Watching daily at my gates - Wisdom is represented as having a school for the instruction of men; and seems to point out some of the most forward of her scholars coming, through their intense desire to learn, even before the gates were opened, and waiting there for admission, that they might hear every word that was uttered, and not lose one accent of the heavenly teaching. Blessed are such. read more
Whoso findeth me - The wisdom that comes from God, teaching to avoid evil and cleave to that which is good; findeth life - gets that knowledge which qualifies him to answer the purposes for which he was made; for he is quickened with Christ, and made a partaker of the Divine life. Christ dwells in his heart by faith; he lives a new life, for Christ liveth in him; the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes him free from the law of sin and death. And shall obtain favor of the Lord.... read more
Wrongeth his own soul - It is not Satan, it is not sin, properly speaking, that hurts him; it is himself. If he received the teaching of God, sin would have no dominion over him; if he resisted the devil, the devil would flee from him. Love death - They do it in effect, if not in fact, for as they love sin, that leads to death, so they may be justly said to love death, the wages of sin. He that works in this case, works for wages; and he must love the wages, seeing he labors so hard in... read more
Doth not Wisdom cry? (see on Proverbs 1:20 , and Introduction). The interrogative form, which expects an affirmative answer, is a mode of asserting a truth universally allowed. Wisdom is personified, though we are not so plainly confronted by an individual, as in the preceding case of the harlot. But it must be remembered that, whatever may have been the author's exact meaning, however worldly a view the original enunciation may have afforded, we, reading these chapters by the light cast... read more
Wisdom's proclamation Again it is a poetical personification of truth, of God's Word, of religion, morality, sense, prudence; for all these are included in the comprehensive conception of wisdom that is placed before us. I. THE PROCLAMATION OF TRUTH HAS NEVER FAILED IN THE WORLD . The cry is coeval with the world, with the conscience of man. The preacher has an institution second to none in antiquity and in honour. II. THE PREACHER MUST RE CONSPICUOUS ... read more
The excellency of Divine wisdom: No. 1 In these verses we have portrayed to us the surpassing excellency of the wisdom of God. I. IT IS AUDIBLE TO EVERY ONE . "Doth not Wisdom cry," etc.? ( Proverbs 8:1 ; see homily on Proverbs 1:20-23 ). II. IT IS URGENT AND IMPORTUNATE . ( Proverbs 8:2-4 ; see homily on Proverbs 1:20-23 .) III. IT MAKES ITS APPEAL TO UNIVERSAL MAN . ( Proverbs 8:4 , Proverbs 8:5 .) "Unto you, O men, I call,"... read more
Christ the Wisdom of God: No. 1 Though it is not to be supposed that Jesus Christ was in the mind of the writer of this passage, yet as he does personify wisdom, and as wisdom was incarnated in that Son of man who was the Son of God, we should expect to find that the words of the wise man in the text would apply, in large measure, to the Lord Jesus Christ. They do so, and suggest to us— I. THE MANNER OF HIS TEACHING . ( Proverbs 8:1-3 ) He "spake openly to the world, …... read more
14. Fourteenth admonitory discourse concerning Wisdom—her excellence, her origin, her gifts. She is contrasted with the strange woman of Proverbs 7:1-27 ; and the exceeding greatness of the blessings which she offers exhibits in the most marked manner the nothingness of the deceiver's gifts. One is reminded of the celebrated episode of the choice of Hercules, delineated by Xenophon, 'Memorab.,' 2.1. 21, etc. The chapter divides itself into four sections. read more
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way. She takes her stand, not in thievish corners of the streets, like the harlot, but in the most open and elevated parts of the city, where she may be best seen and heard by all who pass by (see Proverbs 1:21 , and note there). In the places of the paths; i.e. where many paths converge, and where people meet from different quarters. read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 8:32
Now therefore - Since I delight so much in conveying instruction; since I have the happiness of the children of Adam so much at heart, hearken unto me; and this is for your own interest, for blessed are they who keep my ways. read more