In Proverbs chapter 1 and verse
20, we read the following. Wisdom crieth without. She uttereth
her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place
of concourse, in the openings of the gates. In the city she
uttereth her words, saying, how long, ye simple ones, will ye
love simplicity? The scorners delight in their
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. Wisdom, cryeth without. Wisdom. This book of Proverbs, the Proverbs
of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, is the product
of that wisdom which Solomon requested when the Lord asked
of him, ask what I shall give thee. In 2 Chronicles chapter
1 and verse 7, we read of Solomon's account to Chronicles 1 verse
7, In that night did God appear unto Solomon and said unto him,
Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou
hast shown great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to
reign in his stead. Now, O Lord God, Let thy promise
unto David my father be established, for thou hast made me king over
a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now
wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this
people, for who can judge this thy people that is so great?
And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and
thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine
enemies, neither yet hast thou asked long life, but hast asked
wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people
over whom I have made thee king. Wisdom and knowledge is granted
unto thee and I will give thee riches and wealth and honor such
as none of the kings have had that have been before thee. Neither
shall there any after thee have the like. So God asked Solomon what he
would have and Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. A wonderful
request A wise request. The fool would not even ask for
wisdom. Man by nature seeks it not. Man in his natural state as a
fallen sinner thinks he has plenty of wisdom. Why ask for wisdom
that you do not lack? Man does not realize that he
is without wisdom. And yet God tells us elsewhere
in the scriptures that man by wisdom knew not God. That the
wisdom of man is nothing. That no man has sought God. That
God's wisdom is foolishness unto man. But men in their wisdom
reject God, reject His truth, reject His gospel, and reject
His Son. And yet God asked Solomon, ask
what I shall give thee. And Solomon knew in the position
that God had placed him in, as the son of David, as a king set
up over his people, knew that he would need wisdom to lead
that people. And he knew that he lacked this
wisdom. So he asked for wisdom and God
granted him it. But was the wisdom that God granted
Solomon merely a quality? Was it wisdom as men view wisdom,
as a knowledge and an understanding and a discernment that makes
men able to make the right decisions? Did Solomon simply request a
quality from God? Or is there more to the wisdom
that he sought, and more to the wisdom that God granted him,
than just understanding knowledge and discernment? Yes indeed there
is. The wisdom which Solomon needed,
the wisdom which you and I need, and the wisdom which God in grace
granted unto King Solomon was not a quality but a person not
simply knowledge and understanding that men have but a person who
is wisdom personified what Solomon sought and what Solomon was granted
was the Lord Jesus Christ Christ is the wisdom of God. Christ says of himself, I am
the way, the truth and the life. He is truth. He is understanding. He is knowledge. And he is wisdom. There is no true wisdom outside
of Christ to be found in this world. Man's wisdom will lead
you to death. Man's wisdom will lead you to
reject God, His Gospel and His Son. Man's wisdom is foolishness
and by it you will not know God. But the wisdom that God gave
unto Solomon was Christ Himself. Christ Himself. Solomon sought
not power. He sought not riches and wealth. He sought not victory over his
enemies merely. He sought not long life. But
he knew that above anything that he could ask for, there was that
riches, those riches which were greater than any riches he might
have in this world. The riches of God's grace in
Jesus Christ. The riches of God. He knew he
needed a saviour. He knew he was a corrupt sinner. He knew he was nothing. He knew
from his father David that David's only strength came from God and
that David as a king and as a man so many times fell and stumbled
that he was nothing in himself and that if Solomon was left
in the same way he would fall and stumble and lead Israel into
ruin. But he knew that if he was to
stand and to lead that people as their king, then he must have
God's salvation, God's wisdom. He must have a savior. He must have Christ. Christ, the wisdom of God. Well, what of you? What do you
seek and what do you have? What do you trust in? Do you
think you're wise? Do you think you're knowledgeable?
