Weekly Devotional 8th of November, 2024
by Bruce Billington
Weekly Devotional 8th of November, 2024
We are continuing to explore the knowledge of God as expressed in the Psalms. This week we will continue to look at Psalm 111 the author of which is unknown.
Psalm 111:9-10 – “9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”
When His people were in Egypt God delivered them and led them through to the Promised Land. But in the age, we live in, He has sent not only an awesome Deliverer, as well as a complete deliverance, but also a redeemer, who brings us complete redemption. By His blood Christ has first purchased us out of the hand of the enemy, and then by His power, rescued us from the bondage of our sins.
This redemption by His blood, proves that the covenant God made for us, now sealed in Christ, cannot be altered, for it ratifies and establishes it beyond all recall. We should never cease to be filled with praise and gratitude for what He has done here and how much it cost Him. As Spurgeon says,
The whole name or character of God is worthy of profoundest awe, for it is perfect and complete, whole, or holy. It ought not to be spoken without solemn thought, and never heard without profound homage. His name is to be trembled at; it is something terrible; even those who know him best rejoice with trembling before him.
Verse 10 brings to a statement that we should embrace and never forget. It is a reminder of Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10 which tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Wisdom exceeds knowledge. If we have access to a cell phone and a program such as Google, we have access to more knowledge than we could ever want. But wisdom is more powerful. In the 1828 Webster dictionary, it describes wisdom as being,
The right use or exercise of knowledge; the choice of laudable ends, and of the best means to accomplish them. This is wisdom in act, effect, or practice. If wisdom is to be considered as a faculty of the mind, it is the faculty of discerning or judging what is most just, proper, and useful, and if it is to be considered as an acquirement, it is the knowledge and use of what is best, most just, most proper, most conducive to prosperity or happiness. Wisdom in the first sense, or practical wisdom, is nearly synonymous with discretion.
Don’t you love that? It means the only people who can access the true wisdom of God are those who are in Christ. This means we should approach the problems of the world in a creative manner, drawing wisdom from God as to how we solve them.
Jeremiah 6:16 calls to all of us. It says, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it.”
If we put this into place, God will bring to us things greater than anything we could think or even dream of. In Christ, we are now able to see into things beyond anything we could possibly see without Him. These things can only be shown to us by the Holy Spirit – but this does not mean God does not want us to see them – in fact, we are promised in 1 Corinthians 2 that God will reveal everything we need to know, including profound truths into whatever field we are called into.
This brings Matthew 5:14 into play. We should be out there exercising this wisdom and bringing the wisdom and light of God into all the realms of life. Whatever field we have been called into – business; law and justice; economics; nature and ecology; education; labouring; truck driving – and on the list goes – it makes no difference; in any field God has us in, He wants to give us insight to empower us to bring His life and way into it.
So, what about you? Are you seeking Him for this wisdom and looking to change things, or have you got a little stale in your day-to-day endeavours? In Christ, we have the power to change so many things that other people can only complain about. Let’s get out and do it.
God bless you.