In Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 20, we read the following. Wisdom crieth without. She uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates. In the city she uttereth her words, saying, how long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? The scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you. Wisdom, cryeth without. Wisdom. This book of Proverbs, the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, is the product of that wisdom which Solomon requested when the Lord asked of him, ask what I shall give thee. In 2 Chronicles chapter 1 and verse 7, we read of Solomon's account to Chronicles 1 verse 7, In that night did God appear unto Solomon and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shown great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O Lord God, Let thy promise unto David my father be established, for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this thy people that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast thou asked long life, but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people over whom I have made thee king. Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee and I will give thee riches and wealth and honor such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee. Neither shall there any after thee have the like. So God asked Solomon what he would have and Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. A wonderful request A wise request. The fool would not even ask for wisdom. Man by nature seeks it not. Man in his natural state as a fallen sinner thinks he has plenty of wisdom. Why ask for wisdom that you do not lack? Man does not realize that he is without wisdom. And yet God tells us elsewhere in the scriptures that man by wisdom knew not God. That the wisdom of man is nothing. That no man has sought God. That God's wisdom is foolishness unto man. But men in their wisdom reject God, reject His truth, reject His gospel, and reject His Son. And yet God asked Solomon, ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon knew in the position that God had placed him in, as the son of David, as a king set up over his people, knew that he would need wisdom to lead that people. And he knew that he lacked this wisdom. So he asked for wisdom and God granted him it. But was the wisdom that God granted Solomon merely a quality? Was it wisdom as men view wisdom, as a knowledge and an understanding and a discernment that makes men able to make the right decisions? Did Solomon simply request a quality from God? Or is there more to the wisdom that he sought, and more to the wisdom that God granted him, than just understanding knowledge and discernment? Yes indeed there is. The wisdom which Solomon needed, the wisdom which you and I need, and the wisdom which God in grace granted unto King Solomon was not a quality but a person not simply knowledge and understanding that men have but a person who is wisdom personified what Solomon sought and what Solomon was granted was the Lord Jesus Christ Christ is the wisdom of God. Christ says of himself, I am the way, the truth and the life. He is truth. He is understanding. He is knowledge. And he is wisdom. There is no true wisdom outside of Christ to be found in this world. Man's wisdom will lead you to death. Man's wisdom will lead you to reject God, His Gospel and His Son. Man's wisdom is foolishness and by it you will not know God. But the wisdom that God gave unto Solomon was Christ Himself. Christ Himself. Solomon sought not power. He sought not riches and wealth. He sought not victory over his enemies merely. He sought not long life. But he knew that above anything that he could ask for, there was that riches, those riches which were greater than any riches he might have in this world. The riches of God's grace in Jesus Christ. The riches of God. He knew he needed a saviour. He knew he was a corrupt sinner. He knew he was nothing. He knew from his father David that David's only strength came from God and that David as a king and as a man so many times fell and stumbled that he was nothing in himself and that if Solomon was left in the same way he would fall and stumble and lead Israel into ruin. But he knew that if he was to stand and to lead that people as their king, then he must have God's salvation, God's wisdom. He must have a savior. He must have Christ. Christ, the wisdom of God. Well, what of you? What do you seek and what do you have? What do you trust in? Do you think you're wise? Do you think you're knowledgeable? Do you think that by your intellect you will strive and walk and attain to great things? Men, by their own wisdom, by their own intellect, by their own strength, as God allows them, do often attain to great things in this world. But it's but for a moment. And throughout they're full of sin. And soon those strong young men become weak old men and enter the grave with nothing. And all their riches and all their achievements are as nothing. They are as water that they've tried to gather in their hands and it's run off their hands to the ground. They cannot take it with them and they pass from this world. carrying nothing but sinful hands with which they must stand before a holy and almighty God who will judge them according to their works and if that's the wisdom they stand before Him with then they will go into outer darkness where there is no light there is no understanding and there is no wisdom forevermore What folly! The wisdom of man says in his heart there is no God. The wisdom of man worships himself and stands in his own strength and even if with the lips he bears an acknowledgement to the existence of God. or makes pass in reference to God and his help. In reality he lives and walks like he's on his own. Like nothing will be done except he does it. And he takes great pride in all he does and all he says. His heart says there is no God. And he walks accordingly. That's the wisdom of man. It's foolishness. that's your wisdom, that's my wisdom and it will lead us to the grave to the grave it rejects God, it rejects God's son and it rejects his gospel because to those with such wisdom the preaching of the gospel, the cross is to these, these that perish foolishness Where is the wise, God says? