Psalm 119:159

Psalm 119:159

The power of love

Remember, God’s precepts are the instructions He has put in place for the overseeing of this world. These are the rules that allow us to work with Him and one another, that promote peace and good will on earth. When Jesus summarised most of the Commandments with, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself,” that is a precept, it helps us to think about how we put others before ourselves. The psalmist loved these instructions, they helped him to have a compassionate and merciful view of his fellow men, they encouraged him to see the world as God sees it. That’s the whole point of all of God’s laws; they divert the focus away from ourselves and help us to look upon mankind the way that God does. They protect us from evil by diverting us away from selfishness to kindness and generosity to others.

The theme of love is very clear here, the Lord’s preservation is not based on our good deeds, our devotion or our pursuit of truth, He preserves us because He loves us. Love is the key component of a growing relationship with the Lord, He first loved us and now we find ourselves being drawn to love Him in return. As that love grows and permeates our beings, so we find it increasingly possible to love others. The same is true about many of God’s attributes, for instance, the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that the more we experience the forgiveness of the Lord, the harder it is to withhold forgiveness from others. This is the key to our relationship with Him, first we receive from His hand and are blessed, but that blessing is not at all passive, it is like a river of living water that keeps on flowing and, soon enough, others are touched by its refreshing flow. 

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