"_The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom._" --JOB xxviii. 12-28.
Mere learning will not make me wise. The path to wisdom is not necessarily through the schools. The brilliant scholar may be an arrant fool. True wisdom is found, not in mental acquisitions, but in a certain spiritual relation. The wise man is known by the pose of his soul. He is "_inclined toward the Lord_!" He has returned unto his rest, and he finds light and vision in the fellowship of his Lord.
"_To depart from evil is understanding._" Yes, I need the lens of purity if I am to see the secrets of things. A dirty lens is the explanation of much ignorance and obscurity. I do not think I can ever see a flower if my lens is defiled. Much less can I see "the things of others." And still less again can I enjoy "the secret of the Lord." What we want is not so much a theological training as a right spirit, not so much to go to school as to "_depart from evil_." When I leave an evil habit worlds unseen begin to show their glory. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
AUGUST The Twenty-ninth
PROVERBS iv. 1-13.
Let me review some of these riches which are conferred upon the man who has made his soul the guest-room of spiritual religion.
"_Love her, and she shall keep thee._" Spirituality is to be my true defence. All other ramparts are vulnerable. They are the happy hunting-ground of the ravages of time; they fail in the crisis; they are the sure victims of moth and rust. But spirituality keeps me from childhood to age, and its shields are invincible, even in the hour of death. "There shall no evil befall thee."
"_Exalt her, and she shall promote thee._" She will lead me in the paths of progress. Every day she will lead me to new conquests, and in constantly enriching character I shall move towards life's appointed goal. Holiness is the only success worth having. Other successes are like lamps whose trembling flames are blown out in the first gusty, stormy night. "But the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more even unto perfect day."
"_She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace._" Yes, and her adornments are always beautiful. No beauty ever steals into the human face comparable with the delicate presence of spirituality. It makes plain features lovely, and transfigures them with "the glory of the Lord."
AUGUST The Thirtieth