WISDOM'S ROOT AND WISDOM'S CROWN 69

And saw,

and numbered her,

And poured her out upon all his works. She is with all flesh according to his gift; And he gave her freely to them that love him.

The fear of the Lord

Is glory and exultation,

And gladness, and a crown of rejoicing.

The fear of the Lord

Shall delight the heart,

And shall give gladness, and joy, and length of days.

Whoso feareth the Lord,

It shall go well with him at the last,

And in the day of his death he shall be blessed.

To fear the Lord

Is the beginning of wisdom;

With men she laid an eternal foundation;
And with their seed shall she be had in trust.

To fear the Lord

Is the fulness of wisdom;

And she satiateth men with her fruits.

She shall fill all her house with desirable things,
And her garners with her produce.

The fear of the Lord

Is the crown of wisdom,

Making peace and perfect health to flourish.

He both saw and numbered her;

He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding,
And exalted the honour of them that hold her fast.

To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom;

And her branches are length of days.

The author demands whole-hearted faith in God, even in the midst of sorrow and affliction. He has small patience with the 'fearful hearts' and the 'faint hands'; they are to him sinners who halt between two stools, that 'go two ways.'

Ye that fear the Lord,

Wait for his mercy;

And turn not aside, lest ye fall.

Ye that fear the Lord,

Put your trust in him;

And your reward shall not fail.

Ye that fear the Lord,

Hope for good things,

And for eternal gladness and mercy.

Look at the generations of old, and see:

Who did ever put his trust in the Lord, and was ashamed? Or who did abide in his fear, and was forsaken ?

Or who did call upon him, and he despised him?

For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy;

And he forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction.

Woe unto fearful hearts, and to faint hands,

And to the sinner that goeth two ways! Woe unto the faint heart! for it believeth not, Therefore shall it not be defended.

Woe unto you that have lost your patience!

And what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you?

They that fear the Lord will not disobey his words;
And they that love him will keep his ways.
They that fear the Lord will seek his good pleasure;
And they that love him shall be filled with the law.
They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts,
And will humble their souls in his sight, saying,
"We will fall into the hands of the Lord,

And not into the hands of men:

For as his majesty is,

So also is his mercy.'

The 'fear' of the Lord makes other fear' impossible. Note well that fear and love are used indifferently. This mingled fear and love of God have been the stay and support of the Jews amid all their sore and shameful persecutions. This fearless fear prepared the way for the courage of the Maccabean martyrs. The sentence, 'Look at the generations of old, and see,' is interesting for lovers of that great and pious Englishman, John Bunyan. Those who read his strange and striking autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, will find out why.

The spirit of those that fear the Lord shall live;
For their hope is upon him that saveth them.

A FEARLESS FEAR

ཌ

71

Whoso feareth the Lord shall not be afraid, and shall not

play the coward;

For he is his hope.

Blessed is the soul of him that feareth the Lord:

The

To whom doth he give heed? and who is his stay?
eyes of the Lord are upon them that love him
A mighty protection and strong stay,

:

A cover from the hot blast, and a cover from the noonday,

A guard from stumbling, and a succour from falling. He raiseth up the soul, and enlighteneth the eyes, He giveth healing, life, and blessing.

Elsewhere in a striking enumeration of various boons and blessings, the fear of the Lord is reckoned as the crowning glory.

The life of one that laboureth and is contented shall be made sweet;

And he that findeth a treasure is above both.

Children and the building of a city establish a man's

name;

And a blameless wife is counted above both.

Wine and music rejoice the heart;

And the love of wisdom is above both.

The pipe and the psaltery make pleasant melody; And a pleasant tongue is above both.

Thine eye shall desire grace and beauty;

And above both the green blade of corn.

A friend and a companion never meet amiss; And a wife with her husband is above both.

Brethren and succour are for a time of affliction;

And almsgiving is a deliverer above both.

Gold and silver will make the foot stand sure; And counsel is esteemed above them both. Riches and strength will lift up the heart; And the fear of the Lord is above both.

There is nothing wanting in the fear of the Lord,
And there is no need to seek help therein.
The fear of the Lord is as a garden of blessing,
And covereth a man above all glory.

The loving Fear of the Lord will cause a whole-hearted trust in him. That trust is enjoined by the son of Sirach in the following noble and important passage.

My son, if thou comest to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of calamity. Cleave unto him, and depart not, that thou mayest be increased at thy latter end. Accept whatsoever is brought upon thee, and be longsuffering when thou passest into humiliation. For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. Put thy trust in him, and he will help thee: order thy ways aright, and set thy hope on him.

The Greek word here translated 'temptation' is peirasmos. The Hebrew original was perhaps nêsayon. What the author means by temptation is explained by what follows: he means the trials of adversity. Ben Sira amplifies and develops the maxims of the older sages. The trials of adversity should purify. He maintains the simple faith of his ancestors: it will be well with the righteous at the last. And we too cling to the same belief, though we are fain to interpret at the last' as beyond the grave. Yet let us not despair too hastily of earthly justice either. Honesty is the best policy' is not always true, if by 'best' we mean externally most prosperous, and this is well, for if it were, the holiest kinds of goodness and self-sacrifice would never have been revealed. And yet, happily, it is true mainly and in the long run, for otherwise human society would be unworkable and impossible. 'Virtue is its own reward' is not always true, if by reward' we mean successful achievement and delightsome results, for there are sorrows which come to us independently of our own character and action, and there are sacrifices of which the pain is endless; but, nevertheless, it is very frequently true, and all of us who act rightly may experience the truth of it.

An old Hebrew prayer runs thus: 'O lead us not into the power of sin, or of transgression or of iniquity, or of temptation or of scorn.' I do not know how far the writer of that prayer meant the same thing by temptation' as Ben Sira. Perhaps he was thinking of circumstances where there might be a sudden temptation to commit a particular sin. At any rate it is far nobler and manlier to pray with Ben Sira that we may have the strength to resist temptation rather than that the temptation itself may never be presented to us. Few are so situated that no temptations ever befall them. Prosperity has its temptations no less than adversity, and perhaps

THE DISCIPLINE OF WISDOM

73

of a more insidious and therefore more powerful kind. And though the highest character is his who, given the most tempting circumstance, has not the smallest wish to do wrong, it is doubtful whether this elevation of mind and purity of heart will often be attained until or unless many opportunities of probation and trial have been successfully encountered and overcome.

§7. The methods, nature and opportunities of Wisdom.-Ben Sira speaks suggestively in the following essay' of Wisdom's method with those who seek her.

Wisdom exalteth her sons, and taketh hold of them that seek her. He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with gladness. He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and where he entereth, the Lord will bless. They that do her service shall minister to the Holy One; and them that love her the Lord doth love.

He that giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations; and he that giveth heed unto her shall dwell securely. If he trust her, he shall inherit her; and his generations shall have her in possession. For at the first she will walk with him in crooked ways, and will bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her judgements; then will she return again the straight way unto him, and will gladden him, and reveal to him her secrets. If he go astray, she will forsake him, and give him over to his fall.

A little further on there is a similar passage and exhortation.

My son, gather instruction from thy youth up and even unto hoar hairs thou shalt find wisdom. Come unto her as one that ploweth and soweth, and wait for her good fruits; for thy toil shall be little in the tillage of her, and thou shalt eat of her fruits right soon. How exceeding

harsh is she to the unlearned! And he that is without understanding will not abide in her. As a mighty stone of trial shall she rest upon him; and he will not delay to cast her from him. For wisdom is according to her name; and she is not manifest unto many.

Give ear, my son, and accept my judgement, and refuse not my counsel, and bring thy feet into her fetters, and thy