Proverbs 8:27-30

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:22-31

Wisdom speaks of her origin, her active operations, the part which she bore in the creation of the universe, her relation to God (see on Proverbs 1:20 and Proverbs 3:19 , and Introduction). It is impossible to decide what was the exact view of the writer with regard to the wisdom of which he speaks so eloquently; but there can be no doubt that he was guided in his diction so as to give expression to the idea of him whom St. John calls the Word of God. The language used is not applicable to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:22-31

The primeval glory of Divine wisdom I. THE HIGHEST WISDOM IS CREATED BY GOD . "The Lord created me as the first of his way." This idea was suggested to the Greeks in the myth of Athene, who sprang from the head of Zeus. It is the poetic form of the great truth that God is the Creator of thoughts as well as of things; and it suggests that he not only called individual intelligences into being, but originated the primary laws and conditions of all intelligence, just as he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:22-31

The excellency of Divine wisdom: No. 3 We have here additional features of the wisdom of God, viz.— I. THAT THE WISDOM EVERYWHERE ILLUSTRATED DWELT IN THE DIVINE ONE FROM ETERNITY . ( Proverbs 8:22-26 .) Before anything visible was created, in the "far backward and abysm of time," even to eternity, wisdom was an attribute of the infinite God. II. THAT CREATION AND PROVIDENCE ARE THE DELIBERATE OUTWORKING OF THE DIVINE IDEA . "When... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:22-31

Christ the wisdom of God: No. 2 Again regarding the Lord Jesus Christ as the Wisdom of God incarnate, we may let these words suggest to us— I. HIS ETERNITY . ( Proverbs 8:22-26 .) II. HIS SONSHIP . ( Proverbs 8:22 , Proverbs 8:30 .) III. HIS AGENCY IN CREATION . (Verses 37-29; see also John 1:3 , John 1:10 ; Ephesians 3:9 ; Colossians 1:16 ; Hebrews 1:2 , Hebrews 1:3 , Hebrews 1:10 ; 1 Corinthians 8:6 .) IV. HIS PRIMAL BLESSEDNESS ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:22-36

Wisdom in eternity and in time This sublime view lifts us at once above the seeming contradictions of time, and suggests the solution of all its problems in God. I. SHE IS OF THE DIVINE BEGINNINGS OR ELEMENTS . ( Proverbs 8:22 .) An element in chemistry is the last simple substance we can reach in analysis. An element in thought is the last simple notion yielded by the dialectic of the understanding. Wisdom is thus before the visible creation—the earth, the sea, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:27

After asserting the pre-existence of Wisdom, the writer tells her part in the work of creation. When he prepared the heavens, I was there. When God made the firmament, and divided the waters above it and below ( Genesis 1:7 ), Wisdom cooperated. When he set a compass upon the face of the depth. חוּג ( chug ) , "circle," or "circuit" (as Job 22:14 ), means the vault of heaven, conceived of as resting on the ocean which surrounds the earth, in partial accordance with the notion... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 8:28

When he established the clouds above. The reference is to the waters above the firmament ( Genesis 1:7 ), which are suspended in the ether; and the idea is that God thus made this medium capable of sustaining them. Vulgate, Quando aethera firmabat sursum ; Septuagint, "When he made strong the clouds above" (comp. Job 26:8 ). When he strengthened the fountains of the deep ; rather, as in the Revised Version, when the fountains of the deep became strong ; i.e. when the great deep... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

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