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? You who think you stand in your own wisdom. Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. our wisdom is foolishness and to us God's wisdom is foolishness by nature we hear the gospel and those who preach it and laugh and scorn it but God says of this gospel that it is the power of God Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God And he says that the foolishness of God in preaching this gospel is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men because by it he has chosen to save a great company of fools and of nothings. Those who despised and rejected him and yet those whom he chose to save and to make his wisdom known unto. God in wisdom chose to make himself known unto King Solomon. By nature Solomon was like all others, scorned in the wisdom of God. But God said no. Through you I will demonstrate my wisdom and my gospel. Through you I will lift up and exalt my Son. So he changed Solomon's heart. And he put wisdom in Solomon's heart to cry out to God and to say, Lord give me wisdom. Give me Christ. And God gave him Christ. God gave him Christ. And the product of God giving Solomon Christ the wisdom of God is this book we have in the middle of our Bible called the Proverbs. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David. King of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity, to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discernment. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. to understand the proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. Because God gave Solomon wisdom, Solomon by the Spirit of God could declare wisdom in this book. Now as we've seen wisdom is not merely a quality and the book of Proverbs does not simply contain wise words and sayings. It is not a collection of teachings by which we may walk well. It is not simply a collection of helpful sayings. But the book of Proverbs makes known wisdom itself. It makes known wisdom himself. Proverbs is an unfolding of the person of Christ and his gospel. When Solomon asked for wisdom, he asked for a saviour. And that Saviour, though He knew him not by name, that Saviour whom He knew by wisdom, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Have you sought God and asked for wisdom? Has He granted you wisdom? If He has, then the wisdom you've been granted will be Christ Himself. When Solomon asked for wisdom, he asked not for the riches, but God gave him them, following the wisdom he gave. Elsewhere Jesus teaches, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things, all these things you may need in this world. your bread, your clothing, food, water, these things you may need and which you may worry that you may not have. If you seek God, seek first the Kingdom of God, all these things shall be added unto you. I will take care of you. These are nothing compared to the riches that I will give you by grace in the Gospel. For if you have the Gospel, I will watch over you. And watch over Solomon he did, there was none greater. And yet we may say of Solomon, we may wonder, this king, this wondrously wise king, this king who sought after wisdom, was also a great sinner. There is much that Solomon did which was shameful. Shameful. Then where is the wisdom in much that Solomon did? Well the things that Solomon did that were against his God and which brought shame upon himself and his land were not the product of wisdom but were the product of his own flesh and sinful self which raged against it. because as God says of all those who are given Christ they have the spirit within and the flesh war if against the spirit and the flesh causes us to sin daily and the only good that we do the only good that we can do the only thing of merit in God's people is Christ himself But they in themselves are just sinful flesh through and through, waiting to be laid in the grave in that day when they will be raised again with a new body in perfect righteousness and holiness, where there is Christ within and nothing without to war against him. where they are pure and perfect and the working of his blood which was shed to make them pure has brought about its ultimate purpose of taking away the sin in the flesh and bring them in perfect all Solomon's wisdom was in Christ but yes Solomon himself was a great sinner if you have Christ the first thing that you will truly own if you truly know Christ and his salvation is that you are a great sinner and that in your flesh there dwells no good thing that you sought not God, that you cared not for God, that you loved not God, that you in yourself by nature or without understanding were blind, were deaf, were dumb. That there's nothing good in you, nothing which God can be pleased with. That all you have is a gift from God in Christ. That you fell upon your knees before Him and cried out guilty and condemned, Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner. And when God looked upon you in grace, He took you. and took away your heart and put in its place a new heart he put Christ in the midst and what you have is riches beyond knowledge beyond understanding you have Christ but all that you are in the flesh is sin there is no true believer who truly knows Christ and truly has the wisdom of God within who rejoices in their own works or their own qualities. Pride comes before us all. Pride leads us to the grave. There is no good in the flesh. But God's people know they're nothing. They know they are base, they know they are nothings. And it is those who are nothing whom God saves, under whom