REVERE GOD, RECEIVE DIVINE WISDOM
"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,” says Proverbs 9:10. What are some of the practices and rewards experienced by those having a proper godly fear--a high regard for God, desiring never to displease Him? Why is it appropriate, and how does one acquire this reverence for Him, and grow in divine knowledge and wisdom?
Revere God, Receive Divine Wisdom
1. What beneficial things can we learn from Psalm 34?
1. SEE MANY GOOD DAYS. How much we can benefit from true godly wisdom. But it starts with genuine godly fear, as stated at Proverbs 9:10. What does it mean to fear God? As Psalm 34 explains how to do so, it asks "Who among you takes pleasure in life And would love to see many good days?" Let all such ones benefit as we examine this godly fear, or reverence. Let us look carefully at Psalm 34, wherein we find an invitation to learn the fear of God, in verse 11. First, though, we find practices of one fearing, or revering, God, and blessings received for doing so. Proverbs 8:13 does inform us that "the fear of Jehovah means the hating of bad." So evil ways and attributes such as pride or haughtiness should be hated by a God-fearing person.
2. How can we reasonably honor God with our speech?
2. MIRACULOUSLY SAVED, MAGNIFY JEHOVAH. David reveals his exuberance in reflecting upon how God had miraculously saved him from his enemies, who had him cornered. His elation and appreciation for Jehovah is apparent in his opening words: "I will praise Jehovah at all times; his praise will be on my lips constantly." Now let's be real. David was far from sanctimonious, or hypocritically devout, as is common in some religion today. For clarity, notice his words at Psalm 19:14: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be pleasing to you, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer." So he wanted his speech to always be pleasing Jehovah. When we do speak, we can do so in a way that honors God--by being sincere and honest or truthful, for instance. "Inspired decision should be on the lips of a king," so to be king, David knew he had a special responsibility to be speaking God's law--right and honorable things before Jehovah, the One he was representing on the throne (Prov. 16:10). Note his next words, which may further clarify his intentions: "I will boast in Jehovah; the meek will hear and rejoice. Magnify Jehovah along with me, let us exalt his name together. I inquired of Jehovah, and he answered me. He rescued me from all my fears." (Ps. 34:1-4) David was so grateful for Jehovah's intervention in his life, saving him from calamity. He was happy to speak of such things to others. His godly fear or reverence pleased Jehovah, who was happy to respond to David's need. To revere Jehovah, then, is to consider Him worthy of great honor, or respect.
PRACTICES AND BLESSINGS
3. a) When especially may we become radiant and elated? (b) What is involved in having faith in God?
3. TAKE NOTICE OF JEHOVAH. Let's continue with Psalm 34, considering the practices and blessings of one fearing Jehovah. Verse 5 states, in response to Jehovah's rescue of David: "Those who looked to him became radiant. Their faces could not be put to shame." Can we imagine how David’s men felt, as Jehovah responded to his plight? When God responds to our prayerful requests, then likely at times we too may become radiant and so elated. The thought of looking to David may remind us of the One he sought to please, mentioned at Proverbs 3:5,6, which reads: "Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of Him, and He himself will make your paths straight." Having faith in Him, may we look to Jehovah in all we do, trusting fully in His guidance and direction, seeking His help, protection, and salvation as we do so. Verse 7 adds: "Do not become wise in your own eyes. Fear Jehovah, and turn away from bad." Let it be ultimately God's determination as to what is good and bad for us that we accept—appreciating efforts by others also to make decisions in line with the inspired Word of God.
4,5. What is humility, and what counsel can help us acquire and maintain it?
4. CONSIDER OTHERS SUPERIOR. Let's continue with verse 6 of Psalm 34: "This lowly one called, and Jehovah heard. He saved him from all his distresses." Here David referred to himself as "this lowly one." Genuine servants of Jehovah God tend toward humility. They practice viewing themselves as expressed at Philippians 2:3,4: "Do nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with humility consider others superior to you, 4 as you look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others." Humility is an attitude, a way of viewing things, that most anyone can adopt, opposing prideful arrogance, which God's word shows to be sinful. (Prov. 21:4). As Philippians 2:5 continues discussing genuine humility, "Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus." Such an attitude must be nurtured and maintained to remain in God's favor. As Psalm 138:6 reveals, "Though Jehovah is high, he takes note of the humble, But the haughty he knows only from a distance."
