97-104

⁹⁷Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. ⁹⁸Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. ⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. ¹⁰⁰I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. ¹⁰¹I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. ¹⁰²I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. ¹⁰³How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. (NIV)

Interchangeable Words for God’s Expressed Wisdom

What is the Law spoken of in verse 97 (Strong’s Concordance #8451 /Torah)? There are several distinct and yet equivalent words for the Law or Word of God specified in the following verses, depending on translations: #4687 /mitzvah (vv. 98-99), #5715 /eduth (v.100), #6490 /piqqud (v.101 and 104), #4941 /mishpat (v. 102), and #565 /imrah (v. 103). We cannot understand this love of which the psalmist speaks until we know what it is that has drawn such devotion and benefitted him in such outstanding ways.

Torah – This word comes from the primary root #3384 /yarah or yara, “to throw, shoot” as an archer shoots an arrow. Brown-Driver-Briggs tells us that the noun form might possibly have come from the Old Testament-era act of casting lots to determine God’s answer to a decision. Whether this is so or not, we do know that this word in its present form means “instruction.” In the case of an archer, a target is sighted, the bow and arrow are aimed at the target, and the archer then “casts” his arrow toward the target with the intent to meet it perfectly.

Isn’t this what we aim to do when we teach? The teacher has the knowledge, sets it before the student, helps the student aim his bow and arrow toward the target’s bullseye, and then guides the student to shoot toward the target with as much accuracy as possible. The learning process may require some practice (“I meditate on it all day long”), but soon the student has gained the skill and is meeting the task with success. The psalmist refers to the Scriptures as God’s instruction to us.

Our psalmist says, “Oh, how I love your instruction!” We can think of the Torah as the 10 Commandments, the Pentateuch, or the entire body of Old Testament writings inspired by God through His anointed human scribes. It is all considered God’s instruction. Do we love or resist God’s instruction to us? Do we take the time to read His instruction? Do we think about it and turn it over in our hearts and minds all day long in order to better understand it? The Hebrew uses the singular form “it.” This is not a legalistic love of rules (plural) to follow, but a love of God as Teacher and of His teaching as Life-giving.

Mitzvah – Mitzvah comes from the primary root (#6680 /tsavah) “to command, lay charge to/upon, order.” Its noun form is the order or command itself (commandment, order). This word is no different than Torah except that it gives us the flavor of the imperative tense: the instruction is necessary and commanded, not optional.

How do we typically respond as humans to commandments? The initial impulse is to resist instruction, especially instruction that is imperative — that is, unless it is a matter of life and death. We resisted our parents’ early commandments to stay out of the cookie jar without permission, or as adults we resist the many civic, cultural, ethical or religious commandments to reign in our creaturely lusts. We know that bad things will happen if we disobey, but we foolishly test the waters and find negative experiences afterward. Based on our experiences with lesser crimes, however, we are more easily conditioned to obey a biological hazard sign or a red traffic light or cycling blue siren light in traffic. We have learned in life that there are some hazards that are not worth testing.

To consider that the holy Scriptures are commandments, this implies the authoritative character of God. He is Sovereign. He not only is our Teacher, He is our Sovereign Creator God. He has the authority to command and to expect compliance.

What does it mean that God’s word is “always with” the psalmist? Does he have such a great memory? Because God’s Word must be universally true to every human, it must not mean that!. He is, rather, continually feeding his heart and mind on those commandments by repetitious and careful reading. Think of that for a minute — to actually turn into those commandments to know them and to follow them carefully, not out of fear, but out of a deep appreciation for what those commandments do for him.

What is the benefit? He is wiser than his enemies (those who oppose God, His commandments, and thus himself). The psalmist has learned and therefore has grown in wisdom; but his enemies are stuck in the aggressive and futile “testing and resisting” phase. By way of application, I ask myself, “Which one of these individuals better describes me?” Indeed, the psalmist is even wiser than his (earthly) teachers, because he deeply considers the commandments and takes them seriously. The implication might be that his earthly teachers are not so thoughtful. The same Hebrew word is used in both verses 98 and 99, even though various translations use different English equivalents.

