December 9, 2019 -- Psalm 119:69-70 -- Delight in the Law of God
/The insolent smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
Psalm 119:69-70 English Standard Version
Yesterday we examined the first part of this sentence, verse 69; today we consider verse 70, which is the second half of that sentence. In the first part the enemies of the LORD sought to paste the people of God with lies. Mathew Henry in his commentary on this section notes that David’s enemies could not win victory against him so they tried to ruin his reputation with lies and false accusations. But the way of the LORD is the pathway of peace for those who serve Him.
Now a fuller description of the insolent follows in verse 70. I was not sure what it meant. Once again, as with some earlier verses, it is the commentator Matthew Henry to the rescue. In the first place Isaiah 6:10 has this phrase: “Make the hearts of this people fat” (this depends, of course on your translation of the Bible—but that is a good rendering of the original Hebrew language). In this verse to be fat is to be senseless, secure and stupid. Psalm 73:7 notes “their eyes stand out with fatness” which is a description of the sensuality which is the pursuit of their lives.
The fatness of the insolent enemies renders them insensitive to the Word of God. They are senseless to His great Truth. They are secure in the lies which they attempt to smear on others as their own conscience is dead. Sensuality is their master. Yet both Isaiah 6 and Psalm 73 make is abundantly clear that the destruction of the insensitive of heart, that beats in the chest of insolent people, is at hand. As it is written: “For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you” Psalm 73:26 ESV.
And the response of the Psalmist is one we should take to heart. The waywardness of the people around him, even those trying to pull down his reputation, causes him to turn from their taunts and be more focused in his delight in the law of the LORD. That word delight is wonderful—it is onomatopoeia. That is, the word itself describes a sound it makes. Think of the delight of a hot bath—ahh. The aroma of a wonderful meal about to be served—ooh, aah. Delight, in Hebrew, is sha a. You can almost hear the delight, the enthused response, welcome relief to be found in the direction one’s life takes when following the Law of God.
No doubt this is an unfamiliar feeling for many of us—adoring delight in the Law of God. It seems, in fact, too strange—we might mutter: ‘okay, here is where Christians gets all weird’. I know I am getting ahead of myself, but my favourite verse of Psalm 119 is: “To all perfection I see a limit, but Your commands are boundless” (verse 96). After a perfect meal a slice of cheesecake would be ideal—but your belly is already too full to enjoy it. A body-builder sculpts his body and lifts weights until the competition and hopes to be shredded, each muscle ideal and have others judge him to be so. Let’s say he wins the competition. Then what? How long can he stay perfectly shredded"? He needed to restrict liquid intake, including water, in order to keep abs tights. How long will calves be ‘show ready’ without lingering fat, but hopefully not cramping in the pain of those torturous work-outs required to achieve such momentary, fleeting perfection. In contrast, the laws of God are boundless, without limit. The more one follows them, the deeper one drives into fullness of joy and delight in knowing God. Obedience lifts our eyes to the Captain of our Salvation, Who says: “No longer do I call you servants [slaves], for the servant [slave] does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). And Jesus makes known to us the way of delight. Jesus declared, “My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me” (John 4:34).
Mighty God, conferring limitless joy to those who are obedient to Your commandments, by Your Spirit cause us to relearn deep, soul-refreshing delight which can be found in Your Law. Through the cleansing we have received in Jesus Christ, Spirit of Hope, fix our eyes on Jesus so that in following His will and His ways we may experience the eternal pleasures which, according to Psalm 16:11, are only found at Your right hand. Amen.
