Proverbs 3:21 - Meaning and Application

Solomon has already said that people are happy when they hold on to wisdom and keep it. Here he urges us to do that, and he assures us that we will feel the benefit ourselves.

He tells us to keep religion’s rules always in view and always in our hearts (Proverbs 3:21). First, we must keep them before our eyes. “My son, do not let them leave your sight.” Do not let your mind wander after emptiness. Keep thinking about them, talking about them, and never act as if you have studied them long enough and can set them aside. As long as you live, keep learning them and staying close to them. A person learning to write must keep looking at the copy in front of him. In the same way, anyone who wants to walk carefully must keep the words of wisdom in view.

We must also keep them in our hearts, for that is where sound wisdom and good judgment belong. They should stay in the hidden place of the heart, as a treasure worth guarding. We should keep to wisdom’s principles and keep walking in wisdom’s ways. It is wealth worth keeping.

The reason for this command is the great good wisdom brings when we hold on to it. It helps us in strength and peace: “It will be life to your soul” (Proverbs 3:22). It stirs us up when we become lazy in duty, and it lifts us when trouble makes us faint and discouraged. It is spiritual life, and it is also a sign and beginning of eternal life. Life for the soul is true life.

Wisdom also brings honor and respect. It will be grace for your neck, like a gold chain or a jewel. The phrase can also mean grace for your speech. In that sense, wisdom makes your words pleasing and gives you words that win favor and trust.

It also gives safety and security. This is developed over several verses, and the point is that righteousness, which is the same thing as wisdom here, brings peace and confidence forever (Isaiah 32:17). God’s people are under his special care, and in that care they may rest fully.

They are safe, and they may be at ease in their daily walk (Proverbs 3:23). If religion goes with us, it will also guide us and protect us. Then we will walk safely in our way. Our natural life, and all that belongs to it, is under God’s providence, and our spiritual life, and all its concerns, are under his grace. Wisdom keeps us from falling into sin or trouble. It leads us into the safe path, keeps us there as much as possible, and helps us walk in it with holy confidence. The way of duty is the way of safety.

They are also safe in the night, when they lie down to rest (Proverbs 3:24). In private times, we are exposed and often more easily frightened. But if we keep fellowship with God and keep a good conscience, then we need not fear fire, thieves, ghosts, or any other terrors of the dark. When we and all our friends are asleep, the God who keeps Israel and every true Israelite neither slumbers nor sleeps. We have placed ourselves in his care and taken shelter under his wings. We can lie down without sitting up as guards. Once we lie down, we can sleep without fear holding our eyes open, and our sleep will be sweet and refreshing, free from alarms outside or fears within (Psalm 4:8; Psalm 116:7). A good night begins with a good conscience. The sleep of a working man, and also the sleep of a wise and godly man, is sweet.

Wisdom also keeps us in our greatest troubles and dangers. Integrity and uprightness preserve us, so we do not need to be afraid of sudden fear (Proverbs 3:25). Sudden harm, the kind we do not expect and have no time to think through, is the sort most likely to shake us. But let the wise and good person hold steady, and he will not give way to fearful panic, no matter how sudden the threat. He should not fear the ruin that comes upon the wicked, whether that means the ruin they bring on religion and on religious people, or the ruin that will suddenly overtake wicked people themselves. Even if it comes, he should not be afraid. God may use wicked people as tools to correct his people, but he will never let them be the cause of their destruction.

So let the righteous not be afraid of what looks most frightening, because “the Lord will be your confidence” (Proverbs 3:26). He is not only the one who protects you and keeps you safe, but also the one who steadies your trust. Then your foot will not be caught by enemies or trapped by your own fears. God has promised to keep the feet of his saints.