Weekly Pulpit Proverbs 1:20-23 Wisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets:… 1. What voices does Wisdom find in each generation? Parent-voice; teacher-voice; experience-voice; revelation-voice; Christ's voice. 2. Where does Wisdom raise her voice? For them that have ears to hear, anywhere, everywhere. 3. What is the message which the voice delivers? I. AN ASSERTION. You need to be turned. This is not the message we expect Wisdom to bring. She should say, "Study. Seek good teachers. Think. Read." She does say, "Turn"; and so she reveals the one deep and universal need. Simple ones, turn from folly. Scorners, turn from the deceit of scorning. Fools, turn from your wilful, wicked ways. The first thing Wisdom would have us do is change. The first call of Christ, the true Wisdom, is, "Repent." II. A TRUTH. You must turn yourselves. The call is based on our possession of will, and on the fact that we have hitherto made such misguided, such ruinous, choices with our wills. Wisdom calls for a new and different exercise of our will. There is a sense in which we cannot save ourselves; there is a sense in which nobody can save us but ourselves. We can shift it on nobody's shoulders. Therefore the Divine persuasions are, "Choose; turn." III. A DUTY. You ought to turn at once. Under the constraint of such gracious promises and persuasions. For Wisdom wins as well as calls. She promises to give her spirit, the love of knowledge, the joy of knowing, to all who will turn from selfish pleasure's giddy ways. And Christ persuades and promises that He may win. He promises "the life that now is, and the life that is to come." 1. Pardon. 2. Cleansing. 3. Healing. 4. Conscious sonship. 5. Love. 6. Joy unspeakable. 7. Heaven.From dead-works — turn. From worldly pleasures — turn. From self-seekings — turn. From sin — turn. Let the call of Wisdom and of Christ ring in our ears wherever we go, in busy street, in quiet home, in bustling business, in lonely room. (Weekly Pulpit.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:WEB: Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares. |
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