A Love For God's Law

I want to tell you about a man named William Harrison. He was a General in World War 2. He has numerous medals including the Silver Cross, The Silver and Bronze star of valor, and the Purple Heart for getting wounded in battle. General Harrison also served in the United Nations Command as Chief of Staff during the Korean War and was President Eisenhower’s top choice to head up negotiations ending the war. Even after all of these amazing accomplishments by General Harrison, his greatest accomplishment was his devotion to God’s Word. At the age of 20 when he was just beginning his army training, he set out to read the Old Testament once a year and the New Testament 4 times a year. He kept this routine going until the end of his life. Even when he was fighting in the war, he found time to read his Bible. At the age of 90, when his eyesight faded and he could no longer read, he had read the Old Testament 70 times and the New Testament 280 times! We can take away 3 things from General Harrison’s story. Number 1 is that he started his discipline of reading the Bible when he was young. He built this habit over time and his love and devotion to the Word of God kept him going for 70 years. Second, we can learn that there is no such excuse as “I am too busy”. Yes we are all busy in different ways but we are never too busy where we can’t take time to read God’s Word. Lastly, God’s Word shaped the kind of man Harrison was. He was molded by the Word of God and it showed. With that introduction lets get into tonight’s text.

Read Psalm 119:97-112

English Standard Version Psalm 119

MEM

97  Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

98  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

99  I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your testimonies are my meditation.

100  I understand more than the aged,

for I keep your precepts.

101  I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep your word.

102  I do not turn aside from your rules,

for you have taught me.

103  How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104  Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore I hate every false way.

NUN

105  Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

106  I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to keep your righteous rules.

107  I am severely afflicted;

give me life, O LORD, according to your word!

108  Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,

and teach me your rules.

109  I hold my life in my hand continually,

but I do not forget your law.

110  The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but I do not stray from your precepts.

111  Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

112  I incline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, to the end.

Before we start tonight, I want to make a clear distinction about what the Law of God is and what it isn’t. Throughout these verses we get 7 different words that are somewhat alike. We see law, commandments, testimonies, precepts, word, rules, and statues. The Law of God put simply is God’s rules for how He wants his people, his creation to live. The Ten Commandments are an example of God’s law but to be simply put God’s law is his rules for how he wants his creation to live. We will dive deeper into this as we pick apart these verses. I think it is important to make this clear distinction because even in studying this, I was thinking that the Psalmist is just talking about the Bible as a whole. The Old Testament as a whole. While the Bible does contain God’s Law, saying that the Bible is God’s Law is like if you ordered a whole pizza but it came with half of it missing. You would look at the pizza delivery guy like “Dude where is the rest of it”? Its still the pizza you ordered but its not the whole thing. The Law of God are his commandments to us and for us that tell us how we should live our lives in a way that pleases him.

Tonight we will be looking at 3 things the Law of God does for a believer who is fixed on it. I will give you the three things upfront. The Law of God gives Understanding verses 97-100, The Law of God Gives Guidance verses 101-106, and the Law of God Gives Life and Joy through Trials.

The Law Of God Gives Understanding v.97-100

Psalm 119:97 “Oh How I Love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day!

The Psalmist opens this Psalm with an exclamation of his love for God’s law!

This is a deep and intimate love that knows the object of its affections.

The only way to know and experience this kind of love with anything or anyone is to spend time with the object of your love.

I have a best friend. His name is Brandon Farmer, some of you might know him. The reason i call him my best friend is because i have spent time with him and have gotten to know him. I know the things he likes and the things he dislikes. I know silly stuff like his favorite color and deep things like past struggles and tough times he has been through. I love Brandon Farmer with my life and the only reason i can stand here tonight and say that is because i have spent the time necessary with him where i have built that relationship with him.

We cannot say that we love God if we don’t know him or what his Word says. There is a dedication in this type of love in verse 97 that is only experienced with intimate time with God.

He says he meditates on it all the day! Psalm 1:2 says his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.

This meditation isn’t talking about the man locking himself in his room with incense, sitting crossed legged, reciting the Bible to himself. The meditation that these verses refer to is a remembrance of God’s Word throughout your day. The Psalmist thinks about God’s law not just in his 30 minute time in the Word but in the other areas of his day.

