Mark Daniel Twombly's Blog

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and discipline,

To understand the sayings of understanding,

To receive discipline that leads to insight,

Righteousness, justice, and equity,

To give prudence to the simple,

To the youth knowledge and discretion;

Let the wise man hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire guidance,

To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;

Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

(Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)

 

“My son, if you will receive my words

And treasure my commandments within you,

To make your ear pay attention to wisdom,

Incline your heart to discernment;

For if you call out for understanding,

Give your voice for discernment;

If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of Yahweh

And find the knowledge of God.

For Yahweh gives wisdom; 

From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.”

(Proverbs 2:1-6 LSB, with emphasis)

 

“So that you will walk in the way of good men 

And keep to the paths of the righteous.” 

(Proverbs 2:20 LSB)

 

“The words of wise men are like goads, 

and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; 

they are given by one Shepherd.” 

(Ecclesiastes 12:11 LSB)

 

Approach

In my first commentary, God and His Word: A Devotional Commentary in Psalm 119, I sought to emphasize the truth that God’s word is not a commodity for us to use for our purposes, but personal, daily, moment by moment counsel from the Lord Himself to accomplish His.  Nowhere is this more important than in the Proverbs, where we are tempted to take principles in an impersonal way.  We note from these opening verses the personal, relational nature of wisdom.  God speaks to us by His word, He makes us into good men in the discerning company of other good men, and ultimately all are from Him, the ‘one Shepherd’.  We notice that, as an expression of His own nature, the Lord gives us both truth and those who are living examples of it.  We see this fully fleshed out in the life of Jesus Christ, who is our Wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:30, Colossians 2:2-3).  May we fully participate in His way of wisdom, and see Him throughout.  

 

“I have instructed you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in upright tracks.”

(Proverbs 4:11 LSB)

 

In his song ‘The Way of Wisdom’, Michael Card states it beautifully:

 

‘The way of understanding lies

In not how much you know

Where the pathway is a person 

That you’ve come to love and so’

 

‘Wisdom did not come to simply speak the words of truth

He’s the word that makes us true.’

 

Consider:

 

“My son, observe the commandment of your father 

And do not abandon the law of your mother; 

Bind them continually on your heart; 

Tie them around your neck. 

When you walk about, they will lead you; 

When you sleep, they will keep watch over you; 

And when you awake, they will speak to you. 

For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light; 

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life” 

(Proverbs 6:20-23 LSB)

 

This is the Lord Himself personally counseling and guiding us (see also Psalm 32:8-9, 119:24) so that our hearts are captivated by Him (Psalm 119:1-2 LSB):

 

“Give your heart to me, my son, 

And let your eyes delight in my ways.” 

(Proverbs 23:26 LSB)

Stay tuned for more.

In His Grip,

Mark

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,

So that I will not be ashamed."

 

Thereis no higher goal than Your righteousness, which is to be blameless in Yourstatutes.  Surely this is ultimatespiritual strength, for "The wicked flee when noone is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion."  (Proverbs 28:1).  Walking in Your ways is ultimate strength andconfidence.  It is also ultimateblessing, seen in Psalm 119:1-2, which hearkens back to Psalm 1:1-2.  It is a compelling picture of what I want to be,the opposite of ashamed.  When ashamed, Ishrink back, but when blameless before You, I seek further righteousness.  Blameless is the Hebrew  תָּמִים,tāmiym, an adjective with the sense of blameless, complete, true, virtuous,upright, righteous.  Yet, who can claimblamelessness (Proverbs 20:9)?  "But there is forgiveness with You, That You may befeared."  (Psalms130:4).  Notice also the Psalmist seeksnot just blameless actions, but a blameless heart from which actions flow(Proverbs 4:23).  Like the Psalmist,Lord, may I seek truth in the innermost being (Psalm 51:6)!  This can only happen through the finishedwork of Christ, the rule of the Father, and the presence of the Holy Spirit inmy heart.  Praise You Lord for doing itall!

 

‘Thisis even more important than to be held in esteem by good men. This is the rootof the matter. If the heart be sound in obedience to God, all is well, or willbe well. If right at heart we are right in the main. If we be not sound beforeGod, our name for piety is an empty sound. Mere profession will fail, andundeserved esteem will disappear like a bubble when it bursts; only sincerityand truth will endure in the evil day. [see Ephesians 6:13-17]’

 

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:80, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"May those who fear You turn to me,

Even those who know Your testimonies."

