How Sweet Are Your Words, Lord

Psalm 119:103
How sweet are your words to my taste. Sweeter than honey to my mouth.

Some things taste great going down and then I am sorry later. Tang and McDonald's milkshakes are two notable examples.

I am so grateful that the word of God is different than that. The word of God, whether through the Bible or prayer, keeps tasting better and better to me.

Honey in the ancient world was often considered valuable. It was the primary sweetener used. The psalmist is therefore comparing the pleasant sweet taste of honey to the pleasantness of meditating on God's word.

When I think of honey, I think of how sticky it is and how it clings to everything it touches. God's word is like this for me. Sometimes, the Lord will lay a particular word, phrase or verse on my heart and I will not be able to rest until I look it up. This happened to me recently with the Hebrew word "chesed".

What a wonderful God to not only reveal his truths to us but he even makes them stick to us that we might remember his commands and not sin against him.

Moms, if today you feel like this does not describe you, that you do not desire to know the truths of God's word more than even the most desirable, most pleasant, most tasty earthly delight, ask him to fill your heart with the longing to hear from him. He will be faithful to answer your prayer. I testify that he faithfully answered my prayer in this area. Hallelujah!

Psalm 119: Ask For Understanding

Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Psalm 119:73

I have to always remember to ask for understanding. How much more meaningful my study of the Scriptures is if I ask the Lord to shine his majestic light on all that I read and give me full understanding as he sees fit to suit his divine purposes.

I try to take a few minutes before I begin to read to pray:

Heavenly Father, Speak to me through your word today. Grant me understanding that I might follow all of your commands. Show me the truth in your word and help me to apply it to my life today. Amen

I know that of my own accord, I am very prone to error. I have fairly recently been led astray by not paying careful attention to God's word and not seeking his understanding.

The psalmist knew of our tendency to err and he knows we must ask our creator, the One who knows us better than anyone, to help us to understand as he wants us to understand.

How fortunate we are to serve a loving and caring God whose mercies are new every day.

Psalm 119: Always Fresh

I am not one who usually cares to re-read a book after I have gone through it once. I get so bored reading what I already read.

How different God's word is for me!

For example, I have been reading and re-reading Psalm 119, the longest Psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible, since I answered God's call to become born again.

Each time I read it, I find more and more wonderful truths in it. Even if I only read a part of this 176-line long chapter, God chooses to reveal something else of himself to me. Today, several of the verses spoke directly to me and I wrote down some of my observations.

Sometimes the revelation is encouraging, sometimes it is convicting but I am always filled with hope after an encounter with Psalm 119.

I will be sharing more about Psalm 119 in future posts.

My verse for today is:

Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Psalm 119:73 (ESV)