God makes known his wisdom. This is the wisdom of God which Solomon was granted and of which God speaks by Paul in 1 Corinthians. For Paul says, we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. For unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God have chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world and things which are despised have God chosen. Yea, and things which are not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. but of Him, i.e. in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. And that wisdom is seen in its being righteousness, sanctification and redemption. That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Yes, God's chosen the base things of the world, the weak, the foolish, the nothings, those that are despised. Despised. And to them, he has given Christ Jesus, the wisdom of God. And in him we are made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. we should not glory in self but in him and him alone what do you know of that can you rejoice in that because here's something to rejoice in if you know anything of your foolishness, if you know anything of your weakness, if you know what it is to be foolish and weak and small and despised, if you feel your sin, your iniquity, if you feel your guilt, if you feel your helplessness, if you feel your state before God and feel like you could never attain to any heights like you look at the law of God and the righteousness of God and you know that to stand before a holy God you must be righteous and you look within and you just see a cesspit of sin within that casts you down and breaks you and to cry out in despair if that's where you've been then you will rejoice that God does not choose the righteous that God does not choose the holy that God does not choose those who stand in their own strength but he chooses those like you who are weak and helpless and nothing nothing Those who have struggled like Paul did, when he says, I know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. That which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that's in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me? from the body of this death. You see, there's a day where we care not for God's law, where we care not for his gospel, where we care not for the truth, where we care not about being righteous, where we care not how we stand before a holy God. But there comes a time in the pathway of the child of God when God begins to make himself known unto them and makes their state before him known and makes the need for righteousness known. And they want to turn away from their sin, they want to be right, but they discover that no matter how hard they try, they fail utterly. And all they can cry out is like Paul, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I'm nothing. Once I thought I was something. Once I was proud. Once I had strength. But now God's shown me that not only am I not strong enough, not only am I not right enough, but I'm utterly unrighteous with no strength. I'm base, I'm despised, I'm nothing. Then what hope is there for such a one? There is the hope. that God have chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and the base things of the world and things which are despised have God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to naught things that are that's the hope that's my hope that's your hope Do you feel you're nothing? Do you feel you're a sinner, a far-off, without any hope of attaining unto God? Well, God saves sinners like this who are nothing. Nothing. And when they cry out in such a state, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? They hear in the Gospel. The wisdom of God crying out unto them, Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. Sinners such as you. And Paul could cry, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, because he took away my sin. He took it upon himself. upon the tree he took my sin and went to the cross where he was slain where I should have been slain he took my sin and he died he died for me he was crucified for me he took my sin away he was judged not for his own sin but my sin my sin and he took my sin away and in having judged it and taken it away he made me to be the very righteousness of God in him. That's my wisdom, that's my salvation, that's my hope. God has made him unto me to be wisdom and righteousness. He's made Him to be sanctification unto me. He's separated me. He's separated me from my sin and from condemnation. He's separated me from what I once was. He's separated me from darkness and the children of wrath amongst whom I once walked. He's separated me unto Himself. He's sanctified me. He's taken me and washed me in His blood and made me clean and said, this is a holy thing, separated unto me. Because He is in my Son, and He is as my Son righteous, and in my Son. He is redeemed. Yes, God has made Christ unto me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. I've been set free because Christ has set me free. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Christ has. He redeemed me. He delivered me and set me free. because he took the body of this death and he nailed it to the tree and he crucified it and judged it and burnt it up under the wrath of God. He set me free. Praise God he set me free. Has he set you free? Has He set you free? Can you cry out with Paul there? Is that your wisdom? Has Christ been made unto you wisdom in righteousness, sanctification and redemption? Has He? Has He? Perhaps you haven't heard. Perhaps you've heard with the outward ear but have never heard the wisdom of God crying into your soul. Perhaps you know about Jesus and about his salvation, but you've never heard his voice and never heard his gospel. Well I tell you Christ preaches and he cries and he cries constantly, he's constantly preaching and declaring himself unto sinners in this world. We are only here today because