Psalm 119:47

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled God and His Word.  The introduction can be found here, successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)

 

"I shall delight in Your commandments,

Which I love."

No one has ever accused me of having too much joy, too much delight.  Yet, I have been known as someone who is serious about Your word.  I am wired in such a way, that Your word revives me every day often just to survive, even if I am not overflowing with obvious delight.  Would You move in my heart in such a way that this delight propels me to new heights and overflows to others?  I want the reaction of others to my exhortations not to be so much of a ‘have to’ but rather, ‘look at what he is experiencing through Your word!'  I want that, and I don’t want to miss out on the great wisdom, peace, and joy it so obviously brings.’  ‘Delight’ is the Hebrew שָׁעַע, šā‛a‛, A verb meaning to take delight in; to fondle. It refers to taking joy or enjoyment from something (Psa 94:19), especially God's laws (Psa 119:16, Psa 119:47, Psa 119:40). It describes exceptional delights in the Messianic Kingdom (Isa 11:8) in a figurative sense (Isa 66:12).  It refers to the default place one goes to for pleasure.  May it be Your word, Lord!

 

‘The more delight we take in the service of God the nearer we come to the perfection we aim at.’[1]

 

‘Next to liberty and courage comes delight. When we have done our duty, we find a great reward in it…Obey the command, and you will love it; carry the yoke, and it will be easy, and rest will come by it…David did not delight in the courts of kings, for there he found places of temptation to shame, but in the Scriptures he found himself at home; his heart was in them, and they yielded him supreme pleasure…Lord, let thy mercies come to us that we may love thy word and way, and find our whole delight therein.

The verse is in the future, and hence it sets forth, not only what David had done, but what he would do; he would in time to come delight in his Lord's commands. He knew that they would neither alter, nor fail to yield him joy…All the Psalm is fragrant with love to the word, but here for the first time love is expressly spoken of. It is here coupled with delight, and in Psa 119:165 with “great peace.”’[2]


[1] Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Psalm 119:47, e-Sword edition

[2] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:47, e-Sword edition

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 119:75

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."   In this section, Yodh, the Psalmist seeks comfort (v. 76) and compassion (v. 77) because of Your affliction (v.75) and the subversion of the arrogant (v. 78).   We had just seen in v. 67 and v.71 the good that comes from affliction, and now we see here that this affliction is from You and an expression of Your faithfulness.   Of course this is true, since all good comes from You.   This is part of the ‘exceeding faithfulness’ of Your word (v. 138).   Through affliction we truly seek You (Psalm 78:34, Hosea 5:15).   Through affliction comes praise and satisfac...
Read more

God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To  know  wisdom and discipline, To  understand  the sayings of understanding, To  receive  discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, To  give  prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion; Let the wise man  hear  and  increase  in learning, And a man of understanding will  acquire  guidance, To  understand  a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)   “My son, if you will  receive  my words And  treasure  my commandments within you, To  make your ear pay attention  to wisdom, Incline your heart  to discernment; For if you  call out  for understanding, Give your voice  for discernment; If you  ...
Read more

Psalm 119:76

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant."   ‘O may Your lovingkindness comfort me’, yet how often I have refused to be comforted (Psalm 77:2).    Why is that?   ‘According to Your word’ is, in my pride, the last thing I want.   I want to be comforted on my terms, not on Yours Lord!   That is not true comfort, yet my flesh deceives me.   As I learned in my early counseling sessions, I had to come to grips with the reality that I just wanted relief, I didn’t want You.   I wanted temporary relief then to go on running my own life.   Your lovingkindness is such that You won’t allow that.   You know that onl...
Read more