Do you think that by your intellect you will strive and walk and
attain to great things? Men, by their own wisdom, by
their own intellect, by their own strength, as God allows them,
do often attain to great things in this world. But it's but for
a moment. And throughout they're full of
sin. And soon those strong young men
become weak old men and enter the grave with nothing. And all
their riches and all their achievements are as nothing. They are as water
that they've tried to gather in their hands and it's run off
their hands to the ground. They cannot take it with them
and they pass from this world. carrying nothing but sinful hands
with which they must stand before a holy and almighty God who will
judge them according to their works and if that's the wisdom
they stand before Him with then they will go into outer darkness
where there is no light there is no understanding and there
is no wisdom forevermore What folly! The wisdom of man says
in his heart there is no God. The wisdom of man worships himself
and stands in his own strength and even if with the lips he
bears an acknowledgement to the existence of God. or makes pass
in reference to God and his help. In reality he lives and walks
like he's on his own. Like nothing will be done except
he does it. And he takes great pride in all
he does and all he says. His heart says there is no God. And he walks accordingly. That's
the wisdom of man. It's foolishness. that's your
wisdom, that's my wisdom and it will lead us to the grave
to the grave it rejects God, it rejects God's son and it rejects
his gospel because to those with such wisdom the preaching of
the gospel, the cross is to these, these that perish foolishness Where is the wise, God says?
Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? You who think you stand in your
own wisdom. Have not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. our wisdom
is foolishness and to us God's wisdom is foolishness by nature
we hear the gospel and those who preach it and laugh and scorn
it but God says of this gospel that
it is the power of God Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God And he says that the foolishness of God in preaching this gospel
is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men because
by it he has chosen to save a great company of fools and of nothings. Those who despised and rejected
him and yet those whom he chose to save and to make his wisdom
known unto. God in wisdom chose to make himself
known unto King Solomon. By nature Solomon was like all
others, scorned in the wisdom of God. But God said no. Through you I will demonstrate
my wisdom and my gospel. Through you I will lift up and
exalt my Son. So he changed Solomon's heart.
And he put wisdom in Solomon's heart to cry out to God and to
say, Lord give me wisdom. Give me Christ. And God gave
him Christ. God gave him Christ. And the
product of God giving Solomon Christ the wisdom of God is this
book we have in the middle of our Bible called the Proverbs. The Proverbs of Solomon, the
son of David. King of Israel, to know wisdom
and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to
receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity,
to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discernment. A wise man will hear and will
increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain
unto wise counsels. to understand the proverb and
the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. Because God gave Solomon wisdom,
Solomon by the Spirit of God could declare wisdom in this
book. Now as we've seen wisdom is not
merely a quality and the book of Proverbs does not simply contain
wise words and sayings. It is not a collection of teachings
by which we may walk well. It is not simply a collection
of helpful sayings. But the book of Proverbs makes
known wisdom itself. It makes known wisdom himself. Proverbs is an unfolding of the
person of Christ and his gospel. When Solomon asked for wisdom,
he asked for a saviour. And that Saviour, though He knew
him not by name, that Saviour whom He knew by wisdom, is the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Have you sought God and
asked for wisdom? Has He granted you wisdom? If He has, then the wisdom you've
been granted will be Christ Himself. When Solomon asked for wisdom,
he asked not for the riches, but God gave him them, following
the wisdom he gave. Elsewhere Jesus teaches, seek
ye first the kingdom of God and all these things, all these things
you may need in this world. your bread, your clothing, food,
water, these things you may need and which you may worry that
you may not have. If you seek God, seek first the
Kingdom of God, all these things shall be added unto you. I will
take care of you. These are nothing compared to
the riches that I will give you by grace in the Gospel. For if
you have the Gospel, I will watch over you. And watch over Solomon
he did, there was none greater. And yet we may say of Solomon,
