glory, his greatness, the knowledge
of his power. And secondly, the fear of the
Lord includes faith in his word, that he will do what he says.
That's what Abraham said. God will and is able to do all
that he says. Confidence in his word. And then
thirdly, it's the worship of the Lord. It's to come before
him in all. and reverence, respect, reverence
before the Lord. And then is to have a reverence
for his name. He said, thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord thy God in vain. A reverence for the
name of God. Never carelessly and flippantly
use the name of the Lord. The old Jews wouldn't even pronounce
the name Elohim, the name of God. So that's the fear of the
Lord. And it says here, this fear of
the Lord, this knowledge of his majesty, confidence in his word,
reverence in his presence, and appreciation, respect for his
name, is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Well now, we know the word beginning
is the first part of something, or the first essential of something,
or the prerequisite. It's like A is the beginning
of the alphabet. But that's not what the psalmist
means here by the beginning of wisdom. That's not what the word
beginning, that's not how it's used here. It's used several
times in the Bible. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. And if you care to, look it up
in the Hebrew dictionary. The word beginning there is the
chief part. The fear of the Lord is the chief
part of wisdom. This fear of the Lord is the
principal thing in wisdom. This fear of the Lord is the
chief fruits of wisdom. It is the sum of wisdom is the
fear of the Lord. Spurgeon said men may learn doctrine
and be orthodox. Men may speculate and argue and
be profound. Men may use great intellectual
words and be eloquent. But the chief part of wisdom
is to know God. From beginning to end, true wisdom
is a knowledge of the living God. Now let me show you what
Job said about that. Turn to Job 28. Job 28. I want everybody that
has a Bible here to turn to Job 28. You'll want to read this
again. Now remember, he said, the chief
part of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The chief fruits and
principle thing in wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Now listen
to Job in Job 28, verse 12. He says in Job 28, 12, But where
shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land
of the living, wisdom. The depth, saith, is not in me. The sea, saith, is not with me. Wisdom cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot
be valued with the gold of Orpah. with a precious onyx or sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot
equal it. The exchange of it shall not
be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral
or pearls or the price of wisdom, for the price of wisdom is above
rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not
equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence
then cometh wisdom? Where is the place of understanding,
seeing it hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from
the fowls of the air? Destruction and death say we
have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the
way thereof. He knoweth the place thereof.
He looketh to the ends of the earth, he seeth unto the whole
heavens, to make the weight for the winds. He weigheth the waters
by measure. When he made a decree for the
rain and a weight for the lightning and the thunder, then did he
see it and declare it. He prepared it, yea, and searched
it out. And in the man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that's
wisdom. That's wisdom. That's the chief
sum of it. And to depart from evil, that's
understanding. That's the reason I say the sum
and substance of this 111 Psalms out there in the last verse.
The fool has said in his heart, no God for me. He only is wise who knows the
Lord God and calls Jesus Christ his wisdom. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they, everyone that do his commandments, his will, his praise endureth
forever. The amount of knowledge a person
has doesn't constitute wisdom. The wisdom is the fear of the
Lord. And if I have learned to regard all things in some measure
as God regards them, If I have learned in some measure the righteousness
of God and the sinfulness of sin, wherever it's found, if
I have learned in some measure these sure mercies of David in
his everlasting covenant, if I have learned Christ, the power
and wisdom of God, in whom are all things pertaining to life
everlasting, and I have submitted and committed unto him for all
those things, and I walk before God in worship and adoration
and praise, I'm in the path of wisdom. Wisdom. I know in part, I realize that,
and I prophesy in part, and I see through a glass dimly, but in
Christ I have wisdom, and one day I'm going to know as I have
been known. Let's go back to verse 1 then.
That gives us some understanding of the greatness of this psalm. He says in Psalm 1, Praise ye
the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart. David's worship and praise wasn't
lip service. It wasn't lip service from the
heart. He brought nothing less than
his whole heart. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart. Nothing less. Anything less is
unworthy of his greatness. In the assembly of the upright,
in the congregation, whether they be few or whether there
be many, but in that assembly and in that congregation is where
I love to be. And praising the Lord is what
I love to do. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart. Because in the assembly of the
upright and in the congregation of his people, that's where I
love to be. Praising the Lord is what I love
to do. Don't you? Sure you do. All right,
the works of the Lord, they're great. When I looked at that,
I thought about the works of the Lord and how great they are.
