In these words we have the divine reason for the book of Proverbs. God would save all who heed what is there recorded from the heartbreaking experiences and aimless wanderings of the man who was chosen to write them.

There are two ways of learning the emptiness of the world and the character of sin. One, and by far the commonest way, is to tread the thorny path each for himself. To do so is to taste the bitterness of departure from God. The only right way is to learn it all in His presence, accepting His word regarding it. The weary heart of Solomon need never be the portion of the child of God who orders his steps in the truth.

Human collections of wisdom are but the thoughts of men like ourselves. In the wisdom literature of the Bible we have, as everywhere else in Scripture, the very breathings of the Spirit of God. This is amazing grace: to think that He who spoke worlds into being, who wrought redemption, who shall eventually bring in a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness; that He, the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity, should stoop in grace to give instruction for the details of His creatures’ lives down here—this is cause for worship and admiration forever. What importance attaches to all I do if the God who created and redeemed me does not consider it beneath His notice to instruct me concerning my behavior in the family, my place in society, and my methods in business. If I act in accordance with the book of Proverbs, I shall “behave wisely in a perfect way” (Ps. 101:2) in every relationship of life.