LOVE FOR GOD’S WORD
Edited from a Prayer Meetingexhortation by bro Sim Yeow Meng on 25 May 2001

“Therefore I love thy commandments abovegold; yea, above fine gold.
Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and Ihate every false way.”
(Psalm 119:127–128)

In these words, the Psalmist speaks of his love for God’s commandments. Fromthe word “therefore,” we may see that his words in these verses are connectedto his preceding words. Prior to these words, he was saying in verse 126, “Itis time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.” Here, we seethe Psalmist calling upon God to act, for men have disregarded His Law. And byreason of that, he says, “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold….”

In other words, he sees the sinful ways of those who have no regard for God’sLaw; how they have departed from the ways of God. He sees how terrible it is athing when men abandon what God has commanded and laid down for them. When mengo contrary to the Word of God, they wander further and further away from God,and draw nearer and nearer to ruin. They head for ways of destruction. God willact against men who break His Law. He will judge the offenders of His holyLaw—it is only a matter of time. But now as the Psalmist beholds widespreaddisregard for the Law of God, his heart burns with jealousy for God’s glory.And so he hastens God to act quickly, and at the same time announces how hislove for the commandments of God has been rekindled!

This is why he says, “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold.” He lovesGod’s commandments above gold, because he sees the great contrast between theexcellency of God’s commandments as compared to the ways of destruction andruin which he observes in the lives of those who make void God’s Law. Thecommandments of God come from God, and in them, man hears the voice of God.Through them, man learns wisdom and understanding from the mouth of God. Withthem, comes the knowledge of God: His nature, His will and His attributes. Andthus, by them, man may be led to the everlasting way (Ps 139:24). Therefore,the Psalmist says he loves God’s commandments above gold.

Above Gold, yea AboveFine Gold

Why above gold, we may ask? It is because gold is the chief desire of men inthe world. With it, a man may obtain many good things in life,—honour,pleasures, comforts and ease of the flesh,—things that men in the world woulddesire. Hence, many give themselves fully in the seeking and pursuing of it.

But for the Psalmist, God’s commandments are far more valuable and desirablethan gold, even fine gold. He says, “I love thy commandments above gold, yea,above fine gold.”

Gold may buy a man a life of comforts and ease, but that only, and no further.In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, it was said to the rich man,“Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewiseLazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented” (Lk16:25).

But unlike gold, the commandments of God show a man the way to a blessedeverlasting life. In Galatians 3:24, we are told that the Law of God is aschoolmaster that leads a man to Christ, to be justified by faith: “Whereforethe law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might bejustified by faith.” And after leading us to Christ, they show us the way thatis right and acceptable to God, that man should walk in, for the Psalmist alsosays: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps 119:105).

When our heart begins to be surged with pride by our successes and attainmentsin the world every now and then, and swells with conceit and haughtiness, God’scommandments faithfully reveal to us our true state: How it is wretched, vileand helpless before God. And they lead us to the way of God by directing us toChrist the Redeemer of sinners. When our mind is influenced and swayed away bythe various ungodly influences and lawlessness of the world, and wander awayfrom our walk with God, God’s commandments steadfastly direct our feet back toHim. And when sin and the things of the world tempt us, God’s commandmentsunfailingly admonish us to turn from the way of perishing and ruin.

Therefore, it may be seen how excellent the commandments of God are! If Achanhad loved God’s commandments above gold, yea above fine gold, he and his familywould not have ended up in that sad state. If the world loves the commandmentsof God above gold, there would not be so many who have fallen into a temptationand snare, and many a foolish and hurtful lust, being drown in destruction andperdition (1 Tim 6:9).

“The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after,they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with manysorrows” (1 Tim 6:10), says the Apostle Paul. Knowing this, surely we ought tolove God’s commandments far above gold, to escape and flee from that mightysnare of the world and of the love of riches.

The Psalmist says, “It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made voidthy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold”(Ps 119:126–127).

The more men make void God’s Law, the more we ought to love God’s commandments.The more we see the world increasing in sin and ungodliness, and the strongerthat current, the more we should consider soberly, carefully and fearfully, theruinous end of such a life, and the excellence of the Law of God and, withgreat love, cleave to it.

Charles Bridge, when commenting on this verse, draws a very apt lesson from it.He says,

The image brings the miser beforeus. His heart and treasure are in his gold. With what delight he counts it!With what watchfulness he keeps it! Hiding it in safe custody, lest he shouldbe despoiled of that which is dearer to him than life. Such should Christiansbe: spiritual misers: counting their treasure, which is above fine gold; and“hiding it in their heart,” in safe keeping, where the great despoiler shallnot be able to reach it. Oh Christians, how much more is your portion to youthan the miser’s treasure. Hide it, watch it, retain it. You need not be afraidof covetousness in spiritual things: rather covet earnestly to increase yourstore (Comm. in loc.).