5. HUMBLED HIMSELF, REMAINED OBEDIENT. Although Jesus was existing in God's form, as Philippians 2:6-11 continues, he "gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. 7 No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and became human. 8 More than that, when he came as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, yes, death on a torture stake. 9 For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, 10 so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground— 11 and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Jesus endured and died a shameful death, impaled as a criminal. So Jesus would obediently seek the glory and honor, not of himself, but of God the Father, Jehovah, trusting in Him to secure his own fine reputation, in God's due time.
6. What other invitation is offered in Psalm 34:8, and what results from this experience?
6. TAKE REFUGE IN JEHOVAH. Let's carry on with verse 7 of Psalm 34: "The angel of Jehovah camps all around those [revering] Him, And he rescues them." Truly a blessing of truly revering God (considering Him to be worthy of great respect), is to be among those rescued by Jehovah's angelic force. Verse 8 adds this: "Taste and see that Jehovah is good; Happy is the man who takes refuge in him." Tasting involves experiencing. Have you experienced the goodness of Jehovah? How happy when we do! Happy is the one looking to Jehovah as our safe refuge, trusting His loving protective care. Whenever we're facing the beginnings of an anxious moment, do we look to Jehovah for His assistance and his peace to ease our mind and heart? Recall the words of Philippians 4:6,7: "Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus." May we trust these words and have the practice of turning to Jehovah, pouring out our hearts before Him in prayer, not forgetting to be thankful for our hope of salvation, and for all His gifts and his loving interventions in our behalf.
7. What unique blessing is in store for those fearing Jehovah?
7. LACK NOTHING GOOD. Now let's consider Psalm 34:9,10: "Fear Jehovah, all you his holy ones, For those who fear him lack nothing. Even strong young lions have been reduced to hunger, But those seeking Jehovah will lack nothing good." Here we find another blessing of fearing Jehovah, ones doing so would lack nothing good. To what extent have you experienced this? Speaking with other servants of Jehovah, among "his holy ones," may enlighten you to see and appreciate how Jehovah has blessed them abundantly. May we yearn to be and remain among such ones, having the aim of "perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2Cor. 7:1).
8. Why is it not too difficult to become reasonably holy in God's eyes?
8. GOD’S STANDARDS WELL WITHIN REACH. Becoming reasonably holy in God's eyes is not too difficult, for "his commandments are not burdensome." (1John 5:3). Sadly, however, many today are put off by the idea of holiness, mistakenly associating it with self-righteousness or false piety. Rather, God's holiness does not mean that he is smug, haughty, or disdainful of others--he actually hates such qualities. (Prov. 16:5; James 4:6). Looking to Him, He deals with each one of us as a loving Father toward his own children, not requiring of us more than we can handle. Therefore God's standards, though lofty, are well within our reach, especially with the power of God's holy spirit. Really, Jehovah's holiness should draw us closer to Him, as One who is above reproach and would never turn corrupt, dissolute or abusive, able to deal with each of His earthly children with appropriate loving care, correcting ones in the proper way who wish to come under his shadow, or protective wings. (Ps. 91:1; 63:7). Therefore, may we come to lack nothing good as we revere Jehovah, in spite of occasional hardships that we may have to endure, with God's help to see how. (1Cor 10:13).
AN INVITATION
9. a) In the instruction given regarding how to fear God, what is mentioned first, and why might that be the case? (b) In what way did Joseph fear God, and how do we know?
