I listened
to Psalm 119 during my run yesterday. Reading Scripture out loud and/or hearing
it is always an especially illuminating experience. Listening to the Psalm, I
heard some words placed together that, in our typical understanding, do not
belong together in apposition, but opposition. Scripture, the inspired Word of
God the Holy Spirit, once again shows us that God’s ways are not our ways!
- “O how I love Your
law! It is my meditation all the day...from Your precepts I get
understanding; therefore I hate every false way” (119:97,104). You may think that these two verses are so far apart that I shouldn't have included them in this list, but they are the first and last lines of this sub-poem (מ) in Psalm 119.
- “I hate
those who are double-minded, but I love Your law” (119:113).
- “Therefore I love Your commandments above gold,
yes, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem right all Your precepts
concerning everything, I hate every false way” (119:127,128).
- “I hate and despise falsehood, but
I love Your law” (119:163).
This is the Word of God, the perfect revelation of His heart, mind, and will. Spirit, teach us to love what You love and, yes, hate what You hate (Psalm 11:5; Proverbs 6:16; Isaiah 1:14; 61:8; Jeremiah 44:4; Amos 5:21; Zechariah 8:17; Malachi 2:16; Hebrews 1:9; Revelation 2:6). Lord, give us Your wisdom in this as
we meditate on these far-apart words brought together in Your Word.
No comments:
Post a Comment