I think one of the hardest words in the Bible for Christians to learn and apply is “endure”. It’s a word that clearly means that not only will their be hardship in life, not only will there be suffering and misfortune, but regardless of the root cause one will have to undergo it without giving in and remain firm without yielding. Its repeated presence throughout the whole of Scripture is a revelation that one cannot measure a right relationship with God by the absence of trials and problems, but in how they are borne.
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One of the teachings David provides in his life and Psalms is the definition of what it means to achieve victory. This was a man who was persecuted by his family, betrayed and persecuted by his king and countrymen, and attacked by enemies of his country. David literally faced problems from nearly every internal and external force imaginable. Yet the common theme to his cause for celebration was not when he was personally triumphant, but when the result was brought about by God’s hand.
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With whom or what do you spend the most time? Who or what gets your highest priority? I include “what” because sometimes there are activities we pursue without often taking into consideration the people that are a part of them which end up being the people with whom we spend the most time.
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I am struck by David’s assertion, “For You I wait all the day” because of how it contrasts to my own behavior and outlook. Whereas David looks forward to time with God and waits for His further instruction, I’m thinking more about it in terms of how to prioritize it among all the other things I plan to devote myself to throughout the day. I wish I could say that each and every day I wait on God in eager anticipation of it being the most important thing in my life rather than merely numbering Him along with everything else or, worse, forgetting Him altogether.
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It’s been ascertained that if somehow every Bible were to one night disappear all at once that it could be completely reconstructed at the local library. The Bible has been quoted to such an extent in secular literature that every single verse could be recovered and the entire Bible re-assembled. But there are certain parts of the Bible that have become so ingrained in mainstream thought, so entrenched in our culture, that everybody knows these passages from memory. “The Golden Rule”, “money is the root of all evil”, “the seven deadly sins”, and many others are universally known even by those who have never opened a Bible. At the top of this list has to be Psalm 23. Rarely is a funeral scene in a movie or television program portrayed without hearing Psalm 23.
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It’s not just Psalm 22 in particular, but the whole of the Old Testament that is the critical foundation for coming to a full understanding of God’s plan for man through Christ His Son. In fact, these three Psalms in a row—22, 23, and 24—are dedicated to communicating the whole of the Messiah’s work.
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The “they” referred to in these verses was explained by David in the previous verses of this Psalm to be “the law of the Lord“, “the testimony of the Lord“, “the precepts of the Lord“, “the commandment of the Lord“, “the fear of the Lord“, and “the judgments of the Lord“. “They” are six terms that describe different components of God’s Word. And for the one who realizes and embraces their true value, they are “more desirable than gold”—a way of saying the most valuable earthly possession one could have—and “sweeter also than honey”—the best nourishment on which man can live in this life.
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