"If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction" (Psalm 119:92).
God's Word is an amazing thing. It is not just a set of dry rules and meaningless commands, or even an interesting collection of ancient history. The Bible is the living Word of God, holding the power to change lives and transform us into a deeper reflection of the image of Christ.
In the twelfth stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist marvels at the unending perfection of God's law. His commandments endure forever, and even if one could also live forever, he would never see the corruption of God's law. It is complete, needing no additions or deductions.
This perfect law is the only thing that gives the psalmist strength when he is in trouble. In the midst of his distress, he meditates on God's words and draws comfort from them, knowing that in them is truth. When his enemies surround him, he thinks about God's testimonies. He remembers who God is and what He does, and that gives him courage.
Our only defense against the schemes of evil is to be saturated in God's Word. It alone can defend us and teach us how we ought to act in every situation. When we are frightened, His Word gives us peace. When we are tempted, His Word provides the way out. When we are uncertain, His Word illuminates the next step.
If we want to be faithful to God, we must be intimately acquainted with His Word! It will never end; it will never fall short or become irrelevant. If the psalmist wrote these words about only the first five books of the Old Testament, how much more wealth is available to us in the entirety of the Bible! God's Word gives us life. When we have nothing, He is everything, and He speaks to us through the words collected by dozens of faithful men over centuries of time. We are called to delight in it. Do we?
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