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מ(Mem) The perfect food sweeter than honey
Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law 13/22
Psalm 119:97-104
Andy Nagahara
This is the thirteenth in a series of Psalm 119, which is called a hymn to the Law.
Today, we will focus on verses 97-104, in which the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “מ（Mem),” is placed at the beginning of each line of the thirteenth paragraph. Mem is the Hebrew letter equivalent to the Greek letter Μμmu, and the English letter M. The character is believed to have originated from a letter depicting water (Hebrew: מים mayim). For the people who had the experience of the Exodus, access to water was unimaginably important to those of us living in East Asia. Water is essential for human life, and for this reason God says through the prophet Jeremiah that He Himself is the fountain of the water of life for people. However, water itself is not nutritious. If we only took water, we would not be able to sustain our bodies. We must take oxygen by breathing and nutrients by eating. Our souls also need nourishment.
I started with water, but what I want to talk about today is food for the soul. Do you remember what Jesus said about this?
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:3,4)
Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. In other words, even in the Old Testament era, the essence of the law was not a religious commandments, but rather a call or speaking to us from God. What we are learning now throughout this series is that the gospel and the law are not in conflict, but rather that legalism, born of human interpretation, is against the law. It also means that even though we think we are listening to the gospel, we may stray far from it. How can we, like the psalmist, remain abiding in God’s word?
1. God’s commands make us smarter than our enemies (97, 98)
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
The psalmist says not to obey the law, but to love the law. Love is a spontaneous attitude. It is not something that we have to guard against for fear of punishment.
For Israel, which has always been surrounded by powerful nations, the presence of God who spoke to them was irreplaceable. They lost their land, were scattered all over the world, suffered terrible persecution, and even now prejudice has not disappeared, but they have been protected and kept alive by God’s word. For us it is Jesus and his words.Even if most people around us don’t understand or accept us, Jesus’ words are a force that makes us get up and keep going.
Is a Christian a member of a Christian church? Is it someone who believes the Bible to be the Word of God? That would not be wrong either.
But the more essential definition of a Christian is “a person who lives life by the words of Jesus Christ.” That’s all that matters. Whatever the problem, whether it be talent problems, health problems, financial problems, or whatever it may be, we are invincible if we listen to the words Jesus speaks to us as we walk.
2. God’s precepts makes us more insight than our teachers (99, 100)
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
One of the reflections made in the Reformation was that churches and clergy had become intermediate authorities between individuals and God, hindering the direct connection between individuals and God. Learning from someone is important. However, no matter how great the teacher may be, no one can stand above others with God’s authority. The church as a human organization tends to create such authority.
Of course, hearing from others should not be underestimated. If we deny the existence of others when interacting with God, it is easy for us to think we are receiving God’s word and then let our own thoughts become mixed in with it.
This tendency is an attitude called “mysticism,” which is present in all religions, not just Christianity. If mysticism were correct, the church would be unnecessary. Yet, Jesus commanded Peter, who had human weaknesses like us, to start a church.
So what can we do to prevent the church and its ministers from becoming something of an authority that sits between us and God, and at the same time we don’t fall into selfish “mysticism”? Luther in Germany is famous for the Reformation, but there is also a man named John Calvin (Jean Calvin) who was in charge of the Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland. The church that started with his reformation is the denomination that is now called the Reformed Church or the Presbyterian Church. I believe that the most important thing to learn from this way of being is the idea that “we must be a church that continues to reform.”
That does not mean that we are moving further and further away from what we originally were. Instead, since we tend to change more and more if we are not careful, it is rather a matter of remembering our origin and continuing to strive toward what we should be.
Over the past few years, the coronavirus has changed the state of churches a lot, but it has not changed the essence of the church. What does it mean to “believe in the church”, which is confessed in both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed? How should we be a church that loves one another? That is the question.
If we are a body connected to each other with Jesus as our head, we are a big family that encourages and helps each other in looking up to Jesus and walking with each other, regardless of superiority, inferiority, nobility, age, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. That’s why we are a church that does not call our pastor like a clergy or even a teacher.
3. God’s Word: The perfect food sweeter than honey (100-104)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
If we understand the law as a commandment, we lose sight of its essence. The psalmist’s words, “I have kept my feet from every evil path” and “I have not departed from your laws” seem to encourage us to follow the rules God has given us and live without being punished, however, what the psalmist is talking about is exchanges in our rich daily interactions with God. What makes the psalmist say, “I want to protect,” is not his fear of God, but his love and trust to him.
About 600 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Ezekiel was shown a vision like this when he was appointed by God as a prophet. Let’s read it.
1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Honey is a food that appears a lot in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. Canaan, where the people fled Egypt and took a long time to reach, was described as “a land flowing with milk and honey. John the Baptist is introduced as a locust and honey eater. In addition, more episodes related to honey have been recorded than other foods. Honey was not only a valuable sugar but also a nutritious food containing many minerals in the area where the story of the Bible was set. I think it’s the most appropriate metaphor for God’s word to keep our hearts healthy and grow. Confucius said, “Good medicine tastes bitter.” That saying is often spot on, but God’s Word doesn’t seem to fit it.
As you probably already know, the word of God does not only refer to the Bible, but to what is spoken to the heart or spoken through someone else. And receiving it in any form is not only not difficult, it is pleasant. It is not the kind of thing that is bitter but must be endured and swallowed. It is something that seeps into our hearts when we wait in anticipation.
Worship is the best opportunity to experience it. After this message, you will be able to experience it as you offer your heartfelt worship to God. Please receive the honey-sweet perfect food “God’s Word” in worship this morning and let it be your strength to live.
(Prayer) Dear God, thank you for always speaking to us. Thank you for your presence in our lives. Our souls are comforted, healed, strengthened and filled with joy by your words. We believe that it begins with filling, overflowing, healing and keeping each other alive, and then spreading out into this world. So please first fill each of us with your words and fill us with joy.
We thank you, we hope for you, and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
The essence of the Law is God’s speaking to us, not religious commandments. his speaking reaches our hearts through the Bible, a message, someone else’s words, or directly to our hearts. The way of life in which we respond to God’s speaking makes us stronger and wiser. To hear God’s speaking, all we need is the will to listen.
For Discussion
1. What is Legalism?
2. How would you describe the relationship between the law and the gospel?