 

Becauseof his orientation towards Your word, the Psalmist had those who fear You seehim and be glad (v. 74), and now asks that they turn to him, perhapsagain.  The truth of Psalm 119:63 issurely reflected here.  Lord, what aunifier Your word is and who You are! There is no greater companionship. Note both the affirmation and the equality here.  While the Psalmist may have been moreadvanced in the word (the fact that he wrote this Psalm makes this likely), yethere we see ‘even those who know Your testimonies’.  The picture here isn’t necessarily that theycome to him to know Your word, but that they already have a knowledge of it thatdraws them to him.  The Psalmist needsthem as much as they need him, particularly in light of the oppressiondescribed in v.78.  Certainly David experiencedthis in 2 Chronicles 15:9.  I am remindedof Colossians 3:16 and context, namely, that as Your word dwells in usindividually, it draws us together indelibly.  How could it not be so given the reality of Your word?  Being in Your word and sharing it with oneanother, we recognize the Source, the one Shepherd who is leading, feeding, andcaring for us all (Ecclesiastes 12:11). 

 

‘Thosewho are right with God are also anxious to be right with his children… Wecannot afford to lose the love of the least of the saints, and if we have losttheir esteem we may most properly pray to have it restored. David was theleader of the godly party in the nation, and it wounded him to the heart whenhe perceived that those who feared God were not as glad to see him as aforetimethey had been… those who are dear to God, and are instructed in his word, shouldbe very precious in our eyes, and we should do our utmost to be upon good termswith them.

     David has two descriptions for the saints,they are God-fearing and God-knowing. They possess both devotion andinstruction; they have both the spirit and the science of true religion. Weknow some believers who are gracious, but not intelligent; and, on the otherhand, we also know certain professors who have all head and no heart- he is theman who combines devotion with intelligence. We neither care for devout duncesnor for intellectual icebergs. When fearing and knowing walk hand in hand theycause men to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. [2 Timothy 3:17]’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:79, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with alie;

But I shall meditate on Your precepts."

 

Similarto Psalm 119:69, the Psalmist replaces a lie with Your law.  Lying is apparently one of the results ofarrogance; it is the arrogant who forge lies and subvert the righteous (seealso Proverbs 17:15).  In these days, asin all times, it seems to be done with impunity and with no shame.  And so we pray - for our sake and for theirs- that shame would come upon them, and upon us if we follow the same path.  Psalm 101:6-7 is a wonderful meditation here;they may attack from the outside, but we don’t allow them inside ourhearts.  It is God’s thoughts, not ours,which dominate our thinking and our hearts, Isaiah 55:8-11.  What hope it is that ‘the mouths of those whospeak lies will be stopped’ (Psalm 63:11) and ‘Truthful lips will beestablished forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.’ (Proverbs 12:19).

 

‘Howlittle he valued the will - will of sinners… Even those that deal most fairlymay meet with those that deal perversely… it does not hurt us, and thereforeshould not move us… God's dealing favourably with him might make them ashamedto think that they had dealt perversely with him.’

 

‘Hewould leave the proud in God's hands, and give himself up to holy studies andcontemplations… The proud are not worth a thought. The worst injury they can dous is to take us away from our devotions; let us baffle them by keeping all thecloser to our God when they are most malicious in their onslaughts.’

 

Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Psalm 119:78, e-Swordedition

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:78, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"May Your compassion come to me that I may live,

For Your law is my delight."

 

Myvery life depends on this.  I am remindedof Psalm 119:58 and my great need for Your favor, for Your grace.  ‘For Your law is mydelight.’  The Psalmist understoodthe connection between delight and life. Life to the full comes in the delight of Your law, and with that delightcomes an understanding of dependence upon You. ‘Compassion’ is the Hebrew רַחַם,raḥam, a noun with the sense of womb, compassion, mercy, affection.   Withthis compassion certainly there is safety and security.  In Psalm 119:92, the Psalmist indicates that thisdelight is what sustained His life. Surely we live not on bread alone, but on Your word (Deuteronomy 8:3,Job 23:12, Matthew 4:4).  Like a child inthe womb, certainly we are at our most safest and secure in You.  May I always live with this sense ofdependent delight!

