1. He is a wise man who knows himself. Till a man knows God he knows not himself. God is, in that sense, a glass, in which a man sees himself, and the nearer he comes to that glass the more he discerns himself. A man knows himself when, as a law- condemned sinner, as a sin-condemned sinner, and as a self-condemned sinner, he stands before the eye of God. Then there is self-acquaintance — not till then. He now reads the hardest book in the world. There is no book so hard as the book of a man's own heart.

2. He is a wise man who draws near to God in Christ. He is a wise man who, under a sentence of condemnation as in himself deserved, can in Christ know how to meet the holy Lord God with humble confidence.

3. He is a wise man who, in the midst of the crookedness of this world, is led to walk straightly with God.

4. He is a wise man who knows how to meet the trials of life.

II. WHY IS THIS WISDOM CALLED THE PRINCIPAL THING? That is the principal thing which is the only abiding thing. True wisdom, like its source, is perennial, unchanging, everlasting. And it is the only satisfying thing. It comes from God; it leads to God. It comes from above; it leads to above. It is a principle of immortality, and it trains the soul and educates it for immortality.

III. THE EXHORTATION, "GET WISDOM." Get it; then it is to be got. It is to be got in the way of seeking. For a man to feel his lack of wisdom is the beginning of wisdom.

1. Do not mistake a counterfeit for wisdom.

2. Avoid first declensions.

3. Make a conscience of secret prayer.

4. Avoid dangerous associations.

5. Take heed as to your books.

6. Study to show religion at home as well as abroad.

7. Live upon Christ.As your soul is under the constraint of His love it weakens the world, it makes sin hateful, it raises above self, it purifies the motives, and brings a man to walk nearly, closely with God.

(J. H. Evans, M.A.)

1. Because it converseth in the highest things.

2. Because it seeks to approve itself to God.

3. Because it is both the mother and guide, or chariot-driver, of all virtue, and guides it aright.

4. It is the greatest gift God ever gave man, for it directs him to Jesus Christ, the wisdom of the Father, without whom is no salvation, and therefore no true nor lasting gain by any other wisdom. Use: To reprove such as boast much of human sciences, but make no account of heavenly wisdom.

(Francis Taylor, B. D.)

1. The Lord counts nothing wisdom but godliness, and this He doth everywhere style "wisdom."

2. In God's account all things are folly without grace. The heathen were the greatest artists and philosophers of the world, those that most inquired into the secrets of nature, as in Athens and Corinth, which were universities and places far more famous than any other for knowledge, tongues, and all abilities. Take the greatest statist and politician in the world, which hath also a great show and name for wisdom. Let him be without a principle of grace, and his own policies will prove his own snare. Take the greatest men in the world, and they are wise in their own conceits, yet is their life a vanity. Wisdom acts by the highest principles. According to a man's principles are the rules of his actions. These are some of the high and excellent principles that godliness lays in the soul.

(a)That the chief beauty of the creature is holiness.

(b)The happiness of the creature consists in communion with God.

(c)Sin is the greatest evil in the world.

(d)It is better to suffer than to sin.

(e)Things seen are but temporal.

II. AN EXHORTATION TO GET THIS WISDOM.

1. The excellency of grace lies in a conformity unto God.

2. From this conformity there ariseth a communion.

3. Grace fits a man for the service of God.

4. Grace turns all that a godly man enjoyeth into a blessing.

5. Grace fills the soul with all spiritual excellences.

6. Grace will preserve a man from all evil.

(William Strong.)

I. IN WHAT DOES TRUE RELIGION CONSIST? It embraces three things — regeneration, justification, and sanctification; and secures a fourth — glorification. Regeneration is a change of heart; justification a change of state; sanctification a change of character; glorification is the union and consummation of all other changes.

