16. That the Word means us to be wise, we may prove even from the old Jewish Scriptures, which we use as well as the Jews, and no less also from those which were written after Jesus came, and are believed in the churches to be Divine. In the 50th Psalm David in his prayer to God is reported to have said, "Thou hast showed me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom." And any reader of the Psalms may find the book full of many wise doctrines. And Solomon, because he asked for wisdom, received it; and the proofs of his wisdom may be seen in his works, which contain much thought in few words, and in which you may discover many praises of wisdom and many admonitions as to the necessity of embracing it. Solomon was in fact so wise that "the Queen of Sheba having heard of his name and the name of the Lord came to prove him with hard questions, and she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything overlooked by the king, which he told her not. And the Queen of Sheba saw all the understanding of Solomon, and all that belonged to him; and there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I |100 heard in mine own land of thee and of thy understanding. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and riches exceed all the report which I heard." Again, it is written concerning the same Solomon, "And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the understanding of all the ancients and all the understanding of Egypt; and he was wiser than all men," and so on. And so desirous is the Word that there should be wise men among believers, that to exercise the intelligence of the hearers it has expressed some things .in enigmas, some in what are called dark sayings, others through parables, and others through difficult questions.And one of the prophets, Hosea, in his concluding words, exclaims, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them?" Daniel, too, and his companions in captivity made such progress in all the learning cultivated by the wise men about the King of Babylon, that they were proved to be ten times better than them all. And in Ezekiel it is said to the Prince of Tyre, who prided himself upon his wisdom, "Surely thou art not wiser than Daniel? Every secret was not shown thee."