4. Again, (food is not f/ood without icisdom. Virtue is not virtue without discretion, when to speak, and when not to speak, ' A fool speaks all his mind at all times,' saith the wise man, Prov, xxix, 11, Now to do things in season, to be trees of righteousness to ' bring forth fi-uit in season,' Ps. i. 3. ' To speak a word in season it is like apples of gold with pictures of silver,' Prov. xxv. 11. One word in season is worth ten thousand out ot season. Good is such a thing, that it is never good indeed except it be clothed with all convenient circumstances. One inconvenience in the cir- cumstance mars the good things. And a world of wisdom there needs to see the things that are about good actions to help them, or to hinder them ; and if there be helps and advantages, to know how to use them, there needs a great deal of heavenly light. So we stand in need of wisdom. As we stand in need of our eyes to walk in om* common ways, so much we need a heavenly eye in our souls, a heavenly light of wisdom,
5. Again we see, by the policy of Satan, that that which is good, the best good, it is hid under evil. The best wisdom goes under the name of folly, and unnecessary niceness ; and the vilest courses go under policy and wis-
*' See Note >/, vol. II, page 435. — G.
278 COMMENTARY ON
dom. Now tliere is need of much wisdom to discover things, and to see them in their right colours, when things are thus carried. In a word, such ditiercnce there is of things, that there needs a great deal of discerning and heavenly wisdom, and a greater light than a man hath hy nature, to guide him to heaven. I need not stand to nniltiply reasons ; you see a man hath need of a great deal of wisdom. And, which is the second hrauch, as he noads it.
So Iw ))in)f hare wisdom.
He may have this heavenly wisdom. As St Paul saith here, * I walk not according to fleshly wisdom, hut hy the grace of God.' The grace of wisdom he means, according to heavenly wisdom. As he needed it, so he had it. St James tells you how you may have it, ' If any man lack wisdom,' to guide his Ufe either in prosperity or adversity, how to ahound without pride, and how to bear afflictions ; how to make his prosperity that it be not a snare to him, ' If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God,' James i. 5, who is the fountain of wisdom ; let him light his candle at God's light. Carnal wisdom lights its candle at hell-iire. A carnal man, rather than he will miss of his ends, he will go to hell, he, and his riches, and policy, and all. It is otherwise with heavenly wisdom. We have need of wisdom, and wisdom we may have.
The vessel that we must fetch it in is faith, and the vent of faith is prayer. Faith sends its ambassador prayer to God. ' If any man lack wisdom, let him go to God.'
And surely thus Solomon did. He is an example of that. He saw he lacked wisdom to govern so gi'eat a people as was committed to his charge. God was so well pleased with his petition, that he gave him wisdom, and wealth, and honour too.
Use. Make this use of it. Let us consider what relation we stand in, in what rank God hath set us ; let us consider what good we are advantaged to do by the place we are in, what helps we have to do it, and what mis- chiefs, and inconveniences may come ; and let every man in his place and standing consider what good he may do, and what evil he may avoid, and let Its (JO to God for wisdom.
He that is a magistrate, let him do as Solomon did, desire God above all things to give him wisdom to rule as he should, 2 Chron. i. 10, that God would give him a public heart for a public place, and he will do it. And those that in their families would have wisdom to go in and out before them, let them go to God for wisdom, that they may avoid the snares that are inci- dent to family-government, distrustfulness, worldliness, unfaithfulness in their particular calling. And so for personal wisdom, to guide and manage our own persons, let us desire wisdom of God, to know the hidden abomina- tions of our own hearts, the deceits and subtleties of our own hearts, which ia out of measure deceitful. To know our particular sins, to know what hurts us, and to know how to avoid it, and how to carry ourselves in our particular ways, to order ' our conversation aright ' every way. We see here St Paul led his life and conversation by that wisdom. As it was needful for him, so he had it ; and we must go all to the same spring for it : we must go to God.
And we must know that God will not only make us ' wise to salvation,' 2 Tim. iii. 15, that he will not only give us wisdom in things that merely concern heaven ; but the same love, the same care that gives us wisdom that way, will give us wisdom in our pai'ticular callings, to take every step to heaven ; the same Spirit of God doth all. He gives us gi-ace necessary