Theoretic books, those that begin
with the book of Job, set before us essential and blessed aspects
of life in Christ. That is, life in Christ as it
is experienced by God's saints in this world. Job shows us the
necessity of self-denial, of denying self so that we may live
under God. And we will not live unto God
except as we deny ourselves, deny our own righteousness, and
deny our rule over our lives, our right to control ourselves,
our right to self-determination. The Psalms set before us the
blessedness of worshiping God in resurrection life, being quickened
together with Christ. Proverbs shows us the blessed
wisdom of faith in Christ, wisdom with which to live in this world
for God's glory and for one another's good. Ecclesiastes teaches us
the utter vanity of all earthly, temporal things to give satisfaction
to our souls. The psalm of Solomon shows us
that soul satisfaction is found only in Christ. And the book
of Lamentations teaches us to constantly set our hearts upon
our God and find contentment and satisfaction in him, not
in those things that we have or feel or experience. Now tonight
I want us to look at the book of Proverbs. The first nine chapters
of this book are instructions given by Solomon to his son. There are a series of parental
admonitions to his son to seek wisdom and to shun folly. And that's a good thing for any
father to teach his son. But it is a mistake to look upon
these nine chapters, as well as the rest of Proverbs, merely
as instructions from a father to his son. It is not only a
mistake, that is to interpret the scripture wrongfully. There's
more here than Solomon's instructions to his son. These are the instructions
of God Almighty, given by divine inspiration to his sons and daughters,
teaching us to seek wisdom and shun folly, particularly in spiritual
matters. And then in chapters 10 through
31, we're given 374 proverbs with which to apply these things
to our hearts. Now the purpose of this book
is set before us clearly in its opening verses, with the verse
1, chapter 1. The Proverbs of Solomon, the
son of David, the king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction. To perceive the words of understanding. Now if you're taking notes, those
are to perceive the words of God's revelation. The words of
Holy Scripture. Number three, verse three, to
receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity. To give subtlety, to give wisdom
to the simple. To the young man, knowledge and
discretion. A wise man will hear and will
increase in money. He will hear the instruction
of God's word. And hearing the instruction of
God's word, he will continue to grow in grace, in faith, in
the knowledge of Christ. And the man of understanding,
the man who understands that which is revealed in the book
of God, shall attain unto wise counsels, even the counsels of
the Almighty. to understand the power and the
interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark or deep
sayings. Now the key to the book is in
the next verse. His claim will be the fear of the Lord, not
the dread, not the terror, the reverential awe of God Almighty. That fear of the Lord that causes
us to fear offending him, that causes us to fear dishonoring
him, that fear which begins with wisdom. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise this fear. Fools despise God's wisdom and
God's instruction. Only fools. If I were preaching to the whole
world right now, and I had set before me the wisest of the wise
acres of the world, in the most powerful, prominent positions
of the world, I would say to them, only fools despise God's
wisdom and God's instruction. But I'm not preaching to the
whole world, I'm talking to you. to you who believe God, to you
who profess to believe God, to you who I hope want to believe
God. Only fools despise the wisdom
and instruction of the Almighty. Now there are many books written
by men to teach wisdom. I've looked at a few. I can't
say that I've ever read one thoroughly because I've never been so inclined.
