Proverbs 4:8

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee.

Man and religion mutually exalted

True wisdom includes two things--first, the choice of the highest possible good; secondly, the adoption of the best possible means for the attainment of that good.

I. Man exalting religion. There is a sense in which it may be said that man cannot exalt religion. But--

1. Man may exalt it into his heart as a supreme passion. Abounding around us are organisations which have for their object the reformation of morals, the correcting or suppressing certain evil habits, social and national. But mere external reformation without inward renewal will leave the man lost and perishing. When man proposes to improve the condition of humanity he begins outside, whereas God always begins inside. Man works from circumference to centre, God works from centre to circumference. You must place religion on the throne of your heart, give her supremacy, and the effect will be seen in the temper, conversation, and life.

2. Man may exalt it into his will as the all-controlling force, the life-principle. Tell me what the ruling force in the man is and I will tell you his character. All intelligent beings in the universe are under the dominion of either selfishness or benevolence. There is no sin apart from selfishness; there is no virtue apart from benevolence. When Christ takes possession of the heart the usurper is overthrown. Sin is no longer in the ascendancy, Christ becomes king; but although the power, the supremacy, of sin is broken, evil in a subordinate state may exist within. Christ can also expel His rivals.

3. Man may exalt it in his practice by living its lofty precepts. Christianity is not a creed, it is a life. The morals of Christianity are the purest the world has ever known, our enemies being judges. We want “living epistles,” men and women sanctified to God, embodying in their daily life and conversation the lofty precepts of the New Testament.

II. Christianity exalting man.

1. It will promote your honour. Men everywhere yearn for a twofold immortality--the immortality of the life in the world beyond, and the immortality of posthumous fame in this world. Men have obtained honour in other ways than by religion. But where is the man who will match for:honour the men of “faith” mentioned in Hebrews 11:1?

2. It will promote your happiness. One of the strongest instincts of the human soul is the instinct for happiness. All men covet it. In order to gain this coveted prize man must be brought into harmony with himself. Man is a being of strange contrarieties. Within him are forces of evil which drive him into wrong courses; there is also a power of conscience which meets him in these evil ways, denounces, condemns, and punishes him. You cannot secure peace by forgetting the past. In order to peace and contentment you must be in harmony with your surroundings.

3. Religion will promote your prospects. It supplies man with blessed hopes, cheerful prospects, and a glorious future. (R. Roberts.)

Wisdom’s bargain

I. Exalt wisdom.

1. By entertaining lofty thoughts about her.

2. By making earnest efforts to obtain her.

3. By giving her the highest place in our affections.

4. By placing her upon the seat of government within the soul.

5. By helping her to reach her throne of universal dominion.

II. Wisdom shall promote thee--

1. To the favour and fellowship of God on earth.

2. To a place of safety aria comfort among the trials and dangers of life.

3. To a position of usefulness and honour amongst men.

4. To a throne of glory in the skies. (T. Whitelaw, M. A.)

She shall bring thee to honour.

The true honour of man

The love of honour is one of the strongest passions in the human heart. All wish, by some means or other, to acquire respect from those among whom they live. Among the advantages which attend religion and virtue, the honour which they confer on man is frequently mentioned in Scripture. By the true honour of man is to be understood, not what merely commands external respect, but what commands the respect of the heart, what raises one to acknowledged eminence above others of the same species. From what cause does this eminence arise?

1. Not from riches.

2. Not from rank or office.

3. Not from splendid actions and abilities which excite high admiration.

4. Not in reputation derived from civil accomplishments.

5. Not from any adventitious circumstances of fortune.

We must look to the mind and the soul. The honour which man acquires by religion and virtue is more independent and more complete than what can be acquired by any other means. The universal consent of mankind in honouring real virtue is sufficient to show what the genuine sense of human nature is on this subject. The honour acquired by religion and virtue is honour Divine and immortal. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)