How sweet are your words to my taste.
The beautiful bride, gripping her proud father’s arm, was poised to make her way to the altar. But not before the entrance of her thirteen-month-old nephew. Instead of carrying the more common “ring”—he was the “Bible bearer.” In this way, the bride and groom, as committed believers in Jesus, wanted to testify to their love for Scripture. With minimal distraction, the toddler found his way to the front of the church. How illustrative it was that the toddler’s teeth marks were found on the leather cover of the Bible. What a picture of activity that’s fitting for believers in Christ or those who desire to know Him—to taste and take in Scripture.
Psalm 119 celebrates the comprehensive worth of the Scriptures. After declaring the blessedness of those who live by God’s law (v. 1), the author poetically raved about it, including his love for it. “See how I love your precepts” (v. 159); “I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law” (v. 163); “I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly” (v. 167).
What statements do we make about our love for God and His Word through how we live? One way to test our love for Him is by asking, What am I partaking of? Have I been “chewing” on the sweet words of Scripture? And then accept this invitation, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (34:8).
By Arthur Jackson