II. WHY IS TRUE RELIGION THE PRINCIPAL THING?

1. Because it more exalts our nature and character than anything else can possibly do.

2. It puts man in possession of more solid and lasting enjoyment than anything else possibly can.

3. It provides for the whole scope of man's being, for soul and body, for time and eternity, for earth and heaven.

III. THE APPLICATIONS OF THE SUBJECT. Get true religion — by forsaking everything previously sought as the principal thing; by repenting of the past, by coming to Christ in faith and prayer, by seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit; by imbuing the mind with gospel truths, submitting to its doctrines and precepts, and conforming the character to all its requirements. How great the happiness of those who have true religion!

(Essex Remembrancer.)

I. TRUE RELIGION IS THE SOUNDEST WISDOM. Real religion, when it takes possession of the human bosom, always produces in its possessor a true concern for his everlasting salvation.

II. THIS WISDOM IS THE "PRINCIPAL THING," AND THEREFORE WORTHY OF OUR EARNEST PURSUIT. If a man consult his own safety and happiness he will seek it in religion. Our safety and security are only in God. Religion opens to us enjoyments not to be found elsewhere. Religion adds to every man's relative usefulness. Only that usefulness which springs from religious principles will be lasting. Religion will be found to be "the principal thing" at the hour of death and at the day of judgment.

(George Clayton.)

II. THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF THIS HEAVENLY WISDOM. The hearts of the fallen race of Adam are naturally fond of sensible objects. We are like little children, pleased with trifles; baubles amuse us; when, as beings destined for eternity, we ought to be contemplating heaven's august realities. What have the men who have been most given to the things of the world gained even here by this earthliness? Surely, nothing that deserves the name of satisfaction. The possession of religion more than makes amends for whatever losses, or trials, or anxieties, we may experience in obtaining it. Religion is so incalculably important that we cannot estimate its value. It is "profitable unto all things."

III. THE DILIGENCE WITH WHICH WE SHOULD APPLY OURSELVES TO THE ATTAINMENT OF IT.

(William Curling,M.A.)

II. ITS SUPREME IMPORTANCE.

1. Its superiority above all other objects to which you can possibly direct your attention. Pleasure is a great attraction to the youthful mind, but happiness is often sought where it is not to be found. That alone deserves the name of happiness which will bear reflection. Wisdom, thought of as religion, is superior to fame, or wealth, or knowledge.

2. Its beneficial effects should be considered. Observe the character thus formed; its influence on conduct and practice, and its relation to the future.

III. THE SCRIPTURAL METHOD OF OBTAINING TRUE WISDOM.

1. There must be a deep conviction of the necessity of this wisdom.

2. A diligent study of God's Word.

3. Fervent and habitual prayer.

4. A believing application to Jesus Christ.

5. Habitual retirement for meditation.

6. Practical carrying out of good principles in all the relations of life.

(J. Fletcher, M.A.)

I. IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET WISDOM. We are living in an age of weak convictions, of guesses as distinguished from beliefs, of opinions rather than established views. The most popular phase of thought in these times is known as Agnosticism. The original agnostic was Pyrrho of Ells. He was the universal sceptic, whose philosophy was merely an interrogation point. But it is possible to know respecting spiritual things. We have the faculty wherewith to apprehend them. This faculty or spiritual sense is the link binding us to God. We have it as a Divine inheritance; it belongs to us by reason of our Divine birth. We are environed by spiritual facts. I do not say that we can exhaust all or any spiritual truth.

II. IT IS OUR MAGNIFICENT PRIVILEGE AND PREROGATIVE TO INFORM OURSELVES CONCERNING SPIRITUAL THINGS. We are Divine and immortal. In reaching out for spiritual truth we give distinct evidence of our descent from God. The lowest attitude which men can assume towards truth is that of credulity. A step higher and we reach the doubters. Doubt is nobler than credulity. A sceptic is a better man than an unthinking bigot. But the sceptic is not a learned man, for true learning implies conviction. He is a half-educated man, and a little learning is ever a dangerous thing. Doubt is always something to move away from. There are two kinds of doubt as there are two twilights. The higher thing is belief. Faith is substance resting on evidence; the substance of spiritual things resting on evidence which appeals to the moral sense. The character of any man is measured by his creed.

