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our own life and sin against our own nature and wrong our own self.
This sense of the word as the law of God is that in which the Psalmist prayed, "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," that we may learn not worldly wisdom but wisdom^ the true meaning and purport and duty and destiny of life. Wisdom like this delights in displaying the fitness of what is good in the scheme of history and nature, pointing to a moral design both in human society and in the world at large.
^ At first sight, on a cursory reading of the early chapters of this Book of Proverbs, it may seem as if all that was meant by Wisdom was a shrewd earthly common sense and worldly prud- ence. But look a little closer, and you will see that the Wisdom spoken of in all these chapters is closely connected not only with clearness of the well-furnished head, but with uprightness of the heart. It is not an intellectual excellence only (though it is that) which the author of the book commends ; it is a moral excellence as well. The Wisdom that he speaks about is Wisdom that has rectitude for an essential part of it, the fibre of its very being is righteousness and holiness. Ay, there is no true wisdom which does not rest calmly upon a basis of truthfulness of heart, and is not guarded and nurtured by righteousness and purity of life. Man is one — one and indissoluble. The intellect and the con- science are but two names for diverse parts of the one human being, or rather they are but two names for diverse workings of the one immortal soul. And though it be possible that a man may be enriched with all earthly knowledge, whilst his heart is the dwelling-place of all corruption ; and that, on the other hand, a man may be pure and upright in heart, whilst his head is very poorly furnished and his understanding very weak — yet these exceptional cases do not touch the great central truth, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom : and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding," Here, then, is the first outline of this fair form that rises before you — a Wisdom satisfying and entire for all the understanding, and not a dry, hard, abstract Wisdom either, but one which is all glowing with light and purity, and is guidance for the will, and cleansing for the con- science, and strength for the practical life : wisdom which is morality and righteousness ; morality and righteousness which is the highest wisdom.^
^ A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester, i. 298.
26o WRONGING THE SOUL
(3) Wisdom is raised at length in this book to the highest level when it is clothed with personal attributes and made almost identical with God. As being the quality which God displays in all His works, and being the root-principle of the world, it is spoken of (in words that glow and catch fire) as a glorious person- ality, the firstfruits of God's creative work, the very firstborn of creation, not only presiding over the fortunes of men and dis- posing of human destiny, but aiding God in creation, the Divine Wisdom set up from everlasting, from the beginning or ever the earth was. It is in this sense, as Wisdom personified, that the word is used in this chapter, which one who speaks with authority calls one of the most remarkable and beautiful things in Hebrew literature. We can understand how the Fathers of the Christian Church used this passage to illustrate their thought about Christ, the Logos, the Word of God, the incarnate wisdom and love and righteousness of God, the image of the invisible God, the first- born of every creature, who is before all things and by whom all things consist ; and we can see how they should apply to Christ the beautiful words of this passage, " I love them that love me ; and those that seek me early shall find me. Whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." ^
Nay, falter not; 'tis your assured good To seek the noblest; 'tis your only good, Now you have seen it ; for that higher vision Poisons all meaner choice for evermore.
IL
The Eeaction of Sin in the Soul.
" He that misseth me wrongeth his own souL" He that does not take Me into account, ignores Me, leaves Me out of his practical creed and obedience, has done an immense injustice to himself. He that misses Me has missed the mark, missed the prize of existence.
To miss the wisdom that cometh from above, to fail to recog- nize the true relationship between life and the universal law of God, is indeed to wrong ourselves. It is to belittle man and do
* T. C. Finlayson, The Divine Gentleness, 304.
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dishonour to human nature. To believe it in any sense true of wisdom that
She doth preserve the stars from wrong,
And the most ancient heavens by her are fresh and strong,
and to deny that that same law has meaning and purpose in human life, is to make the whole universe a hideous dance of unreason.