They're great in their vastness, immensity, the universe. How
can anyone look at the stars and the sun and the moon and
the accuracy of all of it and the precision of all of the galaxies,
the earth and the fullness thereof, and not believe God? The works
of the Lord are great. David said that. When I consider
his mighty works of creation, what's man that aren't mindful
of him? Such a rebellious creature. Such a sinful creature. Wretched
creature. The works of the Lord are great
in their vastness. The works of the Lord are great
in their variety. Think about this. He gives to
every flower its bloom. Every one of them. He gives to every tree, it's
free. He gives to every plant, it's purpose. Purpose for being,
even the vandalized. Purpose. He gives to every animal,
it's faculties. He teaches the bird to build
a nest. I look down there at the park and I see those squirrel
nests way up there on a limb hanging out over nowhere. And
I wonder, how'd he get that first leaf to stay there while he went
to get the second one? I've got two hands and feet and
a mind and I try to build something that's a hard thing to work and
he put it together and keep it together. He puts one twig, the
bird, down in the nest, goes and gets another one. How does
he hold them together? God taught him. How do they care
for their young? He gives every animal its faculty.
Who tells them to fly south in the winter and come back here
to the same place? They tell me the deer out there
venture very few miles from where they were
born and raised. They stay right in the same place.
That's what I understand. He gives to man his mind, his
affection, his breath, life in the seas and in the air and on
the earth. The earth is the Lord's. His
works are great. And every work is great and valuable
and deserves praise. There's nothing in God's creation
inferior. Nothing, not even the smallest
thing. The scripture says, have you entered the treasures of
the snow? Have you ever stood by a window and watched the snowflakes
fall? There's not two of them alike. That's right. Have you
entered the treasures of the snow, the treasures of the hail? And next time you step on an
ant, you think about who made it, and who said, Go to the ant. When you work in crossword puzzles,
an ant is called a picnic pest. But God tells you and me to go
study him. In Proverbs 6, he said, Go to
the ant, thou sluggard, and consider her ways, and be wise. She has
no guide, no overseer, no ruler, yet she provides her meat in
the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. So you'd be a
smart man if you'd just go and get your, what do you call those
things, binoculars, and study an ant. God made him and gave
him a brain. His works are great. And then
the fool who teaches down at the university says, there is
no God. There is no God. But these works,
verse 2, are sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
They're never weary of seeking, seeking out the works of the
Lord and studying them. The works of the Lord are great,
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein, them that love
him and his work, I could talk about ants and crickets and all
these things all night, and people would sit up there and rejoice,
and God made them. That's right, God made them.
Called the stars by name. Man's work, somebody said, man's
work appears noble from a distance. Don't look too close. God's work reveals more greatness
the closer it's studied. Think about that. Man's work
won't bear too close examination. You'll find flaws. But God's
Word and God's work, the person who studies them the most precisely,
carefully, finds they get greater as he studies them. That's right. It works the Lord a great salt
out of all them that have pleasure therein. The hidden wisdom of
God is the most marvelous part of God's works. The hidden mysteries
and hidden wisdoms that are only revealed by the Spirit of God
to the careful student, to the prayerful student, to the seeking
student. Seek me. You'll find me when
you search for me. How? With all your heart. The works of the Lord are great,
sought out of all them that have pleasure thereof. Those that
find pleasure in him, they'll dig in the mines of scripture
and hoard up each grain of golden truth. And someone, I read this,
I quoted this to Bob the other day. Human works and natural
things must be known to be loved. You've got to know them to love
them, to appreciate them. You've got to know them to appreciate
them. But the things of God have got to be loved to be known. That's right. "...sought out of them that have
pleasure. A love for him will precede our
seeking." You find me when you search for me with all your heart. The more you love Him, the more
you seek out the mysteries of His grace and the greatness of
His works. And the more precious they are
to you, because they're His works. And the more He'll reveal to
you, because you love Him and appreciate Him. But look at verse
3. I've got to move. But here, He
changes here. He says, the works of the Lord,
plural, the works of the Lord are great in variety, in vastness,
in immensity, in precision, in accuracy. Nothing small, everything
accurate and perfect, made by God. But then he says, his work,
W-O-R-K, singular, is honorable and glorious, and his righteousness
endureth forever. And everyone I read had this
to say. We're not talking here about
his enormous universe, his varied and great and noble works. He's
talking here about one special work. Habakkuk will give us a clue.
