Psalm 119:161-168

Scripture:
Princes persecute me without cause, 
      but my heart stands in awe of your words. 
I rejoice at your word 
      like one who finds great spoil. 
I hate and abhor falsehood, 
      but I love your law. 
Seven times a day I praise you 
      for your righteous rules. 
Great peace have those who love your law; 
      nothing can make them stumble. 
I hope for your salvation, O LORD, 
      and I do your commandments. 
My soul keeps your testimonies; 
      I love them exceedingly. 
I keep your precepts and testimonies, 
      for all my ways are before you.  -Psalm 119:161-168, ESV

Cardinal on a frosty afternoon-Feb. 2014

Observation:
-God's words are a treasure that outshines everything else in life.  They are awe inspiring.
-God's word reveals the way of salvation
-One who loves the LORD will hate falsehood.
-God's rules are righteous.
-God's word brings peace.

Application:
There is no doubt in Psalm 119 what our view of God's word should be.  The outside world does not esteem it at all or at best picks and chooses what it deems of value.  For we who are Christians the Bible is the greatest treasure we can hold in our hands.  

This portion of Psalm 119 prompts several questions.  First, do we esteem God's word the way the psalmist did?  In the midst of persecution; of which I have never truly suffered- I have been ridiculed for my faith, yes, but not persecuted.  In the midst of persecution do our hearts stand in awe of God's word?  In other words, do we give God's word more credence than the voices of scoffers around us?  Who do we choose to listen to?

Do we rejoice in God's word?  Do we realize how great a treasure it is?  That requires an understanding of the nature of the One who gave us His word.  If we have a distorted view of God we will have a distorted view of His Word.  At the same time it is through Scripture that we learn of God- that we see Him as He truly is.  As we read through our Bibles we come to know Him as He was meant to be known, not through the lens of someone else, but in Scripture God Himself reveals His nature to us.  There is a danger in picking and choosing those parts of God's nature that we like- His love, His tender mercies...but we cannot miss that He is holy and just and righteous.  We cannot miss that He abhors sin and pours out wrath.  There are many dimensions to God that we miss if we limit ourselves to the current trends to focus only on His love.  Our pastor asked a very good question of us a couple of weeks ago.  What have we been saved from?  Often the answers we hear are from Satan, or from ourselves.  But a reading of Romans  rids us of those false ideas- we are saved from God's wrath.  When you learn of his righteous, holy, and just nature you cannot help but stand in awe that He sent His only Son to pay the penalty for our sin.  You cannot help but be brought to a greater appreciation for the incredible gift of His grace.

Do we hate falsehood?  There is a lot of false teaching creeping into our churches.  Do we let it in?  Do we let it distract us from the truth found only in God's word?  Are we so familiar with God's word that we are not even deceived?  It breaks my heart to see good people being led down paths that are the result of twisted doctrine.  There is no room for such things in our churches, and yet... If we were truly a people who loved God's word and abhored falsehood I think our churches would be very different places of worship. I love the conversation that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well; in particular John 4:20-26.  Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah.  But He also revealed the kind of people God the Father is seeking to be His true worshippers- people who worship in spirit and in truth.  Falsehood has absolutely no place in God's presence.  He does not tolerate it and neither should we.  Rather than bringing disunity to the body those who call out false teaching for what it is are actually unifying the body.  It is those who bring in the bad doctrine that stir up trouble in our churches, not those who point out their error and seek to keep our eyes focused on God's word as our only source of truth.  Sadly, in this day and age many leaders in the church are not protecting their flocks as they should and it is up to us to know God's word so well that we are not deceived; that we are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine. (Ephesians 4:14)

Do we have peace?  Those who love God's word have it because in walking according to God's ways they do not stumble.  If we are lacking peace perhaps it is time to do a little soul searching.  

Where is our hope?  Clearly our only hope is in Gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ than we need not fear that our salvation will be lost.  Our hope is not in being a good person-we can never be good enough.  Our hope is not in making sure that we do all of the right things- we will fail as surely as the Jews under the Law.  Our only hope is in Jesus-the power of His death and resurrection-for only in HIm do we enjoy peace with God and the hope of heaven.

Finally, do we love and obey this book God has given us?  Do you want to know what a fruitful life looks like?  Read God's word and do what it says.  It will certainly keep us well occupied with the time we have left as His servants on this earth.

Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Deb