Greetings beloved,
Today let’s glean into the psalmist’s view in God’s word:
How sweet is Your word to my taste!
Psalm 119:103
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
We see the psalmist metaphorically comparing the word of God to honey, stating that even the sweetness of honey cannot compare to the sweetness of God’s word to his mouth.
The psalmist spends a good portion of verses in this 119th chapter talking about the word of God. In this particular section, he highlights certain attributes of the word of God that lead him to this metaphor.
Here are some of the attributes the psalmist mentions leading to this conclusion:
1. Meditation
The psalmist says he loves the word of God so much that he meditates on it all day.
This shows how captivating he finds the law of God to the point where he can declare his affection for it as well as the time he spends thinking and musing about it.
Oh how I love Your law!
Psalm 119:97
It is my meditation all the day.
Do we find the word of God this captivating in our lives to the point that we meditate on it day and night?
2. Wisdom
This has to do with the ability to use knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of life and its meaning.
The psalmist says the word of God makes him wise. In other words, it gives him wisdom. He qualifies the kind of wisdom he has obtained from the word of God, saying it makes him wiser than his enemies. This means that in dealing with the hardships of life brought about by his enemies, the psalmist leans on the word of God and not merely on his flesh.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
Psalm 119:98
For they are mine forever.
How do we deal with our enemies? Do we run to the word of God to find wisdom on how to deal with the ups and downs of life?
3. Insight
Insight here refers to the ability to see and understand something clearly, often using intuition to gain a bigger picture.
The psalmist looks at life and, by the aid of the word of God, he can make sense of it all. The word of God leads him to understand the sovereignty of God (Psalm 115:3), the holiness of God (Psalm 22:3), and his own fallen nature, recognizing his constant need for a savior (Psalm 51:4).
I have more insight than all my teachers,
Psalm 119:99-100
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I perceive more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
What kind of insight have you gained from your meditation on the word of God? Does this insight bring you back to want to obey God, “to walk in a manner worthy of God, to please Him in all respects”? (Colossians 1:10)
4. Restraint
After meditating on the law of God, finding wisdom in the law of God, and gaining insight from the word of God, the psalmist says he restrains himself from evil.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
Psalm 119:101-102
That I may keep Your word.
I have not turned aside from Your judgments,
For You Yourself have taught me.
Notice how the purpose of his choice to restrain himself is not simply out of a fear of going down to the pit, nor to gain some wealth or prosperity in life. Rather, the reason the psalmist gives for restraining himself is to keep the law of God.
This is akin to what Paul says to the Philippians, to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, with a reminder that it is God Himself working in them to will and to work for His own good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
Do we exercise self-control in our lives? Is the result of our gaining insight and wisdom from the word of God the ability to exercise restraint against evil?
Finally, the psalmist leads us to our focus verse. From these many attributes of the word of God, the psalmist concludes in this short section of this acrostic that the word of God is sweeter than honey to him.
Here’s a quick run-through of these attributes:
- Meditation: We should love the law of God to the point of desiring to meditate on it day and night.
- Wisdom: The word of God gives us wisdom on how to navigate our everyday lives.
- Insight: Our worldview should be entirely based on what the word of God says.
- Restraint: Immersing ourselves in the word of God should result in the ability to exercise restraint against sin and a desire to please God in everything.
I pray this word brings us closer to sharing the psalmist’s view of God’s word.
With love,
Paul
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