Proverbs 2:7 (Mini Sermon)

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1.      Pro 2:7 – “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.”

1. The LORD has a depository of wisdom from which He dispenses to the diligent who ask and seek for it.
   60. Lay – 60. lay up. c. To deposit or put away in a place for safety; to store up (goods, provisions); to put by.
   61. Even with infinite resources at His disposal, the LORD is nevertheless a saver, laying up wisdom for the time to come.
       1. As a good leader, God leads by example in teaching His children the importance and necessity of saving, a principle that is taught throughout the Bible.
       2. “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” (Pro 21:20)
       3. It’s prudent to under-consume to put away physical wealth for the future; how much more so is it incumbent upon a Christian to “lay up for [himself] treasures in heaven” (Mat 6:20).

• The LORD repeatedly admonishes His people to follow His lead and lay up spiritual treasures, not in their houses, but in their hearts.
  1. Deu 11:18 – “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.”
  2. Job 22:22 – “Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.”
  3. Pro 7:1 – “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.”
  4. Pro 10:14 – Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
  5. Pro 23:23 – Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

1. He layeth up sound wisdom
   1. The wisdom that God lays up for us is not “the wisdom of this world” (1Co 1:20), nor the “the wisdom of men” (1Co 2:5), but rather sound
   2. Sound – II. 8. a. In full accordance with fact, reason, or good sense; founded on true or well-established grounds; free from error, fallacy, or logical defect; good, strong, valid.

• Sound wisdom is the truth which conforms to reality and is in agreement with fact and reason.
  5. Truth – II. 5. a. Conformity with fact; agreement with reality; accuracy, correctness, verity (of statement or thought).
  6. Sound wisdom (truth) is found in the word of God which is truth:
     • “Thy word is true from the beginning…” (Psa 119:160)
     • “…all thy commandments are truth” (Psa 119:151)
     • “thy word is truth” (Joh 17:17)
  7. It is reliable and cannot be gainsaid.
  8. It therefore can be trusted unreservedly: “blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust” (Psa 40:4).

1. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous
   1. God doesn’t cast His pearls before swine (Mat 7:6).
   2. He only lays up sound wisdom for the righteous.

• Righteous adj. – 1. a. Of persons: Just, upright, virtuous; guiltless, sinless; conforming to the standard of the divine or the moral law; acting rightly or justly.

1. God is only concerned with the righteous (Psa 34:15).

1. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
   1. Uprightly – 1. In a just or upright manner; with strict observance of justice, honesty, or rectitude; sincerely, justly.
   2. Buckler – 1. A small round shield

• In other words, God is the protector and defender of the righteous.

1. He accomplishes this by two means: directly and indirectly.
   1. God directly, through His sovereign control of all things, hedges His children about, keeping the devil and the evil of this world from them (Psa 5:12; Psa 91:4-10).

He also indirectly safeguards His obedient children by giving them wisdom through His word which enables them to make wise decisions to avoid the snares and traps of the wicked (Pro 2:10-12, 16).