Eduth – Eduth has its root in #5749 /uwd or ud, which means “to return, go about, repeat, do again.” It means, therefore, to “testify, bear witness,” Think of having seen a car accident. The police officer arrives and asks you to “replay” the event while the officer takes notes. He or she relies on your repeated narration of the event as a “testimony” or an eyewitness account. Eduth is a testimony.

What we would do to hear from someone who was there at Creation! That one would be able to tell us about it! So many questions we could have answered! God’s Word is a testimony of all that is True in all of reality, not just the act of Creation. The police officer at the accident in the illustration above must ask questions because the officer doesn’t understand what happened or why it happened. The officer wasn’t there. He or she must go to the people who were there, who either experienced the accident (the drivers) or who witnessed the accident (the bystanders who saw it), and ask them for the true account. By gathering that evidence, the officer’s understanding grows sufficiently enough that the officer can lay a charge upon the violator or excuse the whole incident as unavoidable.

Our psalmist declares his superiority of understanding over his leaders, for he obeys the testimony that he hears. Obedience to God’s testimony is crucial. Consider the accident again. What if the police officer discounts the testimony of both driver and witness? What kind of understanding would the officer have to report to the authorities or insurance companies? The officer would have to pervert the justice of the law by making assumptions based on a lack of evidence.. We have seen much of this “ignoring or refusing the evidence” in our American justice system and we are reaping the same perverted results.

We can see how important it is to value the eyewitness account. There is One God and He is the eyewitness to the history and thoughts of man. He is eyewitness to your history and mine, to your thoughts and mine. He sees what we cannot see for ourselves. This is good news! It means that we have an Advocate with the wisest therapist or counselor or can ever be! Do you want to lay out your secrets to one who already knows and loves you still? This is what our God offers you in His Word.

Disobeying God’s instruction, orders, and eyewitness testimony of what is True in this world is the same as turning one’s back on reality. One cannot then expect knowledge or understanding or wisdom, but only a perversion of reality, a mental illness of one’s own choosing. But what of the man or woman who obeys? The understanding that one gains coincides perfectly with reality and gives refreshing clarity concerning this life.

Piqqud – The primary root of this term is #6485 /paqad, “to attend to, visit, muster, appoint,” This means to pay close attention with careful, practical interest and has to do with “observation.” We ‘muster’ together for the purpose of review. We ‘visit’ together for the purpose of ‘seeing’ someone. We appoint for the purpose of highlighting someone or something for a special work or emphasis. Thus, the meaning of piqqud is properly, “appointed,” i.e., a mandate of God to be observed, or pointed out and obeyed.

God’s instruction is pointed out so that we see what it is that we are to obey. He does not leave us ignorant of what He requires or of what is beneficial to us for life (1 John 5:13). He has pointed out these things to us by way of the written (recorded) Word. He is the One with all knowledge; we do ourselves in when we disregard His instruction, His commandments, and His eyewitness testimony, all of which has been made abundantly clear (Romans 1:18-24) so that no one misunderstands if they want to understand.

Mishpat – Translated as “judgments,” the primary root is #8199 /shaphat or “to judge, govern.” This is more of a legal term and implies a Law-giver. In all our Hebrew terms, we see the Sovereignty of One Who Is there and has never been created and exists foreever as all-powerful Creator of the unviverse. Therefore, what God, the Law-giver, has decided becomes His irrefutable judgments. When God’s gavel comes down, the decision is irreversible and true. Beneficial judgments can come down as well as condemning ones. When God speaks promises to us who choose to follow Him, those promises are as real and true today as though already enacted, for God speaks outside of time as we know it. What He has decreed simply is.

