Delighting Ourselves

We close out the second section of Psalm 119 with a great concept.  The word translated “delight” is reflexive and intensive in its tense and means “to split open” or “to break through” and is from the basic word that means “gate” or entrance.  It speaks of the taking of sport.  When it is reflexive it means to give sport or pleasure to yourself.

It is a word we would, for instance, in this day and age use to describe sports fans.  They take great delight in the pursuit of and contemplation of their team.  They take great pleasure in all aspects of the team’s progress.  They follow each player and all of his ups and downs and are well versed in the details of his interaction with other teams and players.  They are familiar with various other players around the league and can talk details and stats at great length.  The definitely take great delight in the sport.

Why is it that we do not take that kind of delight in the statues of God?  What would even mark such a delight?

1. An abiding interest in the various aspects of spirituality.

2. The willing and anxious participation in every aspect of spiritual life.

3. A drive to be familiar with the deep and detailed aspects of spirituality

4. Obsession with all aspects of the topic of spirituality.  We would never get tired of talking about it!

5. Time spent would never be an issue.

Of course, this is facetious, but you readily get the point.  We are far less willing to take delight in the pursuit of the Word than we ought o be.

What is interesting is that his great delight is in the statues of God.  “Statutes” refers to the commands and standards of God communicated by the Scripture.  It speaks of those things that the Scripture demands of us as God’s children.  God is the supreme authority in the universe.  He has every right to call us to submission and obedience and that, indeed is what the Word does.

What is interesting is that the Psalmist takes delight in these statutes.  No one naturally enjoys being told what to do.  We are independent by nature.  This is especially true spiritually as we are naturally rebellious.  The believer, however, is charged and now, instead of chafing or rebelling, takes joy in the standards of the Bible and in the requirements that it puts on His children.

This is not to say that we like being told what to do, but that we are happy to know what the requirements of God are.  The believer is glad to know all of God’s standards and requirements.

One cannot help but notice the purposefulness of the author.  It was his firm desire and his decision to follow through and walk with Christ, pursuing the way of the Lord as revealed in the Scriptures.  This is especially to be considered significant is we remember that this is David speaking!  He was not exactly 100 percent in fulfilling his desire and his commitment to follow God fully.  His heart was always yielded to God and it was always his desperate intention to follow after God and obey Him – but he was not always, shall we say, completely successful in his pursuit.

In this I relate to David.  It is rare that the desire to submit to and obey God is not with me.  I desperately want to be faithful.  But I am not always successful in my commitment.  There is no excusing here, nor is there any intended.  It is simply a comfort to see the esteem with which David is regarded in the Bible and with which he is held in the church.  It gives me hope that I, too, can be what God wishes me to be.  It is also heartening to remember that my own estimation of myself may, in some respects and in some contexts, be too harsh.

“Forget not” is a significant word.  It refers, in this context to more than just a lapse of memory.  Theologically, it also speaks of the allowing to pass from mind that which ought to be remembered.  The idea here is not meant to relieve culpability as in the sense of innocent forgetting, but rather to heighten responsibility by clearly implying an obligation to remember.

We all have an obligation to “remember” the precepts of the Scripture.  It is important that we fulfill that most significant of obligations and requirements for believers.  We are obligated to do many things.  But none is more important than seeing that we do not forget what God has commanded.

It is significant that this is put negatively.  There is a tendency in us to allow ourselves to “forget”, that is to fail to observe the statutes of God.  This is no small failure – but a primary one in our duty.  We ought to remember that these commands are both positive and negative and that they will affect all of life.  Remember that this is a “way” of living and is intended to be treated as such.  This is not a matter of picking and choosing what we will not do.  It is a lifestyle and addresses more of a way of living than it does the mere particulars of life.

It does violence to Christianity to reduce it to mere outward actions.  It has always been intended to speak more to the way or fashion in which we live than it does to the particulars of what we do and do not do.  This is not to say that the particulars of our actions are not important, they are.  But it is to remind us that we need to take care that emphasis is exactly where it ought to be.  It is important that we allow the big things to be the big things.

Once again we see the closing emphasis of the verse to be the verbal communication nature of the Bible.  These are God Words!  What a high view of the Scripture and how tremendously significant those words are.  It is no wonder that they are honored and obeyed by the Psalmist as they ought to be!

I got a note from someone regarding the “God hates Fags” web site and their picketing work.  He has a friend that is an Episcopalian curate and they are the target of picketing.  He is angry because the follow is conservative, etc.  I will address the issue in the next issue of the devotional.