The Sage vs. the Fool in the Wisdom Psalms
The Sage vs. The Fool in the Wisdom Psalms.
The Sage: A person known for wisdom, understanding and discernment; for developing the practical art of living skillfully; for growing in moral intelligence; for being able to practice the truth in daily life; for expressing astute insight and shrewd street smarts; for applying knowledge to make thoughtful decisions and healthy choices; for knowing the difference between wise and foolish, right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, good and evil, true and false; for effectively demonstrating a practical spirituality; for choosing to live into Wisdom itself, the Person of Jesus the Anointed One.
The Fool According to Scripture: A person who doesn’t know what is best for himself; who doesn’t learn from mistakes; who is habitually rebellious; who does not consider the consequences of his behavior; who stubbornly remains unteachable; who is content with self-satisfied ignorance; who ignores counsel and discipline; who pridefully rejects a reverence for God; who has access to the truth but rejects it; who is impulsive and unable to control emotions; who is not concerned about moral blindness; who is unaware of his self-destructive lifestyle; who does not recognize the need to change his thinking and behavior; who is gullible, naïve and dim-witted.
“Blessed is the one who fears the Lord; holy fear is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalms 128:1 and 111:10).
Holy fear involves the raised hands of adoration; the knocking knees of apprehension; the bare feet of awe; the dry mouth of uncertainty; the quickened heartbeat of anticipation; the bowed head of reverence; the humbled spirit of devotion; the straight posture of respect; the closed mouth of deference; the open mind of discovery; the tender heart of gratitude; the open ears of full attention; and feet that are poised to obey the Lord.
Nine Songs. There were nine psalms in the Psalter that were grouped together into a category called the Wisdom Psalms. They were not intended for public worship or liturgy, but instead were intended for private devotions and moral/spiritual instruction. The Wisdom Psalms focused on themes surrounding wisdom such as contrasting the righteous vs. the wicked, and what constitutes the “blessed” life, a life that is flourishing and joyful and full of God’s favor. The Wisdom Psalms did not discuss things like the nation of Israel, Temple worship, or the story of salvation. Because these psalms centered on the Lord’s teachings, divine instructions, and the godly life spelled out in His Word, these psalms were also known as “Torah Psalms” in rabbinic circles. The wisdom format was used freely in these psalms as they discussed various principles of good decision-making, the righteous life, and how God has built a moral universe in which the righteous are ultimately rewarded and the wicked are held accountable and doomed to perish. In other words, we are asked to trust God as He repeatedly proclaims that it pays to be good and it doesn’t pay to be wicked, even if it looks like bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. According to these Wisdom Psalms, perhaps wisdom can be summed up in two words: Trust Me. The Wisdom Psalms cover much the same themes as the other Wisdom literature in Scripture, including Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs).
Psalm 1 = The anonymous composer of this introductory psalm proclaims that the fool is someone who walks, stands and sits in the company of evildoers. The scoffers are mentioned as the very worst of the fools, those who are completely given over to foolishness and wickedness. The “blessed” person in this psalm’s beatitude is one who delights in the Lord’s teachings and constantly meditates and deeply mulls over His Word. This psalm promises that this fortunate and joyful believer will flourish as he sinks roots into Scripture, that God’s wisdom will prove to be a tree of life. In the early church, “The man” in the very first verse was taken to mean, not just any person, but “The Man” Jesus, the model and fulfillment of wisdom in the flesh.
Psalm 14 = The author David used a Hebrew word for “fool” in the first verse that had a moral edge to it and actually means “scoundrel.” The truly foolish person is someone who deliberately chooses to reject God’s presence in the world, someone who is deciding through moral blindness to nurture a hard heart in the spiritual sense. To deny something so clearly self-evident as God’s existence is completely foolish, and appears to be the type of person who denies God because he does not want to know God, wants nothing to do with Him in his life, and won’t even bother to seek the truth about Him. The true fool is someone who could care less about things spiritual, and has developed a closed mind when it comes to even the possibility of God’s existence in His world.
Psalm 37 = This wisdom psalm once again composed by David has the tone of a parent advising a child, or a teacher instructing a student, or even the inner conversation of a believer in which one part of a person’s mind is reasoning with and praying for the other part. There is wise counsel throughout this psalm… Don’t worry if the wicked seem to prosper for a time, for God will make sure they get their just desserts at a later time; don’t get angry if justice seems late in coming to an evildoer, for justice will eventually be served; trust God’s character and purposes, live rightly, and you will be rewarded in due time; take pleasure in the Lord and wait on Him, and you will certainly delight in your own well-being; the success of the wicked is temporary, but so is the suffering of the righteous; be patient, wait for God’s deliverance, and in the meantime don’t be deceived by appearances.
