Proverbs 22:19. "That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made [my words] known to you today, even to you." 

When I first read this, I thought it was God speaking, but then I realized I was in the Book of Proverbs, a book of wisdom attributed to Solomon. Solomon says that he is sharing these proverbs so that we may come to trust in the Lord. He asks us to "hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge" (Proverbs 22:17). My mistake in thinking this was God speaking comes from how confident Solomon sounds in "making known his words to us" Solomon is confident in his wisdom (and he had the right to be, since God told Solomon He would grant him wisdom), but Solomon makes clear here that he is giving his wisdom to us ("even to you"! (whatever that's supposed to mean, Solomon!:)) so that our trust may be in the Lord. Solomon knows his wisdom is a gift from God, he is not boasting of it, rather he is sharing it so that the reader will be led to trust in the Lord. The reason he sounded God-like when I first read this is because he is speaking God's wisdom.

Wisdom is an attribute of God. It is something that God will grant to us if we ask ("If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him." James 1:5.) When someone, like Solomon, has received this gift, they are able to see things as God does. Wisdom is something we cannot come by on our own; studying, memorizing, and learning do not increase wisdom, just knowledge. We need wisdom to use and apply our knowledge properly. Solomon knows all of this, and he knows most people have not been as blessed with wisdom as he has been, so he shares words with us because "it will be pleasant if you keep [these words] within you, if all of them are ready on your lips." (Proverbs 22:18). Solomon sees things as God does, so he knows that our lives will go better if we live them in accordance with the wisdom he is sharing. They will be better not because these proverbs came from Solomon, but because they are inspired by God's Spirit of Wisdom.

Every bit of the Bible is God speaking to us, revealing things about Himself and ourselves, things that we need to know to understand salvation history, live good lives, and get to Heaven. All of this revelation comes through human authors, writing different kinds of literature as inspired by the Spirit in accordance with their own gifts and callings. In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon was inspired to share his unique wisdom, preserving it for everyone for all of time. So my mistaking Solomon's words for God's at the beginning was understandable. Solomon is speaking for God, using his God-given gifts as inspired by God's Spirit, to tell all of us what God wants us to hear.

We should follow Solomon's advice here, and hear the words of the wise. This is easy to do when we like what the wise person is saying, but much more difficult when we don't. As Solomon says, though, we should hear all the words of the wise, especially those in the Bible. These words are gifts of God's Wisdom to us, and things will go well for us if we heed them.