if we set before us two people.
By Charles Simeon The fear of God is the essential part of
true wisdom. As Solomon has said, the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the
Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9.10 However, this wisdom may be reputed
as folly by the ungodly world and considered as an indication
of a disordered mind, it most assuredly enlarges the understanding
and elevates its possessor above his fellows. Yes, and above others
also, who in natural capacity and in literary attainments are
far his superiors. The fear of God, if I may so
say, opens a new world to him in whom it is found. If we set
before us two people, one uneducated and the other well versed in
arts and sciences, we would suppose, of course, that there can be
no comparison between the two in point of learning, and this
is true so far as earthly knowledge is concerned. But let the uneducated
man be abounding in divine wisdom and actuated by the fear of God,
and he will have a far more accurate understanding of reality than
the man of learning has ever attained. The mere worldly man,
in his estimate of things, keeps eternity out of view. But the
man who is taught by God views things in their true light, even
as God Himself views them, and He speaks of them in accordance
with the representation given of them in the inspired volume.
The principle of piety which is implanted in his soul has
corrected and rectified his judgment. If the conversation of these
two men were recorded for the space of one hour, we would be
astonished at the mass of error contained in the learned man,
while truth and reality pervaded the pious man. A man filled with
divine wisdom has within himself an entirely new standard whereby
to judge of truth and to regulate his life. Your commands make
me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have
more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.