 

‘Hewas so hard pressed that he was at death's door if God did not succour [satisfy]him…Yet no true child of God can live without the tender mercy of the Lord; itis death to him to be under God's displeasure…Then we do not merely exist, butlive; we are lively, full of life, vivacious, and vigorous. We know not whatlife is till we know God….To delight in the word when it rebukes us, is proofthat we are profiting under it.’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:77, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,

According to Your word to Your servant."

 

‘Omay Your lovingkindness comfort me’, yet how often I have refused to becomforted (Psalm 77:2).   Why isthat?  ‘According to Your word’ is, in mypride, the last thing I want.  I want tobe comforted on my terms, not on Yours Lord! That is not true comfort, yet my flesh deceives me.  As I learned in my early counseling sessions,I had to come to grips with the reality that I just wanted relief, I didn’twant You.  I wanted temporary relief thento go on running my own life.  Yourlovingkindness is such that You won’t allow that.  You know that only in surrender to You thereis true and lasting peace. ""Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will cometo you."  (Job 22:21)

 

‘Havingconfessed the righteousness of the Lord, he now appeals to his mercy, and whilehe does not ask that the rod may be removed, he earnestly begs for comfortunder it. Righteousness and faithfulness afford us no consolation if we cannotalso taste of mercy, and, blessed be God, this is promised us in the word, andtherefore we may expect it… Blessed be his name, notwithstanding our faults weare still his servants, and we serve a compassionate Master… That phrase,“according to thy word,” is a very favourite one; it shows the motive for mercyand the manner of mercy. Our prayers are according to the mind of God when theyare according to the word of God.’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:76, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,

And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."

 

In this section, Yodh, the Psalmist seeks comfort (v. 76)and compassion (v. 77) because of Your affliction (v.75) and the subversion ofthe arrogant (v. 78).  We had just seenin v. 67 and v.71 the good that comes from affliction, and now we see here thatthis affliction is from You and an expression of Your faithfulness.  Of course this is true, since all good comesfrom You.  This is part of the ‘exceedingfaithfulness’ of Your word (v. 138). Through affliction we truly seek You (Psalm 78:34, Hosea 5:15).  Through affliction comes praise andsatisfaction (Psalm 74:21, Psalm 22:26). 

The idea behind ‘afflicted’ is to be bowed down.  Oh what a need we have to be humbled!  With the slightest relief we stray and seekour own.  What a wonderful teacher afflictionfrom You is.  Through it we see you, inparticular we see here the incredible combination of righteousness andfaithfulness.  We see this combinationelsewhere in these Scriptures: Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 26:23, Psalm 40:10,Psalm 96:13, Psalm 119:75, Psalm 119:138, Psalm 143:1, Isaiah 11:5, Isaiah 16:5

 

‘Saintsare sure about the rightness of their troubles, even when they cannot see theintent of them…It was not because God was unfaithful that the believer foundhimself in a sore strait, but for just the opposite reason: it was thefaithfulness of God to his covenant which brought the chosen one under the rod…Ourheavenly Father is no Eli [see 1 Samuel 2:29]: he will not suffer his childrento sin without rebuke, his love is too intense for that.’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:75, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"May those who fear You see me and be glad,

Because I wait for Your word."

 

BecauseI am so wonderful?  Surely not.  I have no good besides You (Psalm 16:2).  Those who fear You want more of You, andrecognize that comes primarily from Your word, and secondarily the work of theword in others for our mutual benefit (e.g. see Colossians 3:16).  We see a parallel with Psalm 119:79, wherethose who fear You turn to me.  Whygladness?  ‘Glad’ is the Hebrew ‘שָׂמַח, śāmaḥ: A verbmeaning to rejoice; to be joyful, to be glad; to gloat. It describes a stateand agitation of rejoicing, of being happy. This is the only occurrence of the word in Psalm 119.  See also the example of David in 2 Chronicles15:9.  Those who fear You are gladbecause I wait for Your word.  May Ialways have an apt word from Your word for others that they look forward to andeven depend upon.  What a joy to be usedin this way, to draw deeper for Your word both for my benefit and overflowingto the benefit of others.  See Ezra 7:10,Proverbs 10:21, Proverbs 12:26, Isaiah 50:4. The beauty is that I lead by example; an excellent teacher must be adevoted learner.  Praise You,Father!  I have beloved friends that Ican depend on, and, by Your grace, can depend on me.

