Sweeter Than Honey (Part II)

Yesterday, I began a thread on enjoying the Bible, since it is "sweeter than honey," and more precious than gold." In Psalm 1, we see a person delighting in the word:

How blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.
3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

According to this passage, Spiritual well-being (“blessedness”) comes from learning to enjoy God’s truth. “Blessedness” it is not stated as a set of behaviors of duties—but in terms of what the blessed person “delights” in: the law of God. The law of God was a way of referring the scriptures as a whole—the stories, the promises, and the commands. Like I said in yesterday’s post, the psalmist associates the Bible with pleasure!

Alright, you may say, but how is God’s truth a delight? Why would any normal person find God’s truth be so enjoyable? Is it because he feels so morally successful and superior about his obedience to it, that he keeps a moral checklist? No, the writers of the Psalms, especially David, know they are weak and unable to live up to God’s high standards. In Psalms 119, the psalmist confesses his failure to live God’s ways: “my eyes shed streams of water because I have not kept your law”(119:136)

Does the psalmist delight in the bible because it is so exciting, affirming, and flattering? No, sometimes it disturbs and unsettles. While it does bring times of great joy and comfort, it also can bewilder. It can seem unreasonable in its ethics. Devotion to the Bible does not exempt you from pain and negative emotions: “Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight” (119:143).

It does boggle that imagination to the think about how a book that commands and forbids could ever be associated with pleasure. The reason why is in Psalm 1. It is because meditating on the word of God makes you like “a tree firmly planted by streams of water.” Like a tree, the reader is given a sense of “rootedness.” You are rooted rather than “chaff” driven by the wind (vs. 4). You are connected, not simply wandering from experience to experience. The truth of God brings a sense of reality and stability to your life, rather than escapism and flux. C.S. Lewis described the truth of God as that which gives “firmness” to our life, like finding solid pavement after slipping along a muddy path” (Reflections on the Psalms). Also, like that a tree, you are nourished in your soul. God’s truth nourishes your heart because you are encouraged and strengthened. The tree is subject to difficult weather conditions—but it bears fruit and its leaf does not wither--because it is rooted and watered. The roots are more important that what is going on around the top of the tree. The word of God lifts you above your feelings and circumstances, and gives you perspective.

For me, the ultimate reason the Bible is a delight is because Jesus transforms it from burden to beauty. That is because He lived out the demands of the law and took on our sins. Because of that, the law of God no longer accuses us to God. He pours out His love in our hearts (Rom. 5:5) and lives out the ethics of God in us through the Holy Spirit. The bible connects us to Jesus, so we delight in His person and He gives us desire and strength to live his way.

The Bible may not be a source of delight to you right now. However, involvement with God’s truth can become enjoyable. There is a learning curve. In practical terms, the main way the Bible becomes a delight is through the practice of meditation. The psalmist says he “meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Scripture is not a superficial external code of behaviors like “do this three times a day, say this, etc.” It takes some time, some reflection and pondering, to profit from the Bible. Eugene Peterson says that meditation is “gnawing like a dog with a bone.” I will come back to this idea of meditation in a later post. My next post will be about the Bible actually is: the revelation of God’s glory in the story of His loving pursuit of rebels in Jesus Christ.