Loving the Word – Ps 119:1-56
Psalm 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I have loved.
Psalm 119 contains 176 verses, the majority of which speak about God’s Word in some way. Various terms are used for God’s Word: law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, etc.
This Psalm helps us to think about the role of God’s Word in the life of a believer. The Bible Knowledge Commentary summaries the first 7 sections like this:
- Blessings of obedience (v.1-8)
- Cleansing by God’s Word (v.9-16)
- Appreciation of God’s Word (v.17-24)
- Prayer for understanding (v.25-32)
- Loyalty to God’s Word (v.33-40)
- Salvation through God’s Word (v.41-48)
- Hope from God’s Word (v.49-56)
Just a few nuggets to wet your appetite for this incredible Psalm:
- v.2 Do we seek the Lord with our whole heart by keeping His testimonies?
- v.10 Like us, the Psalmist was trying to seek the Lord and prayed that God would help him not wander from God’s commandments.
- v.15-16 He determines to meditate on God’s Word and to delight in it.
- v.20 His longing for God’s Word was so strong it was like the breaking of his soul.
- v.22-24 When people spoke against him, he took refuge in thinking about God’s Word.
- v.28 When he felt weak, he found strength in God’s Word.
- v.36 He wanted to desire God’s Word not covetousness.
- v.47-48 He loved God’s Word.
There is no experience, emotion, or time in our life when God’s Word does not have something to offer us. To spend time with it, to think about it, to love it is to spend time with God, to think about God, and to love God! A strange as it may seem, to have a close relationship with God’s Word is to have a close relationship with God himself! May we love, long for, meditate on and obey God’s Word! It is our life!