III. IT IS OUR BOUNDEN DUTY, THEREFORE, TO HAVE SOUND CONVICTIONS AS TO SPIRITUAL TRUTH. We have no right to allow the great problems to go by default. If there is a God it behoves us to know it. How shall we get wisdom? (James 1:5). God is light; open the windows, and let God shine in. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Bow down at the mercy-seat and ask God to illuminate the dark chambers of your soul. Get wisdom from God.

(D. J. Burrell, D. D.)

1. The description of its nature and causes. calls it that intellectual virtue whereby we are directed in our manners and carriage, to make choice of the right means in the prosecution of our true end. Tully describes it as ars vivendi. Aquinas as the skill of demeaning a man's self aright in practical affairs. In Proverbs 14:8, we read, "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way." The philosophers call four of the virtues "cardinal," because all the rest turn upon them as upon their hinges. These are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Prudence, or wisdom, consists of three parts, A sagacity of judgment to make a true estimate of things, persons, times, and events. A presence of mind to obviate sudden accidents, to meet every emergency. Experience and observation of the most usual and probable consequences of things.

2. The several kinds and distinctions of it. One is a grace, or virtue, the other is not. There is a wisdom that cometh from above. There is a wisdom which is from beneath, earthly, sensual, devilish. There is a distinction in wisdom according to the several ends which men propose to themselves and the means whereby these several ends are to be attained; the gratifying of carnal appetite; peace and contentment of mind; or spiritual blessedness. So wisdom may be carnal policy, moral prudence, or spiritual wisdom.

3. The proper effects of wisdom. It directs to the right end, such as may be perfective of our natures. It directs to consult about the means, which must be fit and accommodate to the end, and must be honest and lawful in themselves. Two things every man should propose to himself in the management of his affairs, success and safety: in order to which he must observe four conditions — forecast and providence against want; wariness and caution against danger; order and union against opposition; sedulity and diligence against difficulties. These four seem to be recommended in Proverbs 30:24, where four living creatures are spoken of as being "exceeding wise," the ants, conies (or mice), locusts, and the spider.

4. The opposite to this virtue of wisdom, by way of excess is craft, by way of defect is folly.

II. THE NECESSITY OF WISDOM, OR THE GROUNDS OF OUR OBLIGATION TO IT. Scripture gives both precepts concerning it (such as Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:15); and commendations of it (as Job 28:16). It is better than riches. It is itself the greatest honour, and will be a means to advance a man in the esteem of others. It is the truest and best pleasure. It is as our life. It is necessary to the safety of our persons; and to the management of our affairs with success. Objection: Is not wisdom a gift and privilege, rather than a duty? Answer:

1. Christian wisdom, for the nature and substance of it is a duty, for the degrees a gift.

2. Moral or civil prudence is also a duty. The neglect of such abilities as are suitable to a man's station is not only a defect but a fault.Three inferences:

1. No wicked man can be truly wise.

2. Grace and holiness are the truest wisdom.

3. If wisdom be the principal thing, then let it be our principal endeavour to attain it.

(Bp. John Wilkins.)

(J. Parker, D. D.)

I. THE TRUE NATURE OF WISDOM.

1. Wisdom is not synonymous with knowledge.

2. Wisdom is not merely the equivalent of prudence in relation to the ordinary concerns of life.

3. Wisdom is not identical with philosophy.

4. Wisdom consists in reverence of the Divine, in the knowledge of God, and a right state of the heart in relation to God. It is, in a word, religion. It is the choice of the highest end, pursued by the best means. It consists in discharging aright those obligations which we owe to our glorious Creator.

II. THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF WISDOM.

1. Remark its superiority to all other objects of human regard. True wisdom sought and won and worn appeases the hunger and thirst of the soul.

2. The beneficial results of gaining wisdom. Formation of virtuous and Christian character. Avoidance of evil. Eternal gain.

