God's Word Sweeter than Honey

97 Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your laws.
100 I am even wiser than my elders,
for I have kept your commandments.
101 I have refused to walk on any evil path,
so that I may remain obedient to your word.
102 I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
for you have taught me well.
103 How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.
104 Your commandments give me understanding;
no wonder I hate every false way of life.

Some people have described this section of Psalm 119 as “quiet.” Unlike many other sections, which bristle with emotional tension and cry out with pleas to God, here the psalmist quietly meditates on the wisdom of God’s Word.

As the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all living things, God knows what’s best for living in his world. If we want to learn and be guided by his wisdom, we need to turn to his Word. God’s Word guides and blesses all who seek his wisdom.

Not surprisingly, the enemies of the psalmist do not turn to God’s Word. God’s commands make him wiser than his ene­mies, he says. But what about the psalmist’s teachers and elders? Is the psalmist claiming to be wiser than they are?

Perhaps he’s criticizing these leaders for treating God’s Word as a textbook instead of a guide for daily living. We can only speculate. At the very least, we can understand this psalm as a lifelong call of living into God’s Word, which can nourish us with divine wisdom for everyday life. In this sense, we can see why the psalmist says God’s words are “sweeter than honey”!

Honey is both sweet and nourishing. Taste God’s Word: it’s sweeter and better for you than anything else. Then dig into it each day and find nourishment for your soul and truth to live by.

Help us, Lord, to grow in living by your Word and to avoid any path that would lead away from you. Amen.