Word of God or words of men?

Our church is reading through a very special psalm this week, the 119th.  It is at the heart of our Bible and is the heart for it speaks of the Word in great detail. If you carefully read it as we are this week and meditate upon it asking God to show you nuggets and applications it is amazing what the Holy Spirit shows.   As I began to read it prayerfully and mused upon it I was struck by a particular verse in the “Gimel” section.   The psalm is laid out in twenty two sections each corresponding to the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and so in the Gimel part of the psalm each verse there begins with the letter Gimel (comparable to our letter G).

But here’s the final two verses in that part of the psalm: “Princes also did sit and speak against me; but thy servant did meditate in Thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.” (vss.23-24).   Note how the writer mentions something we all go through: opposition from others. Whether it be slander, gossip, mean spirited comments, judgmental remarks.  We all experience some or all of these at one time or another and our normal response is to retaliate in some way.  It may be to verbally assault them, speak to others about them in derogatory or unkind ways or to hold it in and simmer in bitterness.  Not this writer of Scripture, he knew better !   He said his reaction would be a spiritual one, he would not lower himself to sinful retorts but rather “meditate in Thy statutes.”      How soothing, how spiritual, how right he was and how right we too must be.  Resist the sinful urges when you are flattened verbally and focus on what God’s Word says for it will keep you on a right heading !

The Psalmist here reiterated he would not dwell on the sinful onslaughts of others but delight in “Thy testimonies”.   When we’re attacked so it is so  easy to mull over in your mind repeatedly what was said that hurt you and for some folks they live years bombarded by hurtful comments that foster great insecurity and pain.  Why not take a cue from this psalm and let you mind dwell upon not words of sinful men but a holy God Who loves you greatly?!