One example could be when you are faced with some unexpected news, or when you get angry, what is the thing that comes to your mind? Is it how should i react according to what the Bible says or a verse that talks about trials and or anger? That would be just one example of meditating on the Word of God.

A meditation on the law of God will lead to what the Psalmist says in verses 98 through 100. He is wiser than his enemies because the law is ever with him, He has more understanding than his teachers and his elders.

There seems to be a clear distinction between the Psalmist and his enemies and elders and the difference is that the Psalmist does the law of God and his enemies and elder do not. He meditates on the law and his teachers are not.

The Psalmist doesn’t just read the Bible and checks off it off his list like his teachers might have, he reads it and then puts what he reads into action.

It doesn’t matter how many Bible verses someone can quote, it doesn’t matter how many Wednesday nights some of you may have come here and haven’t missed one, it doesn’t even matter if you look like a Christian on the outside. If you do not practice what you claim to believe, you might have to ask yourself, do i believe it at all?

Today we live in a world that claims that if we want to be wise and understand the things of this world we just have to look inside ourselves and we will find the answer. We hear things like follow your heart, or your truth is your truth.

Here is what the Bible has to say about those examples. Jeremiah 17:9

English Standard Version Chapter 17

9  The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

English Standard Version Chapter 17

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18

If you want true understanding of the world you live in and all the questions that come with that, like what is my purpose for living or where did we come from? Turn to the Word of God and meditate on what is says.

The Law Of God Gives Guidance v.101-106

Fun fact about me. I love the ocean. Really any body of water! When i was a senior in high school i went on a trip to Vietnam and we went to this spot called Ha Long Bay. It was absolutely beautiful. The water was crystal clear and the scenery around it was breathtaking. We were going to explore the caves across the bay. In order to get to the other side, we took an old sailboat. On the ride over, i still remember to this day i thought to myself on that ship, I am going to sell everything i have and buy a ship and sail the sea. Unfortunately all i had at the time that may have been worth anything was a bunch of pokemon cards but thats besides the point.

You may be thinking to yourself, ok Brian wants to be a pirate but why all this talk about boats? Ships are controlled by a thing called a rudder. According to discoverboating.com “The rudder moves in the direction of lower pressure. As the rudder goes, so goes the stern, and the boat turns.”

If the Psalmist is the boat, The Law of God is the rudder in the Psalmist’s life. Wherever the rudder is pointing, that is the way the Psalmist should go.

We are in the same boat (no pun intended) as the Psalmist. The Law of God or the Word of God is our rudder. We should live our lives in the direction that the Word of God guides us in. Imagine if the ship had a will of its own and wanted to go in a different direction than where the rudder was pointing, it would probably end up hurting the ship and maybe even causing some serious damage to the inside of it.

That is what happens when we turn away from the direction that the Word of God tells us we should walk in. We cause internal damage and sometimes external damage to ourselves and others when we sin against God.

Notice verses 101 and 102. The Psalmist holds back his feet from every evil way to keep God’s Word. He doesn’t turn aside from God’s rules because he has been taught and guided by them.

Today, we often think of rules as a burden or things that kill all of the fun.

Have you ever heard the saying, rules are meant to be broken? According to the Psalmist, rules are a guide for us and for our good!

Psalm 103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104, Through your precepts i gain understanding, therefore i hate every false way.

God’s rules are not a burden to us. Jesus himself says in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”.

Psalm 104, the psalmist says something interesting at the end. Let’s read that again. He says, through your precepts i get understanding, therefore i hate every false way.

How would the Psalmist know what is the false way if he didn’t have God’s precepts? God’s law doesn’t just tell us how we should live, it tells us how we shouldn’t live as well. It makes crystal clear the things that please God and the things that displease God. Without God’s law, there would be no such thing as right or wrong if there wasn’t someone to tell us.

Romans 7:8-9, Paul Writes,

English Standard Version Chapter 7

8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died

It wasn’t that Paul didn’t do anything bad before he realized his sin, rather it was the Law of God that revealed o him that he even had sinned against a Holy God and when he realized that, he knew he was in trouble. Paul says, sin came alive and i died. What a powerful statement. No Paul didn’t physically drop dead but he realized that he was dead spiritually and he needed to be brought back to life again by a great Savior and that is Jesus Christ.

