MEANS OF OBTAINING

WISDOM.

COUNSEL.

Judges xx, 7. Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your

advice and counsel.

2 Sam. xv, 31. And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O

LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. 2 Sam. xx, 18. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.

1 Kings xii, 8, 9. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father 'did put upon us lighter?

Prov. xi, 14. Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety,

Prov. xv, 22. Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Prov. xx, 18. Every purpose is established by counsel; and with good advice make war.

Prov. xxiv, 6. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war; and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Jer. xlix, 7. Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts, Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the pru

dent? is their wisdom vanished?

Nah. i, 11. There is one come out of thee that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.

CURIOSITY AND INTERROGATION. Judges xviii, 8. And they came unto their bret ren to Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?

1 Sam. x, 15, 16. And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found.

But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

2 Sam. 1, 5. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?

Ezek. xil, 9. Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the re

Dan. vi, 20. And when he came

to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Dan. vii, 19, 20. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

Matth. xviii, 1. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Matth. xix, 27. Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have there

fore?

Matth. xxii, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the

law?

Mark xil, 28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

Mark xiii, 3, 4. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

Luke ill, 10. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we

do then?

Luke xiii, 23. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them.

John ix, 10-15, 18-21. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

day when Jesus made the clay, And it was the sabbathand opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said

see.

concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?

His parents answered them, and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, his eyes, we know not: he is of we know not; or who hath opened

age, ask him; he shall speak for

himself.

OTHER INSTANCES.

1 Sam. x, 14. And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

Saul saw David go forth against 1 Sam. xvii, 55-58. And when the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

1 Sam. xxvi, 17, 18. And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. Aud he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?

2 Sam. 1, 8, 13. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.

2 Sam. 11, 20. Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

2 Sam. ix, 4. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.

2 Sam. xv, 2. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was 80, that when any man that had a

controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

2 Sam. xix, 25. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?

the Athenians, and strangers which were there, spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.) Acts xxii, 10. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

IV.

sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

2 Kings iii, 11. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

Jonah 1, 8. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art

thou?

John v, 12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed

and walk?

John ix, 8. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

John xi, 37. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should

not have died?

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

Eccles. i, 2, 3, 12, 13. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem; And I to my heart seek and gave search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath

God given to the sons of man, to

be exercised therewith.

Eccles. ii, 20-26. Therefore I

went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I

took under the sun. For there is

a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man

that hath not laboured therein shall he leave

it for his portion. This also is vanity, and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and

that he should make his soul

enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than 1? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Eccles. iii, 10-13. I have seep the travail which God hath given in it. He hath made every thing to the sons of men to be exercised beautiful in his time: also be hath set the world in their heart; so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour,it is the gift of God.

Eccles. vill, 5, 6, 7, 15. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing, and a wise man's heart discerneth both time

and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judg ment, therefore the misery of knoweth not that which shall be: man is great upon him. For he

for who can tell him when it shall be? Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

vanities, saith the Preacher, all is Eccles. xii, 8, 13. Vanity of vanity. Let us hear the couclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty

of man.

Esther v. 9-13. Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained

himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends,

and Zeresh his wife. And Haman riches, and the multitude of his told them of the glory of his children, and all the things whereand how he had advanced him in the king had promoted him, above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow am I invited unto her also with the

king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

1. SECULAR DUTIES.

INDUSTRY.

1 Kings xi, 28. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

Prov. xxi, 5, 17, 20. The thoughts teousness; but of every one that is of the diligent tend only to plenhasty, only to want. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. There is treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Prov. xxii, 29. Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Prov. xxvii, 23, 24. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds: For riches are not for ever; and doth the crown endure to every generation?

John vi, 12, 13. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barleyloaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

Exod, v, 17, 18. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle; therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now and work: for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks,

Matth. xxvi, 8, 9. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment

might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

Mark xiv, 4. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

Prov. xii, 24, 27. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Prov. xiii, 4, 23. The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

Prov. xv, 19. The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

Prov. xxviii, 19. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread; but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

IDLENESS.

not.

Prov. xxii, 13. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

Prov. xxiii, 21. For the drunkard

and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Prov. xxiv, 30-34. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding, And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."

Prov. xxvi, 13-16. The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his month. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a

reason.

Eccles. x, 18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

Deut. xxviii, 5, 8. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store-houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

2 Chron. xxv, 9. And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what we do for the hundred shall talents which I have given to the And the man of army of Israel? God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than

this.

Job xxii, 8, 23-25. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy thou shalt have defence, and plenty of silver.

Job xlil, 12. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.

Ps. cxliv, 13, 15. That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store; Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God

is the LORD.

Prov. x, 22. The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Prov. xiv, 24. The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.

Isa. xlviii, 17. Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Dan. xi, 43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

Gen. xiii, 2. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and

in gold.

Gen. xxiv, 1, 35. And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great. . . . .

2 Chron. ix, 27. And the king Jerusalem as made silver in stones, and cedar trees made he as

Job i, 3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the

east.

RICHES NOT TO BE
COVETED.

Prov. xv, 6. In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is

trouble.

Prov. xxiii, 4. Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.

Eccles. iv, 7, 8. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he. For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a

sore travail.

Eccles. v, 10, 11. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This 23 also

hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

Prov. x, 2, 3. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

Prov. xx, 21, 22. An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed. Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Prov. xxi, 6. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

Prov. xxviii, 20. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but

Zeph. i, 18. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

AND VERY PRECARIOUS.

Job xx, 15. 28, 29. He hath swallowed down ricnes, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. The increase of his house shall depart and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

he heap up silver as the dust, and Job xxvii 16, 17, 19-21. Though prepare raiment as the clay: He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall

Jer. xvii, 11. As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them

not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

Eccles. vi, 1, 2. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

Matth. vi, 19-21. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

OFTEN ILL ACQUIRED. Josh. vii, 21-23. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran

and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

have not been faithful in the unLuke xvi, 11. If therefore ye mit to your trust the true riches? righteous mammon, who will com

OF SMALL Value. Judges v, 19. The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

Job xxxvi, 18, 19. Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.

Prov. xi, 4. Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteous ness delivereth from death.

Isa. xii, 17. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

Ezek. vii, 19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels, because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes. and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

Ps. xvii, 14. From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this lite, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

Ps. xxxix, 6. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew; surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

Prov. xxiii, 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make them selves wings; they fly away, as an eagle toward heaven

Prov. xxviii, 22. He that basteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

Eceles. ii, 17-19. Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun; because I should leave it unto the man that And who shall be after me. knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also Vanity.

Eccles. v, 13, 14. There is a sore