“Good Understanding”

[Psalm 111]

Last night, while reading the Bible from John chapter 11 through chapter 13, my eyes stopped at John 13:2: “And during supper, the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Jesus.” Then, as I continued reading, I came across another passage about Judas Iscariot in John 13:27: “Then after he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’” Meditating on these two verses, I realized that Judas did not engage in spiritual battle in the realm of his thoughts. Instead, he was deceived by Satan, allowing the thought of betraying Jesus to enter and grow in his heart until eventually Satan entered him, and he became the one who betrayed Jesus.

Why do you think Judas moved from the thought of betraying Jesus to actually acting on it? I found the cause in John 12:4-6: “But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to steal what was put into it.”

In John 12:4-6, we see that when Mary, at the house of Lazarus in Bethany, took a very expensive perfume—a pound of pure nard—and poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair (v.3), Judas said to Mary, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (v.5). The reason Judas said this was not because he thought about the poor, but simply because he was thinking about money. He was a thief, entrusted with the money box and used to stealing from what was put into it (v.6). In other words, Judas was a lover of money.

As a result, as seen in John 13:2, the devil put the thought of betraying Jesus into Judas’ heart. That is, to the money-loving Judas, the devil planted the idea of betraying Jesus. And this thought grew until Satan entered Judas (13:27), and Judas ultimately sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests (Matthew 26:15, 26:46-50).

Meditating on this, I was reminded of James 1:15: “Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Ultimately, Judas loved money—the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10)—and when the devil put the thought of betraying Jesus in his heart, he received it defenselessly and was deceived, so the sin of thought matured and bore the fruit of sin. Reflecting on Judas’ life and death—like a tree with a bitter root bearing rotten fruit—I was reminded once again of the importance of the battle of the mind. When the devil puts bad or sinful thoughts into me, I confirmed again that I have the responsibility to fight and overcome with good thoughts.

To do this, we must meditate on God’s word day and night. In doing so, we must receive understanding through God’s word. What is this “understanding”? According to James Pecker’s book God’s Guidance, understanding means comprehending how to live in obedience to God’s revelation. Wisdom is, above all, understanding (Pecker). Furthermore, wisdom includes carefully acting on what one has understood (Pecker). In today’s passage, this is called “good understanding” (Psalm 111:10).

Today, focusing on verse 10 of Psalm 111 under the title “Good Understanding,” I want to reflect on how we can truly obtain good understanding and receive the grace God gives us.

How can we truly obtain good understanding?

The answer can be found in Psalm 111:10:
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who follow his commandments have good understanding. Praise the LORD!"

The Bible tells us that to gain good understanding, we must keep “the commandments,” that is, God’s commandments.

Then, what are the commandments mentioned here?
They are to fear God (verse 10).

But what exactly does it mean to fear God?
I used to mainly think that fearing God meant “to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13).
Of course, I do not think my understanding was wrong, because the Bible says so.

However, while reading James Packer’s book Knowing God, I realized there was more I didn’t understand about fearing God.
Packer says, “Fear is not related to terror or fright. Fear means reverence.”
He further explains, “To fear God means to look up in awe at His greatness, while simultaneously obeying Him actively and having an attitude that desires to please Him.”

As I read this, I realized that fearing God not only means obeying His Word and hating evil, but also means praising and worshiping the Lord’s exalted and great nature.

Then, how can we truly praise and worship the Lord’s exalted and great nature?
I found three answers to this question in today’s passage.
I pray that by learning and practicing these three biblical principles, you and I will be able to praise and worship the Lord’s greatness and thereby obtain good understanding.

First, in order to praise and worship the Lord’s exalted and great nature, we all must study the works of the Lord.

Look at Psalm 111:2:
"Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them."

The “works of the LORD” here specifically refer to God sending the ten plagues on Egypt through Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt (verse 4), providing manna, quail, and water in the wilderness (verse 5), and giving the promised land of Canaan as an inheritance (verse 6).

