Proverbes 8:26 Commentaire

The word of God is two-fold, and, in both senses, is wisdom; for a word without wisdom is of little value, and wisdom without a word is of little use. Now, I. Divine revelation is the word and wisdom of God, and that pure religion and undefiled which is built upon it; and of that Solomon here speaks, recommending it to us as faithful, and well worthy of all acceptation (Pro 8:1-2). God, by it, instructs, and governs, and blesses, the children of men. II. The redeemer is the eternal Word and wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks (Pro 8:22-31). He concludes with a repeated charge to the children of men diligently to attend to the voice of God in his word (Pro 8:32-36).

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 8 This chapter contains the instructions of Wisdom or Christ; showing the excellency of them, and the author of them, in opposition to the harlot and her allurements, in the preceding chapter. Christ, under the name of Wisdom, is represented as an herald, publishing the Gospel in the ministry of the word, either in person or by his servants, Pro 8:1. The places where this proclamation is made are described, Pro 8:2; the persons to whom, Pro 8:4. The excellency of the things delivered, being right things; truth, agreeably to the word of God, plain and easy to be understood, and of more worth than gold, silver, and precious stones, Pro 8:6. And then Wisdom, or Christ, is commended and recommended by his consummate prudence and knowledge, by his hatred of evil, and by his influence on the political affairs of kings and princes, Pro 8:12; and the advantages of those that are early seekers of him are pointed out; their enjoyment of his favour, of his riches, honour and righteousness; and their being led by him in right paths now, and inheriting eternal glory hereafter, Pro 8:17. And next follows an account of his existence from eternity as a divine Person, illustrated by a variety of phrases, Pro 8:22; and of his being with the Father; of his great affection for him, and complacency in him; and of Christ's wonderful delight and pleasure in the sons of men, Pro 8:30. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to them to hearken to his instructions; setting forth the happiness of those that wait on him in public ordinances, and find him; and the misery of those that hate and reject him.

While as yet he had not made the earth,.... That is, the Lord, who possessed Wisdom, or Christ, and by whom he was set up; he as yet had not made the earth, when this was done; this shows that the earth had a beginning, contrary to those philosophers who asserted the eternity of it; that Christ was before that was, for it was made by him; and consequently he must be eternal, and was before any man was, since the earth was made before man; and that he was not of the earth, earthy, as was the first man; nor the fields; the plain parts of the earth, in opposition to the mountains and hills before mentioned; the valleys and meadows that lay between them, full of grass, flowers, and fruits; pleasant to behold, and profitable to be enjoyed; so the word is also rendered Job 5:10; and "valleys", by the Targum here: or the "out parts" (m); the extremities of the earth, the two poles of it; the uninhabitable parts of the earth, as distinct from the habitable part of it afterwards mentioned: or all with out it; the ambient and spacious ether; nor the highest part of the dust of the world: meaning, not the mountains and hills, which are before mentioned, and are the highest part of the earth; but rather "the chief of the dust of the earth" (n), as the words may be rendered; these are the metals and minerals within it; the gold, silver, and precious stones, of which we read very early, Gen 2:12; or the "beginning", the first and chief, the "prima materia", even the dusts of the world, out of which man and all the creatures were made, Gen 2:6. Dr. Lister (o) was of opinion that sand was once the most exterior and general cover of the surface of the whole earth; partly because all our northern mountains are covered with it, more or less, at this day; and partly because of its great hardness, durableness, and unalterable quality; and the higher the mountains be, he says, still the more and coarser the sand is; and if so, this might with propriety be called the highest part of the dust of the earth. But Christ was before any of them, as well as is more excellent than they. Or it may be man is designed, who was made of the dust of the earth; even the first man Adam, so Jarchi, Gen 2:7; before whom Christ was: yea, the human nature of Christ himself may be meant, which is fairer than any of the children of men, and the chief of all the individuals of human nature; being without sin, and united to the Son of God, and also the curious workmanship of the Spirit of God. Now Christ, as the Son of God, as the only begotten of the Father, existed before his human nature did, or before he was the Son of man. (m) "quae extra sunt", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "exteriora", Cocceius, Michaelis. (n) "caput", Montanus, Tigurine version; "summam", Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. (o) In Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 2. p. 452, 453.

"Before he made anything from the beginning," etc. Similar to this in the Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him" (John 1). Perish those, therefore, who deny that the power of God and the wisdom of God, namely Christ, was begotten by the Father from the beginning, indeed even before any beginning could be said or thought. Another translation begins at this place: "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways in his works," which the Fathers understand to be spoken of the incarnation of the Lord, saying that by the mystery of a certain grace it is said, "The Lord created me," and not "The Father created me." Flesh, they say, acknowledges the Lord, glory signifies the Father. The creature confesses the Lord, charity names the Father as the beginning; or "in the beginning of his ways," as he himself said, "I am the way," because rising from the dead, he made a path for his Church to the kingdom of God, to eternal life. "In his works," because he was created from the Virgin to redeem the works of the Father; taking flesh to free the works of the Father from the bondage of corruption. For the flesh of Christ is for the works, the Divinity before the works.

Contrasted with sensual allurements are the advantages of divine wisdom, which publicly invites men, offers the best principles of life, and the most valuable benefits resulting from receiving her counsels. Her relation to the divine plans and acts is introduced, as in Pro 3:19-20, though more fully, to commend her desirableness for men, and the whole is closed by an assurance that those finding her find God's favor, and those neglecting ruin themselves. Many regard the passage as a description of the Son of God by the title, Wisdom, which the older Jews used (and by which He is called in Luk 11:49), as Joh 1:1, &c., describes Him by that of Logos, the Word. But the passage may be taken as a personification of wisdom: for, (1) Though described as with God, wisdom is not asserted to be God. (2) The use of personal attributes is equally consistent with a personification, as with the description of a real person. (3) The personal pronouns used accord with the gender (feminine) of wisdom constantly, and are never changed to that of the person meant, as sometimes occurs in a corresponding use of spirit, which is neuter in Greek, but to which masculine pronouns are often applied (Joh 16:14), when the acts of the Holy Spirit are described. (4) Such a personification is agreeable to the style of this book (compare Pro 1:20; Pro 3:16-17; Pro 4:8; Pro 6:20-22; Pro 9:1-4), whereas no prophetical or other allusions to the Saviour or the new dispensation are found among the quotations of this book in the New Testament, and unless this be such, none exist. (5) Nothing is lost as to the importance of this passage, which still remains a most ornate and also solemn and impressive teaching of inspiration on the value of wisdom. (Pro. 8:1-36) The publicity and universality of the call contrast with the secrecy and intrigues of the wicked (Pro 7:8, &c.).

fields--or, "out places," "deserts," as opposite to (habitable) "world." highest part--or, "sum," all particles together,