Proverbs 8:21

That I may cause them that love Me to inherit substance.

Man’s enrichment by God

I. Love--the love of God as the source of every blessing.

II. The love of created being is excited by some good, real or imaginary, in the object beloved.

III. Man’s individual sins, wants, and necessities.

IV. Observe the way in which man is to become rich. God gives Himself--involving every good.

V. God himself is to be the wealth of His family for evermore. (W. Howels.)

Real substance in spiritual things

This is among the golden sayings of the book. In the text is an encouragement to religion drawn from the incomparable benefit of it. “They that love Me shall not be losers by Me.” The Hebrew word for substance means that which is: that which hath a firm and solid consistency.

1. By substance may be meant Christ. He must needs be substance who gives being and substance to everything.

2. By substance is meant the grace of the Spirit. That must needs be substance which partakes of the fulness of God.

3. By substance is meant salvation, expressly called substance (Hebrews 10:34).

I. The qualification of the persons. “Those that love Me.”

1. The affection: Love. Love doth mellow and perfume holy duties. Love is that which the Lord is most delighted with.

2. The object of love: Christ. Did men know Christ, it were impossible to keep them off from loving Him.

II. The specification of the privilege. Why is grace called substance?

1. For its preciousness.

2. For its suitableness.

3. For its needfulness.

4. For its satisfyingness.

5. For its certainty.

6. For its durableness.

Substance signifies something that runs parallel with eternity. That spiritual things must needs have a real being and substance in them appears by two convincing arguments.

(1) Because God, who is the original pattern of truth, hath asserted it.

(2) This is most consistent with the rational nature.

Learn--

1. The incomparable excellence of grace.

2. See the difference between the things of God and the things of the world.

3. See the egregious folly of those who mind things of less moment, but do not look after substance (Isaiah 4:2).

Why do not men labour more after spiritual substance? Answer:

1. Ignorance.

2. Presumption.

If we have this spiritual substance, we can remember a time when we wanted it. We know how we came by it. We highly prize it. (T. Watson.)