A wise [man] scaleth the city of the mighty
Which makes good what is elsewhere said, that "wisdom is better
than strength", ( Ecclesiastes
9:16 ) ; and sometimes more is done by prudence and wisdom,
by art and cunning, by schemes and stratagems, than by power and
force; especially in military affairs, and particularly in
besieging and taking fortified cities; when one wise man, by his
wisdom, may so order and manage things, as to be able, with a few
under his command, to mount the walls of a city and take it,
though defended by a mighty garrison in it. This may be applied
to, our Lord Jesus Christ entering into the city of a man's
heart, possessed by the strong man armed; overcoming him, taking
from him his armour, and dividing his spoil, ( Luke 11:21 Luke 11:22 ) ; compare
with this ( Ecclesiastes
9:14 Ecclesiastes
9:15 ) ; and casteth down the strength of the
confidence thereof;
the strong walls, bulwarks, and such fortifications, in which the
mighty in the city placed their confidence: and the like does
Christ, when he enters into the heart of a sinner by his word and
spirit; he destroys all its former strong confidences, and brings
it into subjection to himself, ( 2
Corinthians 10:4 2
Corinthians 10:5 ) .