 

‘Whena man of God obtains grace for himself he becomes a blessing to others,especially if that grace has made him a man of sound understanding and holyknowledge. God-fearing men are encouraged when they meet with experiencedbelievers… It is good for the eyes to see a man whose witness is that the Lordis true; it is one of the joys of saints to hold converse with their moreadvanced brethren… We do not only meet to share each others' burdens, but topartake in each others' joys, and some men contribute largely to the stock ofmutual gladness. Hopeful men bring gladness with them. Despondent spiritsspread the infection of depression, and hence few are glad to see them, whilethose whose hopes are grounded upon God's word carry sunshine in their faces,and are welcomed by their fellows.’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:74, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"Your hands made me and fashioned me;

Give me understanding, that I may learn Yourcommandments."

 

You who crafted me are eminently qualified to rule mylife.  In fact, for me to haveunderstanding, You must!  I think ofPsalm 139:13, Psalm 139:24, how You, O Lord, are Master and Creator of thingsseen and unseen, from the ‛āśāh, and has the sense of accomplished orcompleted.  ‘Fashioned’ is כּוּן, kûn and has the senseof having established or prepared.  Thisleads me to Ephesians 2:10 and to pray, ‘Lord, You have created me for apurpose, help me to know what it is and how Your commandments enable me to liveout that purpose!’  Creation and newcreation, established, sustained, and growing by Your hand!  How can we truly live without the Source oflife at the center?

 

 

‘If God had roughly made us, and had not also elaboratelyfashioned us, this argument would lose much of its force; but surely from thedelicate art and marvellous skill which the Lord has shown in the formation ofthe human body, we may infer that he is prepared to take equal pains with thesoul till it shall perfectly bear his image.’

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:73, e-Swordedition

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(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am workingon from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’. Theintroduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"The law of Your mouth isbetter to me

Than thousands of gold and silverpieces."

 

If this is to be believed, I am set not only for life, butfor eternity.  See also Psalm 119:14,Psalm 119:162.  I think of the worldlyexhilaration of having a ‘pile of gold’. To many, the thought is winning the lottery (notwithstanding thewarnings against gaining wealth too quickly (e.g. Proverbs 20:21).  Imagine having access to a supreme king andall his resources.  I believe that is thesense here.  Note ‘law of Yourmouth’.  This is personal speech fromYou, Lord.  Incredible.  How can I not be attentive and receive allthat I can as You speak personally to me? With riches, I take it and do whatever I want in this world.  With Your word, I receive it deeply into mysoul and do what You desire, ultimate wisdom and prosperity.  We see the words of Your mouth also in Psalm119:13, Psalm 119:88.  In Psalm 33:6 wesee Your word created all things! (see also Hebrews 1:1-3)  In Psalm 138:4, all kings will give thanks toYou, having heard the words of Your mouth. 

 

‘…by his afflictions he learned God's statutes, an theprofit did so much counterbalance the loss, he was really a gainer by them; forGod's law, which he got acquaintance with by his affliction, was betterto him than all the gold and silver which he lost by hisaffliction. 1. David had but a little of the word of God in comparison withwhat we have, yet see how highly he valued it;… He had a great deal of gold andsilver in comparison with what we have, yet see how little he valued it. Hisriches increased, and yet he did not set his heart upon them, but upon the wordof God. That was better to him, yielded him better pleasures, and bettermaintenance, and a better inheritance, than all the treasures he was master of.’

 

‘Things written are as dried herbs; but speech has aliveliness and dew about it. We do well to look upon the word of the Lord asthough it were newly spoken into our ear; for in very truth it is not decayedby years, but is as forcible and sure as though newly uttered. Precepts areprized when it is seen that they come forth from the lips of our Father who isin heaven. The same lips which spoke us into existence have spoken the law bywhich we are to govern that existence… Wealth is good in some respects, butobedience is better in all respects… It is a sure sign of a heart which haslearned God's statutes when it prizes them above all earthly possessions; andit is an equally certain mark of grace when the precepts of Scripture are asprecious as its promises. The Lord cause us thus to prize the law of his mouth.

See how this portion of the Psalm is flavoured withgoodness. God's dealings are good (Psa 119:65), holy judgment is good (Psa119:66), affliction is good (Psa 119:67), God is good (Psa 119:68), and herethe law is not only good, but better than the best of treasure. Lord, make usgood through thy good word. Amen.’

Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Psalm 119:72, e-Swordedition

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:72, e-Swordedition

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