Psalm 119 teaches us the value of studying God’s Law. The laws of God, particularly as expressed in the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), are Holy Scripture. Jesus said that He had not come to abolish the Law (Matthew 5:17), so Christians are still to read and preach the Law of Moses.

But since Jesus came, our relationship with the Law has changed. Christians wouldn’t say, like the psalmist, “Your decrees are the theme of my song” (v. 54), because the theme of the believer’s song is first and foremost Christ and His glorious gospel. Further, it’s unlikely that we’d find our comfort in suffering to be the Law of God (v. 50). Certainly, God’s Law promised life for the obedient, but the Christian’s comfort in hard times is found chiefly in the promises of God as expressed in the gospel.

Biblical scholar Brian Rosner writes, “Paul never says, as he does of Jews, that believers in Christ rely on the law, boast about the law, know God’s will through the law, . . . do, observe and keep the law.”1 Christians live by another law—the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is the fulfilment of all the Old Testament laws. Nevertheless, the Law continues to provide guidance for godly living. Indeed, later in Psalm 119 the psalmist tells us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet (v. 105). It teaches us how we can live a life that pleases the Lord Jesus who has saved us by His grace.

In verses 49–56, it is as if the psalmist hears two voices calling out to him. The first is that of the arrogant and the wicked, who tell him how foolish he is to follow God. We hear this voice every day telling us to put our trust in money, to make pleasure the goal of our life, to do all we can to get to the top, and to look after ourselves first. But the psalmist has chosen to listen to another voice. That is the voice of God as found in the Law of God. He knows that true life and comfort is found in obeying God, not the things that this world offers (vv. 50, 52).

As we read Psalm 119, we must be struck by how joyful this psalm is. For the writer, obeying God is not arduous, dreary, and burdensome. Rather, it is sheer delight.

The next section (vv. 57–64) reverberates with the joy of obedience. With all his heart, the psalmist longs to know the God who has revealed His grace and goodness in His laws (v. 58). Each morning, he can’t wait to wake up and obey God. And at night, “I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws” (v. 62).

Jesus calls such people “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). As with the psalmist, it’s better for our spiritual lives that we should be spiritually hungry and thirsty than materially well-fed and satisfied.

1 Brian S. Rosner, Paul and the Law (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2013), 109.