we may wonder, this king, this wondrously wise king, this king
who sought after wisdom, was also a great sinner. There is much that Solomon did
which was shameful. Shameful. Then where is the wisdom
in much that Solomon did? Well the things that Solomon
did that were against his God and which brought shame upon
himself and his land were not the product of wisdom but were
the product of his own flesh and sinful self which raged against
it. because as God says of all those
who are given Christ they have the spirit within and the flesh
war if against the spirit and the flesh causes us to sin daily
and the only good that we do the only good that we can do
the only thing of merit in God's people is Christ himself But
they in themselves are just sinful flesh through and through, waiting
to be laid in the grave in that day when they will be raised
again with a new body in perfect righteousness and holiness, where
there is Christ within and nothing without to war against him. where
they are pure and perfect and the working of his blood which
was shed to make them pure has brought about its ultimate purpose
of taking away the sin in the flesh and bring them in perfect
all Solomon's wisdom was in Christ but yes Solomon himself was a
great sinner if you have Christ the first thing that you will
truly own if you truly know Christ and his salvation is that you
are a great sinner and that in your flesh there dwells no good
thing that you sought not God, that you cared not for God, that
you loved not God, that you in yourself by nature or without
understanding were blind, were deaf, were dumb. That there's
nothing good in you, nothing which God can be pleased with. That all you have is a gift from
God in Christ. That you fell upon your knees
before Him and cried out guilty and condemned, Lord have mercy
upon me, a sinner. And when God looked upon you
in grace, He took you. and took away your heart and
put in its place a new heart he put Christ in the midst and
what you have is riches beyond knowledge beyond understanding
you have Christ but all that you are in the flesh is sin there
is no true believer who truly knows Christ and truly has the
wisdom of God within who rejoices in their own works or their own
qualities. Pride comes before us all. Pride leads us to the grave. There is no good in the flesh.
But God's people know they're nothing. They know they are base,
they know they are nothings. And it is those who are nothing
whom God saves, under whom God makes known his wisdom. This
is the wisdom of God which Solomon was granted and of which God
speaks by Paul in 1 Corinthians. For Paul says, we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. For unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God
have chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. And God have chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
And base things of the world and things which are despised
have God chosen. Yea, and things which are not
to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory
in his presence. but of Him, i.e. in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom. And that wisdom is seen in its
being righteousness, sanctification and redemption. That according
as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Yes, God's chosen the base things
of the world, the weak, the foolish, the nothings, those that are
despised. Despised. And to them, he has
given Christ Jesus, the wisdom of God. And in him we are made
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. we should not
glory in self but in him and him alone what do you know of
that can you rejoice in that because here's something to rejoice
in if you know anything of your foolishness, if you know anything
of your weakness, if you know what it is to be foolish and
weak and small and despised, if you feel your sin, your iniquity,
if you feel your guilt, if you feel your helplessness, if you
feel your state before God and feel like you could never attain
to any heights like you look at the law of God and the righteousness
of God and you know that to stand before a holy God you must be
righteous and you look within and you just see a cesspit of
sin within that casts you down and breaks you and to cry out
in despair if that's where you've been then you will rejoice that
God does not choose the righteous that God does not choose the
holy that God does not choose those who stand in their own
strength but he chooses those like you who are weak and helpless
and nothing nothing Those who have struggled like Paul did,
when he says, I know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal,
sold under sin. That which I do, I allow not,
for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that
in me, that's in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is
present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would
not, that I do. Now if I do that, I would not.