Christ on high, having died for sinners, having taken away their sin, having risen victorious from the grave, having ascended on high in power, today he reigns on high to preach his gospel to gather in all those for whom he died until that day when all of them are gathered in and saved and the end of the world will come and we will go to be with him if we are his or we will go away into outer darkness if we are not but the world exists today because Christ on high is preaching Christ is the wisdom of God is. And this is why in Proverbs 1 verse 20 Solomon begins his declaration of wisdom by saying that wisdom crieth without. she uttereth her voice in the street, she cryeth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words, saying, saying, saying unto you, saying unto me, how long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. How long? How long will you shut your ears? How long will you scoff and scorn at my gospel? How long will you reject? Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you. Christ preaches, wisdom speaks, and this wisdom that we read of in Proverbs is not a quality but a person. It's Christ. And this book declares his speech, his preaching. Preaching. This is why again in 1 Corinthians 30 that Paul picks this up. Paul knows what the scriptures teach. Paul knew the Old Testament. Paul knew the meaning of Proverbs and he knew the meaning of wisdom. and that's why he makes it plain here that the world scoffs and scorns at the preaching of the cross because the world rejects the voice of wisdom The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Wisdom cries and you may yet have heard wisdom crying you may have heard the gospel with the outward ear or read it in the scriptures in the letter but have you heard wisdom crying crying unto you in particular crying crying to you how long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. How long will you play the fool? How long will you scoff and scorn at my gospel? How long will you put it off for another day? How long will you reject it? I will preach, and I am preaching, and I will continue to preach. And those whose ears are open will hear. Are your ears opened to hear? By nature they're firmly shut. By nature our eyes are blind. By nature we're without understanding but that voice is still sounding whether our eyes are shut and our ears are shut. It's still there. The speech still utters. This world lies in darkness and there's a voice constantly crying out, constantly calling out, constantly declaring what Christ have done. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. And those that love darkness shut their ears and will not hear. There was I and there were you and there you may be yet, shutting your ears in the darkness. Yet the voice still cries. So Proverbs opens with this voice crying, crying out unto us. And as the book goes on, we hear not just the cry of the voice, but we hear what the voice says, the speech of wisdom. The content, the doctrine of the Gospel of Christ. Who He is, what He's done. This book isn't just telling us about wisdom. It is the very speech of wisdom. It is wisdom. It is Christ speaking unto us. You're in the darkness of our sin and depravity. It is just dark sayings. and we are without understanding. Without understanding fools whose hearts say there is no God. Where does this speech begin? Where is the first utterance of wisdom unto the soul? It begins chapter 1 verse 7, chapter 9 verse 10 it begins. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. If you've no fear of God in your heart, if you've no understanding of just how great and almighty God is, and just how small and nothing you are before him, and just how guilty you stand before him as a sinner in need of righteousness, if you've no fear, you've no wisdom. none whatsoever and this world is characterized by millions of people who walk around with no fear of God in darkness Foolish. But when wisdom begins to speak, when understanding begins to dawn forth in their souls, when wisdom begins to enter into the dark heart, when it comes through a crack that the Spirit of God opens up and wisdom shines through as a light, then it begins with the dawning of the fear of God in the soul. and we fall down upon our knees before Him and begin to be aware there's an alarm sounding that we are nothing before Him. We have a Maker, a Creator, a Sustainer. Our life is but a vapour, it's fast coming to a close and soon we will stand before this Great One and soon we will answer. The fear of the Lord. It's the beginning of understanding. Has that wisdom, has that understanding begun in your soul? Have you heard the cry? Because this is where the Gospel begins to show us where we are. Before it then begins to lead us on to Christ himself. Wisdom himself, Christ says, I am God. I am your God. Bow before me. I am your God. And having been brought to that place, when we come to that place where we know what we are before God, when we know that we are in need of righteousness before this God, when we need to hear Him, to know Him, when we know as Solomon knew at the beginning that we have no wisdom by nature and we need wisdom, we need a Saviour, we need Christ, Then we will cry out for it. Cry out for Him. And God will begin to make Him known unto us in the Gospel. He'll begin to lead our steps to Calvary's cross. Begin to lead our steps to that place where His Son was slain for sinners. Begin to point our gaze and cry out, Behold. Behold my Son, slain for sinners. Behold His blood shed freely. Behold. constantly in this book wisdom is personified constantly it says wisdom cries wisdom speaks it says i i am this i am that because here's a person speaking it's christ and he's crying out unto us in his gospel crying out In chapter 8 we see this so wonderfully presented. Doth not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She cries