good to men. God is self-revealing; "freely gives of his things" to us, that we may know, and in knowing, possess them. 2. His wisdom is saving. "Sound wisdom" (ver. 7) may be better rendered soundness, or salvation, or health, or saving health. It seems to come from a root signifying the essential or actual. Nothing is essential but health for sensuous enjoyment; nothing but health, in the larger sense, for spiritual enjoyment. Let us think of God as himself absolute Health, and thus the Giver of all health and happiness to his creatures. 3. He is Protector of the faithful. The Hebrew imagination, informed by constant scenes of war, delights to represent him as the Buckler or Shield of his servants (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 33:20; Psalm 89:19). Those who "walk in innocence" seem to bear a charmed life. They "fear no evil," for he is with them. The vast sky is their tent roof. They may be slain, but cannot be hurt. To be snatched from this world is to be caught to his arms. 4. He is eternal Justice. Being this in himself, the "way of his saints," which is synonymous with human rectitude, cannot be indifferent to him. Right is the highest idea we can associate with God. It is exempt from the possible suspicion of weakness or misdirection which may cleave to the mere idea of goodness or kindness. It essentially includes might. Thus the soul finds shelter beneath this vast and majestic conception and faith of its God. These, then, are the conditions, Divine and human, of religion. That we may realize it in ourselves, "understand right, justice, and equity" - in a word, "every good way" of life and thought, uniting piety with morality - the conditions must be faithfully fulfilled. Perfect bodily health may not be attainable; some of its conditions lie without the sphere of freedom, and within that of necessary law. Spiritual health is attainable, for it lies within the sphere of freedom. Then God is realized; it is the ether of the soul, and the region of love and light and blessedness. - J.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. I. THE CHARACTER OF GOOD MEN.1. They are spoken of as the "righteous." The moral code of the universe may be reduced to two words: "Be just." Be just to yourselves, to others, and to God. Virtue, morality, and religion constitute a righteous man. 2. They are spoken of as "walking uprightly." Goodness in all moral creatures is not stationary, but progressive. 3. They are spoken of as "saints." They are consecrated to God's service, set apart to His use; they are the living and imperishable temples of the Holy Ghost. II. THE GOD OF GOOD MEN. 1. His relation to creation generally. He is the great original, central, exhaustless fountain of intelligence. The "Father of lights" — the light of instinct, reason, genius, conscience. Wherever there is a ray of truth, a beam of intelligence, a gleam of virtue, there is God, and in them He should be recognised and worshipped. 2. His relation to the good in particular. He makes special provision for them. He provides for their instruction. He is their buckler, their shield, and their enemies must strike through Him to injure them. He superintends their career. He vouchsafes their ultimate perfection. (David Thomas, D. D.) (Bp. Jebb.) A buckler to them that walk uprightly We are ill keepers of our own goodness and wisdom. God therefore is pleased to lay it up for us, and that it may be safe, Himself is the buckler and safeguard of it. But it must be sound and real wisdom and goodness, or else He careth not for it. The word translated "sound wisdom" signifieth essence or being; but it is used also to signify virtue, wisdom, and the law of God, because other things pass away, but they have a durable being — they make the well-being of man, they support the being of all things that are. As a buckler taketh the blows on itself which are directed to another, so God taketh the wrongs done to the righteous as done to Himself, and so doth receive them, as that He taketh away the hurt from His servants. The buckler also shows that they who will live uprightly must strive and fight. Let every one resist the enemy valiantly, for he that resisteth shall have an unwearied helper, and triumphing shall not want a bountiful rewarder. God will defend and preserve those that walk uprightly from falling into errors in seeking for wisdom. It is from God, by fearing Him, that wisdom is obtained, and that wisdom so obtained is alone sound wisdom. The paths of judgment God will keep for Himself, the ways of holiness He will preserve for His saints; and He preserving the ways of holiness, the ways will preserve them that walk in them. The words may, however, mean, He will so keep judgment that He will preserve mercy; He will so preserve mercy that He will keep judgment. The ways cross not so much in themselves but that they can meet in Him. Note that they are but paths, narrow paths of judgment, which the Lord keepeth, but it is a broad way of mercy which He preserveth. The force of ver. 8 is that God, who is Himself exact righteousness, guideth His servants in the ways of righteousness. The word "understanding" may seem to be derived from standing, according as the Greek word also hath its derivation. Clemens Alexandrinus giveth the reason of the derivation, because understanding doth stay and settle the mind, which, before being unresolved, was carried hither and thither. But though this be true of a natural understanding, yet a spiritual understanding doth rather consist in walking the paths that lead from earthly things to heavenly. To understand righteousness is from a civil righteousness to walk to a religious righteousness.(M. Jermin.) People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Care, Course, Faithful, Fear, Godly, Guard, Guarding, Judgment, Justice, Keepeth, Keeping, Keeps, Ones, Paths, Preserve, Preserves, Preserveth, Preserving, Protects, Saints, Takes, WatchOutline 1. wisdom promises godliness to her children10. and safety from evil company 20. and direction in good ways Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 2:8 7155 saints 5330 guard Library The Beginning and End of WisdomPROVERBS ii. 2, 3, 5. If thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after wisdom, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. We shall see something curious in the last of these verses, when we compare it with one in the chapter before. The chapter before says, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That if we wish to be wise at all, we must BEGIN by … Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God The Red Lamp. Notes on the Fourth Century Letter xxiv (Circa A. D. 1126) to Oger, Regular Canon Truth Hidden when not Sought After. Sundry Sharp Reproofs Sunday Before Lent The Knowledge of God "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness," &C. Proverbs Links Proverbs 2:8 NIVProverbs 2:8 NLT Proverbs 2:8 ESV Proverbs 2:8 NASB Proverbs 2:8 KJV Proverbs 2:8 Bible Apps Proverbs 2:8 Parallel Proverbs 2:8 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 2:8 Chinese Bible Proverbs 2:8 French Bible Proverbs 2:8 German Bible Proverbs 2:8 Commentaries Bible Hub |