By Joshua Cooley
I’m always amazed when I read Psalm 119. This psalm, the Bible’s longest chapter, is dripping with love for God’s Word. And that’s where awe comes in. Because, when Psalm 119 was written, Scripture was nowhere near the complete canon that we enjoy today. Exuberant love for the four Gospels? Romans 8? First Corinthians 15? Ephesians 1? Revelation 20–21? Absolutely! Loving those classic texts is easy.
But when the writer of Psalm 119 proclaimed his love for God’s Word, he referred to it as God’s judgments (v.91), instruction (v.92), precepts (v.93), decrees (v.95), and statutes (v.112). In other words, he has the Jewish Torah in mind—the Old Testament Law.
Now, I don’t know about you, but laws aren’t terribly exciting to me. When have you ever heard a pregame hype song or a top 40 music hit extol the glories of rules and regulations? When was the last time you skipped Friday night popcorn and a movie to dive into an instruction manual instead? So often, these parts of Scripture feel difficult to connect to. And yet, the writer of Psalm 119 cries out, “How I love your instruction! It is my mediation all day long” (v.97).
Even then, centuries before the fulfillment of God’s eternal salvation plan through Christ’s incarnation, the biblical writer was rejoicing in the hope that’s only found in God’s Word. If that was the heart posture of a psalmist who had only a partial revelation of the canon of Scripture we have today, how much more should it be ours now that we have God’s Word in its glorious fullness!
God’s redemptive plan has been one of progressive revelation. He gave the Old Testament saints glimpses of His salvation. He foretold of a coming Savior. He hinted at a new covenant of grace to replace the old covenant of the law. He pointed to the resurrection of the dead. But what we now know in full, the ancient believers only saw in shadows. They found their satisfaction in the Lord, His Word, and His promises, yet they still hoped for what was to come.
And so do we. Even as we live on the other side of the cross, we groan in a world racked with sin, pain, suffering, and death. Living in the already-but-not-yet stage of God’s redemptive plan, we hope for ultimate salvation. We await the final advent of our Savior from heaven who will one day return to destroy all evil, usher in His heavenly kingdom, and dwell with us in eternity forever.
Until then? We wait, obey, pray, suffer, trust, and hope—just like the saints of old. What anchors us as we wait amid life’s billowing waves? The promises and truths found in God’s Word—exactly what secured long-ago believers.
Life changes, but God and His Word do not. And so the ancient cry of Psalm 119:174 remains ours as well: “I long for your salvation, LORD, and your instruction is my delight.”
Post Comments (0)