O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
It is an expression of love for God's law shown by thinking on it continually through the day. It is the language of the renewed heart brought into harmony with God, changed from rebellion to obedience and from transgression to loyalty and delight in His precepts. Seeing Christ on the cross as the atoning sacrifice reveals the holiness and beauty of the law and creates this delight and continual meditation, while the law points to Christ and gives intelligent knowledge of sin. Keeping His commandments, testimonies and precepts and making them the meditation gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way, makes His words sweeter than honey, and gives hatred for every false way. It is the love of God's last-day commandment-keeping people, growing more decided as contempt is placed upon the law and proclaimed with heart and voice as part of the third angel's message.
Loving and Meditating Continually
O how love for God's law shows itself is by thinking upon it continually all through the day. That love is delight in the commandments, diligent keeping of all of them with the whole heart, and continual meditation on the testimonies and statutes. It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart, in contrast to those who pour out bitterness against the law and follow the spirit of Satan. Keeping and reflecting on God's word in this way gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers, and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way and keeps a life of obedience, and makes God's words sweet and precious. Scripture thus held in the mind through the day is the foundation of education and the source of wisdom and understanding. Christ's youth exemplifies being guided by Scripture in this way when pressured to resent mistreatment or to join others in conduct contrary to God's law.
It is the voice of David, who loves God's law and gives it sustained attention as a guide for life. It is the experience of the good man who delights in the law of the Lord and thinks on it all day. He makes God's truth the theme of study, meditation, and conversation with earnest desire for divine light, and meditating on the truths of Scripture in this way gives a testimony of devotion to God's Word. Respect for and obedience to God's commandments in this sustained attention leads to understanding godliness. Such dwelling on God's revealed will makes the mind strong in truth, reveals a beauty and harmony that captivates attention and elevates thoughts, and gives inspiration and energy of argument to convict and convert souls.
It proves the sanctifying power and transforming influence of truth upon the soul, with the love of God in the heart softening, molding, and ennobling the life, felt as sanctifying power and not held as theory only. No one is fit to stand in the sacred desk and rightly represent the life of Christ by precept and example until this experience has been felt in his own soul, lest he exalt himself and turn hearers to the minister instead of to Christ. To one who loves God the law is not a burden but a delight, and such delight is the heart's response to God's Word and a fitting expression of love. To the obedient child of God the commandments are a delight, kept in thought all through the day. The true Christian delights in the perfection of the law and strives to rise to its level rather than lowering it to fit human weakness.
The verse belongs to a psalm that exalts God's law and shows its sacredness. God's law is to guide life, and studying His Word reveals the principles of righteousness that distinguish right from wrong and truth from error. Proclaimed with heart and voice and solemn earnestness, it declares that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere.
Renewed Heart Through Christ
It is the language of the soul after the new birth, when the old life of alienation from God has ended and the new life of reconciliation, faith, and love has begun. Then the sinner has been brought into harmony with God and into accord with His law, loving the law and meditating on it continually. It marks the change from death to life, from sin to holiness, and from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. This love belongs to a life of reconciliation, faith, and obedience, not to freedom to transgress the law.
This love belongs to true faith renewed in the image of God, which is not mere belief in the existence and power of God and the truth of His Word, which devils also have. It is submission of the will to God, yielding of the heart to Him, and fixing of the affections upon Him, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The heart in its unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God and cannot be, but the renewed heart delights in His holy precepts, loves them, gives them continual thought, and meditates on His law continually. In those who so walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit the righteousness of the law is fulfilled.
Seeing Christ on the cross of Calvary as the atoning sacrifice, grasping the full meaning of His infinite sacrifice for the sins of the world, and by faith taking His righteousness as one's own reveals the holiness, beauty, and glory of the law. That view produces love for the law and delight in it with continual meditation in it. The law points to Christ and Christ points back to the law, and the law is the detector that gives intelligent knowledge of what sin is. Understanding through Christ's sacrifice the far-reaching nature of the moral standard of righteousness produces this delight.
