Proverbs (Part 034) - Pro 3:19-22

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19. Pro 3:19 - "The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens." A. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth i. God founded the earth by wisdom in two senses. a. He founded it by Jesus Christ who is the wisdom of God (1Co 1:24). (i) Wisdom n. - 1. c. as one of the manifestations of the divine nature in Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. i. 24, 30, etc.); hence used as a title of the second person of the Trinity (the Wisdom of the Father); also occas. applied to God or the Trinity. (ii) Jesus Christ as the preincarnate Word, the 2nd person of the Trinity, created all things including the earth (1Jo 5:7; Joh 1:1-3; Eph 3:9). (iii) By the word of the Lord the heavens and earth were made (2Pe 3:5). b. God also founded the earth by His wisdom (His wise planning and actions) (Jer 10:12). (i) Wisdom n. - 1. a. Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, esp. in practical affairs: opp. to folly. (ii) In order to create this incredibly complex planet and all life on it, God had to exercise sound judgment when choosing the means to bring it into existence. B. by understanding hath he established the heavens. i. God stretched out the heaven by His understanding (Jer 51:15). ii. Understanding n. - 1. a. (Without article.) Power or ability to understand; intellect, intelligence. 2. The intellectual faculty as manifested in a particular person or set of persons. iii. Establish v. - 1. To render stable or firm. †a. To strengthen by material support (obs.). †b. To ratify, confirm, validate (obs.). 2. a. To fix, settle, institute or ordain permanently, by enactment or agreement. iv. To create the sun, moon, planets, and all of the innumerable stars and then to engineer their courses so that they all stay in their circuits perfectly to provide light, heat, seasons, signs, and calendrical and navigational functions for humanity on earth would take an infinite level of intelligence (Psa 147:4-5; Isa 40:26). 20. Pro 3:20 - "By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." A. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, i. The depths refer to the oceans and seas (Exo 15:4-5). ii. Depth n. - II. Something that is deep. 7. a. A deep water; a deep part of the sea, or of any body of water. Usually in pl.; now only poetic and rhetorical. b. The great abyss of waters; the deep. Obs. iii. God knows how to break up the depths, and the depths are afraid of Him (Psa 77:16). iv. God used His knowledge to break open the fountains of the great deep and flood the earth in the days of Noah (Gen 7:11-12). B. and the clouds drop down the dew. i. Dew n. - 1. a. The moisture deposited in minute drops upon any cool surface by the condensation of the vapour in the atmosphere; formed after a hot day during or towards night, and plentiful in the early morning. ii. The heavens give dew (Zec 8:12). a. Heaven n. - 2. a. By extension (in accordance with Biblical use) the region of the atmosphere in which the clouds float, the winds blow, and the birds fly; as in the more or less poetical expressions, the clouds, winds, breath, fowls of heaven. Rain or dew of heaven, so called as falling (or supposed to fall) from the clouds. b. Dew comes from the moisture in the air. c. The air is the heaven. d. Therefore, dew comes from the heaven. iii. There are clouds of dew (Isa 18:4). a. Clouds of dew are what we call fog. b. Dew and fog are formed by the same process. c. "Water vapour will condense into droplets depending on the temperature. The temperature at which droplets form is called the dew point. When surface temperature drops, eventually reaching the dew point, atmospheric water vapor condenses to form small droplets on the surface. This process distinguishes dew from those hydrometeors (meteorological occurrences of water), which form directly in air that has cooled to its dew point (typically around condensation nuclei), such as fog or clouds. The thermodynamic principles of formation, however, are the same. Dew is usually formed at night." (Dew, Wikipedia, 11-4-2019) d. Since clouds are water vapor in the air, and dew is water vapor in the air that is condensed on the ground, therefore it can be said that "clouds drop down the dew." iv. The clouds drop down the dew because God in His amazing knowledge designed it that way. 21. Pro 3:21 - "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:" A. