Psalm 119:165-168
165 Great peace have those who love your law*;
nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
and I do your commandments.
167 My soul keeps your testimonies;
I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
for all my ways are before you.
* Through these reflections, those phrases that identify God’s word, revelation, or law will be highlighted in the text in the hopes of accentuating the many and varied ways we can visualize what God has given to us for our good.
Reflection
The Scriptures are not merely a collection of writings over the course of 1,600 centuries. They are more than that. The Old and New Testaments are the living record of God to his people. They are the testimonies of God’s work in, and through, and sometimes even in spite of his people.
To not see the hand of God in his word is to not see God at all. I know that may appear to be a stretch to some. However, to reduce the Bible to simply the writings of men is to strip God completely away from him.
As Christians, we already believe fantastic things in order to be saved. Why do we then struggle to believe that the Bible is God’s word and that God has said in those writings can be dismissed or ignored? It defies any reason to do so.
Let us trust in God and let us trust in his word. Let us give thanks to God and let us give thanks for his word. Let us live for God and let us live out his word.
Commentary
Verse 165: To walk in alignment with God’s word is to have a confidence and peace not available to others. The reason is not smugness or self-assurance. To walk in God’s word is to walk in God’s wisdom. Knowing this brings peace. There no reason to fear what may come our way because we can call upon God for wisdom and aid.
Verse 166: There is no tension or contradiction between trusting in God to save and walking in obedience to God. As a matter of fact, the Psalmist seems to imply that this is the exact relationship between these two realities. To have hope in God to redeem is not antithetical to living our lives in submission to God’s commands. When we learn this we will be free to enjoy the wonder of God’s love and the reward of sincere obedience.
Verse 167: God’s word is spiritual. It is something we do not always remember. But it is something we should strive to remind ourselves of. While what God says may be enacted through physical activity, the true purpose is to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. This transformation is one of the primary goals of our redemption. Also, because the word of God is of a spiritual nature, we can appreciate its worth by how it draws us deeper affection to them. As our love for God’s word grows so will our love for God. For the point to him and reveal him to us.
Verse 168: Nothing we do escapes God’s gaze. Therefore, we are better off to live our lives keeping God’s “precepts and testimonies.” To do any less is to deny the place of God’s word in our lives, and by extension God himself.
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