Proverbs 8:12 - Meaning and Application

Wisdom here means Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It is Christ in the Word and Christ in the heart, not only Christ revealed to us, but Christ revealed in us. It is God’s Word, the whole range of divine revelation, and it is God the Word, in whom all divine revelation centers. It is also the soul shaped by the Word, Christ formed in the soul, religion in its purity and power.

Wonderful things are said here about this excellent person and this excellent gift. Divine wisdom gives people good minds, as Proverbs 8:12 says, “I, Wisdom, live with prudence.” That is not worldly cleverness or carnal policy, the wisdom that is from below, but true discretion. This kind of wisdom helps a person order his life well, understand his path, and choose what is useful in every situation. It is the wisdom of the serpent, not only to stay safe from harm, but to do good well.

Wisdom lives with prudence because prudence grows out of true religion and adds beauty to it. With Scripture’s help, people discover wiser ways to understand God’s providence, resist Satan’s schemes, and do good in their time than philosophers or statesmen ever found on their own. We can also apply this to Christ himself. He lives with prudence, because his whole work is the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, and in it God has given us wisdom and prudence in abundance.

Christ found the great design of human salvation, and it cost him dearly. He saved us through his satisfaction, that is, through his atoning work that met the claims of God’s justice. We had found many ways to ruin ourselves, but he found one way to recover us. The covenant of grace is ordered so wisely in every part that we must say the one who arranged it lived with prudence.

True religion also gives people good hearts, as Proverbs 8:13 says. The fear of the Lord, which is the wisdom already recommended, teaches people to hate all sin because it displeases God and destroys the soul. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” to hate the evil way, to hate sin as sin, and therefore to hate every false way. Wherever there is a reverent fear of God, there is also a dread of sin, because sin is wholly evil.

It especially teaches us to hate pride and passion, two common and dangerous sins. Self-conceit, pride, and arrogance are sins Christ hates, and all who have the Spirit of Christ hate them too. We may often hate them in other people, but we must hate them in ourselves. God also hates a froward, or peevish, mouth because it fights against human peace, and so we should hate it too. This honors religion, because though it is often accused unfairly, nothing is more opposed to it than pride and passion, and nothing does it teach us to detest more clearly.

Wisdom also has great influence on public life and the good rule of societies, as Proverbs 8:14 shows. Christ, as God, has both strength and wisdom, for wisdom and power belong to him. As Redeemer, he is the wisdom of God and the power of God. To all who belong to him, God has made him both strength and wisdom, so that we may know our duty and do it. He is the wonderful Counselor, and he gives the grace that alone is true wisdom. He is understanding itself, and he gives strength to all who strengthen themselves in him.

True religion gives the best counsel in hard cases and helps make the right path clear. Wherever it is present, it brings understanding and strength. It will be everything we need for both service and suffering. When God’s Word lives richly in a person, it makes him complete and fully equipped for every good word and work. Kings, princes, and judges need wisdom and strength more than most people, because they must faithfully carry out the trust placed on them and become a blessing to the people they govern.

That is why Wisdom says, “By me kings reign” (Proverbs 8:15, Proverbs 8:16). Civil government is a divine institution, and those who hold authority receive their commission from Christ. This is part of his kingly office, that by him kings reign, since their power comes from him to whom all judgment has been given. They reign by him, and therefore they ought to reign for him.

Whatever gifts rulers have for governing, they owe them to Christ’s grace. He gives them the spirit of government, and they have no skill or principles of justice except what he gives them. “A divine sentence is in the lips of the king,” and kings are to their people what he makes them. Religion is also a great support to civil government. It teaches subjects their duty, which makes it easier for kings to rule them. It teaches kings their duty too, so that they may rule as they should and decree justice while they govern in the fear of God. Those who are ruled by religion are the ones who rule well.

Wisdom also makes all who receive and embrace it truly happy. They will be happy in Christ’s love, because he says, “I love those who love me” (Proverbs 8:17). Those who love the Lord Jesus Christ sincerely will be loved by him with a special and distinguishing love. He will love them and make himself known to them.

They will also be happy in the success of their search for him. Those who seek him early, meaning earnestly, first of all, and from their youth, will find him. Christ will be theirs, and they will be his. He never tells anyone to seek him in vain.

They will also be happy in the wealth of this world, or in something far better. They will have as much riches and honor as infinite wisdom sees fit for them (Proverbs 8:18). They are with Christ, who has these gifts to give, and whether he gives them to us must be left to him. Religion sometimes helps people become wealthy and respected in this world by giving them a good reputation, which can increase their means.

The riches Wisdom gives her friends have two special qualities. First, they are riches with righteousness, honestly gained, not through fraud or oppression, but by lawful means, and used in a generous way, since alms are called righteousness. Those who get wealth through God’s blessing on their work and have a heart to do good with it have riches and righteousness. Second, they are lasting riches. Wealth gained by empty means soon fades, but wealth gained well lasts well and may be left to children and grandchildren. What is well spent on piety and charity is placed at the best interest and will last. The friends made by dishonest wealth, when we fail, will welcome us into eternal homes (Luke 16:9). It will be found after many days, because those days are the days of eternity.

If someone does not get riches and honor in this world, they still receive something far better if they have wisdom. Wisdom says, “My fruit is better than gold, and what I produce is more valuable than fine silver” (Proverbs 8:19). Her fruit is worth more than the best gold, because it gives a better return and lasts longer. Even her income, what comes from her each day, is better than the finest silver.

Believers are also happy now in God’s grace, and that grace guides them in the right way (Proverbs 8:20). This is one of wisdom’s better gifts than gold or pure gold. It leads us in the way of righteousness, shows us that path, and goes ahead of us on it. It keeps us in the middle of the right road and saves us from going wrong on either side. As the old saying puts it, virtue lies in the middle. Christ, by his Spirit, leads believers into all truth, so they walk in righteousness and follow the Spirit.

They will also be happy in God’s glory in the life to come (Proverbs 8:21). Wisdom leads in the paths of righteousness not only to keep her friends in obedience, but also to give them a lasting inheritance and fill their treasures. Worldly things cannot do that, and nothing less than God and heaven can. The happiness of those who love God and give themselves to his service is real and satisfying.

This happiness is substantial, meaning it is solid and lasting, not tied to outward comforts. Spiritual and eternal things are the only truly real things. Joy in God is real joy, well-founded and strong. God’s promises are their guarantee, Christ is the one who stands for them as surety, that is, the one who secures what is promised, and both are solid grounds for hope. They inherit substance, meaning their future inheritance is a real and lasting one, a weight of glory (Hebrews 10:34).

It is also satisfying. Their reward will not only fill their hands, but fill their treasures. It will not merely keep them alive, but make them rich. The things of this world may fill a person’s belly (Psalm 17:14), but they cannot fill the soul’s treasures, because they cannot secure lasting goods, even for many years. A person may lose them by nightfall. But God, Christ, and heaven can fill the soul as fully as it can be filled. In Wisdom’s promises, believers have goods stored up, not for a few days or years, but for eternity. Her fruit is therefore better than gold.