The thing that sets this book apart from all others is that
this book does not teach us about wisdom. The Book of Proverbs
is not a book about wisdom. The Book of Proverbs teaches
us wisdom. There's a huge difference. It
teaches and reveals Christ, who is wisdom. Did you get that? It teaches us and reveals Christ
who is wisdom. That distinguishes the Book of
Proverbs from all the wisdom literature of the world. The
Book of Proverbs begins with an affirmation. The affirmation
is this, there is no wisdom without truth, and there can be no discovery
of truth apart from revelation. The revelation of Christ who
is the truth and the wisdom of God Almighty. Now listen carefully. There is no truth apart from
Christ. Truth cannot be separated from
Christ. There is no truth and no truthfulness
apart from him. There is no wisdom apart from
Christ. There is no wisdom or wise living
apart from Christ. Truth and wisdom cannot be divorced
from the Son of God. All the philosophical wisdom
of the world, all of it, all the philosophical wisdom of the
world is utter foolishness for this reason. There is no fear
of God before their eyes. That's what the Book of Romans
says. The Apostle Paul tells us that
Christ sent him to preach, to preach the gospel, not with the
wisdom of men's words, lest the power of the gospel be made of
none effect. He says, 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. He says
the wisdom of the world is foolishness. Now to take exception with that
is to take exception with God Almighty. Christ is wisdom. Turn to Proverbs chapter 8. I
want you to see this and see it clearly that Jesus Christ
alone is wisdom and he alone can make us wise. That's the
message of this inspired book of wisdom. In this 8th chapter,
wisdom is personified. In preparing this message, I
read a good many comments on the Book of Proverbs. Most of
them made it to be a book of moralisms. It is not a book of
moralisms. It is a book of wisdom. Wisdom
being Christ the Lord. Here in this 8th chapter, wisdom
is personified this way. Look at verse 12. I, wisdom,
dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. Verse 14. Counsel is mine. Wisdom. And sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me king 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 honor are
with me, yea, durable riches and righteousness." Now that
settles the issue. Righteousness cannot be had by
any form of earthly, moral intelligence and wisdom. It comes only by
Christ who is wisdom, only by knowing him who is himself God
Almighty and the revelation of God. Wisdom here is not an attribute
but a person. For whoso findeth me, he says
in verse 35, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. I want you to see that Christ
is the wisdom spoken of, and the wisdom speaking, not only
here in this 8th chapter, but throughout these 31 chapters
of Proverbs. Again, this is not a book about
moral philosophy. It is a book of life. It is a
book about Christ, the wisdom of God, and the truth of God.
James said this, If any of you like wisdom, let him ask of God,
who giveth all men liberally, and abateth not, and it shall
be given him. Oh, well, if I don't understand
something, all I've got to do is ask God, and I can begin to
understand nuclear physics. Not hardly. If I don't understand
something, I just have to ask God, and I'll learn to understand
geometry. Not hardly. If you don't know
God, ask Him, and you'll learn to know God. If you don't know
His way, ask Him. He'll teach you His way. He gives
it to all men liberally, and the Vedic not. The Apostle Paul
tells us, unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. He is made
of God unto us, wisdom as well as righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. This book of Proverbs then teaches
us that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Incarnate God, our Crucified
Substitute, our Risen and Exalted Lord, our Omnipotent Savior,
is the very Wisdom of God. In all thy ways acknowledge him.
and he shall direct thy paths." Let me give you a comparison.
You turn to the passages that I call out, comparing what is
said concerning wisdom here in the book of Proverbs to that
which is written concerning the Lord Jesus Christ elsewhere in
the scriptures. Look first to chapter 1 and verse
20. Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth
her voice in the streets. Verse 23. Turn you at my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my Spirit
unto you, I will make known my words unto you. This is what
our Master says. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye be converted, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Verse 33. Whoso hearkeneth unto
me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from the fear of evil. Our Master says, Come unto me,
all ye that labour in a heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
If thou seekest her as silver, if you seek wisdom as silver,
and searchest for wisdom as for hidden treasures," this is what
Paul says concerning Christ, "...in him are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." Look at chapter 8, verse 1. The wisdom
cried, and understanding put forth her voice. Verse 4, Unto
you, O man, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. Our Lord
Jesus, in the last day, the great day of the feast, stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. O ye simple, understand wisdom,
and ye fools, be of an understanding heart. In Luke 10 we read that
our Lord Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, I thank thee. O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, thou hast healed these things in the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Look at chapter 8 verse 6, Here,
for I will speak of excellent things. And the opening of my
lips shall be right things." The psalmist says concerning
Christ, grace is poured into thy lips. In Luke chapter 4,
all there witnessed of him say, and wondered at his gracious
words that proceeded out of his mouth, and said, Isn't that this