Wisdom Witness and Last Days
Love for the law that meditates on it all day brings the results described in the verses around it: keeping the commandments, testimonies and precepts gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way, keeps from departing from God's judgments because He teaches, makes His words sweeter than honey, and through the precepts gives understanding that leads to hating every false way. That keeping is diligent keeping of all the commandments with the whole heart, with continual meditation on the testimonies and statutes, and the instructions remain with those who consider them to guide a life of obedience. It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart, delighting in the commandments rather than pouring out bitterness against the law. Christ's youth exemplifies this guidance by Scripture when pressured to resent mistreatment or to join others in conduct contrary to God's law.
Scripture so loved and meditated upon is the foundation of education and the source of wisdom and understanding. That wisdom and truth are gained by earnest thought and study, and its precepts are to shape daily life according to God's standard of righteousness. So applied, they strengthen and ennoble character.
Such dwelling on God's revealed will makes the mind strong in truth. It reveals a beauty and harmony that captivates attention, elevates thoughts, and gives inspiration and energy of argument to convict and convert souls. It proves the sanctifying power and transforming influence of truth on the soul, with the love of God in the heart softening, molding and ennobling the life, felt as sanctifying power and not held as theory only. No one is fit to stand in the sacred desk and rightly represent Christ's life by precept and example until this experience has been felt in his own soul, lest he exalt himself and turn hearers to the minister instead of to Christ.
Keeping the commandments ever present and meditating on them all the day makes the keeper wiser than enemies. Obedience to the law so kept honors God. It gives a decided, positive testimony in features, temper, words and character that the service of the Lord is good and not a restriction on liberty.
This is the love of the last-day commandment-keeping people for God's law, a love that grows more decided as contempt is placed upon the law. They proclaim it with heart and voice and solemn earnestness as their part in the third angel's message, declaring the sacredness of the law and that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere. This stands in contrast to those who pour out bitterness against the law and follow the spirit of Satan, and to those who profess belief in Christ's near coming yet fight against the law.
It is an expression of love for God's law shown by thinking on it continually through the day. It is the language of the renewed heart brought into harmony with God, changed from rebellion to obedience and from transgression to loyalty and delight in His precepts. Seeing Christ on the cross as the atoning sacrifice reveals the holiness and beauty of the law and creates this delight and continual meditation, while the law points to Christ and gives intelligent knowledge of sin. Keeping His commandments, testimonies and precepts and making them the meditation gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way, makes His words sweeter than honey, and gives hatred for every false way. It is the love of God's last-day commandment-keeping people, growing more decided as contempt is placed upon the law and proclaimed with heart and voice as part of the third angel's message.
Loving and Meditating Continually
O how love for God's law shows itself is by thinking upon it continually all through the day. That love is delight in the commandments, diligent keeping of all of them with the whole heart, and continual meditation on the testimonies and statutes. It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart, in contrast to those who pour out bitterness against the law and follow the spirit of Satan. Keeping and reflecting on God's word in this way gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers, and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way and keeps a life of obedience, and makes God's words sweet and precious. Scripture thus held in the mind through the day is the foundation of education and the source of wisdom and understanding. Christ's youth exemplifies being guided by Scripture in this way when pressured to resent mistreatment or to join others in conduct contrary to God's law.
It is the voice of David, who loves God's law and gives it sustained attention as a guide for life. It is the experience of the good man who delights in the law of the Lord and thinks on it all day. He makes God's truth the theme of study, meditation, and conversation with earnest desire for divine light, and meditating on the truths of Scripture in this way gives a testimony of devotion to God's Word. Respect for and obedience to God's commandments in this sustained attention leads to understanding godliness. Such dwelling on God's revealed will makes the mind strong in truth, reveals a beauty and harmony that captivates attention and elevates thoughts, and gives inspiration and energy of argument to convict and convert souls.
