Psalm 119:161-162“Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word. I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.”
Reading a commentary on the book of Psalms, the commentator points out that this stanza of Psalm 119 is rich in descriptions of the way God’s Word envelops the believer in awe and wonder. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “awe” as: Fear mingled with admiration or reverence; reverential fear. Psalm 4:4a says, “Stand in awe, and sin not.”This initial focus is of the heart rather than the mind. Our minds are key to growth and maturity in Christ, but the heart must be engaged in our relationship with our heavenly Father. Sadly, in today society, we tend to use the term “awesome” (meaning awe-inspiring) even for non-reverential fear, but informally for any person, place or thing that we like, and have lost sight of the magnitude of the term. Therefore, my friends are awesome, the show I watched last night was awesome, the book that I am now reading is awesome, my vacation to Europe was awesome, and God is awesome. No comparison.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The commentator focused our attention on how the psalmist rejoiced in the Word of God “as one that finds great treasure”. In 1 Peter 1:23, Peter taught that the Word of God “lives and abides forever”. It is far more than written text; it is the very God-breathed words by which the Lord Jesus will ultimately judge the world.
Psalm 119:163-168“I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law. Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments. Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Lord, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments. My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.”
168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.”
The lesson states that the love for the Word of God can cause the godly to “hate and abhor lying” and begin to recognize the way that God exercises His “righteous judgments” on those who dare to flaunt their wickedness. Nothing, the psalmist noted, “shall offend them”. That mature perception brings praise “seven times a day”. It also brings “great peace” , the “peace of God, which passes all understanding”, because it is of God.
Reveling in the wonder and awe of the Scriptures brings a stable “hope for our salvation”, which in turn produces an open obedience to the commandments of God and a “soul” commitment to guard the Word. This godly lifestyle is assured by those who understand that “all our ways are before You”. “
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.”
Blessed in the truly awesome Word of God.
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