Joseph's son? Look in chapter 8 of Proverbs
again, verse 14. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom
I am understanding. I have strength. Strength is
my attribute. Wisdom is what I am. Christ is
made of God, and to us, wisdom. Proverbs 8, 17. I love them that
love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. The Apostle
Paul says concerning Christ, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. I say this and ask, and
this shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. I will
speak to it that those who seek may find me. Look at chapter
8, verse 20. I live in the way of righteousness. in the midst of judgment, he
restored my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake. Chapter 8, verse 22. The Lord possessed me from the
beginning of his way, before his works of old. Paul says he
is before all things, and by him all things consist. Verse
23, I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever
the earth was. John says in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. Look at chapter 8, verse
27. When he prepared the heavens,
I was there. When he set a compass upon the
face of the dead, This is what John says, "...all things were
made by him, and without him was not anything made that was
made." Look at verse 30 of Proverbs 8, "...then was I by him, as
one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him." He hath in these last days spoken unto us
by his Son, whom hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also
he made the world. And he is that one loved of the
Father before the world began. He is that one of whom God Almighty
said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. He is that
one who says, Indeed, I am well pleased. Now, therefore, hearken unto
me, O ye children, for blessed are they that keep my ways. Our Lord said, If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love. Look at chapter
8, verse 35. Whoso findeth me findeth life. Now, that could possibly be talking
about book learning. are the kind of learning that
you pass on to one another. He's talking about Christ the
Lord. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me
hath everlasting life. Who shall findeth me findeth
life, and he shall obtain the favor of the Lord. We are accepted
in the beloved. Look at chapter 9, verse 5. Come, eat of my bread. and drink of my wine, which I
have mingled." The Lord Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Now
turn to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. If we would be wise,
if we would learn wisdom, read this passage carefully. The only
true wisdom a man has is the wisdom of faith. Faith in Christ. Not just faith in faith, faith
in Christ. Now the man speaking here is
a fellow named Augur. He's the son of Jacob. He tells
us in verse 1 that he is declaring a prophecy. Do you see that?
A prophecy. That's something that God has
given me and God has declared shall come to pass. Specifically,
he's declaring a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and faith
in him. You see, wisdom begins with,
faith begins with, a confession of our utter selflessness, our
utter unworthiness, our utter ignorance of all things spiritual,
as fallen sinful creatures before the Holy Lord God. Look at verse
2. Surely I am more brutish than
any man. and have not the understanding
of a man. Don't have the understanding
even of my father Adam. This is the cry of the penitent,
God be merciful to me. If we are to walk in the path
of wisdom, we must acknowledge our own guilt, weakness and ignorance. Augur goes on to declare in verse
3 that he has no knowledge of God, no wisdom, no understanding
of God. You see, we will never know God. We will never know Christ until
we are completely convinced that we don't. You will never know God, you
will never know Christ, until you're completely convinced that
you don't. Look at verse 3. I neither learned wisdom, nor
have the knowledge of the Holy. This wisdom, this knowledge of
God, which is eternal life, comes by divine revelation. Paul says
in 1 Corinthians 3, 19, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God, for it is with it that he taketh the lies in their own
craftiness. Yeah, that's chapter 17. Paul
went to those on Mars Hill, and the Greek philosophers were there,
and boy, they were debating issues, and they had raised statues and
images and made sacrifices to all the gods that they could
imagine, make sure they took in all of them they could, didn't
want to offend anybody. And just in case we missed one,
they raised up a booth to the unknown god. That's the best
they could come up with. In all their searching, in all
their wisdom, they could not find out God. You see, the fact
is, we cannot, by searching, find out God. We will come to
know him only when he reveals himself in the person of his
Son in us, as he did with Saul of Tarsus. Look at verse 4, chapter
3. Faith sees, acknowledges, trusts,
confesses, and worships the risen, exalted Christ. Now that's who
is spoken of here in verse 4. Overwhelmed by the thought of
God's greatness and power, this man, other, this sinner, saw
that there was a great, infinite separation between himself and
God, and he was overwhelmed by the power of this great God,
this infinite majesty of this great God revealed in Christ,
the crucified, risen, exalted Savior. And he asked a series
of penetrating questions. Who had descended up into heaven? Or who descended? Who hath gathered
the wind in his fist? Who hath bound the waters as
in a garment? Who hath established all the
ends of the earth? What's his name? Now watch this,
and what's his son's name? What's his son's name? I've never read Jewish common
days. I was tempted to look some up
on that. I'd like to see what it said about that. What's his
son's name? His son? God? Has a son? And he's here
with him? In the middle of this? What's
his son's name? If you can tell. Come back to
the book of Job. Job 38. Hold your hands there.