9. LEARN THE PROPER FEAR OF JEHOVAH. Now we come to the invitation, ultimately by God, to learn to fear Him. Notice this in Psalm 34:11,12: "Come my sons, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Jehovah. Who among you takes pleasure in life And would love to see many good days?" Reflecting upon these words should stir our hearts to realize that God has our best interests at heart--He made us and knows how we tick; he knows the way for us to live that will make us truly happy. So what direction are we given so as to learn the fear of God? Psalm 34:13 continues: "Then guard your tongue from what is bad, Your lips from speaking deception." So we're first to guard our speech, avoiding what is bad in the eyes of God, especially any form of deception or falsehood, tricky speech and slander. Why is the guarding of our speech mentioned first? James reveals that the person who can control his tongue can "bridle also his whole body." (James 3:2,3). So eventually one truly fearing God is able to learn self-control, part of the fruitage of God's holy spirit. Such self-control enables one to govern his body and mind, and includes the ability to resist temptation and to control inappropriate impulses. Godly fear largely moved Joseph to say, when tempted with sin, "How could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?" In fearing God Joseph regarded Jehovah with appropriate wonder, reverence and respect, cultivating love for Him and showed it in both his speech and actions.
10. Why might the counsel of Colossians 3:8-11 help us to guard our tongue?
10. REMOVE DEFILING SPEECH. Regarding mostly speech, Colossians 3:8-11 states this for true Christians: "But now you must put them all away from you: wrath, anger, badness, abusive speech, and obscene talk out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another. Strip off the old personality with its practices, 10 and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it." So we want to learn to turn away from defiling speech that tears down rather than builds up.
11. Who alone has the right to determine good and bad, and how should we feel about all badness?
11. HATE BAD, DO GOOD, PURSUE PEACE. Next, after addressing speech, Psalm 34 continues regarding our actions, in verse 14: "Turn away from what is bad and do what is good; Seek peace and pursue it." So again, "the fear of Jehovah means the hating of bad." (Prov. 8:13). We want to be viewing things as God does, looking to Him to ascertain what is good and what is bad, and not giving that right to anyone else, including ourselves. We should hate all badness, as God does, while reasonably refusing to participate in such. We should never, for example, accept a bribe to do something wrong in God's eyes, perhaps even hurting others. We should rather desire or treasure integrity of heart, wanting to be complete spiritually without corruption. We're also encouraged to "seek peace and pursue it." As Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, "Happy are the peacemakers, since they will be called sons of God." A genuine peacemaker learns how to make peace, and goes out of his way to restore peace where it was lost, in his own relationships or between others if needed. Jesus showed in that Sermon that maintaining true peace between servants of God is more urgent than offering any sacrifice to God (Matt. 5:23,24). As God's word encourages, "do not let the sun set while you are still angry, do not give the Devil an opportunity" (Eph. 4:26,27).
12. a) How does God feel about righthearted ones? (b) Why must God not allow practicers of evil to continue in their course?
12. GOD OPPOSES HAUGHTY. Let's continue with Psalm 34:15,16: "The eyes of Jehovah are on the righteous, And his ears listen to their cry for help. פ16 But the face of Jehovah is against those doing what is bad, To erase all memory of them from the earth." As patient as Jehovah is with mankind, evil must not prevail to hinder God's loving purpose toward humans. He especially loves right-hearted individuals and is eager to assist such ones to serve Him and endure faithfully, listening to their cry for help. However, "God opposes the haughty ones." Haughty ones are not viewing themselves properly in their relation to God or others, lacking appropriate reverence or respect, but they can change their view. It is hoped that God's opposition to them will awaken in them a more humble view of themselves. God "gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones." (1Pet. 5:5). If haughty ones disregard God's counsel and continue in a wayward course, God cannot allow them to continue ruining the happiness, peace, and secure future of the rest of us. May as many of them as possible come to repent before God's appointed time of judgement (1Thess. 5:2).
13. What are some ways Jehovah helps us cope with distressing situations?
13. JEHOVAH RESCUES RIGHT-HEARTED. Returning to the mention of right-hearted ones, Psalm 34:17 says: "They cried out, and Jehovah heard; He rescued them from all their distresses." Once again we see Jehovah doesn't just listen to our cry, but He hears and in His time acts upon it. He is capable of rescuing us from all of the things causing us distress, whether ending the distressing situation for us, or helping us see how to endure it successfully until it is finished. Sometimes we may have to endure a difficulty for a time to help us refine our loyal integrity to God, trusting that God "will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation He will make the way out for you to be able to endure it." (1Cor. 10:13). "Throw your burden on Jehovah and he will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to fall." (Ps. 55:22). Sometimes God will use our fellow Christians to help us carry a heavy load, perhaps a load that God knows is too heavy for us to carry alone. We find the counsel to "go on carrying the burdens of one another, and in this way you will fulfill the law of the Christ." (Gal. 6:2).
