“But where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding? It cannot be “gotten for gold,” nor “silver;” it cannot be valued with “the gold of Ophir,” “the precious onyx,” or “the sapphire;” “gold” and “crystal” cannot equal it; nor “coral,” nor “pearls;” nor “the topaz of Ethiopia;” for “the price of wisdom is above rubies.”
When we rise from the cavern and the mine, from noticing the precious metals and precious stones, and look abroad on the surface of the earth, or upwards to the sky, or over the great and wide sea, the Scripture meets us with innumerable utterances of what, if we are wise, we shall see there of the ever present, active, and beneficent God. “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengtheneth man’s heart.” “He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, that sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is filled with the fruit of his works.” “The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted.” “Thou makest darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.” “The earth is full of thy riches: so is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever; the Lord shall rejoice in his works.” He is “the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea.” He “by his strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power:” He “stilleth the noise of the waves, and the tumult of the people.” “Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to rejoice. Thou visitest the earth and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.”
In the following passages, the various powers and capacities of humanity, as displayed in agriculture and art, are represented as Divine gifts. The farmer and mechanic, the designer and manufacturer, the engraver and draftsman, the worker in metals, in wood, stone, and in every sort of raw material, all accomplish their several operations in virtue of ability which God confers. “Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow? Doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place? For GOD doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in council, and excellent in working.” “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri;—and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, and to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach;—and, in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent also to Solomon “a cunning man, endued with prudence and understanding,—skilful to work in gold, and silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of engraving, and to find out every device that might be put to him.”
The next quotations illustrate commercial intercourse, the dependence of nation on nation, trade by sea, and the importation of natural curiosities, as well as of valuable products and useful material, with other kindred matters. “The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,—and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together:” and Solomon wrote to Hiram, “Thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like the Sidonians. Now, therefore, let thy servants hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon, and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, according to all that thou shalt appoint.” And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire, concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will convey them by sea in floats, to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and fir-trees; and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil.”
And Solomon “went to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea-side, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to king Solomon:” “and once every three years came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” The 27th chapter of Ezekiel is one of the most extraordinary descriptions that is anywhere to be met with, of the exchange of commodities and the intercourse of nations by means of commerce. The different productions of various peoples and climes are enumerated; the “fulness” of all lands is represented as flowing into the markets of Tyre,—brought there by the ships and sailors of every maritime nation;—while Tyre itself is spoken of as the nurse of mariners and the mistress of the sea,—her beauty and abundance radiant and wonderful,—and her merchant princes as the lords of the world. All this may breed luxury, foster pride, promote corruption, and lead ultimately to national degradation and decay: but this is not the necessary effect of abundance, nor does it forbid us to refer riches, prosperity, commerce, manufactures, and everything else that adorns life, to the beneficence of God. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” HE pours down, year by year, the riches of the skies,—calls up the treasures of the earth, spreads abroad the abundance of the seas,—adds to the value of many of his gifts what they derive from the labour, skill, and ingenuity of man,—and excites the nations to exchange and trade, that each country may share in the joy and the productions of all. In this way it comes to pass, that the whole race, in relation to the entire world, might be addressed in the language of Moses to the chosen people when he described the land promised to their fathers. “The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land; a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills: a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive-oil and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.” “Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth AND FULNESS THEREOF, and for the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush.” “He made Jacob to ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and he drank the pure blood of the grape.”
Unusual as some of these expressions are, especially those of a figurative character, they may be taken to indicate the intention of Providence to bless the obedient in “the life that now is,” as well as in relation to that “which is to come.” “God giveth us all things richly to enjoy;” if faith and piety, love and obedience, pervaded the race, everything that adorns and beautifies existence might be delighted in and used without injury. By free and universal commercial intercourse, the abundance and blessings of favoured regions may become the common property of all. There may thus be established throughout all nations, an equality of privilege, each sharing in the productions of the rest. With such views, we may appropriately conclude the present chapter by the following passages, weaving them into a song for the entire race:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;
The world, and they that dwell therein.”
“The Lord is good to all: