THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM
¶ Having formerly fetched out the First of the Three Books lodged in David’s Psalm XIX {Book I}{vs. 1-6}, known by the Ancient Expositeers as The Book of Creatures, Creation, and Nature, which I took the liberty to dub, The Book In Which We Live, let’s now delve into the next five verses of Psalm XIX, {Part II} {vs. 7-11}, and fetch out what is known by all the Old Expounders and Ancient Expositeers as the 2nd Book lodged within the old Hebrew fixings of Psalm XIX, which I have also taken the liberty to dub, The Book that Lives In Us. In verses 7 – 11 of this Psalm sleeps the revelation knowledge poured out into David three thousand years ago concerning the Fear of the Lord, just what “IT” is that truly makes the heart of man rejoice. What “IT” is that brings man into the beginning of Wisdom, and just what “IT” is that causes a grown man’s eyes to grow bright and be enlightened like the wondrous eyes of a child. You see, the eyes, whether filled with Light or dark as a dungeon, are the windows of our soul. Now, this 2nd Book, hidden within the verses of Psalm XIX {vs. 7-11} is also known throughout the universe as The Book of Scriptures, The Written Word of God, and yes, The Bible, wherein reside the Psalms of The Man After God’s Own Heart. So, ONE does indeed reside in the OTHER and the OTHER in ONE.
¶ David opens up this “2nd Book” of Psalm XIX, with decrees, that, if given heed to and faithfully followed with a “whole” and an honest heart, would deliver anyone out of their fallen state. And, because of the convicting power of God’s traveling preachers, the sun, the moon, and stars, under which “all men are without an excuse”, in the “1st Book” of Psalm XIX, David, in verses 7 through 11, lays out, in this 2nd Book, God’s plan whereby a man can get shed of all that guilty conviction and be translated, in the twinkling of an eye, out of The Valley of the Shadow of Death into the Realm of Eternal Life, and even become PARTAKERS of God’s DIVINE NATURE. (2 Peter 1:4)
7 Oh yes², the Law of the Lord, is perfect, converting the soul: The Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
¶ The word “Law”, as translated here, may be rendered, in Hebrew, as “Doctrine” and may also be understood as meaning “Divine Revelation”, which David did indeed possess, still, the “Law of Moses” is the foundation of it, for there are no imperfections in the “Law of Moses”, and if taken to heart will lead us in the Way that we should go and point us to the ONE who can save the soul, for the “Law” could not save anyone’s soul then, and the Law cannot save anyone’s soul now! Yet it is out of this “Perfect Law of the Lord” that the Lord Himself “Testifies” to us all of the Mysteries and Perfections of HIS NATURE, out of which He extends the astonishing “Invitation” that says, “Come Unto ME!!!” and His great “Promise”, that says, “I will give you rest” i.e. “I will SAVE YOUR SOUL”. (Matthew 11:28) Know this about ME, says the Lord, “If you come unto Me, I will fulfill every one of My exceedingly great and precious PROMISES that I have made to you in My WORD, that you might, by ALL OF THEM, become PARTAKERS of My DIVINE NATURE. (2 Peter 1:4) Furthermore, know this about Me, says the Lord, “There is nothing MORE SURE about ME than My TESTIMONY!!!” (v 7) Now, if all of this doesn’t “Make Wise the Simple, then you must tell me, what does?
8 The Statutes (ordinances/ordaining’s²) of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: The Commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes.
¶ Considering how orderly the revolution of the earth is fixed about the sun, and how, in perfect concert with them, the moon makes its enchanting journey around the earth while, all the while, starry constellations move about God’s Great Expanse in perfect array, bringing to the earth the timely arrival of night and day, along with the comings and goings of our seasons, and that all of these are nothing less than the Handywork of the Lord, and, in the light of the fact that He hung all of these celestial hosts about the heavens on absolutely nothing, and how, by the Power of His spoken Word, His UNWRITTEN Statutes, Ordinances, and Commands, He orchestrated all of this to be held in place and work together in perfect harmony, should mankind not, beyond any and every shadow of a doubt, know how NECESSARY, and RIGHT God’s WRITTEN Statutes, Ordinances, and Commands are for the converting of our souls, the rejoicing of our hearts, and the enlightening of our eyes, that we might garner good results, great rewards, and become PARTAKERS of His DIVINE NATURE? Seeing how it is God’s UNWRITTEN Statutes, Ordinances, and Commands that hold the Earth and all her luminaries in place, do all of these luminaries not shine a Great Light on how critical His WRITTEN Statutes, Ordinances, and Commands are for the eternal welfare of the souls of men, not to mention the Civil Ruling and Governing of the Earth?
¶ Because of the 1st Book, we have no excuse.
¶ Because of the 2nd Book, we can come to Know Him, glean enlightenment, garner good results, Great Reward, Eternal Life, and become PARTAKERS of His DIVINE NATURE. (v. 11)
¶ He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and He is everywhere, (there ain’t nowhere that He ain’t). He is Holy, He is Pure, and He is the Light of the World (John 8:12), He is Enlightenment, and He is Love! All of this having been said, we must know this; “He is for us and not against us.” (Romans 8:31) “He did not bring us here to harm us but to prosper us.” (Jeremiah 29:11) He is the best FRIEND a man can have for rejoicing the heart and enlightening our eyes, which are the windows of our souls. He has written “IT” in the heavens and He has written “IT” in The Book, “He is the Friend that sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) He is IN DEED i.e. “IN THE POWER OF HIS DEEDS” The Word of God. His Name is Jesus, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.” (John 1:1-5) He is the Author of both Books; the Author of Creation and the Author of the Bible, and He is accessible. Why else would He say, “COME UNTO ME!!!”? (Matthew 11:28)
¶ I could write of more until my fingers fail me, but, it is by FAITH you must lay hold of Him for yourself. For He is there, and He is waiting.