It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man. But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver me? from the
body of this death. You see, there's a day where
we care not for God's law, where we care not for his gospel, where
we care not for the truth, where we care not about being righteous,
where we care not how we stand before a holy God. But there
comes a time in the pathway of the child of God when God begins
to make himself known unto them and makes their state before
him known and makes the need for righteousness known. And
they want to turn away from their sin, they want to be right, but
they discover that no matter how hard they try, they fail
utterly. And all they can cry out is like
Paul, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I'm nothing. Once I thought I
was something. Once I was proud. Once I had
strength. But now God's shown me that not
only am I not strong enough, not only am I not right enough,
but I'm utterly unrighteous with no strength. I'm base, I'm despised,
I'm nothing. Then what hope is there for such
a one? There is the hope. that God have
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise
and God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty and the base things of the world
and things which are despised have God chosen yea and things
which are not to bring to naught things that are that's the hope
that's my hope that's your hope Do you feel you're nothing? Do
you feel you're a sinner, a far-off, without any hope of attaining
unto God? Well, God saves sinners like
this who are nothing. Nothing. And when they cry out
in such a state, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? They hear in the Gospel. The
wisdom of God crying out unto them, Jesus Christ came into
this world to save sinners. Sinners such as you. And Paul could cry, I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord, because he took away my sin. He took it upon himself. upon the tree he took my sin
and went to the cross where he was slain where I should have
been slain he took my sin and he died he died for me he was
crucified for me he took my sin away he was judged not for his
own sin but my sin my sin and he took my sin away and in having
judged it and taken it away he made me to be the very righteousness
of God in him. That's my wisdom, that's my salvation,
that's my hope. God has made him unto me to be
wisdom and righteousness. He's made Him to be sanctification
unto me. He's separated me. He's separated
me from my sin and from condemnation. He's separated me from what I
once was. He's separated me from darkness
and the children of wrath amongst whom I once walked. He's separated
me unto Himself. He's sanctified me. He's taken
me and washed me in His blood and made me clean and said, this
is a holy thing, separated unto me. Because He is in my Son,
and He is as my Son righteous, and in my Son. He is redeemed. Yes, God has made Christ unto
me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. I've been set
free because Christ has set me free. O wretched man that I am,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Christ has. He redeemed me. He delivered
me and set me free. because he took the body of this
death and he nailed it to the tree and he crucified it and
judged it and burnt it up under the wrath of God. He set me free. Praise God he set me free. Has
he set you free? Has He set you free? Can you
cry out with Paul there? Is that your wisdom? Has Christ
been made unto you wisdom in righteousness, sanctification
and redemption? Has He? Has He? Perhaps you haven't heard. Perhaps you've heard with the
outward ear but have never heard the wisdom of God crying into
your soul. Perhaps you know about Jesus
and about his salvation, but you've never heard his voice
and never heard his gospel. Well I tell you Christ preaches
and he cries and he cries constantly, he's constantly preaching and
declaring himself unto sinners in this world. We are only here
today because Christ on high, having died for sinners, having
taken away their sin, having risen victorious from the grave,
having ascended on high in power, today he reigns on high to preach
his gospel to gather in all those for whom he died until that day
when all of them are gathered in and saved and the end of the
world will come and we will go to be with him if we are his
or we will go away into outer darkness if we are not but the
world exists today because Christ on high is preaching Christ is
the wisdom of God is. And this is why in Proverbs 1
verse 20 Solomon begins his declaration of wisdom by saying that wisdom
crieth without. she uttereth her voice in the
street, she cryeth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings
of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words, saying, saying,
saying unto you, saying unto me, how long, ye simple ones,
will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning, and fools hate knowledge. How long? How long will you shut
your ears? How long will you scoff and scorn
at my gospel? How long will you reject? Turn
you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit
unto you. I will make known my words unto
you. Christ preaches, wisdom speaks,
and this wisdom that we read of in Proverbs is not a quality
but a person. It's Christ. And this book declares
his speech, his preaching. Preaching. This is why again
in 1 Corinthians 30 that Paul picks this up. Paul knows what
the scriptures teach. Paul knew the Old Testament.
Paul knew the meaning of Proverbs and he knew the meaning of wisdom.
and that's why he makes it plain here that the world scoffs and
scorns at the preaching of the cross because the world rejects
the voice of wisdom The preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the
power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Have not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Wisdom cries
and you may yet have heard wisdom crying you may have heard the
gospel with the outward ear or read it in the scriptures in
the letter but have you heard wisdom crying crying unto you
in particular crying crying to you how long ye simple ones will
ye love simplicity And the scorners delight in their scorning, and
fools hate knowledge. How long will you play the fool? How long will you scoff and scorn
at my gospel? How long will you put it off
for another day? How long will you reject it? I will preach, and I am preaching,
and I will continue to preach. And those whose ears are open
will hear. Are your ears opened to hear? By nature they're firmly shut. By nature our eyes are blind. By nature we're without understanding
but that voice is still sounding whether our eyes are shut and
our ears are shut. It's still there. The speech
still utters. This world lies in darkness and
there's a voice constantly crying out, constantly calling out,
constantly declaring what Christ have done. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. And those that love
darkness shut their ears and will not hear. There was I and
there were you and there you may be yet, shutting your ears
in the darkness. Yet the voice still cries. So Proverbs opens with this voice
crying, crying out unto us. And as the book goes on, we hear
not just the cry of the voice, but we hear what the voice says,
the speech of wisdom. The content, the doctrine of
the Gospel of Christ. Who He is, what He's done. This book isn't just telling
us about wisdom. It is the very speech of wisdom. It is wisdom. It is Christ speaking
unto us. You're in the darkness of our
sin and depravity. It is just dark sayings. and
we are without understanding. Without understanding fools whose
hearts say there is no God. Where does this speech begin?
