Sweeter than Honey

Scripture

Psalm 19   

¹ The heavens are telling the glory of God;
    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
    and night to night declares knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
    their voice is not heard;
⁴ yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
    and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them;
    and nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
    making wise the simple;
⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eyes;
⁹ the fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
    and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
    and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² But who can detect their errors?
    Clear me from hidden faults.
¹³ Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
    do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Devotion

 Psalm 19 is a "fan favorite" of sorts.  The first 6 verses describe how God is so great that even the voiceless heavens (including the sun) find ways to proclaim God's glory.  Those verses have inspired dozens of choral and instrumental pieces over the years...but it is psalm's next section that I find especially moving.

Verse 7 transitions from the beautiful Creation to the way God's glory is revealed in his instructions to us.  God's commands and teachings are so good...so sure...so wise...so clear that they are precious beyond all imagining.  They are worth more than all the gold on Earth and sweeter than honey dripping straight out of the honeycomb.  

Modern readers shave a pretty good idea of why the psalmist would want to compare God's priceless blessings to gold...but honey?  Really?!  Gil Stein explains that people in the Ancient Near East revered honey as being almost magical.  Not only is honey one of the sweetest substances in nature, but it also acts as a preservative, can be used to treat burns, and even has antibiotic and antimicrobial properties.   All these properties made honey a common element in ancient food, medicine, and religious rites.  For the ancient Israelites, it also became a metaphor for God's abundance and loving-kindness.  

When the psalm says that God's ordinances are "sweeter than honey," it is telling us that God's teachings and commandments are the perfect sign of God's love.  There is nothing better, purer, more life-affirming, or more fulfilling than God's instructions.  There is no greater blessing than to receive God's perfect, enlightening, and joyful law.  God will even  teach us how to follow it.

Modern-day Christians tend to see God's law as a burden instead of a blessing.  Influenced by our own culture and centuries worth of reading Paul's letters out of context, we focus on how difficult it is to keep God's commands and and talk about how thankful we are that Jesus has saved us from needing to conform to them.  We forget that Jesus came not to condemn the Law but to fulfill it...and to show us how to follow it in our own lives.

So what is this great God-given Law that is so perfect and so deeply to be desired?  Well, as Jesus says in Matthew 22, it boils down to two main points:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. (Deut. 6:5)
2. Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)

Love God.  Love neighbor.  That's it.  Everything else from the rules forbidding certain pagan practices to the instructions on how to repay someone you have wronged or how to take care of a deceased relative's family are explanations of how to follow these two basic commands.  At the end of the day, the perfect Law of the Lord that revives the soul, makes wise the simple, enlightens our eyes, and makes our hearts rejoice is simply "Love."  Love is the sweetest, most healing, and most desirable of all things.

So, I ask: do we truly follow do our best to follow God's priceless instructions and Jesus's perfect example?  Do we heal the sick, feed the hungry, and welcome the outcast...prizing the love of God and one another as the sweetest and most valuable of all?  If not, then I suggest it is time we turn back to our Bibles and make the effort to truly understand and follow God's commands.  When we feast on God's Word, we will discover that it is sweeter than honey.   And when we abide by the Law of Love, we too shall proclaim God's glory to the ends of the world.

Prayer 

Today's prayer is "Psalm 19' by Jess Ray.

"Purify my heart,
May every word, every thought
Every motive, every intention
Be pleasing in your sight O God.

For Your voice refreshes my soul,
Brings joy to my heart,
And light to my eyes
Your words more precious than gold,
Sweeter than honey,
Better than life.

Purify my heart,
May every word, every thought
Every motive, every intention
Be pleasing in your sight O God."