For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Listen to the words of the wise and keep them close to your heart. How can you tell if the words you hear are wise? They will teach you trust and serve God. Memorize such sayings so that they will always come to mind when you need them.
When the psalmist wrote this I believe that he was thinking of Jerusalem, but for me this psalm is about the Kingdom of God, both as embodied by the Church today and as it will be in eternity. Let us praise God because of His greatness. The powers of this earth have and will join forces in an attempt to destroy the Church, but they will fail. They will gather their forces and strike out against God’s people, but just when they seem to be victorious God will strike them down. He will destroy those who conspire against Him and His people. Let us praise God for His glorious acts.
Not all sorrow is a bad thing and sometimes it is necessary to hurt someone’s feelings for their own good. When Paul first sent his letter calling the Corinthian Church to account, he regretted doing so. He felt bad because he knew that they would be hurt by some of the things he said. However, he realized that those things needed to be said. In the end he was glad that he had taken the risk because they listened to his words and repented of their sins. Yes, he hurt their feelings and made them sorrowful, but that hurt and that sorrow caused them to change their behaviors. As a result, both he and they experienced even greater joy.
We should not feel bad about causing people sorrow that leads them to repentance. And we should not be angry because someone confronts about our sins. One of the most important points to remember is that Paul did not confront the Church in Corinth to make himself bigger or more important. He confronted them because he could see that they were tearing themselves apart in their efforts to one up one another.
The theme continues. It is better to spend our time at funerals than at parties. Sorrow and sadness make us better people. The wise spend a fair amount of time thinking about death, while those who spend all of their time thinking about having a good time are fools. Let us not strive to constantly distract ourselves from things which cause us sorrow. God will use our sorrow and sadness to show us how we should change our lives to serve Him better.
It is better to be wise than foolish, but sometimes you have to things as they come and not fret about the consequences (but only sometimes). In time, we will all die (unless the Lord returns first), so we should enjoy life while we yet live. There is so much more in this passage, that I cannot bring it all out.