“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me! How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. Be good to your servant, that I may live and obey your word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. I am only a foreigner in the land. Don’t hide your commands from me! I am always overwhelmed with a desire for your regulations. You rebuke the arrogant; those who wander from your commands are cursed. Don’t let them scorn and insult me, for I have obeyed your laws. Even princes sit and speak against me, but I will meditate on your decrees. Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.”
Psalms 119:1-24 NLT
The author of Psalm 119 knows a deep and hidden truth about that human condition. First is that we are sinful in a pervasive way. Second is that we are in need of a direct intervention. Lastly is that when that intervention is successful, it results in deep change that creates joy and freedom. Jeremiah states that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick. It should come as no surprise that he is considered to be a potential author of this psalm as the psalmist notes that the heart is where God’s word ought to be applied. To be clear, it is not simply placed there. Instead it is to be hidden there. The idea is that inputting it into the heart keeps it safe from being removed. It is a place of enmeshment with the human soul. This is exactly where it would need to be to attack the other thing that is hidden deep within our souls, which is sin. Hiding God’s word in our heart is tantamount to destroying sin’s hold upon us. It is an ancient struggle. In Eden, man had God’s word and decree all round him, but without competition. Adam’s ingestion of the forbidden fruit, mimics the conceptual question that combats God’s word, “did God really say?” Man must now ingest God’s word constantly as everything he inputs is corrupted now.
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