One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Psalm
119, where King David celebrates the Law of God. For David, the Law was not
something dreadful to him, but something delightful. He found joy in God’s
commands.
We see this kind of language just by a cursory overview of the
chapter:
“In the way of your
testimonies I delight, as much as in all riches.” (v. 14)
“Open my eyes, that I
may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (v. 18)
“My soul is consumed
with longing for your rules at all times.” (v. 20)
“Lead me in the path of
your commandments, for I delight in it.” (v. 35)
“How sweet are your
words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (v. 103)
I am drawn again and again to this text because, often
times, when we think of the Law, we don’t use words like sweet, wondrous, or
delight. More often than not, words we might deem more appropriate to use would
be boring, legalistic, dry, or cold, yet these are the exact opposite of how
David looked at the Law.
He saw it as a gift from God to be savored.
Unfortunately, this is not the consensus view among Christians. In fact, many
Christians are often guilty of what is called antinomianism, which is a belief
that God has no moral law that he expects Christians to obey.
Not only does
this give us a misunderstanding of the Law, it gives us a false view of our
present pursuit of holiness as followers of Christ. There are delightful
demands that give evidence of persevering faith. As Jesus himself said in John
14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So, how should we view
the Law? What can we learn from David in Psalm 119?
1)
The Law Should Be Received with Joy
First, we should recognize that we did not discover
God. God chose to reveal himself to us. It would be perfectly just and good for
God to not reveal himself to us. We do not deserve to know him, but instead
deserve to be the recipients of his wrath because of our sin. This is sheer
grace that he shows us. What we find in the Law is not only God’s requirements,
but his character. We see his high standard of holiness and his hatred of sin
(Hos. 1:1-9; Psalm 5:4-6). We see that his love is a holy love, not mere
sentimentality.
Furthermore, and of utmost importance, we see that because of
his high standard of holiness in the Law and his demands of perfection, the Law
points to our substitute, Jesus Christ the Messiah, who would fulfill the Law
for his people, remove their guilt and set them free from the penalty that was
on our heads as law-breakers (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 3:19-26; 8:2-4). We are free to
receive the Law with joy because we are not trying to be justified by it and
God’s people see no longer see his commandments as burdensome (see 1 John
5:3).
Since Jesus has secured our adoption with our Father, we are free to
delight in his commands as an expression of who our Father is. In other words,
being free to enjoy the Law is another way we get to know our Father. It is
this position we have been given through Christ that makes the Law joyful to
the heart of the saint.
2)
Delighting in the Law Gives Evidence We Love Jesus
As I mentioned briefly above, those who have been
truly born again will give evidence that they love Jesus by keeping his
commandments. Will they do this perfectly? Absolutely not. Will they do it at
all? Yes. The regenerate heart has new desires and will live a life of
repentance and confession, which will be a life marked by obedience. So even
though they will not obey perfectly, they will no longer live in a lifestyle of
slavery to sin because they have been “made alive in Christ” (Eph. 2:4).
Notice
that I am not saying we are justified, that we are made right with God, by our
obedience to his commands. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in
Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9). However, as Reformer Martin Luther once said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”
Saving faith is evidenced by good works.
3)
Loving the Law as a Weapon in Fighting Sin
In Psalm 119:9, David writes, “How can a young man
keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” In David’s time,
“your word” is a reference to the Torah, the first five books of the Old
Testament, which contain the Law. A couple of verses later, he writes, “I have
stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (v. 11).
Putting his faith in a future Messiah (who would be Jesus of Nazareth), David
was given eyes to see that God’s people are set apart unto holiness and if he was
going to fight for his joy in the Lord, he could not ignore God’s will found in
his revealed Word.
Like
David, we must take sin seriously. The pervasiveness of sin affects all areas
of our lives. Sin leaves no stone unturned in its curse upon creation, including
the lives of men and women everywhere. From our friendships to how we drive,
our slavery to sin taints what God originally created good. Even worse, sin is
rebellion against a holy God.
The depth of the effects sin has between us and
God is profound, as Pastor John Piper once said,
“What makes sin sin is not first that it hurts
people, but that it blasphemes God. This is the ultimate evil and the ultimate
outrage in the universe. The glory of God is not honored. The holiness of God
is not reverenced. The greatness of God is not admired. The power of God is not
praised. The truth of God is not sought. The wisdom of God is not esteemed. The
beauty of God is not treasured. The goodness of God is not savored. The
faithfulness of God is not trusted. The promises of God are not relied upon.
The commandments of God are not obeyed. The justice of God is not respected.
The wrath of God is not feared. The grace of God is not cherished. The presence
of God is not prized. The person of God is not loved.”[1]
Fighting sin is a declaration that we desire our joy to be in Christ above
anything else. It’s warfare against lesser pleasures. It is seeing holiness as
beautiful, reflecting the beauty and majesty of Jesus, who is to be valued
above all else. While the Law reveals our sin and points us to our need for a
Substitute to save us and stand in our place, it also is a means for the Holy
Spirit to strip away disordered affections as we long for Jesus. It declares
along with David, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me
life in your ways” (Ps. 119:37).
The Law is good because it comes from God. He
established it and, in his infinite wisdom, only makes good laws. In sending
his Son to fulfill the Law, he didn’t give us a reason to toss the Law out the
window. That was not his intention. He is preparing his people to be a pure
Bride, adorned in the clothes of the gospel, namely, the righteousness of the
Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
I wonder, could it be that we are not living in the
joy of the gospel like we desire because our view of the Law keeps us from
seeing the delight of holiness? Do we really see the Law as a means to gaze
upon the beauty of the Lord as we are in awe of his holiness? Or have we fallen
into the error of antinomianism and think that God’s people have no moral
commands to concern themselves with? As we wait upon the return of Jesus, let
us have full hearts for the joy found in the Law, knowing that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the
day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
[1] John Piper,
“The Greatest Thing in the World: An Overview of Romans 1-7,” Desiring God, http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-greatest-thing-in-the-world-an-overview-of-romans-1-7 (accessed July
30, 2013).
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