Who then are the wise? who are the prudent? First, they are those ivhose understandings have been enlightened by the Holy Ghost. True " wisdom is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." We have not the smallest spark of it by nature : on the contrary, we are blind ; and folly is bound up in our hearts : nor unless He, who first commanded light to shine out of darkness, shine into our hearts, can we ever see one ray of that divine glory which shines in the person of Jesus Christ. Hence they who are truly wise have learned
that most humiliating lesson, to " become fools, that they may be wise :" they have been deeply convinced that they needed a divine illumination, and have obtained it in answer to their prayers : to them has been fulfilled that blessed promise, " All thy children shall be taught of God." This therefore is the first part of the wise man's character, that he has been taught by the Holy Ghost. But a further mark whereby the wise and prudent are to be distinguished is, that they view things in their proper colours; they no longer " call good evil, and evil good ; they no longer put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter;" but they see things in the light of God's word, and estimate every thing, in a measure, according to the judgment of God respecting it : the body appears to them of small value, when set in competition with the soul; nor do the enjoyments or sufferings of this present world appear worthy to be compared with the glory that shall ere long be revealed in them. Sin is now considered by them as a most tremendous evil, more to be shunned than death itself: and a life of holiness appears to be the perfection and happiness of man. But most of all, true wisdom and prudence discover themselves in this, that they unite their influence to govern our whole lives : " I Wisdom dwell with prudence," says Solomon. They who are truly enlightened do not rest satisfied with clear notions, but desire to have their practice conformable to the convictions of their minds : they therefore take the word of God as a light to their feet and a lantern to their paths : they strive to walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long : this, I say, is the best evi- dence of their wisdom ; for indeed it is the very beginning of wisdom; as Solomon has observed, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;" and as Job also says, " The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, that is understanding c."
We see then who are the wise and prudent. Not they who boast of their intellectual powers, and abound with human learning, but those who are taught of God to judge and act agreeably to the sacred oracles.
Now these persons shall have a true knowledge and under- standing of divine things : the ways of the Lord shall be clear to them from their own experience : they shall know how delightful it is to live a life of faith on the Son of God : they shall understand what it is to have fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ : they shall enjoy that sweet security which they possess, who are instructed in the Covenant of Grace, and who know the faithfulness of a promise-keeping God. These indeed are secrets hid from the natural man ; but we are assured, that they are, and shall be, revealed unto
c Chap, xxviii. 28.