III. THE PROPER MEANS OF OBTAINING WISDOM.

(W. E. Daly, B. A.)

II. WISDOM IS THE GUIDE TO VIRTUE. Virtue is the right discharge of our duty in every station of life. Virtue contains the whole art of right and happy living. Did learning afford no assistance to virtue; were pleasure the only benefit arising from study; it must on every account be allowed to be an amusement of the noblest kind, and every way best suited to the nature of man. He is most likely to prosper in this life whose mind is best cultivated and enlarged with the truest notions of things, and who joins to that cultivated understanding a corresponding practice, not less excelling in virtue than in knowledge. Honour, too, is a general attendant upon wisdom. Moreover, the love of wisdom and the practice of virtue, will tend above all things to lengthen our present existence.

1. God, the great Father of the world, has created you a reasonable being, and endowed you with faculties. The duty lies on you to improve and enlarge them.

2. Your parents on earth do everything to help you in getting wisdom.

3. Society has a claim upon you. Then cultivate liberal science as the handmaid of sublimer knowledge. Moral virtue and the improvement of the heart are graces which give to science its lustre, and to life its worth. They expand and enlarge the soul. Cultivate liberal science under the sanction and guidance of religion.

(W. Dodd, LL.D.)

II. AN EARNEST PERSUASION, backed with arguments, to endeavour the acquisition and improvement of this excellent virtue. Wisdom is an excellent, energetical virtue of the mind of man, whereby, upon a clear apprehension and right judgment of things, the whole soul is carried Out, in a well-governed order, in an earnest and constant pursuit of the most excellent attainments. There is a threefold act of wisdom.

1. To propose the most excellent end.

2. To elect the best means.

3. To engage the most earnest endeavours in the diligent use of these means.

III. WHEREIN DOES THE EXCELLENCY OF WISDOM LIE?

IV. THIS EXCELLENCY IS ATTAINABLE. It cannot be commended in vain. Man's work in the world cannot be done without wisdom. God has given man a rational soul. Wisdom may be attained by —

1. A due government of man's self.

2. A serious consideration of a man's state.

3. A diligent study of the Holy Scriptures.

(Thomas Willis, D.D.)

2. Wisdom is the principal thing, for this secures our principal interest.

3. Wisdom is the principal thing, as this comprises everything that is amiable, virtuous and excellent.

4. Religious wisdom is the principal thing, because, while it secures our main interest, it promotes all our subordinate interests.

5. This heavenly wisdom is the principal thing, for without it worldly wisdom will do us no good.

6. Religious wisdom is the principal thing, as it is of universal importance.

(J. Lathrop, D.D.)

2. Another condition requisite to constitute the sovereign good is, that it be conducive to our well being. Happiness is not made up of transient raptures. It consists in the enjoyment of permanent serenity and calm satisfaction. Of such felicity what can afford a fairer prospect than a virtuous and religious disposition? This tends to preserve the desires and passions within due subjection, to prevent them from inflaming the imagination and biasing the judgment. Such a disposition enables us to view objects in their true and proper colours, unadorned with fictitious and delusive attractions.

3. The third quality requisite to constitute the sovereign good is, that it should be suitable to all times, places, and conditions of life. Even when flesh and heart fail, when the world, with all its attractions, can no longer amuse, then will the consolations of religion and virtue still support us, and shed beams of comfort and hope to dispel the dreary shades of the dark vale of death.

4. A fourth condition implied in our idea of the sovereign good is, that it should be durable and inadmissible. The satisfactions of religion and virtue, being derived from God, are permanent and unchangeable as the source from whence they spring. Not even death, which tears us from every sublunary pleasure, can destroy these satisfactions,

(B. C. Sowden.)

I. WHAT THAT WISDOM IS WHICH IS HERE SO EARNESTLY RECOMMENDED. It is twofold, viz., speculative and practical, or wisdom of mind and wisdom of conduct Speculative wisdom, or wisdom of mind, consists in the knowledge of our true happiness and the way to it. Practical wisdom, or wisdom of conduct, consists in the steady pursuit of it in the right way.

