Sweeter Than Honey
A sermon by
Psalm 19
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SERMON: Sweeter Than Honey
The law(s) of the LORD (are) perfect .
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
Better than gold? Sweeter than honey? God's mercy is sweet, but his laws? We don't usually love laws. Laws keep us from doing things that we want to do. How could the Psalmist say that God's laws are “sweeter than honey?”
It certainly was not that God's laws were easy to keep. There were 613 Old Testament laws, and the rabbis multiplied them into thousands of laws. These laws prescribed:
· what to eat
· when to work
· how to deal with neighbors
· how to worship God
· even how many steps you could take on the Sabbath.
People could try to keep God's laws, but they could never fully succeed. How could the Psalmist love God's laws?
· Some people think that the Psalmist could love God's laws because they make life
“simple”. If the Bible tells us every move to make, we don't have to think. We become like children again. If we follow the rules, the rule-maker bears all the responsibility.
· Others think that the Psalmist saw God's laws as an exciting “study.” He could say “I love God's laws” much as we might say “I love history.”
· Still others think that the Psalmist saw God's laws as a “challenge”. Like Nintendo, they beat us most of the time, but they let us win just frequently enough to keep us coming back.
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But the Psalmist told us why he loved God's laws. He said:
· The law of the LORD is perfect
· the statutes of the LORD are trustworthy
· the precepts of the LORD are right
· the commands of the LORD are radiant
· the fear of the LORD is pure
· the ordinances of the LORD are sure
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy. They serve as faithful guides. They do not lead us astray.
That is not always true of human laws. Human laws are imperfect, because we humans are imperfect.
But the Psalmist assures us that God's laws are trustworthy. His laws will be as faithful to us as we are to them. This is clear with regard to God's physical laws. We cannot break God's physical laws. We cannot break the law of gravity. If we ignore the law of gravity, we will not break the law. We will break ourselves.
So it is with God's spiritual laws. They are trustworthy. We can make our lives better by observing God's spiritual laws, and we can make our lives worse by not observing them. It is that simple! We cannot break God's spiritual laws. If we ignore them, we will only break ourselves.
God's laws are like the railing on a bridge. The railing serves as a guard; it protects us. Nobody resents a bridge railing for abridging their freedom.
God's laws also serve as a guard. They protect us against injury. God's laws are trustworthy, and were given for our benefit.
However, the New Testament tells us that we are now in a new relationship to the law. People in the Old Testament tried to follow the law, not just because it was “trustworthy”, but also to obtain salvation. The law was not adequate for this, because nobody could follow it perfectly.
In Galatians, Paul speaks of the Old Testament law as a “schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Jesus Christ has done for us what the law could not do. He has given us the salvation that we could not earn ourselves. We receive salvation by the grace of God.
But this same Jesus said:
Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them.
Thank God that we no longer have to follow the Old Testament laws. But thank God that the scriptures still provide us with the faithful guidance that they have always provide.
· The scriptures teach us how to treat each other.
· They teach us about sex.
· They teach us about money.
· They teach us about power.
· They teach how to live in families.
· They teach us how to raise our children.
· They teach us how to worship God.
Robert Fulghum wrote a best-selling book that said,
All I Really Need to Know,
I Learned in Kindergarten.
But we did not learn everything that we need to know in kindergarten. We are still learning. But God has revealed himself through his scriptures, so that we might drink at the fount of eternal wisdom.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure,
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
— Copyright 2006, Richard Niell Donovan