I have not departed from thy judgments; for it is thou that hast taught me.
The psalmist says he has never turned off God's path, and he names the reason: God taught him. So the verse raises a question. What makes truth hold a person so that they never walk away from it?
One writer traces that steadiness back to who did the teaching. You only give up a lesson for the sake of the one who gave it.
We also see how directly the soul connects itself with God in grace here, and knows that the word comes from God. This gives the word authority. "I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me." This carries great weight in the soul, once the soul has felt the power of God's word. What man has taught may be given up for man. But what God has taught will never be given up for God (John 6:68). And for whom else would we give it up? It has the bond of faith and authority for the soul. It comes from Him and leads to Him.
"You have taught me" is a short phrase, but it describes contact, not just information.
Above all, the Word held in affection brings the believer into direct contact with God, "you have taught me" (compare Luke 10:39; 2 Timothy 2:7). This is the secret of a wisdom beyond anything that can be gained from man, teachers, or human experience. It is a wisdom gained in the presence of God, and held in faith with God.
Being shown something is not the same as owning it. One writer draws that line even around the best human teaching.
It is divine wisdom, and it comes straight from God. So it gives a discernment that no human teaching can give, however godly that teaching is. It does this because it acts on the soul itself, forms it, and is perfect in every respect. Human teaching may be very useful when it is drawn from the word and leads back to the word. But even with the highest gift, nothing gained by it is held in the faith of the soul with God until it is learned there. It may be pointed out. It may interest the heart and mind. But to have it, you must learn it with God. "They will all be taught by God."
That same promise can be twisted. Another writer notes that God teaching His people does not rule out the teachers He provides.
"They will all be taught by God" is true of all God's people. But it in no way excludes teachers and other ordinary means, though in rare cases people are taught without this or that help. And it is usually a groundless claim to say you learned straight from God through His own word, apart from those He has set in the body of Christ for this very purpose.
Scripture changes character for the reader who has heard God speak in it. Joy and sweetness follow from that.
Here is the simple "book," become the divine "oracle": God has indeed spoken in it; what a joy beyond words to have heard the voice of God! God speaking! and to me! How the heart is moved by it! "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
The practical payoff is protection. One writer turns the verse into a question about how we use our time.
The secret is that we stay close to the Lord Jesus. He has the words of eternal life. It is so easy to drift, to be distracted and deceived. "You have taught me," the verse continues. We stay close to the Lord so that He may teach us. Do we really take time to be with Him and to listen to His voice so that we may be taught what He wants us to do?
- Taught, therefore steady. The psalmist's unbroken walk does not rest on his own strength. The second half of the verse gives the reason for the first half.
- Taught by God, not merely by men. The Word held in affection brings the soul into direct contact with God. That wisdom is gained in His presence.
- Taught personally, not second-hand. Even the finest human teaching only points something out. You must learn it with God before it is your own.
- Taught through means, all the same. Being taught by God does not cancel the teachers He gives. Boasting that you learned apart from them is a groundless claim.
- Taught, therefore kept. Because the lesson came from Him, no one else can claim it back. The one who keeps listening does not drift.
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! more than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103 comes straight after the psalmist tells God, "You have taught me." The verse is not about hard study, but about what the Word tastes like once God Himself has taught you.
One commentator points out that this love is not aimed at what the Word produces.
The godly man expresses his affection for the Word. He loves it not simply for the blessing it brings, or the effects it produces, but for its own sake. That which the psalmist loves is the subject of his meditation all the day.
One writer ties this delight to a discovery: God Himself is speaking in the book.
The Word has power both to attract and to separate. It moves the affections as well as guiding the walk. Here the simple "book" has become the divine "oracle": God has indeed spoken in it. What an inexpressible joy to have heard the voice of God! God speaking — and to me! How it moves the heart! "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" This attraction brings with it a necessary turning away from the opposite side: "Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way."
Hearing the Word taught and tasting it are two different things. That difference is not something a preacher can supply.
All that those who hand out the Word can do is work knowledge; Christ works grace. They can only give the light of the truth; Christ gives the love of the truth. They can only teach what to believe; Christ teaches how to believe. Christ gives us a taste of the Word. Ministers may set the food of the Word before you and carve it for you. But only Christ can cause you to taste it… It is one thing to hear a truth preached, another thing to taste it. David had got a taste of the Word: "You have taught me… how sweet are Your words to my taste!"
One writer links this taste to what already fills the heart.
To experience the sweetness of honey you have to taste it! "The full soul loathes the honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet" (Prov. 27:7). When our hearts are full with other things, with worldly things, then we have no appetite for the Word. Absorbing the Word makes us pliable in His hands and willing to do His will, which is always good and acceptable and perfect.
Writing on the honey of Proverbs, one commentator sets a limit on how far we can live on what others gather.
Honey pictures the sweet ministry of the Word of God. It is the sharing of what each believer gathers by searching the Scriptures carefully. But we must realise that all human ministry has its limits. We cannot live entirely from what others gather… We must rather get to the Word of God ourselves. Scripture itself will never sicken us, though man's thoughts about it may. The Word stands far above all ministry. It is bread, milk, solid food and water — what we need and what satisfies every day, and nothing can take its place.
The next verse adds, "I hate every false way." One commentator joins the two as one movement.
When you love the Word like this and see its blessed effects, it becomes more precious to the soul than natural things, however sweet. The one who knows the sweetness of the Word gains understanding to tell good from evil. He also learns to refuse the evil, and so says, "I hate every false way."
Another writer points to what these words do when days are at their darkest.
Let us taste how precious these rays of God's eternal purpose are. Let their sweetness refresh our spiritual palate! "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103). These words are full of heavenly peace and love and purity. They delight, encourage and strengthen the heart in the darkest days.
- Taught → tasted. The sweetness follows "You have taught me." When the book becomes God's own voice to you, it moves the heart.
- Tasted → given. Others can set the food before you and carve it; only Christ causes you to taste it.
- Tasted → hungry. A full soul loathes the honeycomb. Hearts stuffed with the world have no appetite for the Word.
- Tasted → firsthand. Another's ministry is honey that someone else gathered. Scripture itself never sickens you, so go to it yourself.
- Tasted → hating. The one who knows this sweetness discerns good from evil and refuses it: "I hate every false way."