Psalm 119:14 – I Have to Be Joyful Too?
In the way of your testimonies I rejoice
As over great wealth.
Teachers and preachers often say that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, was moving the law inside and making it of the heart. And that is certainly a theme of that sermon.
But the fact is that the heart was always the object of the law. We are the ones who tend to look at the statutes, the regulations in modern terms, as the point of the law. It’s a simple path. We look at the law, and we do what we can to do what it says to do. So the point becomes the list of regulations for our lives. Aren’t these regulations wonderful? Shouldn’t we be happy about them?
Isn’t that what this Psalm is about?
Let me quote my friend and Energion author Bob MacDonald in the series he has just started on Psalm 119:
Overall, Psalm 119 is a restful adoration of God and God’s promises.
Have you thought of it like that?
I commend his series to you, especially if you are musical. He does studies of the music of the Bible. There is great value in looking at these passages from different perspectives. I try to read a number of these as I meditate on the passage.
“Restful” and “joy” both represent something internal, a response to the law (remember Torah/instruction), and not an external assent.
And the Psalmist rejoices.
I want to quote another one of my Energion authors, Deborah Roeger, author of The Power of Obedience:
Before we conclude this lesson, we have some personal work to do. We have established that as God’s covenant people we are tailor-made by Him to live by His wisdom not our own! If we would lay down our right to live life on our terms – if we would turn to Him in submission, letting Him rule and reign as the perfect Creator and Lord of life in every aspect of our life – we would then joyfully know by experience what it means to know Him. If there is any area of your life that you have been holding back from Him, would you be willing right now to drop to your knees, bow your heart and your head before Him in complete surrender? Life will never be the same! And praise God for that!
Deborah L. Roeger, The Power of Obedience, 43.
This is a conclusion to an extensive lesson, but just on that one paragraph, do you think the Psalmist might well agree?
(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)
