"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Psalm 119:103
Today: God’s Word is Sweet!
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste!”
David describes the Word of God as being “sweet.” It is interesting to note that David had much less of the Word of God than we do. He probably had Moses’ books; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, “God’s Law.” He may have seen Job, and he would have had parts of the Psalms as he wrote them, but that is about it. His testimony about these books is that they are “sweet unto my taste.” It is impressive that David only had the parts of the Word that so many believers do not care for, and yet he loved them. How can this be? Perhaps it’s a matter of taste. Note Solomon’s thought about “sweet” and “bitter.”
“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7).
It is true that David only had a portion of the Word, and he was always hungering for it. And yet we believers have the completed Canon of the Word of God, and so few seem to have much of a serious appetite for it. How can this be? We cannot put the blame on the Word of God, for it is God’s pure “breathed out Book.” It is a perfect gift to us from our loving Father. He knows our need, and so He has given us the Bible that we may think His thoughts after Him.
Could it be that in our generation of believers today, we have other things that take the edge off of our spiritual cravings? When I was a boy, my Momma didn’t want me eating snacks before dinner. As a wise mom, she knew that a snack would take the edge off my appetite, and I would not enjoy a good dinner. With my hunger already satiated and gone, I would only pick at my food.
Perhaps this is the issue with myself and my fellow believers. If we have snacked on the husks in the world, we no longer have an appetite for God’s Word, and now we “loath the honeycomb.” Believers, please do a personal check here. What are you feeding on? What is your appetite accustomed to, God’s Word, or the world’s fare? Is God’s Word, “sweet to your taste?” I pray you will bring your Spiritual diet in line with the Word of God. Our affections need to measure up to God’s likes.
“Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Don’t you like to share good things with others? David not only fed on the Word for himself, but he taught it to others. He enjoyed speaking the Word, take note of his many psalms. As we find the Word sweet to our tongues, we need to share it with others so they can be blessed as well.
“When the Psalmist fed on it, he found it sweet, but when he bore witness of it, it became sweeter still. How wise it will be on our part to keep the Word on our palate by meditation and on our tongue by confession. It must be sweet to our taste when we think of it, or it will not be sweet to our mouth when we talk of it”[1] (Spurgeon).
Lord, keep us feeding on your Word. We want to know you and your Word!
Quote: “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:9-10).
[1] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 119:103.