Concerning All Things tobe Right

The Psalmist adds, moreover, “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerningall things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Ps 119:128).

This is the second part of his response to the fact that man made void God’sLaw. We see the word “therefore” here again.

From the evil and wicked works of those who go contrary to God’s Law and makeit void, he sees the rightness of God’s precepts. And he esteems all of them tobe right.

Now, when we remind ourselves that the Psalmist was inspired of the Holy Spiritwhen he penned these words, we can rightly conclude that he is correct in hisestimation of God’s precepts in these words, that is, all ofGod’s precepts are right.

And if all of God’s precepts are right, then we may see the infallibility andinerrancy of God’s Word in this verse. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he does notsay that he esteems some of God’s precepts to be right,but all of them concerning all things to beso. Thus from here, it may be seen the error of those who deny the truth ofGod’s Word; or deny its infallibility and inerrancy, be it a doctrinalstatement or a statement relating to geography, history or science. And notmerely so, it may also be seen the mistake of those who are indifferent to theScripture; those who have no love for the Scripture. Not only are those who areantagonistic against the Word of God erroneous, but equally erring are thosewho are neutral to it, who have neither passion nor regard for it.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:8–11, we are told that in the last days, when theAntichrist is revealed, many shall be deceived and shall believe a lie andperish. And the reason for their ruin, we note, is because they “received notthe love of the truth” (v. 10). Many are in a slumber, many in a dreamy state.

We see how contrary is the Psalmist to such a state of men. He does not onlyesteem all the precepts to be right, but he also hates false ways. He says, “Ihate every false way,” that is, every way that is contrary to God’s Word. Hisapproval of the precepts of God is not merely in his mind, but it is also inhis heart and life—he says, “I hate every false way.”

We may observe that he does not simply read the Word of God, but he considersit, he meditates upon it and contemplates on what it teaches, and then measuresand assesses the words and works of men according to it. Thus he is able todiscern what is true and what is false, and thereafter hates every falsehood.He carefully ponders over the Word of God, reflects upon it and studies it,seeking to understand it. In other words, he does not go away after hearing andreading the Word of God and forget it, but he seeks to digest it, so to speak.He does not behold his natural face in a glass, and goes his way, andstraightway forgets what manner of man he was (Jas 1:23–24).

The result is a strict obedience of God’s Word. We note the words “all” and“every” in his words. He esteems all precepts of Godconcerning all things to be right, and hates every falseway. He does not obey some and disobey the rest. He hates every way contrary todivine revelation. Though only Christ could obey thoroughly and perfectly, thePsalmist could affirm with a clear conscience, that he loves the commandmentsof God and esteems all that God has revealed to be right, and therefore byimplication, desires with his whole heart, and makes every attempt with God’shelp to keep His commandments.

Conclusion andApplications

Now to sum up, there are a few lessons that we may learn here. The first isthat we ought not to be disinterested in or indifferent to the Word of God. Godhas given us a special revelation. We would deprive ourselves of it, should webe indifferent to, or disinterested in, it. Our disinterest and indifferencewill only hurt us and land us in great harm. Rather, God’s Word, His laws andHis commandments are excellent and to be loved, and that above fine gold. Weought to endeavour to develop a great and growing love for it, one that isabove all our earthly treasures. We ought to seek for a passion for it. It isonly when we do so that we shall be able to cleave to God and walk aright withHim all the days of our life here.

Secondly, as we do so, we ought also to consider a corresponding hatred of allthings contrary to the Scripture. We cannot love God’s Word as well as thingscontrary to it at the same time. They are mutually exclusive. The Lord teachesus that no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and lovethe other, or he will hold to one, and despise the other. We will either loveGod and hate sin, or love sin and despise God. We ought not to indulge in anysin. Rather, we ought to learn to hate sin.

Finally, we may also consider the manner we should receive the Word of God. Wesee the degree in which the Psalmist possessed the Word of God in his heart. Hedoes not only say that he dislikes or is unhappy with false ways, but that hehates false ways, and every one of them. We see the depth in which the Word ofGod has affected him. His heart is so well aligned with God’s ways. This shouldcall us to consider how we should receive the Word of God. After hearing orreading it, time and efforts should be spent recalling it, meditating upon it,pondering over it, and seeking to impress it upon our heart, to thetransforming of our mind and life. And just as the Psalmist obeys God with athorough and complete obedience, we may also grow in our obedience of God,walking with Him as Enoch did.

—Sim Yeow Meng (edited by J.J. Lim)