Psalm 119: Tsadhe

As I read this stanza, I am confronted with an uncomfortable truth.  I don’t value God’s word the way the psalmist does.  When I read verse 140 where he says your word is very pure, I picture a precious diamond or refined gold.  If I had a 5-carat diamond that was flawless or a bar of 99.99% pure gold, I believe I would treat it with more care and reverence than the book that sits before me right now.  Thankfully, I at least spend more time with my bible open these days than I would staring at said treasure.  The diamond or gold bar I would most likely have locked up in a safe deposit box in a bank’s safe.  But there is something to be said about that too.

I am immediately drawn to Matthew 6, where Jesus warns about what we treasure:

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

As I continued reading Jesus’ sermon the mount here, I realized he had more to say about the topic:

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.

Usually, these two sections are broken up, but His lesson purposely had them juxtaposed because they go together.  Jesus is talking about lust of the heart and worldly desires.  The psalmist didn’t have that problem, at least when he was writing Psalm 119!  His heart’s desire was God’s Word, which he treasured and hid in his heart.  Oh that we would be as zealous for God’s commands!  He loves God’s precepts so much, that he is zealous for those who have turned away from it.

When he uses the word that is translated into “zeal,” he describes an intense feeling.  It means feelings of great intensity and warmth, fervor and eagerness.  Ouch, that’s revealing!  Imagine someone taking that beautiful diamond or pure gold and tossing it over a cliff.  There would be a sinking feeling in your chest and even immediate thoughts of how to go down and retrieve it!  Now, what if someone did the same thing with your bible?  Granted, there are multiple copies available and you can even pull it up on your phone, but do we have the same fervor for God’s Word as we would that precious stone or metal?  Maybe the analogy doesn’t hit close to home because you don’t have a diamond or bar of gold like that, so let’s make it more relevant to today.  What if they tossed your smartphone over the cliff or something else equally important to you?

What is your delight?  In verse 143, the psalmist says Your commandments are my delight. Flip to Exodus 20 and take a quick glance over God’s commandments:

Exalt no other gods before me.
Don’t make any idols.
Do not misuse the Lord’s name.
Remember the Sabbath and observe it.
Honor your parents.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not covet.

Do you delight in those words?  The thought of delighting in God’s commandments might even seem like an odd thing to say about them.  Maybe you respect them, recognize them, and try to follow them…but delight?

Delight fundamentally means to please greatly or to experience intense pleasure. The term encompasses both an active dimension—the capacity to bring joy to someone—and a receptive one, where one takes great pleasure in something. As a state of mind, delight represents a high degree of satisfaction, though it carries a particular quality that distinguishes it from fleeting emotions. Delight constitutes a more enduring form of pleasure than joy, remaining stable rather than dependent on momentary excitement.

God’s Word is the source of the Christian’s joy!  In Matthew 13:44 and on we see Jesus explaining the value of God’s Kingdom using analogies like a treasure hidden in a field, a valuable pearl, and a dragnet.  It’s a precious prize that many are striving for but only some will find it.  The roadmap is God’s Word!  A hidden precious gem adds value to the map that guides you to it.  This brings us back to Psalm 119:139. The second half mentions the psalmist’s adversaries forgetting God’s words.  Imagine being on a treasure hunt and you have the map.  Your competitors stopped looking at the map and began wandering off course!  Wouldn’t you be more grateful that you still have the map?  In fact, you might consider the others foolish for not staying with you to use the map so you could all find it together.  After all, splitting a precious treasure is better than finding no treasure at all!  Yet, God’s Kingdom is infinite and all who find it “divide the spoils” but we call get a full measure.

This stanza has a peculiar ending which we should not overlook.  He states that even though trouble and anguish come upon him, he delights in God’s commandments.  Looking back over the ten commandments above, do they make you feel delight?  They should!  But how? You might ask.  God’s commandments are guardrails for righteous living.  Within those guardrails we discover the abundant life.  I don’t mean having that diamond or gold, but a life full of joy.  How can I say this with confidence?  In my own life, I have broken every one of them and it has always led me down a path of despair and destruction!  Living within the confines of God’s commandments has brought me peace, joy, and safety.  Sure, I have also had my share of trouble and anguish despite living within God’s commandments, but I still experienced peace, joy, and safety amidst the tribulation!  Once we take our eyes off the things in this world, it is easier to see God’s truth.  This is where the final verse gives us resolution in this dichotomy of joy and peace amidst trials.

Give me understanding that I may live.

The psalmist understood that this life is not easy. Therefore, he asks God for understanding in accordance with His testimonies which are righteous forever.  The testimonies of God’s goodness and provision for His people during tribulation keeps us going.  It is how we learn to trust God when our world seems to be falling apart.  Where do we find these testimonies, these pearls of joy, these hidden treasures?  In God’s Word!