SELECTIONS FROM THE PROVERBS

[{248}]

PROVERBS

Proverbs is a collection of sayings of wise men, coming from many sources and gathered by many men. It is a little library of smaller books. The poetry is more uniform than any other in the Bible. The subjects, on the contrary, are the most various. All sides of life are represented. But chiefly the proverbs are concerned with showing the wisdom of living a good, honest, industrious life, and the foolishness of being lazy, immoral, greedy for money, and evil in thought and conduct. A great deal is said about the fool. He is the one who is shortsighted and careless of consequences; who talks slander and so hurts his friends; who forgets that the laws of God punish evil doing, and so hurts himself. The idea is that the wicked man acts as though he had not common sense.

[{249}]

THE PRAISES OF WISDOM

WISDOM CRIETH ALOUD IN THE STREET

Wisdom crieth aloud in the street;
She uttereth her voice in the broad places;
She crieth in the chief place of meeting;
At the entering in of the gates,
In the city, she uttereth her words:
"How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?
And scorners delight in scorning,
And fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof:
Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,
I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel,
And would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh in the day of your calamity;
I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as a storm,
And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind;
When distress and anguish come upon you.
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; [{250}] They shall seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of the Lord:
They would not have my counsel;
They despised all my reproof:
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled with their own devices.
For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them,
And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely,
And shall be quiet without fear of evil."
WISDOM IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES

My son, forget not my law;
But let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and years of life,
And peace, shall they add to thee.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee:
Bind them about thy neck;
Write them upon the table of thine heart:
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
And lean not upon thine own understanding:
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes;
Fear the Lord, and depart from evil;
It shall be health to thy navel, [{251}] And marrow to thy bones.
Honour the Lord with thy substance,
And with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty
And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;
Neither be weary of his reproof:
For whom the Lord loveth he reproveth;
Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
And the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
And happy is everyone that retaineth her.
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths were broken up,
And the skies drop down the dew.

[{252}]

THE GLORY OF WISDOM

Doth not wisdom cry,
And understanding put forth her voice?
In the top of high places by the way,
Where the paths meet, she standeth;
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
Unto you, O men, I call;
And my voice is to the sons of men.
O ye simple, understand subtilty;
And, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
Hear, for I will speak excellent things;
And the opening of my lips shall be right things.
For my mouth shall utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth,
And right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver;
And knowledge rather than choice gold.
For wisdom is better than rubies;
And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto her.
I, Wisdom, have made subtilty my dwelling,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:
Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, [{253}] And the froward mouth, do I hate.
Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge:
I am understanding; I have might.
By me kings reign,
And princes decree justice.
By me princes rule,
And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
I love them that love me;
And those that seek me diligently shall find me.
Riches and honour are with me;
Yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold;
And my revenue than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of judgment:
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance,
And that I may fill their treasuries.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,
Before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,
Or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth;
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills was I brought forth:
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields,
Nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
When he established the heavens, I was there:
When he set a circle upon the face of the deep: [{254}] When he made firm the skies above:
When the fountains of the deep became strong:
When he gave to the sea its bound,
That the waters should not transgress his commandment:
When he marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was by him, as a master workman:
And I was daily his delight,
Rejoicing always before him;
Rejoicing in his habitable earth;
And my delight was with the sons of men.
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me:
For blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise,
And refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,
And shall obtain favour of the Lord.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:
All they that hate me love death.