14. a) What is it vital to do if we ever find ourselves brokenhearted, and why? (b) What should we wisely learn to do to limit the making of poor decisions?
14. JEHOVAH CLOSE TO BROKEN-HEARTED. To continue learning the proper fear of Jehovah, consider Psalm 34:18: "Jehovah is close to the brokenhearted; He saves those who are crushed in spirit." If we have experienced loss causing grief, or have become aware of a serious error on our part, we may fit this description. If so, it is vital to look to Jehovah for assistance, appreciating His compassion for us. If applicable, Acts 3:19 encourages us: "Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah himself." Jehovah is the One to hope in who knows precisely what we need to be restored to spiritual health to the extent possible, although there may be lingering consequences of sin we may have committed. If we have erred, we may have hurt more than Jehovah and ourselves--others may be hurting in ways we haven't grasped, perhaps just by our sinful decisions. Still, we may hope in Jehovah for recovery and to return to setting a good example for others by remaining on the road to endless life under God's Kingdom, determined to walk faithfully on this road into the foreseeable future. We should learn to shrewdly, with foresight, look ahead at the consequences of our decisions, choosing to make the good and right decisions leading to true happiness, in harmony with the counsel of Proverbs and the rest of God's word.
15. How do we know that servants of God may still suffer hardship, but what help do we have?
15. HE RESCUES US FROM HARDSHIPS. Jehovah is a rewarder of the one earnestly seeking Him (Heb. 11:6). However, does that mean a person is guaranteed a care-free life now after they choose to serve the true God Jehovah? Psalm 34:19,20 acknowledges: "Many are the hardships of the righteous one, But Jehovah rescues him from them all. He is guarding all his bones; Not one of them has been broken." As 1Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, "No temptation has come upon you except what is common to men." So we may experience hardship. Our growing faith in Jehovah will help us to look to Him for help, protection, and salvation as we trust fully in His guidance and direction. Remember to"throw all your anxiety upon Him, because he cares for you." (1Pet. 5:7).
16,17. Who should we fear primarily, and why?
16. THOSE HATING RIGHTEOUS FOUND GUILTY. It is Jehovah himself that we should fear and rely upon--no opposing creature, angelic or human. No other person should pressure us to ignore or violate God's counsel or command. God's commands are for every human to obey. Of course, if governmental powers are involved, we need to show proper respect for those in high station, realizing that such are part of the "arrangement of God." (Rom. 13:1-4). May we carry on prayer for such ones to allow us to serve the true God freely. However, when there's a conflict, our hearts should still respond as the apostles in their day, when told to quit speaking about Jesus: "We must obey God as ruler, rather than men." (Acts 5:27-42). Psalm 34:21 says "Disaster will put the wicked to death; Those hating the righteous will be found guilty."
17. RELY ON JEHOVAH, NOT MAN. To further underscore the issue of who to fear or please, Jeremiah 17:5-8 cautions: "This is what Jehovah says: "Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mere humans, Who relies on human power, And whose heart turns away from Jehovah. He will become like a solitary tree in the desert. He will not see when good comes, But he will reside in parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land where no one can live. Blessed is the man who puts his trust in Jehovah, Whose confidence is in Jehovah. He will become like a tree planted by the waters, That sends out its roots to the stream. He will not notice when heat comes, But his leaves will always flourish. And in the year of drought he will not be anxious, Nor will he quit producing fruit." Thus the instruction in Psalm 34 concludes by saying: "Jehovah is redeeming the life of his servants; None of those taking refuge in him will be found guilty." May we fear Jehovah in the proper way, regarding Him with appropriate wonder, reverence, and respect, ever aware of the privilege of drawing close to our loving Father (James 4:8).
.