God graciously forced Job to face and deal with these same
questions. And did the same thing with Job he did here with Olga.
He laid him in the dust. And that's exactly what happens
when God makes himself known to a sinful man. He lays us in
the dust before him. Lord God, I'm nothing less than
that. Who am I? What is my house? You
should be so gracious to me. Look here in Job 38 verse 4.
Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell
me, if you have understanding. Declare thou. Verse 5. Who hath laid the measures thereof? Who hath measured the earth,
if you know? Some folks think they know. If
you know, tell me who measured it. Who hath stretched the line
upon it? Verse 6. Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened, or who hath laid the cornerstone thereof? When the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy." All this talking about
Christ, the Son of God. This verse 4 ends with this exhilarating,
electrifying question. What's his name? What's his son's
name that you can tell? God has a son. Isaiah said, for
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the one spoken of here. Now listen carefully. It is Christ
who descended from heaven. came down here, took on himself
human flesh, on a mission, on an errand of mercy, to redeem
and save his people. This same Christ is he who is
God the Creator, the Ruler of all things, who upholds all things
by the word of his power, who bound the wind in his fist, and
holds the waters as in a garment. I've been looking at that all
day long, and it just keeps getting bigger. Yesterday evening, Shelby
and I came in and started putting tomato cages around the tomatoes.
And the author has seen us trying to gather up those tomatoes that
have grown for a few weeks and fit them inside there without
breaking anything. He's bound the wind in his fist.
He's gathered up the waters, all the waters of the earth as
in a garment holds them. We're talking about God Almighty,
our Savior. This Christ who has descended,
who gathered the waters as in a garden, holds the wind in his
fist, he's the one who's ascended up into heaven, having finished
the work that he came down here to do. It is he who from the
beginning established the ends of the earth. That is, he is
the one who determined why he made the world, and how long
the world shall stand, and when it shall come to an end. Now,
you might think, Brother Don, that's a nice interpretation.
Where did you get that? I didn't draw it out of my head. Turn
to Romans 10 and I'll show you. This is exactly what the Apostle
Paul tells us. Romans 10. And he's talking about
faith in Christ. Verse 6. The righteousness which
is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart,
who shall ascend into heaven? That is to bring Christ down
from above. Or he shall descend into the deep. That is to bring
up Christ again from the dead. But he's already descended, he's
already ascended. But what saith it? The word is
neither even in thy mouth nor in thy heart. That is the word
of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ
is indeed Lord, that he holds the wind in his fist, that he
rules the world, that he's determined the ends thereof. Confess with
thy mouth that Jesus, the one who died at Calvary, is Lord.
And shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead? That shall be said. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. For the Scripture said, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. What's that mean? Verse 13. Whosoever shall call
upon it, whosoever shall worship the name of the Lord, shall be
said, What's his name? Jesus Christ the Lord. That's
who he is. Blessed is that man whom God
graciously humbles before him, as he did Job, Agur, and Saul
of Tarsus. Such humiliation comes only when
Christ is revealed in your heart when you're made to see the glory
of God shining, beaming into your soul in the face of the
crucified Redeemer. That faith that God gives to
and works in the hearts of men comes from and rests entirely
upon the word of God. Look at verse 5, Proverbs 30
verse 5. Take in Christ as he is revealed
in the scripture. As I shield and I refuge, we
have peace with God. Every word of God is pure. He was a shield unto them that
put their trust in him. True wisdom, this wisdom that
comes from God, comes from Christ, who is the wisdom of God, bows
to the revelation of Holy Scripture, and takes God's Word as absolutely
authoritative, no matter who opposes it, when or where. This
is God's Word. It's so. This is God's Word. But I don't understand it. There's
lots of things I don't understand. I don't understand how this could
be so and this could be... There's lots of things I don't
understand. I like what my pastor used to say, this man who was
my pastor when I was first converted with Henry Davis. He said, I
don't understand how a brown cow can eat green grass and give
white milk and yellow butter, but I drink the milk and eat
the butter. And there are lots of things in this book I don't
understand, but it's God's book. And my puny mind bows to God's
book. My empty understanding bows to
God's revelation." Of course, this is what God says. And this
alone is our authority. Look at verse 6. Add thou not unto his words,
lest he reprove thee, and thou be found alive. Don't be sure
understanding with God's revelation. Don't mix your apprehension with
God's revelation. Don't mix your learning with
God's revelation. Don't mix the words of men with
God's revelation. Bow to God's word. Now, let me
show you some other pictures of our Redeemer in Proverbs.