In Romans 6:23. Paul writes,

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s law guides us through this life. Psalm 105 gives us a clear illustration. Like a lamp shinning in the darkness, it makes visible the things around us as they truly are.

I remember exploring those caves back in Vietnam in Ha Long Bay. There were some areas where it was pitch black and in front of us there were these huge deep pits that you couldn’t see the bottom of. Luckily we had a ton of light that could show us the way. Imagine if we didn’t have any light. I would want to take any steps forward or really in any direction for the fear of falling into one of the pits and dying. That is a life without the law of God. It is a dark place with pits everywhere that eventually lead to death. The Laws of God are the only light in this dark world that shows us the pits so we can avoid them and live!

When we have the light of God’s law lighting up the path and showing us what is good and what is evil, the Psalmist’s words should be ours as well in verse 106. He writes I have sworn and oak and confirmed it, ti keep your righteous rules. This is a willingness to say “I’m in! Your way is my way God!

We have seen that the Law of God gives Understanding and the Law of God gives guidance. Lastly we will see that the Law of God gives Life and Joy through trials.

The Law Of God Gives Life and Joy through Trials. v.107-112

In verses 107-110 the mood switches to that of someone who is experiencing suffering. He says, “ I am severely afflicted”. He says that he hold his life in his hand continually. The psalmist faced death on many occasions!. verse 110 he says that the wicked have laid a snare for him. Needless to say he suffering.

The life of a Christian is not a life without it difficulties. If anything, I believe that scripture makes it crystal clear that as Christians, we will suffer in this life.

Jesus said in John 16:33 I have said these things to you so that you might have peace. Then comes this 180 degree statement. In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the World.

Even through this painful and sorrow filled suffering, the Psalmist has his hope and joy in 1 thing. And that is in the Word and the Law of God.

He pleads for life that the Word of the Lord gives in 107.

He says even though i hold my life in my hand continually , i don’t forget your law or stray for your precepts. It is the Word of God that is his hope is it when trials come because he knows that through these trials, the Lord is glorified and that his Law is still good!

Notice that there is never a complaint of the Psalmist in these verses that say that God is bad for allowing the Psalmist to experience this suffering.

I know i have often and still do struggle with selfish thinking when going through a trial. I have at times just asked the why questions to God. Why am i going through this, what is the point of this suffering, how long will this last? These questions aren’t necessarily bad but when they are the only things that i am saying then they become selfish and sinful. I should say what the Psalmist says when he says give me life according to your Word. Let the promises of my God strengthen me and give me joy through this trial.

The Psalm ends with verses 111 and 112.

English Standard Version Psalm 119

111  Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

112  I incline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, to the end.

I love that part where he says that God’s testimonies are the joy of his heart forever.

When i reread this Psalm the joy that flows from it is almost palpable. Its like i can feel the joy exude from the pages of this Psalm.

It is a joy that echoes verse 97, of Him saying Oh How I Love Your Law! I don’t want anything besides your Law because i know that if i had it my own way i would run from you to my own sins in a heartbeat. If i were in charge I would jump head first into the bottomless cavern of my sin that my flesh wants so bad.

But thank God for his law that keeps my way straight. They are the joy of my heart and I will incline my heart to perform them forever to the end of this life and forever more in heaven.

Let that be the cry of our heart here tonight and forevermore.

Application

Dive into the Word with a refreshed and renewed mind.

Memorize Scripture, 1 thing i do is take one passage that i want to remember and recite it through the week. I will take a passage on Monday morning and recite it through the week. Another one of my friends goes in the Bible app and screenshots the passage he wants to remember and sets it as his wallpaper on his phone so every time he looks at his phone he can see the verse he wants to memorize.

3. Don’t forget the Gospel. I know when i hear about the law of God, i can think, man there is no way i can possibly do all that it requires. That is the truth, you cant do it all, i cant do it all. But there is one who has done it all and that is Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our sins on that cross and died for us in our place. He rose again from the grave and ascended to heaven and he promises that if you believe in him and repent( turn away from the path of sin and walk the path that God says is good and righteous then you will be saved. Christianity isn’t a works based religion, i don’t do good things to get a reward, i am given the reward as a free gift of faith in Christ. Because i have received a gift i didn’t earn or deserve that should want me to live this life for the One who gave me that gift. That is Christianity.