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: i. The them in this verse refers to wisdom and understanding. a. Solomon stated in Pro 3:13 that the man that finds wisdom and understanding is happy (blessed, fortunate), and then he gave the reason for it in Pro 3:14-18. b. Solomon then again extolled wisdom and understanding in Pro 3:19-20 by showing that the Lord used them to create the universe. c. In Pro 3:21, Solomon again exhorts his son to lay hold on wisdom and understanding. d. In Pro 3:22-26 he gives additional benefits and blessings that accrue from getting and retaining wisdom. ii. In order to possess the blessings of wisdom and understanding, we must let not them depart from our eyes. iii. There are two ways which we can do this: physically and spiritually. a. Physically (i) Wisdom and understanding come from the word of God (Pro 2:6). (ii) If we continually read the scriptures, they will literally remain in the sight of our eyes. b. Spiritually (i) Our eyes also represent our understanding (Eph 1:18). (ii) Hence the reason that when we understand something, we often say "I see." (iii) By keeping wisdom and understanding in our thoughts and our "mind's eye" we don't let them depart from us. (iv) In other words, we should always be thinking about how to be wise. B. keep sound wisdom and discretion: i. There are different types of wisdom. a. There is the wisdom of God (1Co 1:21) and the wisdom of this world (1Co 1:20). b. The wisdom of this world is devilish (Jam 3:15). c. The wisdom of God is sound wisdom. (i) Sound adj. - II. 8. a. In full accordance with fact, reason, or good sense; founded on true or well-established grounds; free from error, fallacy, or logical defect; good, strong, valid. (ii) Wisdom n. - 1. a. Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, esp. in practical affairs: opp. to folly. d. We must keep sound wisdom, wisdom that is true, good, and free from error if we are to experience the blessing that comes from it. ii. We must also keep discretion. a. Discretion n. - I. 1. The action of separating or distinguishing, or condition of being distinguished or disjunct; separation, disjunction, distinction. II. 2. The action of discerning or judging; judgement; decision, discrimination. III. 6. Ability to discern or distinguish what is right, befitting, or advisable, esp. as regards one's own conduct or action; the quality of being discreet; discernment; prudence, sagacity, circumspection, sound judgement. b. Discreet a. - 1. Showing discernment or judgement in the guidance of one's own speech and action; judicious, prudent, circumspect, cautious; often esp. that can be silent when speech would be inconvenient. c. Wisdom enables a man to make sound decisions, and discretion enables him to know when to act and when not to. 22. Pro 3:22 - "So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck." A. So shall they be life unto thy soul, i. When kept, wisdom and understanding are life to the soul. ii. They don't give physical life, although they can help to sustain it (Pro 3:2, 16, 18). iii. They don't give eternal life to the soul; only God does that (Joh 10:28). iv. But they do give health and quality of life to the soul (Pro 4:22; Pro 16:22). a. Living in sin makes one dead while they live (1Ti 5:6; Rev 3:1). b. Living in wisdom makes one enjoy the best that life has to offer. B. and grace to thy neck. i. Wisdom and understanding will make one attractive to others. ii. Grace n. - I. Pleasing quality, gracefulness. 1. The quality of producing favourable impressions; attractiveness, charm. Now usually with more restricted application: The attractiveness or charm belonging to elegance of proportions, or (especially) ease and refinement of movement, action, or expression. iii. Wisdom gives a Christian a beautiful neck, spiritually speaking. iv. Her beautiful neck becomes even more attractive when the commandments of God are worn on it as a necklace (Pro 1:9; Pro 3:1, 3). v. A wise woman will be far more attractive to a godly man than will a beautiful woman without discretion (Pro 11:22). vi. "...how ornamental is Christ and his righteousness to a believer! how lovely is the person that is steady in his principles, and regular in his practices! who stands fast in the truths of the Gospel, and whose conversation is as becomes it!" (John Gill, Pro 3:22)