Those who earnestly seek heavenly wisdom, will never complain that they have lost their labour;
and the freeness of the gift does not do away the necessity of our diligence, Joh 6:27 Let them seek,
and they shall find it; let them ask, and it shall be given them. Observe who are thus favoured. They
are the righteous, on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in righteousness. If we
depend upon God, and seek to him for wisdom, he will enable us to keep the paths of judgment.
Verses 10–22
If we are truly wise, we shall be careful to avoid all evil company and evil practices. When
wisdom has dominion over us, then it not only fills the head, but enters into the heart, and will
preserve, both against corruptions within and temptations without. The ways of sin are ways of
darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe: what fools are those who leave the plain, pleasant, lightsome
paths of uprightness, to walk in such ways! They take pleasure in sin; both in committing it, and
in seeing others commit it. Every wise man will shun such company. True wisdom will also preserve
from those who lead to fleshly lusts, which defile the body, that living temple, and war against the
soul. These are evils which excite the sorrow of every serious mind, and cause every reflecting
parent to look upon his children with anxiety, lest they should be entangled in such fatal snares.
Let the sufferings of others be our warnings. Our Lord Jesus deters from sinful pleasures, by the
everlasting torments which follow them. It is very rare that any who are caught in this snare of the
devil, recover themselves; so much is the heart hardened, and the mind blinded, by the deceitfulness
of this sin. Many think that this caution, besides the literal sense, is to be understood as a caution
against idolatry, and subjecting the soul to the body, by seeking any forbidden object. The righteous
must leave the earth as well as the wicked; but the earth is a very different thing to them. To the
wicked it is all the heaven they ever shall have; to the righteous it is the place of preparation for
heaven. And is it all one to us, whether we share with the wicked in the miseries of their latter end,
or share those everlasting joys that shall crown believers?
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to obedience and faith. (1–6)
To piety, and to improve afflictions. (7–12)
To gain wisdom. (13–20)
Guidance of Wisdom. (21–26)
The wicked and the upright. (27–35)Verses 1–6
In the way of believing obedience to God's commandments health and peace may commonly
be enjoyed; and though our days may not be long upon earth, we shall live for ever in heaven. Let