Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom in the Psalms
Part 10 Summary of the Wisdom in the Psalms
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.”
(Psalm 128:1) NASB 95
In this series, we studied the topic of God’s wisdom and how he shares His wisdom with those who follow Him through life. We examined the major passages that speak to the topic, and this week we summarize what we learned in the prior nine weeks.
1. The Foundation is Fear – The fundamental principle to accept and receive God’s wisdom is to fear (revere) the Lord. This is the foundation of wisdom – to stand in awe before His creative power and divinity, to be humbled and yielding to the God of the universe. (Psalm 111:10, Prov. 9:10, Job 28:28). God’s attribute of wisdom is related to His attribute of glory (His character). Psalm 2 and Psalm 8 describe the relationship. God’s wisdom reveals His character, and God’s glory reveals His way. We are all to recognize His glory, and in fear are to worship Him as Lord. Psalm 19 also relates the themes of God’s glory and His path to wisdom for those who follow Him.
- The Walk of Life – To live in God’s wisdom is to live daily, or “walk” as the Psalms express it, with God. The 37th Psalm describes the “walk” of the wise. We must: Trust in the Lord (verses 3 and 5), Delight in the Lord (verse 4), Commit our way to the Lord (verse 5), Rest in the Lord (verse 7), and Wait for the Lord and keep His way (verse 34).
- The Way to Go – Living in God’s wisdom is referred to as “the way” or “the way of the Lord”. While the term “walk” refers to our behavior in life, the “way” refers to the direction or pathway of our life and its destination Psalm 86:11 appeals to God “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” The path that our walk must follow is provided in the written Word of God. “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts”. (Psalm 119:97-100)
- Wisdom to Apply – The 49th Psalm describes two aspects of the wise believer. First, the follower of the Lord will speak wisdom – the application of God’s wisdom to see life from God’s perspective. Second, the believer will have understanding in the heart –wisdom spends time in meditation on God’s Word (deep thought and reflection of the heart) to provide understanding. A similar passage in Psalm 119 states: “The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). The unfolding of God’s word is literally the “opening” of God’s word to comprehend what God is teaching from a willing heart – the “simple” who need or desire God’s direction.
- The Results of the Walk of Wisdom –The 128th Psalm enumerates the blessings to the wise man. Those who walk in wisdom will be productive and happy, their family will be blessed, they will be fruitful and secure, and the blessing will extend to their descendants.
- The End Result of a Life of Wisdom – Psalm 37 concludes with the outcome of the righteous person’s life: “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him” (37:39–40). This thought is repeated by David when he was delivered from the Philistines in Psalm 56: “For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living.” 56:13. The sobering thought of the temporal nature of our life is articulated by David in the 39th Psalm where he seems to recognize that he is near death:
LORD, make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am. (Psalm 39:4)
Psalm 90:12 appeals to the Lord, “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” We must realize that we, like the grass that withers, will pass away with a sigh. Let us pause and wisely consider the number of our days: the past days when we sinned and yet God forgave and worked in our lives, the present day and our current walk with God in His way, and the ultimate future with Him.