Wisdom's Inestimable Worth
W. Clarkson Proverbs 3:13-26 Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding.… Here are found many strong recommendations of heavenly wisdom, and we might adopt the thirteenth verse as a refrain to each one of them: "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." I. POSSESSORS OF IT, WE ARE SHAREHOLDERS WITH GOD HIMSELF. (Vers. 19, 20.) Only by wisdom could the Divine Founder of all visible things make them what they are. His wonder workings in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, in sun and star, in grain and grass, in coal and iron, in rain and dew, - all are the product of Divine wisdom. II. POSSESSORS OF IT, WE HAVE A WELL BEING THAT ENDURES. "Length of days is in her right hand" (ver. 16). "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her" (ver. 18). They who fear God are more likely than others to "be satisfied with long life" (Psalm 91:16). For the secret of strength is with those who are obedient to law; but though they should die before old age, yet (1) so long as life lasts their well being will continue, and (2) when their earthly life is taken, their heritage is in the everlasting life beyond, where there is "length of days" indeed. III. IT IS THE SOURCE OF GENUINE ESTEEM. "In her left hand... honour" (ver. 16). It may, indeed, be that the children of wisdom are disregarded or even despised. But that is the painful exception to the rule. The rule is, everywhere and in every age, that those who consult God's will in the guidance of their life are honoured of their brethren, enjoy the esteem of the worthiest of their neighbours, live and die in the fragrance of general regard. IV. IT IS THE ONE SECURITY AGAINST SIN. (Ver. 23.) How many are "the stumblers," those who trip and fall as they ascend or descend the hill of life! And how serious, sometimes, are these falls! Character, reputation, joy, the light of other hearts, the happiness of the home, - all gone through the one false step! We have urgent need of some security. In what shall this be found? Not in hedgings and fencings which will take away every possible danger, but in the wisdom of the wise, which will teach us where to go and how to tread the path of life, in the "wisdom which is from above." V. IT GUARANTEES THE GUARDIANSHIP OF GOD, AND THUS ENSURES CONFIDENCE AND PEACE. (Vers. 24-26.) There are those whose life is full of slavish fear; by day they dread the evils which assail the wicked, by night the perils of the darkness. But he who keeps God's Word enjoys the guardianship of his Almighty arm. "The Lord is his confidence;" his days are spent in quietness and calmness, and "his sleep is sweet" (Psalm 112:7). VI. IT IS THE PERENNIAL SPRING OF PEACE AND JOY. (Vers. 17, 18.) Other sources of gratification are to be found, but some of them do not carry the sanction of conscience, some of them are out of the reach of the lowly, others are only open to the learned or the favoured; most, if not all of them, are short-lived, and become of less worth as they are more frequently employed. The wisdom which comes from God and which leads to him, which makes the human spirit the friend and follower of the Son of God, brings a "peace which passes all understanding," the "peace of God," and "joys which through all time abide." VII. IT IS THE REALIZATION OF HUMAN LIFE. Wisdom is a "tree of life" (ver. 18); wisdom and discretion "shall be life unto our soul" (ver. 22). Any existence which is not illumined, ennobled, sanctified, beautified (ver. 22, "grace to thy neck"), by these, is something less than life in the sight of God. Only with these and by these do we attain to a state of being which the Wise One who sees things as they are recognizes as the life of man. Wherefore: 1. Count it worth while to secure this heavenly wisdom at all costs whatsoever (vers. 14, 15). Its value cannot be estimated in gold; the price of wisdom is above rubies (Job 28:18). Nothing is to be compared with it. Part, if necessary, with the largest fortune to obtain it (Mark 10:21; Proverbs 23:23). 2. Take care to cherish and retain it (ver. 24). Let the must precious pearl fall, but hold this with a hand that will not unclasp. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. WEB: Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.