Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. In fact, it’s longer than some books in the Bible. It’s rich. It’s dense. It’s truly wonderful.
It’s also well-orchestrated. It’s sectioned into 22 stanzas. What language was this passage originally written in? Hebrew. How many letters are in the Hebrew alphabet? 22. Glory.
And what would such a grand collection of words be centered around? One of God’s greatest gifts: His own Word. The psalmist doesn’t just tell us about God’s Word in this chapter, they celebrate it. They present it to us as the gift that it is.
It’s hard to even reach the foothills of a passage as grand as Psalm 119, but today I’ll highlight just a few of the important truths of God’s Word that we should rejoice in today from this chapter to help us courageously follow it:
1. “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (v. 103)
I’m sure most of us remember the best dessert or meal we’ve ever had. Now imagine eating that every day. That’s similar to God’s Word, except it’s even better. Unlike a Michelin star meal after sitting out for a while, the taste of God’s Word never becomes stale. God’s Word won’t melt on a scorching summer day. The flavor is eternally sustained and is readily available for us when we need it. How sweet is that?
2. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (v. 105)
The transforming wisdom of God’s Word is able to guide us through any circumstance and is our roadmap for life. Just imagine. You’re on a dark, unfamiliar road. No streetlights. You need a light to get home. This is how God’s Word functions in our day to day life. It always brings us back to our home that we have in Him. Hallelujah!
3. “You’re my hiding place and my shield. My hope is in Your Word.” (v. 114)
Life will kick you in the teeth sometimes (or in the life of those like Job, all the time). We will experience hardship and not everyone around us will please us all the time. Clinging to circumstances and humans will make us miserable. Thankfully, we have something far greater to place our hope in: God and His Word. Solomon describes life as ‘futile’ or ‘fleeting’ almost 40 times in Ecclesiastes. Everything around us on Earth will let us down, one time or another. But God and His Word? The same today, yesterday, and forever.
4. “Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.” (v. 140)
God and His Word has been and will be challenged more than you and I will ever in our lifetime. Yet, it will always prevail and never fall short. God and His Word presents all the evidence anyone needs to believe about Him, and that is not just something to recognize, but to admire and adore! In addition to their standard team contracts, athletes receive endorsements to support themselves and boost their image. The brands that endorse them also use these to elevate their own credibility. But God? He doesn’t need those extra endorsements or anyone else backing Him up. What He has said in His Word is all that needs to be said.
5. “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble”
(v. 165)
Steven Bartlett, host of the renowned ‘Diary of a CEO Podcast’, recently interviewed Christian apologist John Lennox. Steve made a remark that one of the most compelling arguments for God that John and other Christians he has interviewed presented to him was not anything they said or written, but the way they have acted around him. He noticed Lennox and the others’ “peace and contentment.” This is no mistake or happenstance. This is what God’s Word promises for those that follow and love it!
I hope this encourages you to read all of Psalm 119 and to dive into the rest of God’s Word to see just how marvelous it is and allow it to transform your life. If you want to go even deeper into courageously following God’s Word, grab a group of men and hear from Colby Corsaut at Catapult on August 15 in Chesapeake, VA as we navigate a full scope of biblical manhood and launch BetterMan groups across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic!