The law is good!
by Pastor Peter Bean
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I will obey your demands, so please don’t ever leave me (Psalm 119:8).
Read Psalm 119:1–8
How do you go at obeying the Ten Commandments? Or even one of them? What about the 613 commands listed throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy? There are 248 positives ones (do this …) and 365 negative ones (don’t do this …). One for each day! Too much to think about?
If you are like me, it’s a struggle. I don’t really like the law, or any one of the laws – because they trip me up. They let me know I can’t obey God’s demands; I can’t keep his rules (verse 2); I can not ‘not do what is wrong’ (verse 3). Urggh, the law is a pain!
So, how can this psalmist write 176 verses praising it, in a sophisticated poem of 22 lots of 8 verses (reflecting the Hebrew alphabet)? Could such a perfect person have existed?
Well, perhaps the writer knows something we can all know. The law is indeed perfect. And Jesus came to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17).
The writer obviously wanted to live a good life and recognised that the various laws were given so there would be peace and harmony among people and in the land. But, of course, laws were broken or cast aside, as people went their own way. Do we do that too? If we are honest, the answer is yes!
So, the only way we can say with the psalmist, ‘I will obey your demands’, is by adding the next line, ‘so please don’t ever leave me’. Which immediately reminds me of Jesus’ parting words, ‘I am with you always’, or the meaning of the first born – Immanuel – God is with us!
So Jesus walks with us through the Holy Spirit. He allows us to follow the Lord’s teachings in love. And he offers a new beginning every time we fail one of those tests (laws). Perhaps more than 10 times, more than 22 times, even more than 70 times 7. Jesus forgives us again and again when we admit we can’t keep the law, and then through his grace and forgiveness, we can begin again and say, ‘I will obey your demands, so please don’t ever leave me’.
Law-giving and loving God. Thank you for fulfilling the law in Jesus. Help me to daily walk with Jesus, putting the law into action in love and kindness. Amen.
Peter is often out tending his garden – with 83 fruit and nut trees and extensive native bushes, he says there is a lot to do! Other times, he will be walking his dog, reading (too many books at a time), enjoying his family (15 grandchildren), and occasionally writing – poetry, opinion pieces, devotions! He also tries to fit in a bike ride each day. To keep out of mischief, he is currently teaching himself to play the piano and is writing a paraphrase of each psalm. You can read these on his website, Creative Walking.
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