These “works of the LORD” refer to the “redemption” God gave to the people of Israel (verse 9).

Why does the psalmist say that those who delight in the great and mighty acts of God shown to Israel during the Exodus study them?
Because by knowing more about the saving acts God performed in the past, they can believe that God’s saving righteousness will endure forever in the present and future (verse 3) (according to commentator Park Yoon Sun).

In short, the reason we carefully study God’s works is for our faith and assurance—specifically, the assurance and faith of salvation.

We need to study the history of God’s salvation recorded in the Bible in order to have faith and assurance that the God who accomplished the work of salvation in the past will also save us from the trials and difficulties we face today.

Among those histories of salvation, one I personally like is the story of Joseph. God delivered Joseph from his brothers, from Potiphar and his wife, and also from prison, so that in the end God sent Joseph ahead to save all the lives of Jacob’s family (Genesis 45:5).

Therefore, God made the Israelites prosper in Egypt, and about 400 years later, through Moses, He delivered all the Israelites and led them to the promised land of Canaan.

The history of salvation revealed in Joseph’s life points to Jesus, the true Joseph, who saves you and me through His life and death and leads us to the promised land of heaven.

Therefore, even if we face various injustices and crises like Joseph, we can have faith and assurance that God will surely save us and work everything together for good.

For this faith and assurance in salvation, we must study carefully and diligently the history of God’s salvation as shown in the Bible.

Therefore, in understanding this, we must praise and worship the exalted and great nature of the Lord.

Second, in order to praise and worship the Lord’s exalted and great nature, we must all remember the works of the Lord.

Look at Psalm 111:4:
“He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.”

The gracious and compassionate God caused the people of Israel, at the time of the psalmist, to remember the history of salvation He performed for them in the past, during the Exodus.

What was the purpose?
The purpose was to reveal that God is faithful, for He remembers the covenant He made with Israel (verse 5), establishes it (verse 9), and ultimately fulfills that covenant.

Our God is the God who makes us remember the saving acts, those wonderful deeds He has done in our lives.

Therefore, no matter what trials and difficulties we face in life today, by making us remember the past history of salvation, God gives us faith and assurance to believe that He will also save us in the present hardships.

Therefore, we can sing hymn 40, verse 4:
“When my Lord Jesus returns to the world, He will lead me to heaven; I will humbly bow down and worship and praise Him forever.”

Our Lord, who faithfully fulfills the covenant with us, has already begun the good work of salvation in us, and at the moment Jesus Christ returns, He will complete our salvation, so that we may ascend to the Lord’s temple and praise and worship His exalted and great nature forever.

Finally, third, to praise and worship the Lord’s exalted and great nature, we all must delight in the works of the Lord.

Look at Psalm 111:2:
“Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

The great work the Lord performed for the Israelites during the Exodus was “redemption.”

Here, “redemption” means that just as God commanded the Israelites to put the lamb’s blood on their doorposts during the tenth plague to save them from Egypt, God has redeemed you and me by the precious blood of Jesus and granted us the grace of salvation.

Look at 1 Peter 1:18-19:
“For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Therefore, we can praise by singing Hymn 410:
“Ah, by God’s grace, why does He redeem a worthless one like me? I cannot understand” (verse 1).

The reason is that we have “the joy of the Lord’s salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

We should rejoice in the great (Psalm 111:2), honorable, and majestic (verse 3) history of salvation that God has performed.

And with the joy of the Lord’s salvation, we must offer God praise and worship.

I pray that you and I may live a life that fears God, which is God’s commandment—that is, a life that praises and worships the Lord’s exalted and great nature—so that we may obtain good understanding and give glory to God.

“My soul praises the height and greatness of the Lord,
my soul praises the height and greatness of the Lord”
(Chorus of Hymn 40).

Shared by Pastor James
(Remembering throughout my life the great history of salvation the Lord has performed)