It proves the sanctifying power and transforming influence of truth upon the soul, with the love of God in the heart softening, molding, and ennobling the life, felt as sanctifying power and not held as theory only. No one is fit to stand in the sacred desk and rightly represent the life of Christ by precept and example until this experience has been felt in his own soul, lest he exalt himself and turn hearers to the minister instead of to Christ. To one who loves God the law is not a burden but a delight, and such delight is the heart's response to God's Word and a fitting expression of love. To the obedient child of God the commandments are a delight, kept in thought all through the day. The true Christian delights in the perfection of the law and strives to rise to its level rather than lowering it to fit human weakness.
The verse belongs to a psalm that exalts God's law and shows its sacredness. God's law is to guide life, and studying His Word reveals the principles of righteousness that distinguish right from wrong and truth from error. Proclaimed with heart and voice and solemn earnestness, it declares that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere.
Renewed Heart Through Christ
It is the language of the soul after the new birth, when the old life of alienation from God has ended and the new life of reconciliation, faith, and love has begun. Then the sinner has been brought into harmony with God and into accord with His law, loving the law and meditating on it continually. It marks the change from death to life, from sin to holiness, and from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. This love belongs to a life of reconciliation, faith, and obedience, not to freedom to transgress the law.
This love belongs to true faith renewed in the image of God, which is not mere belief in the existence and power of God and the truth of His Word, which devils also have. It is submission of the will to God, yielding of the heart to Him, and fixing of the affections upon Him, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The heart in its unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God and cannot be, but the renewed heart delights in His holy precepts, loves them, gives them continual thought, and meditates on His law continually. In those who so walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit the righteousness of the law is fulfilled.
Seeing Christ on the cross of Calvary as the atoning sacrifice, grasping the full meaning of His infinite sacrifice for the sins of the world, and by faith taking His righteousness as one's own reveals the holiness, beauty, and glory of the law. That view produces love for the law and delight in it with continual meditation in it. The law points to Christ and Christ points back to the law, and the law is the detector that gives intelligent knowledge of what sin is. Understanding through Christ's sacrifice the far-reaching nature of the moral standard of righteousness produces this delight.
Wisdom Witness and Last Days
Love for the law that meditates on it all day brings the results described in the verses around it: keeping the commandments, testimonies and precepts gives wisdom and understanding beyond enemies, teachers and ancients, restrains the feet from every evil way, keeps from departing from God's judgments because He teaches, makes His words sweeter than honey, and through the precepts gives understanding that leads to hating every false way. That keeping is diligent keeping of all the commandments with the whole heart, with continual meditation on the testimonies and statutes, and the instructions remain with those who consider them to guide a life of obedience. It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart, delighting in the commandments rather than pouring out bitterness against the law. Christ's youth exemplifies this guidance by Scripture when pressured to resent mistreatment or to join others in conduct contrary to God's law.
Scripture so loved and meditated upon is the foundation of education and the source of wisdom and understanding. That wisdom and truth are gained by earnest thought and study, and its precepts are to shape daily life according to God's standard of righteousness. So applied, they strengthen and ennoble character.
Such dwelling on God's revealed will makes the mind strong in truth. It reveals a beauty and harmony that captivates attention, elevates thoughts, and gives inspiration and energy of argument to convict and convert souls. It proves the sanctifying power and transforming influence of truth on the soul, with the love of God in the heart softening, molding and ennobling the life, felt as sanctifying power and not held as theory only. No one is fit to stand in the sacred desk and rightly represent Christ's life by precept and example until this experience has been felt in his own soul, lest he exalt himself and turn hearers to the minister instead of to Christ.
Keeping the commandments ever present and meditating on them all the day makes the keeper wiser than enemies. Obedience to the law so kept honors God. It gives a decided, positive testimony in features, temper, words and character that the service of the Lord is good and not a restriction on liberty.
This is the love of the last-day commandment-keeping people for God's law, a love that grows more decided as contempt is placed upon the law. They proclaim it with heart and voice and solemn earnestness as their part in the third angel's message, declaring the sacredness of the law and that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere. This stands in contrast to those who pour out bitterness against the law and follow the spirit of Satan, and to those who profess belief in Christ's near coming yet fight against the law.