In What Do You Rejoice?

“I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” Psalm 119: 14 – 16

Comparisons often help in understanding a thing. This text makes a comparison between the love of money and the love for the word and will of God. This is broken down into four aspects of rejoicing.

First, “I will meditate in Your precepts.”

To meditate is to reflect over and over on a certain concept. Biblical meditation involves reflection where you ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your understanding.  Meditation includes thinking, picturing, speaking, feeling and studying. Meditation is the Holy Spirit using all faculties of your heart and mind. 

A precept is the maximum of moral conduct, a rule of conduct. Further distilled, it is simply stated as a command from God. To experience this, get in a quiet place and think about it with continued interest. Think! Few spiritual exercises are more valuable than meditation.

Second, I will “contemplate your ways.” 

To contemplate means to view with continued interest, to observe thoughtfully.  This takes time and is aided by the right environment. When did you last take time to contemplate God’s way of doing a thing, to ask yourself “How would you God like this done or how He like this thing viewed?”

The word “ways” is translated from orach, referring to a well-trodden path. This is a path walked by many and clearly visible; having been taken many times before, the outcome of the way is predictable.

Third, “I will delight myself in your statutes.”

Delight appears 10 times in English versions of Psalm 119 (verses 14, 16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 176).  The object of delight is God’s law.  The Hebrew word translated as “delight” is sus which can also be translated “rejoice” or “exult.” 

To put the Hebrew word for delight into street talk it means to get a kick out of.

The more we meditate and contemplate the more we delight.

God’s statutes are a reference to a law or command. Out of which command have you gotten a kick lately?

Finally, “I will not forget Your word.”

To forget something you must first know it. Knowing God’s word requires committing it to memory. It is practical to memorize parts of God’s Word. Memorization is brain exercise. The mind becomes trustworthy when trusted. Like a muscle it requires exercise to develop.

Forget can also be translated “mislay” due to a to lack of attention. If you delight yourself in something you are not likely to forget it.

Even if a passage is not memorized, familiarity with its meaning is advantageous. Get the primary mental picture of what a passage means. 

If you meditate on God’s Word and fix your eyes on His well trodden path you are sure to grow to delight in His Word.

If you get in the Word this is a sure way to get the Word in you.