The psalmist says that he has not left the path of God’s declared decisions. If God has said it, the psalmist will adhere to it. The reason why the psalmist is so devoted is because God Himself has condescended to teach him. God has not remotely handed down edicts to His people, but has warmly invited us in, opened up the scroll of knowledge and has caused our minds to receive what is written there. That is true whether that be in the Book of Creation (i.e., the natural world which whispers and shouts His reality) or in the Book of His Word (our written account). Further, now we have the Word Made Flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. What a wonderful God we serve, that He has “come down” to His created people to teach us personally all things that we need for life and eternal joy!

Imrah – Translated as “speech, word”, imrah comes from the primary root #559 /amar “to utter, say.” The Scriptures are, literally, God’s very spoken word. Does it strike you as signficant that God is the originator of language and uses language to speak to us? We sometimes tend to think of God as some ethereal mist or combined force of energy, which is Deism at best and is not supported in the Scriptures. God is a Person with language, using actual translatable words to communicate His mind and heart with us. All through the Holy Bible, God is said to “speak.” He is a Person with a supreme, ideal Personality. As a Person, He desires relationship with us. He speaks to us with words we can understand. What does God say? What is God saying to you now in His Word? Relationships are bi-directional: our God desires our response. God desires a relationship with us (John 14).

Our world was “spoken” into its existence by Him, and by a single word, His Son, Jesus Christ, will slay the enemy of the souls of all mankind at the end of the Age. All scripture is given to us as the spoken, expressed mind and heart of God.

“All of scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equiopped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 New International Version).

Note the universals “all” and “every.” That includes everything from “In the beginning . . . ” of Genesis 1:1 to “Amen” (Rev. 22:21). God’s words are said to be sweet (pleasing, pleasurable) to the psalmist’s mouth. How so? The psalmist tastes God’s words by obeying them. As honey from the lion’s carcass was life-giving to Samson and from the honeycomb in the forest to Jonathan, so God’s Word is life-giving to all who obey it:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:7-11).

So Great a Gift: God’s Word

Consider God’s grace to all mankind in making Himself known! God’s warnings herd us away from destruction. Consider again the results of ignoring so great a gift as His Word, which is His gracious and life-giving Law (Romans 1:18-23).

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts . . .

At first we read God’s words as condemning. But these warnings are designed for you to avoid such condemnation. Think with me here. What do we normally think of any human being who tries to suppress Truth? That one would be a liar and a thief! They would be doing harm to people who need that truth for the sake of justice!

God’s warnings are pointers toward His blessings. Why would we “give thanks to Him” if it were not for the blessings He has intended for us and has been giving us all along. “Don’t get trapped into death and destruction here; no, no! Do this instead! Come to me and have LIFE!”

Through God’s Holy Word, He calls to us to give us sanity and life and truth. Are we really listening?

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Summary. We have seen that though the Hebrew and the various Bible translations use different words, the “Law” in general means so much more than “rules” and “don’ts” designed to kill our joy. Instead, He directs us in the way to have abundant life and eternal joy (Psalm 23). Our parents loved us when they commanded us to stay within the safety of the rules, for the did not want to see us come to harm. Likewise, we can see in far greater way how our Heavenly Father loves His children and has given us His Word to save us from the destruction our nature of sin has won for us. For ALL we, like sheep, have gone astray, every one to his or her own way; but! The Lord has laid on [Jesus] the sin of all of us (Isaiah 53:6). He loves us so much, that what He promised in Genesis 3:15 (a Deliverer), He delivered in Luke 2 (His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ) and this Jesus is Coming again (Revelation 22:7) in all His Glory to receive us.

Your Invitation: Do You Know Him?

Do you know Him as your heavenly Father? Or is that too intimate a description of God for you? If you would like to know more about God and of His Son Jesus Christ, please visit PeaceWithGod.net. There are wise counselors there who can answer your questions by guiding you into His Word and will help you meet the Father there through the Son.

Coming up . . .

Next, we will look at the sheer audacity of the poet in making the claims of moral perfection as we see in this verse.

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“Psalm 19//Sounds Like Reign” by Sounds Like Reign, Dec 19, 2022, YouTube.com.