ACQUIRING
WISDOM THROUGH BIBLE READING
Reading: Psalm 119: 97-105
1. Comments on Psalm 119: 97-105
Many words are used in Scriptures for the
Word of God!
In v. 97-105, the following words are used:
‘law’, ‘commands’, ‘statutes’, ‘precepts’,
‘word’
(other words used in Psalm119:–
testimonies, judgment, decree, way, promises).
It is God’s word because God is revealed
through His word
It is God’s way, so that we may walk in
them
It is God’s statutes, revealing God’s will
to us that we may obey for our own benefits.
Quote:
John Wesley:
“This
variety of words is designed to express the nature and perfection of God’s
word.”
Therefore we are called to;
“Love”, “meditate”, “obey” and “not to
depart” from God’s Word!
The benefits:
- Make us wiser than our enemies
- Give us more insights that all my teachers
- Have more understanding than the elders
- Gain understanding that will cause us to hate what is wrong
à S U verse: 105:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light for my path.”
2. Applications: acquiring
wisdom
a. Introduction:
Themes:
Knowing God’s word
Knowing God’s way
Knowing God’s will
b. What is wisdom?
“Wisdom is the ability to make right decisions in
harmony with right laws, at the right time to produce righteous living.”
- Ability to make right decisions
- In harmony with right laws
- At the right time
- So that à to produce righteous living!
Example of “so that”
1st Aim: to make God’s Good News known
to children, young people and their families.
2nd
Aim: to encourage people of all ages to meet God
daily through the Bible and prayer so that they may come to personal
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, grow in Christian maturity and become both
committed church members and servants of a world in need.
True wisdom must always have “so
that”; if not they are just some philosophical concepts. True wisdom
must lead to righteous living!
But how do we measure righteous living? –
in harmony with right laws - the word of God. The Bible is the source whereby
we learn wisdom and good judgment!
Four aspects of the Wisdom, the Bible
reveals:-
- Wisdom starts with
the “Fear of God” (Pro. 9: 10 – “The fear of God is the beginning of
wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”)
cf:
Pro. 2:6 – “For the Lord gives
wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”)
The Fear of God is not ‘the terror of Him’ but it is an attitude of awe and reverence in
our response to Him. Therefore the more we know Him through His word, the more
we will enjoy the benefits of being God’s children.
Illustration: Church
Bible study on “What is eternal Life”
–while there is an everlasting aspect, because God is eternal – but from John
17:3 – it is knowing God and Christ – the more we know him, the more we know
eternal life, and abundant life (John 10:10).
- Wisdom is an attitude
of sound judgment. The development of this
attitude comes by having the Word of God in
our heart and the ability to apply God’s word in all my decisions making. The Hebrew word for wise is very practical –
“skillful… practical at living life.”
Being wise therefore means having ‘the
mastery of the art of living I accordance with God’s word.’ You can therefore understand why the Psalmist
says, if we are saturated with God’s word, we are wiser than our enemies,
having more insight than our teachers (for having more acquired knowledge does
not equal to wisdom), more understanding than the elders (for age does not
equal to wisdom).
Cf: Isaiah 50: 4
- Wisdom is the
attitude of not comparing ourselves with
fellowman and think that we are better than them, but it is comparing ourselves to God, and
realizing how far short we are in his glory. When we see ourselves in
comparison to God, our faith is increased, our love is enlarge, our hope is
heightened for we seek to be the kind of person God wants us to me.
Wanting to be the person God wants us to be, is wisdom! That’s why we need
to meditate on God’s word every day:
Illustration: When
England was at the height of its power, Queen Victoria was asked by an African
Prince through his ambassador where lies
England’s greatness.
Queen Victory said: “ Tell your prince that in this book (pointing to her Bible) is the secret of England’s greatness.”
- Wisdom of God can be
acquired through asking:
James 3:17 says what is righteous wisdom
“But
the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
He started off in James 1:5:
“If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
But we must ask in faith and accept the
Word of God planted in us.
