“I
treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” —Psalm 119.11
“Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” —Psalm 119.18
Pastor Tom Johnson, February 16, 2020
Psalm 119 is a wisdom psalm. It’s the longest Psalm—175 verses. There are 22 stanzas—one stanza for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each line begins with the same letter. This was a great way to learn the Hebrew ABCs. It is full of wisdom about the Word of God and what our relationship to God should be like. It is a prayer full of wisdom and joy. And it celebrates the power and wonder of Scripture.
“I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” We commit Scripture to memory. We hide it in our hearts. We wisely store it in our memory banks so that in our time of need we can draw the strength that we need. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man finds and covers up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Mt 13:44).
John McCain, a veteran of the Vietnam War was shot down from his plane, nearly killed, and then a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 6 years. He was tortured. He and the other American prisoners were denied everything including Bibles. But McCain and the other prisoners were able to remember the liturgy and many Scriptures of their childhood. This treasure buried deep within their souls could not be taken away from them. In their time of trouble, they were encouraged by the treasure trove of God’s Word that they had buried there years before.
“I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” This meditation and pondering of the words of the Bible will direct and illuminate our paths. Another verse of this same psalm says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105). The power of God’s power prevents us from harming others and ourselves. It keeps us close to the heart of God in our words, thoughts, and lives to glorify him. That is the wisdom of Jesus’ teaching in our Gospel. That God’s commandments are not there just to give the outward appearance of right and godly living. It is not enough that have not physically murdered or committed adultery. God is concerned about our whole being—body, soul, and spirit. One rabbinical writer says of this verse, “Mere knowledge of Torah is not enough. It’s words must be meditated upon and kept in the fore of one’s mind. Only in this way will they produce the salutary effect of refining one’s character and conduct, and bringing us closer to God.” God wants our not just our actions to line up with his will. He wants our thoughts to be transformed. He wants our words to flow from hearts filled with the treasure of his Word. He wants us to hit the bull’s eye of his target which is obedience and loving God with our whole being and loving one another as Christ has loved us.
One of my Hebrew professors in seminary told all his students that we should commit Psalm 119 verse 18 to memory in Hebrew. That is how important he believed this verse to be for the student and preacher of God’s Word.
“Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” This is a beautiful reminder that there are wondrous things in the Bible. There are many marvels that will surprise us. There is a lifetime of discoveries waiting for us in the pages of Scripture that will leave us in awe and fill us with joy.
The 19th century London preacher Charles Spurgeon said there is no greater crime than for preachers to bore people with the Word of God. Our prayer as speakers and as hearers is for God to open our eyes—that he would unveil our hearts and minds so that we can see, hear, and taste that the Lord is good—and awesome. Just as the German Reformer Martin Luther reminds us in the catechism: we cannot by our own reason or strength come to him. We prayerfully receive the work of the Holy Spirit to help us understand, direct our paths, and lead us to wisdom and celebration.
After the disciples heard Jesus explain how the Old Testament Scripture is about himself on the road to Emmaus, they began to understand how much treasure there is about Christ in the stories and writings of the whole Bible. They said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Lk 24:32). Jesus often opened his disciples minds to understand the Scriptures (Lk 24:45).
So we pray that he would open for us the treasure chest from Genesis to Revelation that our hearts would burn within our breasts each and every day as we journey through this life discovering the relevance of his death and resurrection for us. We will not just be more informed—more obedient—but true worshipers of God Almighty—filled with his wonder and awe—marveling at just how great our God is—pondering and treasuring in our hearts the gift of his Son is—receiving the strength to comprehend “the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:18,19).
Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord
Present in Thy holy Word
Grace to imitate Thee now
And be pure, as pure art Thou.
That we might become like Thee
At Thy great epiphany
And may praise Thee, ever blest,
God in men made manifest.
(“Songs of Thankfulness and Praise,” LSB 394, v. 5)
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