“Oh, how I love your law! I think about it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for your commands are my constant guide.”
“Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your decrees. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. I have refused to walk on any path of evil, that I may remain obedient to your word. I haven’t turned away from your laws, for you have taught me well.”
“How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.” Psalm 119:98-104, NLT
At first glance at this passage we think, wow, he is pretty proud of himself, but then we meditate and we go deeper to find that he is expressing the righteous love of God and His Word that guides him through all his own experiences and circumstances that have made him “wiser than his teachers” because of that personal journey. As teachers we cannot have the same experiences as our students we can only teach what the Word says and instill the love of relying on that Word to guide all of us through life.
“O how love I Your law!” It is a note of exclamation. He loves so much that he must express his love, and in making the attempt he perceives that it is inexpressible – and therefore cries, “O how I love!” We not only reverence but love the law, we obey it out of love, and even when it chides us for disobedience we love it none the less.
The law is God’s law, and therefore it is our love. We love it for its holiness, and pine to be holy; we love it for its wisdom, and study to be wise; we love it for its perfection, and long to be perfect. Those who know the power of the gospel perceive an infinite loveliness in the law as they see it fulfilled and embodied in Christ Jesus. “It is my meditation all the day.”
The commands were his book, but God was his teacher. The letter can make us knowing, but only the divine Spirit can make us wise. Wisdom is knowledge put to practical use. Wisdom comes to us through obedience.
“If we keep the wise law ever near us we shall become wise, and when our adversaries assail us we shall be prepared for them with that ready wit which lies in having the word of God at our fingers’ ends. As a soldier in battle must never lay aside his shield, so must we never have the word of God out of our minds; it must be ever with us.” (Gill’s Commentary)
“What we love, we love to think of. All true wisdom is from God. A good man carries his Bible with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart. By meditation on God’s testimonies we understand more than our teachers, when we understand our own hearts.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary)
Dear Heavenly Father, Oh, how I love Your Word for it tells me of You. It also tells me of me and the wisdom I need to continue to long for and develop within my soul. Your Word, with Your Holy Spirit, takes a long deep look into my heart. Cleanse me. Make me holy. Thank you, dear Lord for your mercy and grace in this meditation of cleansing that lifts us up to You. You are more than enough for me.
In Jesus Name, Amen