Where is the first utterance of wisdom unto the soul? It begins
chapter 1 verse 7, chapter 9 verse 10 it begins. The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Wisdom begins with the fear of
the Lord. If you've no fear of God in your
heart, if you've no understanding of just how great and almighty
God is, and just how small and nothing you are before him, and
just how guilty you stand before him as a sinner in need of righteousness,
if you've no fear, you've no wisdom. none whatsoever and this
world is characterized by millions of people who walk around with
no fear of God in darkness Foolish. But when wisdom begins to speak,
when understanding begins to dawn forth in their souls, when
wisdom begins to enter into the dark heart, when it comes through
a crack that the Spirit of God opens up and wisdom shines through
as a light, then it begins with the dawning of the fear of God
in the soul. and we fall down upon our knees
before Him and begin to be aware there's an alarm sounding that
we are nothing before Him. We have a Maker, a Creator, a
Sustainer. Our life is but a vapour, it's
fast coming to a close and soon we will stand before this Great
One and soon we will answer. The fear of the Lord. It's the
beginning of understanding. Has that wisdom, has that understanding
begun in your soul? Have you heard the cry? Because this is where the Gospel
begins to show us where we are. Before it then begins to lead
us on to Christ himself. Wisdom himself, Christ says,
I am God. I am your God. Bow before me. I am your God. And having been brought to that
place, when we come to that place where we know what we are before
God, when we know that we are in need of righteousness before
this God, when we need to hear Him, to know Him, when we know
as Solomon knew at the beginning that we have no wisdom by nature
and we need wisdom, we need a Saviour, we need Christ, Then we will
cry out for it. Cry out for Him. And God will
begin to make Him known unto us in the Gospel. He'll begin
to lead our steps to Calvary's cross. Begin to lead our steps
to that place where His Son was slain for sinners. Begin to point
our gaze and cry out, Behold. Behold my Son, slain for sinners. Behold His blood shed freely. Behold. constantly in this book wisdom
is personified constantly it says wisdom cries wisdom speaks
it says i i am this i am that because here's a person speaking
it's christ and he's crying out unto us in his gospel crying
out In chapter 8 we see this so wonderfully presented. Doth
not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth
in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the
paths. She cries at the gates, at the entry of the city, at
the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call, and
my voice is to the sons of men. O ye simple, understand wisdom,
and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Here, for I will speak
of excellent things, excellent things, wondrous things in my
gospel, and the opening of my lips shall be right things. His words, Christ's words, they
said, he spake like none other. No man spake like this man. Because wisdom's words, the opening
of her lips, his lips, shall be right things. My mouth shall
speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All
the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing
froward or perverse in them. Who else is this speaking but
Christ? This is not a quality of wisdom,
this is Christ himself. He is truth. He is righteousness. These words are plain to him
that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction and not silver, knowledge rather than
choice gold. What does it profit a man to
gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Wisdom is better
than rubies. All the things that may be desired
are not to be compared to it. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence
and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord
is to hate evil. Pride and arrogancy and the evil
way and the froward mouth do I hate. Counsel is mine and sound
wisdom I am understanding. I have strength. Wisdom, Christ
goes on to say, 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 early 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 lead 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
I will fill their treasures. The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up
from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. I am
God, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. I am
the everlasting God, the Son of God. 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 prepared the heavens,
I was there. When He set a compass upon the
face of the depth. When He established the clouds
above. When He strengthened the fountains of the deep. When He
gave to the sea His decree that the water should not pass His
commandment. When He appointed the foundations
of the earth. Then I was by him, as one brought