Let's look at the book of Habakkuk. One great and special work, his
work. His work is honorable and glorifying
to him. This is his chief glory, we're
talking about. The heavens declare the glory
of God, but this work is his chief glory, his chief honor,
his righteousness. Now watch this, in Habakkuk chapter
1 verse 5, Habakkuk 1 verse 5, listen to this, Though it be told you." Well, Peter, you say, what's
that mean? Over here in Acts 13, Peter tells
us, he's preaching in Acts 13. And he tells us here, is this
Peter preaching here or one of the apostles? Paul's preaching.
Paul's preaching here in Acts 13. And he says in verse 36,
Acts 13, 36, For David, after he served his
own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid
unto his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom God raised again
from the dead saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, Jesus Christ, is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, by Christ, all that
believe are justified from all things from which you could not
be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore now, lest that
come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets." Verse 41,
look at it. Behold, ye despisers in wonder
and perish. I work a work in your days, a
work which you shall in no wise believe. though a man declare
it unto you." That's the work. And they didn't believe him.
He came unto his own, his own received him not. He's in the
world, the world received him not. But this is the work. This
work is his greatest glory. All right, back to my text, Psalm
111. This is talking about the redemption that we have in Christ
Jesus. Verse 3, his work. Christ said,
I finished the work you gave me to do. Therefore glorify thy
son, thy son may glorify thee." And this work is honorable. This
work is glorious in its conception, in its sheer foundation, in its
glorious purpose, in its unspeakable gift, Christ Jesus, in its application
by the Holy Spirit, in its ultimate perfection. It honors and glorifies
God and His righteousness. endureth forever." God will and
can do nothing contrary to His righteousness. And this work
and how this work was accomplished is the greatest proof of His
righteousness. Spurgeon wrote this, Christ Jesus,
the Son of God, dying under the judgment of His Father, our God
for our sins, shows clearly that God cannot and will not forget
His righteousness. He will be righteous even if
it means the suffering, humiliation, and death of His Son. And there
will never be any greater test of the strength of God's righteousness
than the cross. His righteousness endures forever.
And if Christ has purchased that for us, you needn't worry about
it ever failing. Because, verse 4, He hath made
His wonderful works to be remembered. He has written them in the sky.
The heavens declare His glory. He has written them in His Word,
preserved for our benefit and blessing. He has written them
on our hearts, and He has given us His ordinances and said, this
do, and remembers. He has made His wonderful works
to be remembered. And the Lord is gracious and
full of compassion. His love and grace is as sure
as His righteousness in His dealings with His children. He knows our
frame. He remembers it where it does.
And he pities us as a father pities his children. Now verse
5. He hath given meat, and that
word is there, all our needs. He hath given all our needs unto
them that fear him. All our needs. Spiritual, material. He's given meat unto them that
fear him. And here's the basis. He will ever be mindful of his
covenant. What covenant we're talking about?
He made a covenant with Moses. He made a covenant with Abraham. He made a covenant with David.
This is the everlasting covenant. There's only one everlasting
covenant, and that's the covenant with Christ on behalf of a people,
and talked about in Hebrews 13. Will you turn over there? Hebrews
13. He provides He hath given me
unto all them that fear him, because he is ever mindful of
his covenant." He is ever mindful of his covenant. That's your
assurance. That's my confidence. If I deny him, he'll never deny
me. If I'm not faithful, he is. He said, I'm the Lord, I change
not. The gifts and calling of God are without change. I'm the
Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed."
I change, you change. We go through doubts and depression
and fears and all these things. He never changes. He's ever mindful
of his covenant. He hath given meat to them that
fear him because he's ever mindful of his covenant. Now here's the
covenant we're talking about, Hebrews 13, 20. Now the God of
peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ.
That great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. That's
your confidence, and that's what David quoted on his deathbed.
