How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
--Psalm 119:103-104 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on July 15, 2013 of Psalm 119:97-104; Colossians 4:2-18; 1 Chronicles 21-22.
The psalmist continues with his praise of God and his burning desire to better understand and follow God's laws in the 13th stanza of the 119th Psalm, associated with the Hebrew letter Mem. Here he gives some very valid reasons why we should heed God's voice, because doing so will lead us both to wisdom and to greater purity. He opens the stanza by noting that by meditating on God's word daily, he becomes wiser than his enemies who are always besetting him, implying that he is able to resist them because of this greater wisdom. And his devotion to studying God's law gives him a better understanding than even his teachers, so the student can surpass the teacher by devoted study.
But gained wisdom is only one half of the equation. The other half is an increase in purity. While the former dealt with perhaps more mental or passive aspects of life, the latter involves more physical and active attributes that result in spiritual gain. Because of his longing to more closely follow God's law, the psalmist is highly motivated to stay on the right (and righteous) path, to avoid straying in his walk through life, to direct his feet away from evil. He holds tight to the true meaning and purpose behind God's judgments. All these strong action words describe his spiritual journey that lead him toward purity.
The word of God is so sweet to the psalmist, so very desirable, that it makes him hate any way other than God's, any false path that may leave a sour taste in his mouth. What is sweeter to the believer than the name of Jesus? Far sweeter than the finest honey tastes in our mouths is the Word of God made flesh and bone. Once we receive Jesus as our Lord and Master, our love for Him makes us want to more closely follow the way He led, and God's Holy Spirit filling us helps us avoid straying from this path. As we daily study our Holy Bible and pray and build a closer and deeper relationship with Christ Jesus, we begin to understand what truly matters in this life. We become wiser. Our ability to withstand the attacks of our real enemy increases, giving us more strength to resist Satan, who is always at our side whispering in our ear to turn aside. And the more we dwell on Jesus, the more righteous we appear in God's sight. It all begins with the Word of God, Jesus our Lord, far sweeter than honey. Taste and believe. Amen.
Dearest Lord Jesus, please help us to more closely follow the path You laid out for us, the example You set. O Word of God, may we always keep You close in our hearts and our thoughts, that we might not stray. By heeding Your voice, our Christ and Savior, we can gain wisdom in this world and purity in our Father's eyes. Thank You, Father God, for giving Your Word to the world when we were lost in sin, that He might show us the way to salvation. In the sweetest name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
But gained wisdom is only one half of the equation. The other half is an increase in purity. While the former dealt with perhaps more mental or passive aspects of life, the latter involves more physical and active attributes that result in spiritual gain. Because of his longing to more closely follow God's law, the psalmist is highly motivated to stay on the right (and righteous) path, to avoid straying in his walk through life, to direct his feet away from evil. He holds tight to the true meaning and purpose behind God's judgments. All these strong action words describe his spiritual journey that lead him toward purity.
The word of God is so sweet to the psalmist, so very desirable, that it makes him hate any way other than God's, any false path that may leave a sour taste in his mouth. What is sweeter to the believer than the name of Jesus? Far sweeter than the finest honey tastes in our mouths is the Word of God made flesh and bone. Once we receive Jesus as our Lord and Master, our love for Him makes us want to more closely follow the way He led, and God's Holy Spirit filling us helps us avoid straying from this path. As we daily study our Holy Bible and pray and build a closer and deeper relationship with Christ Jesus, we begin to understand what truly matters in this life. We become wiser. Our ability to withstand the attacks of our real enemy increases, giving us more strength to resist Satan, who is always at our side whispering in our ear to turn aside. And the more we dwell on Jesus, the more righteous we appear in God's sight. It all begins with the Word of God, Jesus our Lord, far sweeter than honey. Taste and believe. Amen.
Dearest Lord Jesus, please help us to more closely follow the path You laid out for us, the example You set. O Word of God, may we always keep You close in our hearts and our thoughts, that we might not stray. By heeding Your voice, our Christ and Savior, we can gain wisdom in this world and purity in our Father's eyes. Thank You, Father God, for giving Your Word to the world when we were lost in sin, that He might show us the way to salvation. In the sweetest name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
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