Prayer.

Reading: Prov 2:1-4

Meditation.

We will not get wisdom if we give it a half-hearted effort; it requires diligence. People don’t just walk around and find silver lying on the ground. They have to dig, and work, and sweat, and go, and go, and go. They have to extract it from the ground, then refine it. Silver and treasure do not easily come by, and neither does wisdom. Again, you will not get it by accident. If we are slothful or neglectful in the scriptures, we will not find wisdom. We must search the scriptures diligently.

Be ye doers of the word…

This meditation really is wholly an application. But let me pause here and make a secondary application in keeping with what we’ve just considered: Read good books. God did not make us to live in isolation; he made us dependent on one another, and he ministers to us through other people. One important way he does this is by giving teachers to the church. As Ephesians 4:11 says, “He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and for building up the body of Christ.” We will not get everything we need just by reading the Bible in isolation. The church is built up in the truth as a community, and preaching is an important means of grace. We need it. Fellowship, conversations, family worship—they are all important. And another very important thing for growing in knowledge and understanding of the scriptures is reading good books.

Read books about the Bible, theological books, and books that will help us spiritually. Let me exhort you to become readers of books. We will all have different capacities, but books are a means by which we can access the wisdom that has come to the Church through the ages. Through reading, we benefit from the ministry of great teachers God has provided, and we grow in our understanding of scripture.

Let me make a few recommendations. I’ll group them into three areas: studying scripture, studying theology, and books for spiritual maturity. For spiritual maturity, pick up anything by the Puritans—they are a gold mine of spiritual literature, unparalleled in church history. For studying theology, consider Beeke’s four volume “Reformed Systematic Theology, and also A.W.Pink on the attributes of God. For studying Scripture, it is a good idea to use commentaries for individual books. You could start with Matthew Henry for the whole Bible, and then aim to read a commentary per book over time. Why not set a goal to read at least one commentary for every book of the Bible before you die? That would be a great goal. And you can always ask your elders for help and advice.

If you want to start in Proverbs to supplement these studies, pick up Charles Bridges’ commentary—it is a wonderful volume. And for understanding scripture, sermons are also very helpful: take notes, review them, and re-listen to Sunday sermons. All of this will help you grow in knowledge of scripture. Let all your reading be aimed at understanding the Book of books.

Now let me say one final thing in closing. Some of you may be wondering: Where is Christ in all this? As we have studied Proverbs, how does this point us to Christ? The answer is that Christ is in all of it. The New Testament tells us that Christ is the wisdom of God, and so as we seek wisdom, we are seeking Christ. We have seen that wisdom comes through the Word of God, and in John 1 we see that Christ is the Word of God. As you study Proverbs, this is Christ speaking to us, and Christ being formed in us.

As we study the Word diligently, give attention to it, receive it, and cry out for insight in prayer—raising our voice for understanding—it is only because of Christ that this prayer is answered. Through Christ God forgives our sins and accepts our prayers. Without Christ, the prayer of Proverbs 2:3 would go unanswered. So as you put these things into practice, make no mistake: this is all in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. All God’s wisdom is found in Christ, given through Christ, and given so that Christ might be formed in us and God glorified through us.

Do not think these are merely religious practices that we are talking about here. This is the pursuit of Christ, who is the wisdom of God for us. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration.

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