Psalm 119: God's Word on Display. Pt. 7.

Good Morning to all of our Readers!

Psalm 119:97 O how love I thy law! It is my mediation all the day.

Loving God's law and by extension loving all of His word changed the way that the Psalmist thought about things. He experienced some strong feelings against certain behaviors because of his exposure to the law of God and his growing love for it. 

He has learned to see things from God's perspective and because of having his mind renewed, he loves what God loves and hates what God hates. 

Love of the Law leads to hating foolish thoughts

Psalms 119:113  I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

The Psalmist has a just hatred of that which is evil and of those who hate God. It is a righteous indignation stemming from his love of the law of God. He developed a righteous indignation against the enemies of God. 

Psalms 139:21-22 ²¹    Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? ²²    I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

“Vain thoughts” is from a word indicating double-mindedness or vanity of thought. It indicates a person who engages in double-think which is a process of illogical and perverse thinking that distorts and reverses the truth of God.

In business terms it might be called “paralysis by analysis” which is looking at too much data and being unable to make a strategic decision because of over thinking. The obvious solution is ignored or not acted on for fear of making a mistake.

A Biblical example of paralysis by analysis is when the prophet Elijah challenged the 400 prophets of Baal. Israel had fallen into wicked idolatry and Elijah stood alone on the side of Jehovah. 

He allowed the pagan priests to prepare their sacrifices and engage in futile antics as they cut themselves up with knives. Baal did not hear them and Elijah mocked them by saying "Perhaps he is asleep."  1 Kings 18:27

Then the prophet of God carefully rebuilt the altar of Jehovah and dug trenches around it. He had water poured on the sacrifice until it would be impossible to burn it by ordinary means. 

Elijah was done presenting his case for Jehovah. The people stood by as if paralyzed and he strongly admonished them to get off the fence. Then after he called on them to quit vacillating between two opinions he called upon Jehovah and fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice and evaporated the water. 

1 Kings 18:21  And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

"Group-think” is when business people go with the prevailing flow instead of staying committed to truthful principles. People will often drop their own views and adopt the group's position so that they are seen as a team player. Again, optimal decisions based on sound thinking are disregarded as illogical thinking takes over.

In Biblical terms this is like being conformed to the world's way of doing things instead of being conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 12:1-2)

Love of the Law leads to avoiding faith that wavers

James 1:4-8  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. ⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. ⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. ⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Unstable is a word that means inconsistent, restless in addition to unstable.

Love of the Law leads to detesting lies

Psalms 119:163  I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.

A hatred of lying came into the Psalmist from his love for the pure moral righteousness expressed in the holy law of God. The texts below are a few examples of how God views lying and are reason enough for us to shun this sin. 

Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Lying against neighbors is a vicious sin because it impacts those who live close to you in mutual safety. Lying in this case could be repeating gossip or a rumor about a neighbor that is hearsay. If we do not know for certain that something is true then we should allow our teeth to keep our tongues in place. 

In fact, gossip is just as bad when we repeat something that may even be true because it impacts the person we are speaking about. In this age where everyone has a valid and equal platform to opine about someone the Christian should be quiet and unwilling to repeat gospel. 

Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

A false witness encompasses a wide variety of possibilities generally within a legal setting. Those who lead a formal inquiry may knowingly withhold exculpatory information because it would damage the narrative that they are trying to spin. 

Some people lie under oath. Lying seems to have become a key strategy in American politics and I hope that voters in local and state races begin to select men and women who have real integrity.

Love of the Law leads to peace within

Psalms 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

The Psalmist enjoyed exceeding peace and tranquility in his heart because of loving the law of God. The law helped him live right before God. Those who choose to live this way will avoid offense. The word “offend” is from a word that means any enticement to go astray or a stumbling block. 

He is essentially stating that there is no enticement that can pull his heart toward that which is sinful or that could cause him to go astray because of his love for the law of God overrides such impulses.

Psalms 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Psalms 85:8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Points to Ponder....

• How am I thinking today? A love of God's word will cause me to flee the foolish thinking and pointless pontificating that the world is pandering. 

• How is my faith today? A love for God's word will cause my faith to be strong and unwavering.

• How is my  integrity today? A love for the Word of God will cause me to shun lying in all its forms.

• How is my disposition today? A love of God's word will bring peace flooding into my soul.

As we explore the emotional connection of the Psalmist to the scriptures we cannot help but see how many ways that this changes how he thinks and how it governs his life. Too often we can become caught up in things of the world that are of little consequence and become reactionary to all that happens around us. 

Jehovah gave us sure promises and immutable truth to live by. His Word is the lifeblood for our new life in Christ. We need it in order to live and function as born again children of God. He will guide us with it when the way is uncertain, He will shape us by its transforming power and keep every precious promise. 

Bob