Proverbs 9:10, Seek the Life that Triumphs!

April 11, Proverbs 9:10

Heb. 11:32-12:2 “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him” (Ps. 25:14).

Seek the Life that Triumphs!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. These familiar words reinforce the central theme of Proverbs. A different Hebrew word is used here for beginning. It has reference not to time but to first principles, fundamentals (Eccl. 10:13). Between those who accepted her invitation and reproofs, and scorners and wicked who hate and defame her, there appears to be an on the fence crowd, the simple ones, now leaning one way, now the other, to whom Wisdom appeals. She reverts to first principles, and lays down the conditions for a life of faithfulness. A true conception of God is the beginning of wisdom.

1. The Humility Principle: The fear of the Lord, the reverential trust in God and hatred of sin in all its forms, leads to a life of humility and obedience. It is the Spirit of humbleness that leads to self-sacrificing obedience. Such was the life of Caleb (Josh. 14:8, 9, 14). His secret is beautifully summed up in the words, He wholly followed the Lord. This is the secret of the humility principle. In Hebrew, Caleb literally means a dog, and was often used as a term of contempt. Caleb, like a well-trained dog, was always at his Master’s heel, and with Joshua, was ready to bear the contempt of the mob. A play on his name yields cal-leb, means all-heart. Caleb’s heart was all for God. Jesus Christ is the supreme example. He humbled Himself and became obedient even unto the curse of the cross. Paul exhorts us to follow Christ’s example (Phil. 2:8, 12-13). This is the first principle of spiritual advancement, and of true Christianity. A heart touched with Divine love also trembles with godly fear. “Woe to the church when the pastor comes up to the pulpit or comes into the pulpit. He must come down to the pulpit always” (Tozer).

2. The Holiness Principle: The knowledge of the holy is understanding. The holy is plural. Some think it refers to holy things (Henry). Others believe it is the plural of dignity (Perowne), or the tri-unity of the Godhead (Bridges). The parallelism with Lord seems to demand this as a reference to the Godhead. The application of the plural to the sacred name is used elsewhere by Solomon (Pr. 1:20; 30:3), and in other Scriptures. The Hebrews never used, what we call, the plural of majesty, to refer to God. This is simply a liberal cop-out (Gn. 1:26; Isa. 6:3). A life of faith calls for a life of holiness as embodied in the thrice-holy God. If we did but know more of God’s holiness, who would not fear Thee more (Rev. 15:4)? “The greatest miracle that God can do today is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, and make that man holy and put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it” (L. Ravenhill). Spurgeon sums it up in his customary forceful manner: “Whatever call a man may pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he certainly has not been called to the ministry.” Thomas Fuller ties these two principles together when he says, “There is no true holiness without humility.” Can the reason why there is so much discontent today be, as old William Gurnall expressed it, that “the holy person is the only contented man in the world”?

Thought: The value of life is only realised in the knowledge of God.

Prayer: O for a heart to fear my God; a heart from self set free.