God's Word Sweeter than Honey
Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:97-104
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Some people have described this section of Psalm 119 as “quiet.” Unlike many other sections, which bristle with emotional tension and cry out with pleas to God, here the psalmist quietly meditates on the wisdom of God’s Word.
As the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all living things, God knows what’s best for living in his world. If we want to learn and be guided by his wisdom, we need to turn to his Word. God’s Word guides and blesses all who seek his wisdom.
Not surprisingly, the enemies of the psalmist do not turn to God’s Word. God’s commands make him wiser than his enemies, he says. But what about the psalmist’s teachers and elders? Is the psalmist claiming to be wiser than they are?
Perhaps he’s criticizing these leaders for treating God’s Word as a textbook instead of a guide for daily living. We can only speculate. At the very least, we can understand this psalm as a lifelong call of living into God’s Word, which can nourish us with divine wisdom for everyday life. In this sense, we can see why the psalmist says God’s words are “sweeter than honey”!
Honey is both sweet and nourishing. Taste God’s Word: it’s sweeter and better for you than anything else. Then dig into it each day and find nourishment for your soul and truth to live by.
Help us, Lord, to grow in living by your Word and to avoid any path that would lead away from you. Amen.
About the author — Kurt Selles
Kurt Selles is the director of ReFrame Ministries and serves as the Executive Editor of Today. He is a graduate of Calvin College and Seminary, and received his PhD from Vanderbilt University. Before coming to ReFrame, he served 19 years in Taiwan and China with CRC World Missions. Kurt later taught missions at Beeson Divinity School, where he also acted as the director of the school’s Global Center. Kurt and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Rapids and have three adult children.
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