Wisdom Guides the Righteous: From The Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha, Part 1 of 2

The Apocrypha is a group of ancient books with uncertain authorship whose contents overlap parts of the Christian and Hebrew Bibles. The term “apocrypha” means “secret,” “hidden,” or “non-canonical.” Indeed, these books have been considered sacred, with a more advanced teaching than would normally be made available to the general public. One of the Apocrypha books is The Wisdom of Solomon, in which wisdom is personified – such is the emphasis placed on that virtue. Today, we will read a selection from “The Wisdom of Solomon,” a book from the Apocrypha.

“So shall my works be acceptable, and then shall I judge thy people righteously, and be worthy to sit in my Father’s seat. For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain. For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.”

“For so the ways of them which lived on the Earth were reformed, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto Thee, and were saved through wisdom. She (the wisdom) preserved the first formed father of the world, that was created alone, and brought him out of his fall, and gave him power to rule all things.”

“She defended him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those that lay in wait, and in a sore conflict she gave him the victory; that he might know that goodness is stronger than all.”

“For Thou can show Thy great strength at all times when Thou wilt; and who may withstand the power of Thine arm? For the whole world before Thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth.”

“But Thou has Mercy upon all; for Thou can do all things, and winks at the sins of men, because They should amend. For Thou loves all the things that are, and abhors nothing which Thou has made: for never would Thou have made anything, if Thou had hated it. And how could any thing have endured, if it had not been Thy will? or been preserved, if not called by Thee? But Thou spares all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou Lover of souls. For Thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things.”