at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O ye simple, understand wisdom, and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Here, for I will speak of excellent things, excellent things, wondrous things in my gospel, and the opening of my lips shall be right things. His words, Christ's words, they said, he spake like none other. No man spake like this man. Because wisdom's words, the opening of her lips, his lips, shall be right things. My mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing froward or perverse in them. Who else is this speaking but Christ? This is not a quality of wisdom, this is Christ himself. He is truth. He is righteousness. These words are plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction and not silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogancy and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom I am understanding. I have strength. Wisdom, Christ goes on to say, by me kings reign and princes decree justice, by me princes rule and nobles even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me, yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasures. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. I am God, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. I am the everlasting God, the Son of God. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there. When He set a compass upon the face of the depth. When He established the clouds above. When He strengthened the fountains of the deep. When He gave to the sea His decree that the water should not pass His commandment. When He appointed the foundations of the earth. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. I am the Son of God, always with God, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore, This is me. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children, for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life. and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. Oh, have you found him? Have you found him? Have you been found of him? Do you know this wisdom? Do you know it? Do you know it? If you have, If Christ has found you in your state naturally, if Christ has made himself his wisdom known unto you, then you will become his bride. his bride. You will be unto him as he is in you because of what he is in you, because of what he has done for you in washing your sins away by his blood, because he has made you without spot and without blemish. You will become unto him a virtuous woman, of whom Solomon speaks in the last chapter of this book. Because one theme that we see, both in Solomon's life and in the accounts in this book, is the contrast between the strange woman, the unfaithful, the harlot, and the faithful wife. the bride of Christ, the virtuous wife, a man, a young man that finds a good wife, finds a good thing, finds a good woman. This isn't about this world. This isn't about men finding women. This isn't about moral teachings of faithfulness in marriage. This is about Christ and his bride. Christ and his bride. and when we're brought to Christ we'll know what it is to be his bride and we'll know what it is to see that war in our heart where the flesh wars against him and would cause us to be unfaithful but where the spirit within loves and adores him and is one with him one with him chapter 31 Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies? The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. she considereth a field and buyeth it, with the fruit of her hand she planteth a vineyard, she girdeth her loins with strength and strengtheneth her arms, she perceiveth that her merchandise is good, her candle goeth not out by night, she layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands hold to this stuff, She stretched out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry, her cloven is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and deliver girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her cloven, and she shall rejoice in times to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Who is this but the Bride of Christ, His Church? All her household are clothed with scarlet, washed in the blood of the Lamb, made perfect and pure. She's faithful and honourable as He works in her, to will and to do of His good pleasure. He loves and adores her. She has children, the church brings forth children, others are added to her number by the gospel. She's increased and her husband sees her fruitfulness and delights in her. He delights in his church, which by his wisdom he has bought for himself. By his wisdom. Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised, because the woman that feareth the Lord, the Bride of Christ, is she who has discovered wisdom. She who has discovered Christ. She for whom Christ has died. She under whom Christ is made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. She who finds that her husband, Christ, is her all in all. Her wisdom. What is Christ unto you? Is He your All in All? Is He your Saviour? Has He delivered you from the foolishness of this world that you call understanding, intellect and wisdom? Has He shown you its folly and the death unto which it leads? Has He led you by wisdom to fear God? to know your state before him that you are nothing. Has he led you by wisdom to hear wisdom crying in the gates? Has he led you by wisdom to hear the gospel? Has he led you by wisdom to that place called Golgotha where the wisdom of God Christ was slain and crucified because of the sins of his bride? Are you that woman, that virtuous woman, washed of all your sin, made whiter than snow, made perfect, made to be clothed with scarlet? Are you that woman for whom Christ died, that church whom he loved and gave himself for? And is He your wisdom, the wisdom of God, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God? If He is, lift up your gaze by faith unto Him. Hear His voice this day and follow Him. Amen.