Posted on 08/03/2022 6:30:45 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee” (Proverbs 4:7-9).
“Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness,” and he said, “and with all thy getting get understanding.”
Now, that was a man that knew what he was talking about. He wasn’t some foolish professor sitting in a chair in some school earning thousands of bucks every year who never worked a day of his life in the business field or some job in the real world, all he knows is the books that he learned out of. Some people go off to Bible college and are taught how to win souls by a professor that probably never even led one soul to Christ all his life. What are you going to learn from a guy like that? The best way to learn soul winning is to go with a guy that wins souls. The best way to learn the business field is to be around somebody that participates in it. The best way to learn the medical profession is to be taught and be trained in it by people that are in the profession day in and day out.
“Exalt her, and she shall promote thee,” “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south” (Psalms 75:6 KJV). God is the promoter—it comes out of the north. Exalt her, wisdom, and she shall promote thee. It is not money that promotes us, it is not fame that promotes us, it is wisdom.
“. . . she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her,” take hold on her, take hold on our salvation, take hold on the Bible.
“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee,” here is an instance where the Bible defines its own words so that we don’t have to rush off to the Hebrew or the Greek to discover it. And “ornament of grace” is a “crown of glory.” That “crown of glory” is mentioned in Peter: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (I Peter 5:4 KJV).
The “crown of glory” is one of the five crowns listed in Scripture. If a Christian is wise, he can earn himself some crowns. There is no crown ever made on this earth that compares to the one that we are thinking about now. The Bible crowns are eternal. They are incorruptible. That means that they will be there for all eternity. Men are placed in some kind of Hall of Fame down here, but one of these days that Hall of Fame is going to burn up.
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12 KJV).
So, enduring temptation—and you probably won’t unless you really love the Lord—but enduring temptation is to earn a crown. That’s wisdom.
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:8 KJV). Are we looking forward to the Lord’s return?
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (I Thessalonians 2:19-20 KJV). There’s a crown for soul-winning. That is wisdom, to try to win others to Christ. We are born to reproduce, we are born-again to win others. Don’t go to heaven empty-handed! It is considered a shame to go through life barren, it is an even greater shame for a Christian to go through this life barren of souls. Be wise! Don’t let the world, the flesh, or the Devil talk you out of it.
It’s wisdom, it’s wise, it’s understanding, it’s knowledge, it’s knowing what’s important and applying that knowledge to the purpose of God.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (I Corinthians 9:24-25 KJV). We get this one for keep our wicked, evil flesh under subjection.
“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee,” she will deliver it to you with joy.
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This is interesting, the crowns were to receive in heaven. I don’t think much of them as my daily thoughts are usually on spiritual warfare and staying connected with the Holy Spirit. The crowns are important, I should know more about them. I also think of the song where we bow down and lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus, so they must be important.
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