Come back to chapter 1. The book's all about Christ.
It's all about Him. It is Christ who calls sinners
to repentance. promising grace, salvation, eternal
life to all who come to him, and warning rebels of the certain
peril and eternal woe they heap upon themselves by their unbelief.
Look at verse 20. Wisdom crieth without She utters
her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place
of the concourse, in the opening of the gates of the city. She
utters her words. Wisdom has been preached to you. Christ sends his word into all
the world. And this is what wisdom says.
How long, you simple ones, would you love simplicity? How long,
empty-headed, empty-hearted men, would you love being empty-headed
and empty-hearted? And the scorners delight in their
scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn ye at my reproof. Behold,
I'll pour out my Spirit unto you. I'll make known my words
unto you, because I don't understand, believe me and you will. Baptize
me and you will, because I called and you refused. I stretched
out my hand and no man regarded it, but you said it not all by
counsel and with none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I'll mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon me, and I will not answer them. They
shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Have courage! For that they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of the Lord." Oh, what a weighty
choice this is. No, sir, I won't believe on Christ.
I despise knowledge. I will not worship God. I will
not call on the name of the Lord. All right, then. If that's the
case, if that's the case, you will not heed his counsel. You
despise all his reproof. Verse 31. Therefore shall they
eat the fruit of their own way. and be filled with their own
devices. What is hell? It's the fruit of the way men
choose in obstinate rebellion to God. It is the end of their
own devices. For the turning away of the sinful
shall slay them. The prosperity of fools shall
destroy them. I'll set the world in their heart,
and they will find out me. Whoso hath an offend to me shall
dwell safely, and shall be quiet from the fear of evil. There's
a similar passage in chapter 29. Just listen. He that being
often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed
in that without remedy. Look in chapter 2. When Christ
enters our hearts, the knowledge he gives is a pleasant thing
to our souls. He gives us understanding and
protection from all evil. Look at verse 10, chapter 2.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant
unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding
shall keep thee. No, but what about the flattering
tongue? Understanding will keep you. What about the deceitful
man? Understanding will keep you.
What about every false way? Discretion will guide you and
preserve you. He'll not lead you to the crooked
ways and the strange woman who flatters with her words. He'll
not take you in. Look in chapter 6. Here the wise
man speaks of maturity. A surety who is snared with his
own words. My son, if thou be surety for
thy friend, if thou hast taken thy hand with a stranger, thou
art snared with the words of thy mouth. Thou art taken with
the words of thy mouth. Now, Bobby, just before the world
began, Christ struck hands with the Father. for a stranger, whom
he calls his friend. And he put himself in a snare,
a snare from which he could not with honor extricate himself,
except he fulfill it. And the snare would be made sin
for you, redeeming your soul and bringing you to glory. That's
the surety of a better covenant. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one called Wisdom in chapter 8, by whom kings reign and princes
decree justice, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge, who leads in the way of righteousness, causes us to
inherit the treasures of boundless grace, and who, being set up
from everlasting, stood and spoke as our wisdom in the covenant
of grace and in the council of peace before the world began.
Christ is that one called Wisdom. In chapter 9, who has built his
house from huge stones, upon the seven pillars of perfect
grace, and with the sacrifices of God. In chapters 10 through
29, Christ is that one called Wisdom, who teaches his people,
now listen, who teaches his people how to live in this world for
the glory of God and one another's good. That's what chapters 10
through 29 are all about. And it reaches to every aspect
of life. Family, trials, troubles, fathers,
sons, daughters, mothers, business relationships. Every aspect of
life. Reaches to every aspect of life.
Because Christ rules his people totally. Christ is that one called wisdom
who teaches us and makes known to us, convincing us of divine
truth, for he is the truth. Look in chapter 16. Here he tells us something about
God. He says, the preparations of the heart in man. The preparations
of the heart in man. The preparations of the heart.
