Psalm 119:97 “Oh, how I love your law! I
meditate on it all day long.”
I read a real
thought-provoking article the other day that asked this all-important question:
“What does it mean to love the Lord?” The author stated that tough they do not
want to downplay the importance of affection and adoration towards Him, loving
God is not exhausted by mere feelings.
In his exposition of Psalm 119:97, Augustine of Hippo asks
another important question: “How can it
be that what God commands to be loved, be loved, and yet the commandment itself
not be loved? Love for God and what He commanded us to love is inseparable
from love for the very commands of God. If we love the Lord, we will love law,
for His law is a reflection of who He is. Our affection for the law is not due
to its being mere law of our Lord, but because it is the teaching and
revelation of our most holy Creator Father God; it is from God and is taught by
God. Consequently, one cannot be a Christian and have distain for the law of
God. To hate the law of God is to hate God Himself. If we truly love God, we
will truly love His law, and if we truly love God’s law, we truly love God.
Psalm 119:111-112 “Your testimonies are my heritage
forever, for they are the joy of
my heart. I incline my
heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.”
Such godly love, of course
requires the (born again) regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Unless we are
brought out of the realm of sin and death by the sovereign exercise of the Lord’s
will to take from us our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh, we will
remain dead in sin, hating God and His law. We live in a lawless age that disdains boundaries and restrictions; a day of lawlessness, when so many think
that they can love the Lord and yet show no concern to learn and do what He
commands. Non-believers do not care because they are in the darkness and rebellion
of unbelief. May the Holy Spirit soften and open their hearts to Jesus. Unregenerate “natural man” has “no fear of God” before their eyes –
no honor, no respect, no reverence, no adoration for God. May the Lord give them eyes to see and ears to hear, that they may find forgiveness and salvation at the foot of the cross. Sadly, they have no
love of the Lord’s law, no authentic desire to promote the glory of God, nor
any recognition of what they owe Him as our Maker. Yet. We all need the gospel light
of truth.
Our love for God’s law sets the
disciples of Jesus Christ apart from those who believe that we may live as
antinomians (those who are against the law), doing whatever they want, whenever
they want. Of course, on this side of glory, we know that the sin nature of the
flesh desires is in battle with the indwelling Spirit and perfection will not
be achieved until heaven. Honestly, this coexistence of love of God’s law and
remaining sin will mark the lives of believers. Our struggle with sin is not a
sign that we do not belong to our Creator; rather, it is proof that we have
been redeemed by Christ. Stay in the Word of God and walk in the Spirit.
Joshua 1:8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on
your lips; meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful.”
Although true Christians may
fall into sin, they get back up in sincere repentance and walk with the Spirit,
with the persevering desire to fight sin, which shows that they fully and
finally belong to Jesus and are heirs of eternal life. The Lord’s testimonies,
or commandments, are the “joy” of our heart, and that to which the Christian
inclines their heart and affections. If God, by His Spirit has poured His love
into our hearts, then we will love whatever reflects His character. We will
love His law because it shows us who He is, and He is altogether lovely. Meditate on them day and night.
In Christ, Brian
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