Today’s Reading: Psalm 119:113-176
God has made promises to humankind. Over seven thousand of these promises are found in the Bible. The genius of the Bible is that anyone and everyone can share in these promises of God if they choose to.
Some
of the promises of God are unconditional, which means that God will fulfill His
promise with or without our cooperation or us meeting any conditions. An
example of an unconditional promise is God’s promise to never again destroy the
Earth with a flood. This requires no conditions to be met by humankind – it
something that He will fulfill without prerequisites or stipulations being met.
On the other hand, some of the promises of God are conditional – they carry an
“if-then” type of structure. They require us to fulfill some stipulation in
order to receive what God has promised. An example of this is His promise of
eternal life, which He has promised to those who fulfill the condition of
believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. IF you believe in Him – THEN you will
receive eternal life.
Here in Psalm 119:165, we come upon
one of the conditional promises of God. It is a dual promise of “great peace”
and “not stumbling.” But notice the condition or stipulation found in this
promise – it is only promised to those who satisfy the condition of loving
God’s law. The Hebrew word for “law” here refers to the manner and principles
which God has prescribed for humankind to follow. It encompasses the entire
body of God’s instruction found in the Bible, including the Law, the Prophets,
the Wisdom Books, the Gospels, and the New Testament writings.
Do you “love” God’s ways? The Hebrew
word for “love” in this verse is a verb which means; to desire; to breath
after; to long for; to delight in. As followers of Christ, our hearts should
desire and delight in God’s word. It should be something we take delight in and
pursue in our lives. Do you love God’s truth in this way? Do you love His
commandments, His precepts, His statutes, His rules, His testimonies, and His
instruction? If so, He promises you will have “great peace.” The word “great”
means much, many, abounding in. If you love His law, He promises abounding
peace in your life.
In addition to peace, He also
promises that “nothing can make you stumble.” His word is sure and solid and is
the only sure anchor that can keep you from drifting away. If you build your
life on the ways of people, or pop theology, or the latest trend, you are sure
to be led astray. But if you build your
life on a deep love for God’s law, you will be securely anchored and nothing
will ever cause you to drift away.
No comments:
Post a Comment