II. HOW IT IS THE PRINCIPLE THING. It is that which ought in the first and principal place to be minded, secured, and preferred before everything else; the one thing needful, in comparison of which everything else has but a very inconsiderable importance.

1. Though wisdom, as now explained, be the principal thing, it is not the only thing that deserves our regard. The very term "principal thing" implies that there are other things of a subordinate consideration that ought to be minded in a proper degree. The affairs of the present life claim some of our thoughts and time.

2. Wisdom is the principal thing, so the importance of every other thing is to be measured by its connection with, or relation to it.

III. HOW WISDOM IS TO BE ATTAINED.

1. Accustom yourselves to a habit of thinking on the best things. Wisdom begins with consideration, the want of which is the source of universal folly.

2. Would you be wise, let me beseech you to consider the importance of improving the opportunities and advantages of your present education. 3.Would you be wise indeed, you must carefully inform yourselves of the will of God and every branch of your duty from the sacred Scriptures.

4. Would you be truly wise, you must not only take care to furnish your minds with a knowledge of the Christian principles in general, but of those duties and principles in particular which will best adorn that character and station wherein you may hereafter appear in the world.

5. In order to be truly wise, you must take care to know yourselves; and particularly your constitutional sins.

6. Cultivate a sense of your constant dependence on God for everything, and acknowledge that dependence daily.

7. Think often of death.

8. Earnestly pray to God to make you wise.

(John Mason, M. A.)

     5413   money, attitudes

Proverbs 4:1-7

     5667   children, responsibilities to God

Proverbs 4:6-7

     8367   wisdom, importance of

From Dawn to Noon
'The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'--PROVERBS iv. 18. 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.--MATT. xiii. 43. The metaphor common to both these texts is not infrequent throughout Scripture. In one of the oldest parts of the Old Testament, Deborah's triumphal song, we find, 'Let all them that love Thee be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.' In one of the latest parts of the Old Testament, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Keeping and Kept
'Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.'--PROVERBS iv. 23. 'Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.'--1 PETER 1. 5. The former of these texts imposes a stringent duty, the latter promises divine help to perform it. The relation between them is that between the Law and the Gospel. The Law commands, the Gospel gives power to obey. The Law pays no attention to man's weakness, and points no finger to the source of strength. Its office is to set clearly …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Two Paths
'Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16. For they sleep not, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Curiosity a Temptation to Sin.
"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."--Proverbs iv. 14, 15. The chief cause of the wickedness which is every where seen in the world, and in which, alas! each of us has more or less his share, is our curiosity to have some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the pleasures of sin are like. I believe it is even thought unmanly by many persons (though they may not like to say …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Hold Fast
A sermon (No. 1418) delivered on Lord's Day morning, June 9th, 1878, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life."----Proverbs 4:13. Faith may be well described as taking hold upon divine instruction. God has condescended to teach us, and it is ours to hear with attention and receive his words; and while we are hearing faith comes, even that faith which saves the soul. To take "fast hold" is an exhortation …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Great Reservoir
A sermon (No. 179) delivered on Sabbath morning, February 21, 1858 At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens, by C. H. Spurgeon. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."--Proverbs 4:23. If I should vainly attempt to fashion my discourse after lofty models, I should this morning compare the human heart to the ancient city of Thebes, out of whose hundred gates multitudes of warriors were wont to march. As was the city, such were her armies, as was her inward strength, …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Eyes Right
A sermon (No. 2058) by C. H. Spurgeon "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."----Proverbs 4:25. These words occur in a passage wherein the wise man exhorts us to take care of all parts of our nature, which he indicates by members of the body. "Keep thy heart," says he "with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Aggravated Guilt of Him who Delivered Christ to Pilate.
"Then saith Pilate unto him, 'Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?' Jesus answered, 'Thou couldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.'" Judea was conquered by the Romans and reduced to a province of their empire, before Christ suffered for the sins of men. When the Jews conspired his death, Pilate was governor of that province. The …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

