Psalm 119:97-104 | #5 God's Word Gives Understanding
God's laws and words revealed in Scripture can give us understanding that transforms our outlook on life. See benefits of Scripture as shared in this text.
Involuntary Disobedience
The attendant at a movie theater was walking up and down the aisle between showings of the movie. While doing so, he noticed that in the back of the theater there was a man lying across three seats. The attendant told the man that he would need to sit up in one chair. The only answer that came from the man was a muffled groan; the man did not even turn around and look at the attendant.
The attendant went to get the manager. The manager approached the man who was still lying across the three seats in the back of the theater. “Sir, you cannot lie down in this theater; you must sit up or I will have to insist that you leave!”
The man responded to the manager the same way he had responded to the attendant. The manager warned the man once more, but the reaction was the same.
The frustrated manager returned to his office and called the police. A police officer arrived and spoke to the man who was lying across three seats in the back of the theater: “I understand there is a little problem here; I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave this theater. So, what do you have to say for yourself now?”
With great hesitation, the man slowly turned toward the police officer and groaned out an answer, “You don’t seem to understand at all; we have a big problem here: I fell from the balcony and can’t get up!”
I love God’s law greatly and think on it often!
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.
Citation: C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.
1) Having God’s commands always with me can make me wiser than my enemies.
First, consider that those who practice evil do not understand true judgement.
Evil people don’t understand God or His ways.
John Wesley captured that same truth in a different way. “Give me a worm that can understand a man,” he wrote, “and I will give you a man who can understand God.” And in Psalm 145:3, David said of God, “His greatness is unsearchable.”
Secondly, consider how God’s commands help us act wiser than enemies.
Evil people don’t understand God or His ways.
John Wesley captured that same truth in a different way. “Give me a worm that can understand a man,” he wrote, “and I will give you a man who can understand God.” And in Psalm 145:3, David said of God, “His greatness is unsearchable.”
2) Meditating on God’s testimonies can give me more understanding than my teachers.
I beg you, my dearest brother, to live among these [sacred books], to meditate on them, to know nothing else, to seek nothing else. Does not this seem to you to be a little bit of heaven here on earth?
Citation: St. Jerome, in one of his many letters to the church
Human beings grow by striving, working, stretching; and in a sense, human nature needs problems more than solutions. Why are not all prayers answered magically and instantly? Why must every convert travel the same tedious path of spiritual discipline? Because persistent prayer, and fasting, and study, and meditation are designed primarily for our sakes, not for God’s. Kierkegaard said that Christians reminded him of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than work them through...We yearn for shortcuts. But shortcuts usually lead away from growth, not toward it. Apply
3) Obeying God’s precepts can give me more understanding than the aged.
Status and age do not always equal wisdom.
4) Keeping God’s word is important enough for me to avoid evil ways.
It is the nature of sheep to stray and get in harm’s way, whether from hungry wolves or steep canyons. For centuries, shepherds have used various methods—from staff to dog—to keep sheep from straying from the safety of their care.
In recent times shepherds have tried more sophisticated methods. One is a metal, hoof-proof grid that is built into the ground around the sheep’s territory. The animals cannot walk over the grid, which is eight feet wide. This works well in keeping sheep in the protection of the pen.
But in 2006, shepherds in Yorkshire, England, found that their sheep were not only stubbornly prone to stray but also crafty. One of the sheep laid down and rolled over the grid. The other sheep in the herd followed the first, and soon the entire flock had spread over the countryside to neighborhood gardens, where they ate the food and flowers of local residents.
The shepherds eventually gathered up the troublesome sheep and returned them to their pen. But they escaped again and got into trouble. While the escape of this flock of “black” sheep may have seemed like an exciting adventure, it actually placed the animals in harm’s way from cars and unfriendly dogs.
5) Learning from God can teach me commitment to His judgments.
6) Enjoying God’s words ought to be normal for me.
Taste of Religion
Captured missionary to cannibals: “At least you get a taste of religion.”