#31.

God's Word Give Us Wisdom and Understanding

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. The Psalmist has fallen in love with God and with every word that comes from His mouth! He pants for it (verse 131), he weeps because there are those who do not follow its commands (verse 136), he finds every precept of God to be wonderful (verse 129). He is one who knows the darkness of sin from which the Lord has rescued him - a darkness that still threatens to overshadow him as the spiritual warfare rages in his soul. He also knows the ignorance that sin had caused in his heart - there was a time when he neither knew God not cared for His commandments. Yet now he knows the Lord and he finds that His words bring light to dispel the darkness of sin, His words bring spiritual understanding to those who are in ignorance or who are simple. Note, though, that the psalmist gives us a very important clue about the way in which the Word operates in giving us this light, this understanding. It is the unfolding of God's words that produce this effect. The word most often is used to talk about an entrance or a doorway but can also mean unfolding or opening. This is very instructive for us. The word is a doorway or an opening through which light and understanding are obtained. For a moment, let's Imagine ourselves standing outside a palace, with an open door in front of us. Everything about the palace is beautiful and through the open doorway we can see that the inside is full of light and pure knowledge. There is an invitation posted outside the door to all who desire light and understanding, saying that they should enter in and take as much as they will, without cost. What should we do? Shall we stand outside and admire the fine construction of the palace and particularly this doorway - the gateway to light and knowledge? Shall we stand outside and reflect on how good it would be to have light and understanding? Shall we stand outside and decide that such an offer must have a catch - it sounds too good to be true, after all! If we choose to stand outside this opening for any reason at all, we shall never experience the light and the understanding that are offered. The psalmist had not done this. He had run in through the entrance and found the light and the understanding he received to be wonderful. So much so that he panted after them and wept that there were any alive who chose to live in the darkness and ignorance of sin when such glorious light and understanding were freely offered to God's children. Don't stand outside the door of God's Word this week, never entering in to receive its light and understanding. Read it and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into it. Hear it preached and ask God to take you inside to the place of light and wisdom!

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