up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him. I am the Son of God, always with
God, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights
were with the sons of men. Now therefore, This is me. Now therefore hearken unto me,
O ye children, 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. Oh, have you found him? Have
you found him? Have you been found of him? Do
you know this wisdom? Do you know it? Do you know it? If you have, If Christ has found
you in your state naturally, if Christ has made himself his
wisdom known unto you, then you will become his bride. his bride. You will be unto him
as he is in you because of what he is in you, because of what
he has done for you in washing your sins away by his blood,
because he has made you without spot and without blemish. You
will become unto him a virtuous woman, of whom Solomon speaks
in the last chapter of this book. Because one theme that we see,
both in Solomon's life and in the accounts in this book, is
the contrast between the strange woman, the unfaithful, the harlot,
and the faithful wife. the bride of Christ, the virtuous
wife, a man, a young man that finds a good wife, finds a good
thing, finds a good woman. This isn't about this world. This isn't about men finding
women. This isn't about moral teachings
of faithfulness in marriage. This is about Christ and his
bride. Christ and his bride. and when
we're brought to Christ we'll know what it is to be his bride
and we'll know what it is to see that war in our heart where
the flesh wars against him and would cause us to be unfaithful
but where the spirit within loves and adores him and is one with
him one with him chapter 31 Who can find a virtuous woman,
for her price is far above rubies? The heart of her husband doth
safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships, she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her
household, and a portion to her maidens. she considereth a field
and buyeth it, with the fruit of her hand she planteth a vineyard,
she girdeth her loins with strength and strengtheneth her arms, she
perceiveth that her merchandise is good, her candle goeth not
out by night, she layeth her hands to the spindle and her
hands hold to this stuff, She stretched out her hand to the
poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hand to the needy. She is
not afraid of the snow for all her household are clothed with
scarlet. She maketh herself coverings
of tapestry, her cloven is silk and purple. Her husband is known
in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and deliver girdles unto
the merchant. Strength and honour are her cloven, and she shall
rejoice in times to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom,
and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well
to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also,
and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all. Who is this but the Bride of
Christ, His Church? All her household are clothed
with scarlet, washed in the blood of the Lamb, made perfect and
pure. She's faithful and honourable
as He works in her, to will and to do of His good pleasure. He
loves and adores her. She has children, the church
brings forth children, others are added to her number by the
gospel. She's increased and her husband
sees her fruitfulness and delights in her. He delights in his church,
which by his wisdom he has bought for himself. By his wisdom. Favour is deceitful and beauty
is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her
hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. A woman that
feareth the Lord, she shall be praised, because the woman that
feareth the Lord, the Bride of Christ, is she who has discovered
wisdom. She who has discovered Christ. She for whom Christ has died. She under whom Christ is made
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. She who finds
that her husband, Christ, is her all in all. Her wisdom. What is Christ unto you? Is He
your All in All? Is He your Saviour? Has He delivered
you from the foolishness of this world that you call understanding,
intellect and wisdom? Has He shown you its folly and
the death unto which it leads? Has He led you by wisdom to fear
God? to know your state before him
that you are nothing. Has he led you by wisdom to hear
wisdom crying in the gates? Has he led you by wisdom to hear
the gospel? Has he led you by wisdom to that
place called Golgotha where the wisdom of God Christ was slain
and crucified because of the sins of his bride? Are you that
woman, that virtuous woman, washed of all your sin, made whiter
than snow, made perfect, made to be clothed with scarlet? Are you that woman for whom Christ
died, that church whom he loved and gave himself for? And is
He your wisdom, the wisdom of God, Christ, the power of God,
and the wisdom of God? If He is, lift up your gaze by
faith unto Him. Hear His voice this day and follow
Him. Amen.