Scripture:
Psalm 119:47–48
47 I find my delight in your commandments
because I love them.
48 I revere your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes. (NRSVUE)
Observation:
The psalmist finds great delight in the commandments of the Lord. Not only does he delight in them, but he loves them!
He holds these commandments dear and spends time meditating on the Lord’s statutes.
Application:
I find it fascinating that the psalmist has this deep love and regard for God’s commandments. He meditates on the law that the Israelites received from God. There would be very few people I know today who would get excited about laws, commandments, or rules. Not only would they not be excited, but they certainly wouldn’t take the time to meditate on them. And let’s be honest—that’s even true when it comes to God’s laws. People, even Christians, often want to live without restraint. Commandments put limits on our behaviors, and that is uncomfortable.
We do love the idea of living by the Spirit. Just the word Spirit sounds freeing. We imagine that we can simply “go with the flow.” But maybe we’re not understanding the Spirit properly. Yes, the Spirit is flowing, but going with the flow means participating in the life of the Triune God and going where God may lead.
If the law has come to us from God, which it has, then we cannot separate God’s commandments from life in the Spirit. What if our obedience to God’s commandments is meant to be a vessel that helps us remain attentive to the Spirit? And when we refuse to revere God’s commandments, the vessel begins to leak. We become leaky spiritual vessels, no longer living in the fullness of the Spirit’s transforming presence. The cracks in the vessel allow the things of this world to move back in.
Now we think we’re going with the flow—but which flow is it? As we’ve moved away from God’s statutes and commandments, we may be swept along by a spirit, but it may just be the spirit of the age. Because we don’t love the commandments, and only want what we think of as freedom in the Spirit, we can become deceived and reinterpret our understanding of where the Spirit is moving.
There was a reason the psalmist encouraged God’s people to love the law. Jesus came to fulfill the law, and through the Holy Spirit, God’s will is written upon our hearts. Even as we live in the Spirit, we are to love God’s commandments.
The law and the Spirit belong together, and when they each fulfill their purpose in our lives, we can truly go with the flow.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to delight in Your commandments. Please help me to live a Spirit-empowered life according to Your will. I love You, Lord. Amen.
Leave a Reply