Psalm 119 is, of course, the Psalm of the Word. Nearly every verse has some reference to
Scripture. In this stanza note Your testimonies, words, commandments, word,
precepts, statutes and law. And yes, each of these is preceded by Your. It is God’s message. Most of these terms are understandable in the
Old Testament and the emphasis on the Torah.
But the first term, testimonies, needs to be
considered. How is the Bible, the word
of God, His testimonies?
The Hebrew term is simply the term for a witness.
A witness describes something he has experienced in some way, although
it is not used in this ordinary sense of a person witnessing a crime. This specific term is always connected with
the testimony of something God has done.
And more specifically, it is connected to the items that were placed in
the Ark of the Covenant which is thus
often called the Ark of the Testimony
(e.g. Ex. 25:22) and the tabernacle itself is called the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Num. 1:50).
We
were reminded of this recently when we visited the life-size model of the
tabernacle in Timna Park near Eilat in the southern tip of Israel. This model has a replica of the Ark with a
Plexiglas covering so you can see what is inside: the bowl of manna, the tables
of the law, and the rod of Aaron that budded.
God had told Moses to put in the ark the
Testimony that I will give you (Ex. 25:16,21) and these were those items
(Heb. 9:3-4):
·
Ex. 16:33-34: the bowl of manna. It was a testimony of God provision for His
people.
·
Num. 17:10: the rod of Aaron. It was a sign
against the rebels, a testimony to God’s leadership of Israel and
especially the role of the High Priest.
·
Deut. 10:5: the tablets of the law. Eventually in later times this was all that
was left of these three (1 Kings 8:9).
Testimonies
of God’s works are essential. In a
church it is good to share testimonies of
God’s current works so as to encourage people.
But remember: God’s testimonies,
as you see in the Ark, were not just about His good and pleasant works but
reminded Israel (and us) of His holy and just works. In the church we need to speak not only of
some blessing such as a healing or divine leading but also of His
chastening.
We must pray that He incline our hearts to them
rather than to covetousness (119:36). We
must seek the way of His testimonies (119:14).
And make them our constant meditation (119:99). We must cling to them (119:31), keep them
(119:88) and rejoice in them (119:111).
Their righteousness is eternal (119:144), unlike our testimonies which
may be a one-sided emphasis the things that make life fun rather than the
joyful things that make us more like Christ.
Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them (119:129).
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