Weekly Introduction: Because the psalmist is living his life according to the precepts of God’s Word, he is able to rejoice in the life God has given him as he successfully navigates the unexpected turns and potential pitfalls of life. I pray that you will sense the joy of the psalmist as we look at the next 8 verses presented under the heading of the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

(Mem) – The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet begins this 8-verse section

 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long (vs 97).

Last week, we saw how the psalmist “delighted” in God’s Law (vs 92), and now we see him expressing his love for God’s Law, or his love for the Word of God. When we pick up our Bibles, or open our Bible app on our phones, we should be “delighting” in it because we “love” to meditate on God’s Word, and the psalmist tells us that he does this “all day long.” This doesn’t mean reading and studying God’s Word all day long but rather meditating on what we have recently read or studied in it. If you don’t love to read and study God’s Word, just confess it to Him, and ask Him to give you a passion for it so that you can delight in the life-changing words of Scripture.

Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies (vs 98).

Part of God’s Word includes commandments that we need to follow. We need to remember that keeping those commandments helps to prevent us from stepping on the “landmines” of life which will ruin our lives as well as our reputations. After all, Jesus told us that if we really love Him, we need to “keep His commandments” (John 14:15, 21 23). And, of course, if we want to have wisdom that is far greater than that of those who may want to destroy us, keeping the Lord’s commands gets us on the right path to do just that.

I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes (vs 99).

And it’s not just about having wisdom greater than your enemies, it’s also about having more insight than even your teachers. And that wisdom and insight comes from meditating on the Lord’s commandments. When we meditate, we look at the command itself and then process why this command is important in our lives and how best to keep that command. And once we discover that, then we can live our lives in obedience to the Lord’s commandments.

I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts (vs 100).

Just look at this – In addition to gaining wisdom and insight, the psalmist says that he also gains understanding. But that’s not all, as he is also saying that such wisdom, insight, and understanding gained from reading and meditating on God’s Word is greater than that gained by learning from his teachers, as well as from the elders of Israel. What he is saying is that knowing, meditating, and obeying the Lord’s commandments make him wise, which allows him to make wise decisions in every aspect of life. And that wisdom extends even beyond the wisdom of the teachers and leaders in Israel. Oh, that we would so meditate on God’s word that our wisdom would be noticed by others.

I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word (vs 101).

The psalmist is telling us that the wisdom from God has kept him from following every evil path because he desperately desires to obey God’s Word. He does not want to be put to shame, nor does he want to dishonor God in the process.

I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me (vs 102).

Here, the psalmist again declares that he has not departed from God’s Laws because God Himself has taught Him. Hadn’t he asked the Lord to “teach” him His ways? Of course he had! And now he acknowledges the fact that it was the Lord who had taught him. And each of us should recognize this in our own lives.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (vs 103)!

The psalmist acknowledges the “sweetness” of God’s Word to his taste, yes, sweeter even than honey. I don’t know about you, but when I spread peanut butter on a cracker, I always get out the jar of honey to “top it off,” simply because the honey adds some “sweetness” to the combo! That’s the way God’s Word should be in each of our lives.

I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore, I hate every wrong path (vs 104).

And now the psalmist concludes this section by saying that he gains understanding from the Lord’s precepts, and that understanding of what disobedience can do to a person’s life causes him to hate and avoid every false way.

The bottom line from this section of eight verses is that the psalmist declares that God’s Word gives him wisdom, insight, and understanding, and that the result is that it makes him wiser than his enemies, his teachers, and even the elders of Israel. Oh, that we might follow in the paths of the psalmist who kept the commandments in God’s Word because he knew that they would keep him from stepping on the landmines of life and make him productive in all that he does. May we make such a commitment to read, understand, and obey God’s commandments.

Hope to see you next week.