"I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble."
Psalm 119:162-165
When human beings defy God’s directions for living, becoming ‘a law to themselves’, violence is unleashed and justice is perverted. In contrast, today’s passage begins and ends with this declaration: ‘I have not forgotten your law [commands]’ (vv. 153, 176). Between these bookends of remembrance lie confident affirmations about the blessings of hearing, honoring, and humbly obeying God’s law: peace (v. 165), understanding (v. 169), deliverance (v. 170), help (v. 173), delight (v. 174), and divine sustenance (v. 175).
Somehow, we tend to see laws – not just oppressive ones but even good laws – as restrictive and limiting, and such a perception warps our view of God’s law. The psalmist, however, loves God’s law and considers it lovely: it is given to preserve his life (vv. 154, 156, 159), not to spoil his fun. It is not a fence that hems him in but one that protects and safeguards peace (v. 165), not a burden to rebel against but a blessing to rejoice in (v. 162), not a drag but a delight (v. 174)! Yet, despite asserting how much he ‘loves’ God’s law (vv. 159, 163, 167), the psalmist closes with humble confession. Delving deep into God’s Word has made him keenly aware of his tendency to stray. Even in his lostness, however, it is this law that he has ‘not forgotten’ that nudges him back on track – like a goad or shepherd’s crook! – prompting a plea, ‘Seek your servant’ (v. 176).
APPLY
‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’ What words from God’s Word will you carry into and throughout the year ahead?
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord God, thank you that your Son came to fulfill the law and make it possible for me to please you. Thank you for your Word that teaches me how to walk with you and for the joy-filled contentment that you give me as I learn and apply it.
(edited from Encounter with God)