I love the Ways of the Lord my God
Thy Statutes and Commands.
I have never seen Your Face
But I have seen Your Hands
Moving in the lives of men
To deliver and set free.
King of Kings, Lord of Lords,
Give that kind of stuff to me. {excerpt from “Shining Like the Son” ©wc}
9 The Fear of the Lord is Clean, enduring forever: The Judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
¶ Now instead of a trite little religious lesson in morality concerning the Clean Fear of the Lord and the Judgements of the Lord, let’s take that rough old, heart-worn backroad that runs out thru real life.
¶ Between the filthy stench of civil corruption and the sweaty stench of addictions that rule our nation today, there is no difference. Today, they do indeed go hand in hand. The consequences of illicit sex, booze, cocaine, heroin, etc., not to mention abortion, child trafficking, and the godless agenda of the One World Order, if the Truth be told, will, sooner or later, and it is “later”, not only soil your socks, your britches, and your breath, they will burn your brain to brimstone, haunt the hallways of your heart and stalk the circuits of your mind (what may be left of it) with TORMENTING FEAR. Sooner or later you will find yourself forever running from something when nothing is after you, well, nothing anyone can see. TORMENTING FEARS come in many different degrees and shades. At first, they come to visit, and if invited to stay, they set up camp, but know this; they come to rule the house. They may begin as some enticing deal but they set up camp for one reason only, and that is to INSTILL FEAR. They may begin as a Fear of failure, Fear of the unknown, Fear of rejection, Fear of Death, or the Fear of being “found out”, etc. The WORLD’S FEARS are TORMENTING FEARS and they come in many different degrees and shades, they are innumerable and they will either keep you in the hellish bondages of torments all the days of your life or they will destroy you and move on to someone else. They are all employed by Abaddon and they come for no other reason but “to kill, steal, and destroy.” (John 10:10)
¶ However, The FEAR of the Lord is CLEAN! Unlike Worldly Fear that can be driven out, THE FEAR OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER, and It will drive out all Tormenting Fear.
¶ I know! I lived in the sweaty stench of all those addictions for just under thirty years. It was The Fear of the Lord that brought me out of it. For three years I cried out, “How do I get out of this? Finally, I cried out, “God help me! God help me!!! Though I only knew of Him, the Fear of being separated from God for all eternity was more than I could stand. I knew that I was about to descend into a place of ETERNAL TORMENTS. Because of the way I chose to live, I somehow knew that the JUDGEMENTS of the Lord were about to deal with me because I also somehow knew that He was TRUE and RIGHTEOUS ALTOGETHER. Though I did not know Him, the Fear of Him truly was upon me, yet because I only knew of Him the concept of His Great Love and His Mercy evaded me until He delivered me. And, it was simply because I cried out to Him, that In the twinkling of an eye, He delivered me from just under thirty years of hard, hard living! No rehab! No withdrawals. I walked away CLEAN and never returned. In the twinkling of an eye, my eyes were enlightened and I was CLEAN OUT OF IT! That was forty years ago. Because I experienced it, I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt that…
9 The Fear of the Lord is CLEAN. (I now KNOW²) It ENDURES forever (because, after 40 years, I’m still here²): (I know that²)The Judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. (Because He was for me, not against me. His desire was to deliver me, which He did.²)
You see, I haven’t just studied His Ordinances, His Statutes, and His Commands (which I do), I have experienced them and found that
For me, “The Fear of the Lord was the beginning of Wisdom” (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10)
And I now KNOW that…
7 The Law of the Lord, is perfect, converting the soul (It convicted me²): (and that²) The Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. (that would be me²)
And that…
8 The Statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: (and that²) The Commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes.
For, in the blink of an eye, the terrifying darkness, the stench of sin, and the tormenting fear disappeared, and in the twinkling of an eye, I became filled with the CLEANESS of the Lord. Yes…
9 The Fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: The Judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Let me tell you, they are…
10 More to be desired than gold, I mean even more than the finest gold: (and they are²) Sweeter to the soul than honey to the taste. (for what shall if profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?²) (Mark 8:36) What can gold do for your soul?
11 Moreover, by them (the Word of God²) I do glean the enlightenment (Revelation Knowledge) from the Lord: And in keeping them (His Word²) I have more than garnered good results and great reward.
For here I am, forty years later, at eighty years old, of a sound mind, in great health, no meds, serving my Lord with a whole heart!
I am LIVING PROOF that the GOODNESS of GOD, and the TESTIMONY of the Lord is SURE, making wise the simple.
Summary:
There is a reverence that abides in the Fear of the Lord. To the man who is dead in sin, the Fear of the Lord may be lying dormant in some dark corner of his heart, he may not consciously know exactly what it is, but it is there. It may be but a gentle tugging, but it is there, tugging at his heart.
In Worldly Fear there is no reverence, only irreverence. Worldly Fear reveres nothing and produces only Torment.
Just as Light drives out the darkness, so does the Fear of the Lord drive out the spirit of Fear and Torments. It is, In Deed, the Beginning of Wisdom, and it is, In ALL of its Way(s), Deeds, CLEAN! “Cleaner than a hound’s tooth” (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10) Selah!
DUST by Will Callery, ©William & Cynthia Pub. Co. ©2008 BMI
To Continue in Psalm XIX, Book III
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¹wcv / My Emphasis / My Version (Always from Greek, Aramaic, & Hebrew translations, definitions, & Connotations)
² / My Insert(s)
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