Prov. ii. 10 — 22. When wisdom, entereth into thine heart, and knoivledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, miderstanding shall keep thee; to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaTceth froivard things : tvho leave the i^aths of uprightness, to tvalk i?i the ways of darkness ; u'ho rejoice to do evil, and delight in the
- froivardness of the ivicked ; whose ivays are crooked, and they froward in their piaths : to deliver thee from the strange looman, even from the stranger which flattereth icith her loords ; tvhich forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forget- teth the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life; that thou may est walk in the way of good men, and keep the
paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it : hut the wicked shall he cut off' from the earth, and the transgressors shall he rooted out of it.
WHETHER we regard Solomon as a saint walk- ing with his God, or as a backslider restored to God, we must consider him as pre-eminently qualified to give advice for the regulation of our conduct : for, as a saint, he was endued with wisdom above all the cliildren of men ; and, as a backslider, he had a wider range for his wickedness, and a deeper experience of its folly, than any other person ever possessed.
Under the character of " wisdom," he here speaks of true religion ; which he recommends to all, but especially to persons in early life ; and, in order to impress his advice the more deeply on our minds, he sets before us,
I. The benefits derived from true wisdom —
When once religion is deeply rooted in the heart, it will render us the most essential services —
1. It will keep us from the society of ungodly men —
[There are many whose delight is in wickedness : they have departed from God themselves, and have " made crooked paths for themselves;" in which they proceed with all imagin- able " frowardness " and perverseness. Disdaining to receive any light from God or his word, they " walk in utter darkness, not at all knowing whither they go^." And not content with casting off all restraint themselves, and walking after their own lusts in all manner of uncleanness, they wish to draw all they can along with them: they deride all serious piety, and labour to the uttermost to turn aside from the way of godliness any who
may be inclined to it'' — " They rejoice to do evil :" and,
if they can but succeed in their efforts to ensnare a person who has been fleeing from sin, and to divert him from following after
God, not even Satan himself will exult more than they
Now from such companions true religion will preserve us. "We shall see at once how far they are from God, and how im- possible it is to be happy in their society : " for what fellowship can righteousness have with unrighteousness ; or light with darkness ; or Christ with Belial ; or he that believeth with an unbeliever"^?" Instead of seeking their society, therefore, we
i* ver. 13. with 1 John ii. 11. b j pet. iv. 4.
« 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.