"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? and 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." Prov. 1:20-23. p. 1, Para. 1.
This is the language of the Lord Jesus Christ, " in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Col. 2:3. This means that there
is nothing of any kind whatever that is worthy to be called wisdom, which is not
to be found in Christ. Read 1 Cor. 1:22-24: "For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of
God." That is, the wisdom which the Greeks sought after is contained only
in Christ. Because they sought it in themselves, and not in Christ, the wisdom
which they had became foolishness. Out of Christ it is impossible to find true
wisdom. p. 1, Para. 2.
True wisdom consists in knowing God. "Thus saith the Lord, Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise
loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things
I delight, saith the Lord." Jer. 9:23,24. To know God is the sum of all
scientific knowledge; for Christ, who is the only manifestation of God, is the
Source of all creation. "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways are past
finding out!" "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all
things." Rom. 11:33,36. Christ is the beginning, the head, or source, of
the creation of God. Rev. 3:14. He is "the firstborn of every
creature." Col. 1:15. "For in Him were all things created, in the
heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through
Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things
consist." Col. 1:16, 17. Therefore the study of natural science must begin
and end with the study of God in Christ. p. 1, Para. 3.
But Christ is the righteousness of God. Righteousness is the character
of God. Therefore no one can know God without knowing His righteousness; and so
the study of true science reveals the righteousness of God. And this is wisdom,
for "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Prov. 1:7.
The knowledge of the righteousness of God is connected with the knowledge of the
works of God that we see with our eyes, for the gospel is the power of God unto
salvation, and the power of God is seen in the things that are made. Rom. 1:16,
20. Therefore when the Bible speaks of wisdom and knowledge, it means not only
the wisdom and knowledge that would be counted as such by men, but also all
wisdom and spiritual understanding. p. 1, Para. 4.
All this is summed up in the words of Moses to the children of Israel:
"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God
commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep
therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the
sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this
great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deut. 4:5,6. They who
keep the commandments of God, not in form merely, but in fact, will have wisdom
which will excite the wonder of the people who do not recognize the source of
knowledge. p. 1, Para. 5.
And now that we have seen what wisdom is, let us note the words with
which this article begins, to see how it may be obtained. The Lord says,
"Turn you at My reproofs; behold, I pour out My Spirit unto you, I will
make known My words unto you." That is, those who listen to and heed the
reproofs of the Lord will know His words, which are wisdom. "For the Lord
giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." Prov.
2:6. p. 2, Para. 1.
The reproofs of the Lord are by the Spirit of the Lord, and are given,
not for the purpose of taunting us with our failures, nor for the purpose of
causing us to cringe in terror before Him, but that we may turn from our sins to
righteousness. Before He went away, Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit as a
Comforter, and the first thing that He was to do was to convince the world of
sin. This He does by revealing the righteousness of God. These reproofs come in
various ways, according to the sin and the peculiarity of the person. They are
not simply of a general nature, but they come home to the individual, pointing
out specific acts of wrong, and saying, "Thou art the man." p. 2,
Para. 2.
It is naturally a severe trial to anyone to receive a sharp reproof,
because it cuts directly across self. But no matter how cutting it may be, and
even though the Lord has allowed the knowledge of our failing to come to us
through an unfriendly source, it is the part of wisdom to heed it. To heed it
means to forsake the evil, and that can be done only through Christ; for it is
the blood of Christ alone that cleanses from all sin. "If we walk in light,
as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. The promise is
that those who turn at the reproof of wisdom shall have the words of wisdom made
known unto them. p. 2, Para. 3.
Not only will such an one have the words of the Lord, -- the words of
wisdom, -- told to him, but he will have them made known to him. In this is
found the secret of the failure of so many to understand the Bible. They are
cherishing some sin, or they are unwilling to keep all the commandments of God,
and consequently they cannot know the meaning of the words of wisdom. Self
stands in the way. Christ said if any man had a mind to do the Father's will, he
should know the doctrine. John 7:17. "The meek will He guide in judgement;
and the meek will He teach His way." Ps. 25:9. p. 2, Para. 4.
Surely the result is worth all that it costs, even though the lesson be
a trying one. The pain comes only in the letting go of self. When one has once
yielded fully to the Lord, the reproofs of the Lord are pleasant. When self is
dead, it cannot be hurt by them. Then instead of mourning over the reproof,
because of wounded pride, or even in despondency, he will delight himself in the
increased knowledge of God. Try it, all you who wish that you might understand
the Bible. Let your doubts go to the winds. Let your own foolish wisdom, which
would lead you to hesitate to receive the word of God, if it is contrary to your
preconceived opinion, give place to the meekness of wisdom. In short, let your
own opinions go entirely, and do not try to draw conclusions according to your
own wisdom, but let God teach you at every step of the way. When you cannot see
how a certain statement harmonizes with another, do not get impatient, and begin
to doubt, but wait in faith, and God will explain it to you. Do not be afraid of
waiting awhile. It may be the Lord has some other lesson for you to learn before
you can understand this one. But while you are waiting, wait only on the Lord,
and His words will explain themselves. "Consider what I say; and the Lord
shall give thee understanding in all things." 2 Tim. 2:7. E.
J. Waggoner. p. 2, Para. 5.
