"May Your unfailing love come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation according to Your promise..."
- Psalm 119:41
Psalm 119, which is a love letter to the Lord about His Word, is probably one of my favorite psalms. I love all the psalms - even the "I can't stand my enemy" and the "I'm in the depths of despair" psalms - because they're so honest, and they remind me that God wants my honesty, even when it's not pretty - but Psalm 119 has always given me a lot to think about.
"Loving law" might seem like a self-contradictory expression (whether you use "loving" as a verb or an adjective) - but it really isn't. God gave us His word, His law, His commandments because He loves us, because He wants us to know His ways and desire to walk in them. He also wanted us to understand on a very real level that we can't actually live in His ways on our own - that we need a Saviour, that we need Him to help us live the way we should. And then He sent Jesus, who was the very Word of God, the source of all life (see John 1), to be that Saviour. There's a mystery that I don't really comprehend in this connection between the One who created all things by speaking them into existence (see Genesis 1) and the words that He speaks throughout His Book, but I find it fascinating ... and beautiful.
There is only one verse in the entire psalm that does not say something about God's word, His precepts, His statutes, His commandments, His promise, His laws, His decrees. (And no, I'm not going to tell you which one.) The psalmist talks about how much he loves God's law, the freedom that comes from following His ways, his confidence in God's promises - and as I read along and come in agreement in my spirit with the words of this psalm, I am reminded of how essential knowing the Word of God is, and how important it is that His Word be woven into the very fabric of our lives.
His Word is reliable, true, constant, unchanging, faithful, life-giving, righteous, and good - and when we spend time in it/with Him, those attributes become ours as well. We won't often find ourselves wondering about the ethics of a particular situation - we'll know right from wrong, and will choose the right path (or we'll know for sure that we didn't, and find ourselves convicted!). When we meditate on His Word, memorizing it, speaking it aloud - we find ourselves living in His ways at a level that we just can't when we aren't spending time thinking on His words. His Word breathes life into us - and we in turn are able to breathe light and life into those around us, with words of encouragement and hope, from a spirit that is so at peace because of our confidence in Him, and in the trustworthiness of His Word.
Do you have a favorite Scripture? I'd love to hear it - and what you love about it.
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