That is everything a man devises in his heart. Everything. And
the answer of the tongue, God did it. It's from the Lord. You
mean God's in charge of everything? He may control even the thoughts
of the man? Yeah, you got it. Verse 4. The
Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked,
for the day of evil, or the day of judgment. He tells us about
rediction in chapter 16 as well. Look at verse 6. How does God
save sinners? How can a holy God put away my
sin? By mercy and truth, iniquity
is punished. By mercy and truth. God in great
mercy forgives sin by punishing it to the full satisfaction of
justice. Look at chapter 17, hold your hands here, look at
chapter 17 verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked,
he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination
to the Lord. The Lord God hath made his Son
to be sin for us, made him to bear our guilt, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Making him to be
guilty, he makes us to be righteous. He rewards him for the sin that
he makes to be his own, and rewards us for the righteousness he makes
to be our own. That's how God saves sinners,
by mercy and by truth. Look at verse 7 of chapter 16.
When a man's ways please the Lord, the Lord knoweth the way
of the righteous. The way of the wicked he turns
upside down, but the righteous he knows their way, he'll prove
their way. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even
his enemies to be at peace with him. He makes a covenant even with
the beast of the field, so that even your enemies can't hurt
you. Even the enemies, on they serve you. Even your enemies,
when they bring sword and bring trouble and bring hurting, they're
just bringing blessedness to you. Makes your enemies get peace
with you. That doesn't mean you're going
to make a fella who hates you love you. That's not what he's talking
about. He's going to fix it so they can do you no harm. Verse
8. Better is a little with righteousness. Better to live in a mud hut with
a dirt floor, in the middle of one of those tabloids out in
Mexico, wondering where your next dog is going to come from.
with the righteousness of God, yours, than great revenues without
right, without being right before God. Wisdom calls for us to trust
our God in all things, giving him our hearts. Look at chapter
3 verse 5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. That means, lean not unto thine
own understanding. Not ever. Not in anything. Just as we lean to our own understanding,
we do not trust God about anything. In all thy ways, acknowledge
him. That doesn't mean in all your
ways, I know God here, I know God's on this throne. In all
your ways, trust God sitting on his throne. Acknowledge him. And he shall direct thy paths. He says, my son, Give me thine
heart. And if he's got your heart, he's
got everything. And if he doesn't have your heart,
you haven't yielded anything to him. In chapter 7, sometime
I'll come back to this. You can just drop this down and
look at it later. Our wisdom warns us of the ways
of a whorish woman. And lest I be misunderstood,
somebody get this taken and say, Well, Brother Fortner says it's
all right to go chasing after whores. I didn't say that. Let a man guard morality and
uprightness in all things. But the instruction here is not
about a woman that you hire for a night. This whorish woman is
all faults, free will, works, religion. And she'll carry you
to hell. She'll carry you to hell. Our
Lord says, come out of her. In chapter 31, he describes a
virtuous woman. And you read the chapter carefully.
There's not a woman in this building who qualifies. Not for what's
described in that chapter. What's he talking about? He's
talking about a woman whom he's made. He's talking about his
church, his kingdom. See to it that you're a part
of that church and that kingdom. A part of that which he calls
virtuous, where he says these are virgins. They've not defiled
themselves. Be wise then, like Pecone, who's
described in chapter 30, verse 26, and take refuge in Christ. the rock of salvation. Don't
be like the spider who's described in verse 28. Look at it. Proverbs
30, 28. The spider taketh hold with her
hands, and is in king's palaces. The spider spins a thin web,
and with her hands she makes her way into the king's palace. And there she sits, unlawfully,
deceitfully, hypocritically, the cunning spider. And so it
is with the hypocrite, with the works of his own hands, with
the thin web he makes for himself by his own righteousness. He
puts himself in the church of God among the people of God and
finds ease there. Such a man like the spider is
a fool. because his web is going to break
and he's going to perish forever under the wrath of God. So are the paths of all that
forget God. The hypocrite's hope shall perish,
whose hope shall be cut off, whose trust shall be a spider's
web. Oh, he liked the Conan. Run helplessly
into Christ the Rock and find salvation and refuge for your
soul forever in Him who is wisdom. Amen.