從聖經中汲取智慧
聖經：詩篇119：97-105
ㄧ、註解 詩篇119：97-105
聖經使用很多字詞來形容「神的話語」！
在詩篇119：97-105當中，使用了以下詞彙來描繪神的話：
「法律」、「命令」、「章程」、「觀念」、「話語」
（詩篇119其他經節中，還使用了「見證」、「審判」、「裁定」、「天意」、「道路」、「應許」等字詞）
「神的話」：神透過他的話來將自己啟示給人類。
「神的道路」：神賜給我們他的話語，叫我們能行在其中。
「神的章程、法令」：神將他的旨意彰顯給我們，好叫我們藉由順服而蒙祝福與好處。
知名神學家約翰．衛斯理John Wesley（基督新教創始者之一）曾說：「（聖經）中這些字詞的組合，是特別設計過的，用來表達神話語的本質以及完美的性質。」
因此，神呼召我們，要來愛神的話、咀嚼神的話、順服神的話、不離開神的話。
如此，就得著益處：使我們比仇敵還有智慧、比自己的老師還有遠見、比年長者更有領悟力，使我們能辨別是非且厭惡不義之事。
「你的話是我腳前的燈，是我路上的光。」詩篇119：105
二、如何應用：汲取智慧
（ㄧ）介紹：
主題：了解神的話語
了解神的道路
了解神的旨意
營隊目的：協助學生汲取智慧，用以面對學校以外的現實生活，如大學生活或職場生活等。
（二）何謂智慧？
「智慧就是能夠在正確的時機做出正確的決定，而這個決定符合正義的法令，並且能反映出一種正義的生活方式。」
-能夠做出正確決定的能力
-能符合正義的法律規範
-能在正確的時機展現
-要做到以上三點，「這樣」才能→產出一個正直、正義的生活模式
那麼「這樣」又是哪樣呢？以下為說明「這樣」的例子：
做到「這樣」最首要的目的，就是將神的好消息，將福音，啟示給孩子、年輕人、以及他們的家人。
做到「這樣」的第二個目的，就是不分年齡地，鼓勵所有人每天都透過聖經，來與神相遇，「這樣」他們就能與耶穌基督建立個人親密的關係與信心，活出基督的樣式，成長成為成熟的基督徒，並且成為一個懂得委身的教會會友，也成為一個神的僕人來服事這個急需神的世界。
真正的智慧，一定會有「這樣」；要是沒有，這智慧只是一個空虛的哲學概念。真正的智慧，必定會產出一個正義的生活方式。
然而，我們該如何評量正義的生活方式？就是要符合正義的法律，而這法律就是神的話語。聖經是我們學習智慧與正確判斷的源頭。
三、聖經啟示四個面向的智慧：
1. 敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端。
「敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端，認識至聖者便是聰明。」箴言9：10
「因為耶和華賜人智慧，知識和聰明都由他口而出。」箴言2：6
所謂「敬畏神」不是指要懼怕神，而是一個尊敬、讚歎的態度與反應。因此，若我們越多透過聖經了解神，就能越多享受成為神兒女的福澤與好處。
說明：教會聖經考察〈何謂永生〉，雖說聖經裡有永恆的觀點，因為神的永恆的，但是我們從約翰17：3可知了解永恆就是了解上帝與基督，我們越多了解神，就越多了解永恆的生命、豐盛的生命。
2. 智慧是一種能做出正確判斷的態度。
我們心中要有神的話語，才能將神的話語應用於生活中的每個決定，然後養成這種智慧的態度。「智慧」在希伯來文中的定義為「有技術地…是能用於實際生活的技能」，非常實際。因此，有智慧，即表示擁有「能精熟地、藝術地、活出符合神話語的生活」。因此詩篇的作者才會說，要是神的話語浸透、充滿了我們的心，我們就會比敵人還有智慧。比自己的老師還有遠見—因為得著知識不等於得著智慧。比長輩還有領悟能力—因為年齡的增長不等於智慧的增長。請參看以賽雅書50：4。
3. 智慧是一種謙虛地將自己跟神比較的態度。智慧的態度，不會看自己比別人好，而是看清自己與神的榮耀有如此浩大的距離。當我們跟神比較，信心就會增加、愛心也會增長、盼望因此更提升，因為我們開始追求要成為合神心意的樣式。
若有人期待成為合神心意樣式，就是智慧！所以，我們才要晝夜思念神的話語，天天思考神的話語。
說明：曾經有位非洲的大使節，奉王子之命到英國，詢問英國維多利亞女王，到底英國的偉大從何而來。當時英國正直權力高峰時期，為世界強權。女王指著聖經回應說：「回去跟你的王子說，這本書（聖經），藏著英國之所以偉大的祕密。」
4. 可以向神求得智慧。
雅各書3；17說明何謂正義的智慧：
「惟獨從上頭來的智慧，先是清潔，後是和平，溫良柔順，滿有憐憫，多結善果，沒有偏見，沒有假冒。」
雅各書1：5：
「你們中間若有缺少智慧的，應當求那厚賜與眾人也不斥責人的上帝，主就必賜給他。」
但是，前提是我們必須要有信心地，接受神的話語。
參考：雅各書1：21-25
