Wednesday, January 15

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Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

—Psalm 119:164

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

“Ignorance is bliss.”

“Don’t ask; don’t tell.”

Many of our common expressions betray our desire as humans to bury our heads in the sand. Somehow we have the idea that if we don’t know the truth, we can’t be held responsible for it. In that regard, we aren’t so different from small children playing hide-and-seek. They think that if they can’t see anyone else, no one can see them either. So they simply close their eyes, certain they are fooling everyone.

While these antics are charming coming from toddlers, it’s not as cute when we do the spiritual equivalent before God. If I close my eyes to the truth in his Word, we think, then surely God won’t hold me responsible for obeying it.

But doing so shows how woefully shortsighted we are. We fail to realize that God’s Word brings life and joy—that it’s a delight, not a burden.

I once heard a man tell a story about growing up in an Orthodox Jewish tradition. On his first day of school, the rabbi who would be teaching him about the Hebrew Scriptures placed a square of wax paper on the corner of each boy’s desk. As the students stared at him wide eyed, wondering what he was up to, the rabbi took a container of honey and carefully let a drop of the sweet golden liquid fall onto each square of paper. “May the words of God be sweet to your taste,” he said, “sweeter than honey to your mouth.” Above all else, he longed for his students to remember the sweetness found in the Word of God.

Renowned nineteenth-century British pastor Charles Spurgeon, often called “the Prince of Preachers,” held particular reverence for and delight in Psalm 119. “This wonderful psalm, from its great length, helps us to wonder at the immensity of Scripture. From its keeping to one subject it helps us to adore the unity of Scripture; for it is but one. Yet, from the many turns it gives to the same thought, it helps you to see the variety of Scripture. . . . Its variety is that of a kaleidoscope: from a few objects a boundless variation is produced. In the kaleidoscope you look once, and there is a strangely beautiful form. You shift the glass a very little, and another shape, equally delicate and beautiful, is before your eyes.”

Throughout Psalm 119, we see that the psalmist longs to have his eyes opened to God’s Word. He wants to catch every nuance, every reflection of light, every beautiful angle. He understood that following God’s commands is not merely a duty or an obligation; it’s a sweet treat.

The enemy wants to skew our vision, hoping to convince us that reading Scripture is a tedious task, one to be done out of drudgery or obligation. But once we’ve tasted the sweetness of his Word and the sweetness of living rightly by its commands, we know better. One of the greatest joys in this life is the privilege of savoring God’s regulations, knowing they are given to us out of love, for our delight.

When have you been duped into thinking you’d be happier if you ignored God’s commands? When have you experienced the joy of doing what God said was right?

—Stephanie Rische