Psalm 119: Focus On God's Word Pt. 46 Delight In The Word Brings Great Benefits.

Psalm 119:9-15  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10)  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11)  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12)  Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13)  With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14)  I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15)  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 

Delighting in God's holy statutes.

Psalm 119:16  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 

We are wrapping up the second eight verse segment of Psalm 119 by learning about what it means to delight in the statutes of God. 

The word "delight" in this text literally means to have your eyes smeared over and blinded with the sweetness of our God. 

We saw some very practical ways of delighting in scripture as we read it, hear it, speak of is to others, and in thinking about it. 

Delight in the scriptures should carry over into our everyday life. What chores we complete, what vocational pursuits we engage in, what subjects we learn or what places we go, should find our thoughts filled with delight over what God says in the Bible. 

Delight in the Word brings freshness to the Lord's Day. 

Isaiah 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 

Delight in our soul should be especially prevalent in our heart and soul on the Lord's day. When Isaiah prophesied, the Israelites did their own thing on the Sabbath day, much like American Christians do today. 

They failed to sanctify this day of worshiping Jehovah and failed to keep it a holy day. They profaned it by participating in secular activities. They sought their own pleasure and walked their own ways instead of seeking the ways of God. 

American Christians must wake up to the realization that Christians observe the Lord's Day on Sunday. It is a holy day, established by God so that we might have one day in seven to rest and reflect on His goodness and gracious provision for our lives. 

We too, are to sanctify God by setting apart this day, keeping it holy, not pursuing the things that our fleshly lust craves. 

We delight in the Word because we have love and respect for the Author of the Word. The written Word is God's self revelation to teach us about Himself, about the cosmos and our place in it and how we can be rightly related to God. 

As such, the Old and New Testaments are a witness to the heart of God for His people. It is a heart of love as He wants what is best for us. 

That which is best for us is perfectly known by God for our whole being is corrupted by the fall. We have plenty of things that we believe would be best for us, but our desires are twisted. 

Therefore, God reveals His will and mind in His Word, so that we can choose that which pleases Him and benefits us. 

Hosea 8:12  I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. 

Israel repeatedly turned away from God and listened to other voices. They fell into idolatry time and time again. Hosea prophesied for Jehovah to this people and God specifically said that He wrote great things for them in His law, but they viewed it as strange and detestable. 

May we be those who view all the Bible as God's love letter to us, and may we find great delight in His Word.

Delight in the Word gives us light and direction. 

2 Peter 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 

Peter declared what he knew to be true about scripture. It is a sure word from God that will not change. It shines the light of Divine truth, so that those of us living in this present evil world can see how to walk in a manner that honors God. 

Psalm 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 

Later in our study we will come to this eight verse section, but most Christians know this verse well. Scripture is a lamp for our feet, so that as we walk in a very dark and wicked world, we can see where to safely step with our feet. We can see ahead where the path is that God is leading us on.

Delight in the Word quickens us when we are overwhelmed.  

Psalm 119:50  This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

Affliction will come our way. A born again believer is swimming against the evil current of the culture. We were living in the Devil's domain and doing his evil bidding before Christ pulled us out of darkness and places us in His kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12-14). 

Now that we are believers in Christ, the Devil is our great enemy, He hates the children of God and will do all that he can to make our lives miserable. 

Where can we find relief from troubles and afflictions. Where can we seek comfort from the world's misery? 

God's answer is for us to look in His Word. His Word comforts us, and gives us hope, It renews our minds and revives our spirits when we are weary and worn out. 

Delight in the Word turns us away from worldly things. 

Psalm 37:3-5  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  4)  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  5)  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Put your trust in Jehovah and you will be blessed. Take delight in Jehovah and rich joy in the things of God for He will change our mind so that we seek those good, heavenly things. We commit our ways to Jehovah as we trust Him and he will work all things out for our good and His glory.

1 John 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

This is another way of looking at this truth. We are commanded not to love the world. Our flesh wants to love the world and experience all the lustful things promoted in the culture. 

God knows that loving the things of the world is bad for us, that it will hinder our spiritual progress. Therefore, He warns us to avoid loving and pursuing the things of the world. Instead, seek those things which are above (Colossians 3:1-3).  

Delight in the Word brings us to exuberant rejoicing.

Psalm 5:11  But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Placing our trust in the One, True God of Heaven, Who alone can save us, will fill our hearts with rejoicing. We should shout out our praises because Jehovah is our mighty defender. He keeps us safe in His hands. He will bring us safely to Himself no matter what the world does to us. 

Psalm 119:162  I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

The Psalmist's great source of delight is the sacred scriptures given to us by God. He values it far more than all the riches of this world. Without the Word of God, we would not know about Creation, the Fall, or God's plan to save us from our sins. 

Without scripture, we would not know God, what He is like, what He does, what He promises for us, or what His heart for us is like. 

Philippians 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

The words "rejoice" or "joy" are found about 350 times in the Bible. It refers to an exultant, exuberant display of joy. 

Paul wrote to the Philippians as he languished in a Roman prison, awaiting trial. Yet, he frequently spoke of rejoicing in his letter to those believers. 

All those who trust or exercise repentant faith in Jesus Christ, should be those who loudly and joyfully express praises to Jehovah. 

Delight in the Word helps us become a spiritually minded people. 

Romans 8:5,6  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6)  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Romans eight is the great chapter where Paul begins teaching about the indwelling Spirit of God and what this means to each believer. 

Unbelievers love the world and commit sins in order to satisfy their fleshly lust. Why? Because they are carnally minded, which means they live under the condemnation and wrath of God.

Believers have the great blessing of the indwelling Spirit of God. He is given to each believer in part, so that we might seek the things of God and shun the things of the world. 

We "mind" the things of the Holy Spirit. This means we direct our thoughts, energy and focus to the things of God. 

We think about God and heavenly things, We strive to know them better and we delight in what awaits us in heaven, through faith in Christ.

We become spiritually minded, seeing the world through the lens of scripture and from the vantage point of Holy God. 

This heavenly perspective helps us see why we avoid the world and diligently seek out the things of God.  

Thoughts to Ponder...

Allow delight in the Word to strengthen our soul, so that when we share scripture with someone, and they react with hostility, we remember that those whose actions are evil, hate the light (John 3:20). 

May we take such delight in the Word that we allow it to dwell in our hearts abundantly and richly, so that we might be good witnesses for Christ, worshippers in Spirit and in truth, those who have rejoicing hearts (Colossians 3:16). 

May our Lord Jesus Christ help us remember, heed and attend to His Word (Proverbs 4:21).

May He strengthen our inner man as we seek those things which are above and as we set our affection, heart and mind upon them (Colossians 3:1-2). 

May the Lord Jesus cement these truths in our heart so that we never forget what He teaches us.

Bob