Proverbs 8

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:29

When he gave to the sea his decree ( chok, as Job 28:26 ; Jeremiah 5:22 ); or, its bounds. The meaning is much the same in either case, being what is expressed in Job 38:8 , etc,, "Who shut up the sea with doors …and prescribed for it my decree, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shall thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" The LXX . omits this hemistich. When he appointed the foundations of the earth. Job 38:4 , "Where wast thou when I... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:29

The decree of the sea We live under the reign of law. This fact is taken to be the late revelation of modern science. But it is embedded in Old Testament teaching. There we see that the laws of nature, which are but the ways of God on earth, are recognized as fixed and stable. But the Bible helps us in two ways in examining those laws. First, it traces them back to their origin in a personal will. These are not merely channels of a blind force. They are decrees of an authority. Secondly,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:30

Then I was by him. Wis. 9:9, "Wisdom was with thee; which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world." So John 1:2 , "The Word was with God." As one brought up with him; Vulgate, cuncta componens ; Septuagint, ημην παρ αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα , "I was with him arranging things in harmony." The Hebrew word is אָמוֹן ( amon ), "an artificer," "workman" ( Jeremiah 52:15 ). Thus in Wis. 7:22 Wisdom is called ἡ πάντων τεχνῖτις , "the worker of all... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:30

The pre-eminent glory of Christ This is affirmed of wisdom, and wisdom in the Proverbs is always an abstraction, an attribute of God, or a grace conferred upon man. Thus we have the highly imaginative picture of a certain quality of thought described like a personal favourite in the heavenly presence. But surely it is not necessary for us to rest with this idea. The New Testament cannot be out of our minds when we read the Old. It was not long before Jews learnt to personify wisdom, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:31

Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth. Wisdom declares wherein she chiefly delighted, viz. in the world as the habitation of rational creatures. "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" ( Genesis 1:31 ); comp. Psalms 104:31 , and see the eloquent account of Wisdom in the book so named (Wis. 7:22-8:1). My delights were with the sons of men. Man, made in the image of God. is the principal object of creative Wisdom's pleasure; and her joy is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:32-36

Wisdom renews the exhortation before given . The Vatican text of the Septuagint omits this verse; it is added in the Alexandrian and Sin. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:32-36

The convincing argument Here is a very strong, "Now, therefore." The excellency of Divine wisdom has been so forcibly, so irresistibly urged that the speaker is entitled to drive his argument home and make a practical application. But the urgency of the case is summed up in the few following sentences. This is the reasoning: since— I. INATTENTION TO THE VOICE OF WISDOM IS THE DEPTH OF FOLLY . For: 1 . It is self-robbery. "He that sinneth against me... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:34

Watching daily at my gates. The idea suggested has been variously taken; e.g. as that of eager students waiting at the school door for their teacher's appearance; clients besieging a great man's portals; Levites guarding the doors of the temple; a lover at his mistress's gate. This last notion is supported by Wis. 8:2, "I loved her, and sought her out from my youth; I desired to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty." Waiting at the posts of my doors; keeping close to the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:35

For whoso findeth me findeth life. Here is the reason why the man is blessed who attends to the instruction of Wisdom. A similar promise is made at Proverbs 3:16 , Proverbs 3:18 , Proverbs 3:22 . The truth here enunciated is also spoken or the Word of God, the everlasting Son of the Father. John 1:4 , "In him was life; and the life was the light of men;" John 3:36 , "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life;" John 17:3 , "This is life eternal, that they should know thee the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:35-36

Life and favour with God It is common to see this and similar passages applied directly to the soul's possession of God, or to the special Christian faith in Jesus Christ. Now, it is quite true that we have here in germ what will lead up to those experiences. But apart from the mistake of ignoring the distinction between the elementary truth and its full development, there is a practical consideration that is too often overlooked. It is thought to be good policy to "Christianize" these... read more

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