The Great Reservoir
You have seen the great reservoirs provided by our water companies, in which the water which is to supply hundreds of streets and thousands of houses is kept. Now, the heart is just the reservoir of man, and our life is allowed to flow in its proper season. That life may flow through different pipes--the mouth, the hand, the eye; but still all the issues of hand, of eye, of lip, derive their source from the great fountain and central reservoir, the heart; and hence there is no difficulty in showing …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Last Journey and Death, 1858 --Concluding Remarks.
We are now arrived at the closing scene of John Yeardley's labors. The impression which he had received, during his visit to Turkey in 1853, of the opening for the work of the Gospel in the Eastern countries, had never been obliterated; it had rather grown deeper with time, although his ability to accomplish such an undertaking had proportionately diminished. This consideration, however, could not satisfy his awakened sympathies, and, according to his apprehension, no other course remained for him …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Epistle cxx. To Claudius in Spain .
To Claudius in Spain [78] . Gregory to Claudius, &c. The renown of good deeds being fragrant after the manner of ointment, the odour of your glory has extended from the Western parts as far as here. Besprinkled by the sweetness of which breath of air, I declare that I greatly loved one whom I knew not, and within the bosom of my heart seized thee with the hand of love; nor did I love without already knowing him to be one whose good qualities I had learnt. For of him who is known to me by great …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Twenty-Fourth Day. Firmness in Temptation.
"Jesus saith unto him, Get thee hence, Satan."--Matt. iv. 10. There is an awful intensity of meaning in the words, as applied to Jesus, "He suffered, being tempted!" Though incapable of sin, there was, in the refined sensibilities of His holy nature, that which made temptation unspeakably fearful. What must it have been to confront the Arch-traitor?--to stand face to face with the foe of His throne, and His universe? But the "prince of this world" came, and found "nothing in Him." Billow after …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Notes on the Fourth Century
Page 238. Med. 1. In the wording of this meditation, and of several other passages in the Fourth Century, it seems as though Traherne is speaking not of himself, but of, a friend and teacher of his. He did this, no doubt, in order that he might not lay himself open to the charge of over-egotism. Yet that he is throughout relating his own experiences is proved by the fact that this Meditation, as first written, contains passages which the author afterwards marked for omission. In its original form …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Truth Hidden when not Sought After.
"They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."--2 Tim. iv. 4. From these words of the blessed Apostle, written shortly before he suffered martyrdom, we learn, that there is such a thing as religious truth, and therefore there is such a thing as religious error. We learn that religious truth is one--and therefore that all views of religion but one are wrong. And we learn, moreover, that so it was to be (for his words are a prophecy) that professed Christians, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Christian Faith
Scripture references: Hebrews 11; Matthew 9:29; 17:20; Mark 10:52; 11:22; Acts 2:38; 3:16; 10:43; 16:30,31; Romans 1:17; 5:1; 10:17; Galatians 2:20. FAITH AND PRACTICE Belief Controls Action.--"As the man is, so is his strength" (Judges 8:21), "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:28,29). "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The Scriptures place stress upon the fact that …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

"Be Ye Therefore Sober, and Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." We now come to consider the coherence and connexion these duties have one to another. First, Prayer is the principal part of the Christian's employment, and sobriety and watchfulness are subordinate to it. "Be sober, and watch unto prayer." (1.) Prayer is such a tender thing that there is necessity of dieting the spirit unto it. That prayer may be in good health, a man must keep a diet and be sober, sobriety conduces so much to its …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

An Appendix to the Beatitudes
His commandments are not grievous 1 John 5:3 You have seen what Christ calls for poverty of spirit, pureness of heart, meekness, mercifulness, cheerfulness in suffering persecution, etc. Now that none may hesitate or be troubled at these commands of Christ, I thought good (as a closure to the former discourse) to take off the surmises and prejudices in men's spirits by this sweet, mollifying Scripture, His commandments are not grievous.' The censuring world objects against religion that it is difficult …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament