Worth Their Weight in Gold

Psalm 119 has more than a dozen words for the Word of God. The Psalm is so long that most of these words get repeated quite often. But each repetition adds another flavour. The first time (verse 2) this word, ‘testimony’, was used, the psalmist said what a blessing it was to keep God’s testimonies and to follow Him wholeheartedly. Here he says that the joy which he gets from walking the way of God’s testimonies is as good as, if not better than, that which he gets from his most valuable possessions.

A testimony is a witness-statement. It’s a true account of what someone has experienced. Scripture is a fantastic collection of such witness-statements from people who have seen God at work in their lives. It’s as if they are saying, “This is what God is like, and this is what happens when you follow Him (and if you don’t!)”. Among their number are those we call ‘great heroes of faith’, like Moses, Elijah and Paul. And there are the ‘ordinary people’ like Ruth and Naomi, a Philippian jailer or Cornelius.

But the Bible is more than that. The psalmist says that he has rejoiced ‘in the way of Your testimonies’ – God’s witness-statements. Scripture is also an account of what God has seen and heard, how He views the world we inhabit, and what He knows about each one of the people who live in it.

And it is the way of God’s testimonies that he has rejoiced in. It is how God sees things which gives us a clear path to walk along. The joy comes not so much from reading or listening to the testimonies as from living by them.

So, in Scripture, we have two sets of guidelines, God’s testimonies – the way He sees things, and the testimonies of those who have walked with Him, which includes the stories of what happened when they went astray.

So, I’m asking myself, “What will give me real joy and satisfaction today, riches, my possessions, getting some money, having my own way, easy pleasure, success?” Of course, things like these may be OK, but true delight comes from following the way of the testimonies we find in the Scriptures.

Prayer: Father, thank You so much for the testimonies of Your Word. Thank You that, in it, You have revealed how You see the world and all that is in it – and that includes me. Thank You for the honesty with which Your people have recorded their testimonies. Lord, I ask that You would help me today to find real joy in walking the way of Your testimonies. In Jesus’ name, Amen.