November 5, 2019 -- Psalm 119: 47 -- Delight in God and His Commandments

I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
and shall not be put to shame,
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.

Psalm 119:46-47 English Standard Version

Yesterday we looked at David, before he became King of Israel, how he delighted to speak the testimony of God before kings—like he did before King Saul when that king trembled, afraid of the challenges shouted out by the giant, and blasphemous, Goliath. How is it that David dared to speak so boldly to the king? The simple answer is found in the verbs the psalmist used in our passage today: delight and love.

Think about how many grandparents carry around pictures of their grandchildren. They are only too happy to use any excuse to pull out their cell phones and show you the latest pictures. They will coo and aww over each picture so completely incapacitated by awe they will fail to notice that your eyes began glazing over around picture 27 or 28. Their enthusiasm over these grandchildren will overcome your protestations and excuses so that you do in fact sit down to see the pictures and hear the latest stories.

The commandments of the LORD our God are delightful, even more delightful than a suitcase full of grandchildren photos—they teach us the way to live. The commandments of God show us the more excellent way. Let’s face it, the human heart is totally depraved. According to the Bible the thoughts of the human heart, untouched by the grace of God the Merciful, is corruption and evil all the time. If you don’t quite believe this, consider all the political scandals that take place, with daily, monotonous regularity. Or think how the climate scientists constantly wring their hands over the changing climate, while jetting to various meetings around the world to meet, while consuming vast amounts of imported food and stomping a huge carbon footprint all over the places they visit. What about the fact that aid sent to countries in dire poverty often winds up being stolen by the governments of that country and then sold at huge profits. The one truth that should be self-evident in our world is this: humans are not basically good.

Humans are focused on how they alone can save themselves and the planet even while these same humans abort life. Our culture of death shows how truly depraved people are. Humans made in the image of God blindly rush away from the only true source of hope and life. The LORD Who created the world and all the people in it, is the Master Who knows what is best for us and gives us instructions for fullness of life in His presence and in His world.

This is why the commandments of God are delightful. The commandments of God:

~teach us Whom to worship and how to dedicate ourselves in the only worthy pursuit of our lives: seeking the Living God

~show us how to live in community

This is why David loves the commandments:

~they give us guidelines for living out our thankfulness to God, the Source of all Good

~they structure society, even where there are widely different views

~they show us our sinfulness and our ever-pressing need for the Saviour, Who rescues us from sin and from the present evil age

Teach me to love Your commandments, Mighty God, with a renewed passion and love that is animated by Your Spirit’s presence. As the glory of Jesus, and our need for His rescuing work, is revealed by the commandments, may we deepen our commitment to Jesus—whole heart, mind, soul and strength. As our delight and love for Your commandments bubbles up within us and overflows our lips, let us be bold witnesses and ambassadors to the praise and honour of Your Great Name. Amen.