Though it be not so with my house, God made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, physically, materially, spiritually,
ordered in all things, and sure, and this is all my salvation
and all my desire. My God will supply all your need
by His riches and glory through Christ Jesus. Why? He's ever
mindful of His covenant. The covenant of grace in Christ
is the purpose and plan of the Lord's great grace and mercies
to his people from all eternity. It's ordered in all things and
sure. It cannot be changed. It will not be changed. It will
not be departed from. It will not fail. The Lord has
set his hand and seal and sworn to it, sworn by himself. His
very name and honor hinges and hangs upon it. And every knee
of every sheep and every one of his people given to Christ,
spiritually, physically, materially, and eternally, will be met. And he that hath begun a good
work in you will finish it. That sign sealed and delivered
on Calvary's cross, stamped with the blood of Christ, because
he is ever mindful of his covenant. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. And he had showed his people
the power of his works. He showed Israel that. He gave
them the heritage of the heathen, and he took them across Jordan
and marched them there into the promised land that belonged to
other nations, other people, giants in the land, and just
drove them all out and established his people. He showed us his
work, showed us his work in Christ, raised him from the dead, showed
us his work in us. Translating us from the kingdom
of darkness to the kingdom of his Son, from love of self to
love of Christ, he showed us his power, power and promise. Now, look at this verse 7. The
works of his hands are verity and judgment. This is what we
talked about this morning. Those words, verity and judgment,
are truth and justice. The works of his hands, which
is salvation, providence, judgment, is always according to truth
and justice. The salvation of his people required
that of Christ, truth and judgment. Christ gave us a perfect righteousness,
endured the judgment of God by our transgressions. The providential
dealings of the Lord with his church are always truth and justice. And the final disposing of all
men and angels will be truth and justice. Shall not the judge
of the earth do right? You can bet on it. His works,
the work of His hands, are truth and judgment. And if you're in
Christ, you'll always be in Christ. You'll never leave Christ, and
He'll never leave you. And God Almighty will say, Enter ye,
blessed, into the kingdom prepared for you before the foundations
of the world, and he'll do it based on truth and justice. You don't deserve it, and I don't
deserve it, but Christ does, and we're in him. And when he
turns to those on the left hand and says, Depart from me into
everlasting fire, that's truth and justice. The fellow says,
all I want is justice. You'll get it, honestly. That's
right. Because God, the work of His
hands is truth and justice. There's not going to be any hedging
or hinging or departure from truth and justice. He's going
to save us by truth and justice. The Lord, our righteousness,
established truth and justice for us. And He's going to deal
with the world in truth and justice. Verse 8 says, His commandments
assure they stand fast forever. They're done in truth and justice.
They're done in truth and uprightness, righteousness. You see, mercy
and truth met together at Calvary. Righteousness and peace kissed
each other up there. That's when God delivered, redeemed,
set free a whole nation of believers, when Christ said it's finished.
that is honored and justice is satisfied. And when he deals
with a world of unbelievers, truth and justice is going to
be satisfied. He can't do it any other way
and be God. He, look at this in closing,
he the author, he sent, he sent it, he gave redemption. Redemption,
full redemption, to whom? To his people. And the certainty of it is this,
he has commanded his covenant forever. There it is again. He's
ever mindful of his covenant. He has commanded his covenant,
there's only one, the everlasting covenant forever. His forever
covenant. He commanded it. And here's the
guarantee of it, holy and referent is his name. That's his character. That's character. That's the
name and character of our God, right there, holy and reverent.
He'll do right. And the knowledge and fear of
this Lord is the whole sum and substance and chief principle
thing of wisdom. Now, young people, you go to
school and you get trained in the things of this world so you
can be a teacher, so you can be a a leader, or so you can
be a writer, or so you can be a contractor, or so you can be
a builder, or so you can be this, that, and the other. But don't
call that wisdom. Call that skill. Call that talent. Call that what you want to. Intelligence? But the birds have that. And
dogs have that. The good hunting dogs got intelligence. That's right. But wisdom? to
know God. And anybody else is a fool, because
he says, know God. Our Father, like Solomon of old, we pray
for wisdom. Reveal Christ Jesus, who is thy
wisdom. all wisdom, perfect wisdom, unto
us and to our children and to all who hear this word preached,
for your glory. I pray in Christ's name, amen.