Psalm 49 = The dominant theme in this psalm written by the sons of Korah is the pursuit of wisdom by thinking deeply about the truths of God’s universe and the nature of human life. Death awaits us all, the psalmist declares, and those who truly understand the meaning of life will not be so foolish as to substitute such short-sighted matters as wealth, honor and fame for the full meaning of life found in God’s everlasting purposes for all of us. This psalm is a meditation of mankind’s mortality and how to live in light of that fact. Wisdom is taking care to live into God’s eternal truths and not be distracted by mere temporary trivialities.
Psalm 73 = In true wisdom fashion, the psalmist Asaph, one of David’s choir directors, assumes God has created a moral universe, and so he ponders the age-old question of why an almighty God would create a world that contains such evil and injustice. The writer here is thinking out loud as he takes the reader through the thoughtful process of wondering about the prosperity of the evildoer; then he honestly acknowledges that he is tempted to follow the ways of the unrighteous because of the seeming pay-off; then he checks himself as he recognizes the evil of that temptation; he then chooses to faithfully enter into a deeper presence of God as he reflects on the reality of God’s justice; his next step in this process is to entrust his destiny into God’s perfectly righteous hands. The process then concludes at the end of the psalm with the wisdom he has gained as he praises God for being his Rock and Shelter.
Psalm 112 = According to this anonymous psalmist, wisdom is founded on reverent obedience to God, in other words, the fear of the Lord. The people who are blessed, who are fortunate to flourish in God’s favor, are those who greatly delight and take deep pleasure in His teachings and life instruction. Fear-of-the-Lord is a fascinating combination of reverence and awe, of gratitude and apprehension at God’s power, of fervent trust in Him and the dedication to serve God with deep respect and trusting obedience. Early church believers thought that this psalm’s description of the blessed person, the person who rightly feared the Lord, in fact anticipated and aptly described Jesus Christ himself, the One who, as the psalm says, was generous, just, merciful and righteous. Jesus the ultimate blessed person, filled with wisdom, perfectly willing to reverently obey His Father and do His will. The final verse follows the wisdom format by contrasting the blessed person with the wicked person, and the inevitable doom of the evildoer.
Psalm 119 = This psalm, probably composed by Ezra the priest-scribe, follows the wisdom tradition of beginning with the observation… “Blessed is the one who…” In this case, this standard opening line in wisdom literature is followed by ”… whose way is blameless, who walks in the Lord’s teaching.” This is by far the longest psalm in the Psaltery and the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses. It is an ode to God’s Word, the Torah, and proclaims that Scripture is the only source of truth, the only path to wisdom. Torah enjoys many synonyms in Ps. 119, including Law, Word, Way, Teachings, Precepts, Instruction, Decrees, Statutes, Commandments, Promises, and Judgments. Ezra makes it abundantly clear that only God’s Word enables a person to acquire true wisdom, and so His Word is the only gathering of words in the human language that are completely worthy of devotion and obedience.
Psalm 127 = In this wisdom psalm, the only one composed by Solomon, the opening words are once again, “Blessed is the one who…” Solomon advises the readers to trust in God’s sufficiency by asking for His help, whether in establishing a household, or in protecting your loved ones, or when simply strenuously working to earn your daily bread. The wise person allows God to give him rest when needed. Excluding God and His extraordinary ability to provide what you need is foolish and produces nothing but futility in one’s endeavors. A wise person recognizes the foolishness of the “self-made man.” A blessed person also recognizes children as supreme gifts from God and are a reward for faithfulness to the life-giving Lord. The blessed person is wise enough to joyfully receive God’s favor through family, and by steadfastly trusting in God’s grace and assistance.
Psalm 128 = King Hezekiah’s classic wisdom psalm begins with “Blessed is the one who reverently fears the Lord, and who walks in obedience to Him.” This psalm celebrates the simple joys of life and the rewarding favors of God in finding fulfillment in the home and in hard work… enjoying the fruit of one’s labor, finding pleasure in a happy marriage, delighting in a large group of flourishing children sitting around the family table, the hopeful prospect of enjoying one’s grandchildren, and being surrounded in peace within your faith community. Hezekiah totally ignores contemporary values such as worldly ambition, single-minded productivity, getting ahead, and the pursuit of wealth, power or fame. Wisdom asks each of us, it is wise to find fulfillment elsewhere, is it not? This wisdom psalm reveals the truth that our deepest meanings in life are discovered in these simple, homespun, and flesh-and-blood blessings from God. According to this psalm, life’s true pleasures don’t have to be more complicated than that.