By Guest Writer
Have you ever tried to describe someone you love to someone who’s never met them? Sometimes words just don’t seem enough to convey how wonderful that person really is. That’s when we might say, “To know him is to love him.”
In 1680, Puritan theologian Edmund Calamy expressed a similar sentiment when he wrote, “All that meditate in, and study God, cannot but love him.” Psalm 119 beautifully captures this. The psalmist knew God and treasured His commands. They were a fountain of comfort and encouragement in the midst of his suffering. After all, princes had plotted against him (Psalm 119:23). He was taunted and ridiculed (v.42,51), bound in the cords of the wicked (v.61), slandered (v.69), and persecuted (v.86).
In his suffering, he kept returning to God’s words for comfort and peace. He delighted in meditating on God’s words (v.16,35,70). He longed for them and put the full weight of his trust in them. He even said his afflictions were good because they kept him nearer to God (v.67,71). If I’m being honest, I’ve struggled to cling to God’s word in the face of afflictions. How about you?
Jesus said, “…everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled…the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:44,46).
The psalmist’s sufferings and love for God’s Word point to Jesus. Rulers plotted against Him. He was taunted and ridiculed by His own people. Though He was innocent, the wicked bound Him up, lied about Him, and persecuted Him to the fullest extent which led to His excruciating death on a cross.
On Calvary, Jesus even recited familiar words from a psalm in the midst of His torture! He fulfilled the psalms so that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47).
Here is good news! What keeps me (and you) close to God is not our imperfect efforts to obey Him but Christ’s perfect obedience. Jesus loved every word that came from the Father. He faced undeserved afflictions with perfect faithfulness. When we put our faith in Him, God treats us as though we lived His life.
As you continue reading through the psalms, remember the One through whom we receive God’s eternal peace and comfort. To know Him is to love and obey Him. May this be true of us in the coming days: “I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).
Written by Beverly Berrus
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