Thinking in 3's: Psalm 119:161-168

Thinking in 3's: Love, Love, and Love

This is another "3" that I found in Psalm 119, this in the next to last section of this long psalm. The psalmist affirms his love for God's Word three times.

Let me offer just a note about how I see "covenantal shift" happening in the Bible. As we read the Psalms, Jesus has not yet appeared on the scene. His coming has been predicted in a number of ways in many Old Testament passages, but these readers have not yet seen Jesus, the Living Word.

And so, for followers of Jesus, in at least some important ways, Jesus the Living Word is the the One whom we love. Yes, we continue to "love Your law," and the Old Testament text is not out-dated or discarded - but in a more full sense, we have a relationship, not with a book, but with a Person. It makes me want to sing along with the children: "Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me."

Verse 163 says: "I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law." This world is full of lies and liars. Even people who intend to tell the truth do not have all the facts, and so their good intention-ed statements still end up being lies. Further, many in our world intentionally mislead for evil ends. But God is not like that. His Word is not like that. And we love Him, and His Word for it.

Verse 165 says: "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble." We find in this second reference to "love" the benefit of loving God's Word: peace and stability. We can infer from this that those who do not love God's Word, and thus live according to it, rob themselves of peace and stability in their lives. Many people wonder at their lack of peace when the reason for it is quite obvious. We tend to look for it in all the wrong places.

Verse 167 says: "My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly." This kind of love does not come to us naturally. The Spirit of God is required if anyone is to love God exceedingly; to love Jesus exceedingly; to love His Word exceedingly. We cannot do it on our own. To really grab hold of God, and to be grabbed hold of by His Word, requires the Spirit's acting. And how does this happen? Only through faith in Christ. Apart from Christ, we cannot know God, and apart from Christ, we cannot receive the benefit of the Spirit. 

And so, finally, come to Christ; and love God's Word.