He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
Trust in God--true wisdom
Wisdom is man’s true path--that which enables him to accomplish best the end of his being, and which, therefore, gives to him the richest enjoyment and the fullest play for all his powers. Give man wisdom, in the true sense of the term, and he rises to all the dignity that manhood can possibly know. But where shall this wisdom be found? He that trusts in the Lord has found out the way to handle matters wisely, and happy is he. Take this text--
I. With regard to the wise handling of matters of time which concern our bodies and our souls whilst we are here below. Satan says, to handle a matter wisely is to make your own will your law; or he says, “Be crafty”; or he moderates his tone and says, “Be careful.” It is often said to the young man, “Be self-reliant; be independent.” The true way of wisdom is to act in all prudence and in all uprightness, but to rely simply and entirely on God. Faith is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life. Trust God, and you will not have to mourn because you have used sinful means to grow rich. Trust God, and you will not be guilty of self-contradiction.
II. In spiritual matters, he that handleth a matter wisely shall find good. Here Satan tempts to be careless or to be credulous; or he bids us work out our own salvation. The true way of dealing wisely here is believing in Christ, trusting him fully. (C. H Spurgeon.)
The conditions of a happy life
I. Skilful management. “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good.” Skilful management in every department of life is of the utmost importance.
1. It is so in intellectual improvement. The man who desires to get a well-informed and a well-disciplined mind must arrange both the subjects and the seasons of study with skill. Method is of primary moment in the business of intellect.
2. It is so in mercantile engagements.
3. It is so in spiritual culture. A wise selection of the best readings, and the most favourable seasons for devotion cannot be dispensed with if great spiritual good is to be got.
II. A well-stayed heart. “Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” God is the stay of the heart.
1. He is happy in his love.
2. He is happy in his policy.
3. He is happy in his speech. “And the sweetness of his lips increaseth learning.” (D. Thomas, D.D.)
The happiness of trusting in God
This proverb builds on the ground that all men desire happiness. Philosophers, in all ages of the world, have been trying to find out and teach what is man’s greatest good; and people generally, from the days of David, have been asking, “Who will show us any good?” The Stoics gave one answer, the Epicureans another, as to man’s chief good. Those who now ask, “Is life worth living?” agree with neither. It is doubtless the case, that the devotee of wealth, of fame, of power, or social eminence finds, whenever he is successful in his efforts, that neither wealth nor fame, neither power nor eminence in social position, gives the happiness which he sought therein. The results of thousands of years of experiments and of experience, before and since Solomon’s day, are set forth in the words of the proverb which is my text, “Whose trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.”
I. Trust in God is the ground on which man finds freedom from the bondage of sin, and from the painful sense of the condemnation due to him for his sin. Every one knows, and sometimes feels, that he is a sinful man. This sense of sin is felt in the greatest variety of circumstances. It may arise in a man’s breast when his condition is most prosperous--when he is driving forward some business on which his heart has long been set. Sometimes this painful consciousness of guilt springs up after the accomplishment of some undertaking which has taxed one’s powers for months, or even years. It is not unfrequently the case that a man is disturbed in this way soon after he has yielded to some evil thought or impulse, or soon after he has neglected to perform some duty. The world is full of instances of this sense of sin in times of danger and calamity. Thus King Saul felt it in his last days. Thus the brothers of Joseph found it pierced their hearts when they were in trouble. Thus it overwhelmed the soul of King David when the prophet Nathan told him the tender story of the poor citizen and his lamb. But this painful sense of sin comes to other persons than these terrible offenders. Is there any person here who did not feel it even in his childhood? It comes, Perhaps, after some act of disobedience or neglect toward father or mother. Perhaps it arose after some feeling of anger, or of envy toward brother or sister. It may have sprung up in the mind after some unkind word or selfish act toward playmate or schoolfellow. This fearful consciousness of sin has been many a time felt when thought has been given to the truth, that God has appointed death for every man, and the judgment after it. The poets of human nature abound in the manifestation of this painful sense of sin. Milton represents a guilty spirit as saying that others little know under what torments inwardly he groans, so that he has to cry in his agony, “Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell!” This sense of sin, which is felt with all degrees of painfulness, all who trust in the Lord find relieved by the assurance of His forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ. For “there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.”
II. Whoever trusts God is no longer hostile to Him. The enmity of the heart against the Most High and the Most Holy One ceases. Accepted in the Beloved, he has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This gives the faithful happiness. It was no shallow source of joy for the brothers of Joseph (when their sin had found them out) to be made sure that there was peace between the ruler of Egypt and themselves; and it is not a small boon for any man, conscious of his sin, to know that there is reconciliation and peace between himself and his Omnipotent Maker and righteous Judge, through the mediation and redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. Another reason why the man who trusts in the lord is happy may be seen in this fact--namely, that he has the indwelling of the Divine spirit to maintain his spiritual and eternal life. If the faithful had to rely upon their own wisdom, strength, and other resources, they might soon despair of perseverance in the Christian life. But whosoever trusteth in the Lord is not abandoned by the Almighty. The Holy Ghost, who is given unto the faithful, sheds abroad the love of God in their hearts; and neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate them from the love of God.
IV. The man whose trust is in God has the feeling of happiness because he has the assurance of safety and salvation. There is, indeed, a sense of security in some persons which springs not from the full trust of the heart in God; but it exists because there is no heed to Him. A man may build his hope of everlasting happiness and heaven on no better foundation than the lie which the fool tells to his heart when he says there is no God. He may build it on his own thoughtlessness in respect to the existence, the character, the law, and the purposes and judgments of God. This kind of assurance of safety is the belief of some prodigals that they will never become spendthrifts. It is the assurance of some drunkards that they will never drink too much, and become intemperate. How different is the safe and serene condition of the man who puts his trust in God!
V. Whosoever trusts in the Lord is happy because he delights in God and desires to do his duty toward Him. Some children love their parents, delight in them, and find a rich gratification in pleasing and obeying them. The manifestation of their filial affection is charming to others. The outflow of it is joy to themselves. Very much of their happiness springs from it. The faithful generally delight in doing their duty toward God. The way of duty is their chosen path. The sources of their joy never fail. They are not surface streams that freeze over in winter and run dry in summer. The touch of death cannot reach them. They are as perpetual in heaven as upon earth.
VI. Whosoever trusts in God is happy because the Divine Providence is unchangeably set to do the faithful good. (E. Whitaker, D.D.)