the rejoicing wisdom of God

"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was... Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men."

Proverbs 8:22-23, 30-31

When I wish to exult in God as Creator, I turn to two passages of Scripture. One is Job 38-41. The other is Proverbs 8. It is Wisdom who speaks in this passage, personified as a woman who remembers the days of Creation and fairly sings forth the joy of them.

In the Bible wisdom is not just a matter of making good decisions. "Wisdom" also means skill, creativity, the understanding to make a thing that is beautiful, and good, and useful. So often we go through life without recognizing the creative wisdom of God, this attribute of His which fills the world--our world, for wisdom's greatest delights are with the sons of men--with joy.

The wisdom that builds mathematical properties and sound waves. The wisdom that enables a man to understand these things, to string a bow or a harp or a fiddle, and then to pour out music as emotion and artistry. The wisdom that plays with light, varying a single colour a thousand times, giving us depth and texture and indescribable beauty. The wisdom that creates a human face, with its telling eyes, its sweet smiles, its unique lines. The wisdom that imagined taste and perfected it, giving us all good things to eat with joy and gratitude.

This is the wisdom of God.

I see His wisdom in the way a child is formed in the womb. I see it in the human capacity for language: in all the many tongues spoken by man, in their tones, their rhythms, their vocabularies and sounds. I see it in gravity and the laws of physics which hold us here, suspended in space, following a carefully choreographed dance with the heavenly bodies all around us.

I see it in salvation. In the truly, truly good way God has reached down in love to take up those who have been so long blind to Him. In the way He opens our eyes and teaches us to love Him. In Christ.

The wisdom of God is everywhere. Where do you see it?