1.
Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
2.
She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
3.
She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
4.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5.
Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
7.
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
WISDOM’S BEGINNING IS GOD’S FEAR
‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’
Proverbs 9:10
I. Nothing can prosper long that runs its head against any of the great walls of the universe.—Life is known by its manifestations; no one has ever seen it. There is an eternal march of judgment, which they who choose can see. And calm, and clear, and pitiless on every side, amidst the noise of ignorant self-will, the clash of blinded passion, and wisdom blinder still, the voiceless warning strikes upon the world; and the great prison walls close in on those who will have it so.
II. It may be said: ‘These are but words; what proof is there of this invisible, everlasting wall of doom, and of the unseen executioners, God’s secret police, that arrest the guilty and the careless, self-indulgent fools?’—Take any form of vice you like, give it power, give it wealth, and then—wait a few years and see what comes of it. Watch the curse day by day, and hour by hour, walking by the victim’s side; watch him dragged from bad to worse; stand in his dreary home when the last scene comes—and doubt no more of God’s great prison walls on earth.
III. But it is equally true that the great laws of life act for good to those who follow them.—‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’
—Rev. E. Thring.
Illustration
‘ “The Christian’s Rose,” said Martin Luther, “is not a Red Rose, but a White—whiter than snow; his joys are not the gaieties of this lower earth, but the blessedness of the world of spirits. Another voice rings in my ear—that of Folly, of Madam Bubble. It has enchantment in its dulcet tones. It promises me enjoyment more immediate, more manifest, more reckless and riotous, than Wisdom’s calmer delights. But I shall make shipwreck of myself, if Duessa entice me and Una go unheeded. The simple it is who is attracted like the moth to the flame. ‘He knoweth not that the shades are there; that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.’ So let me prefer the White Rose to the Red.” ’
11.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
12.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
13.
A foolish woman is clamourous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14.
For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15.
To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17.
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18.
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.