The Nugget:
Psalm 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
My Comment:
Sometimes tastes must be acquired, especially tastes for the very best things in life. If you had only one year, or one week, or one day to live, what would be the best way to spend it? Surely opinions will vary! I had a graduate school professor raise that question during his lecture in a course in literary criticism. Most of the class exhibited considerable immaturity in the ways they expressed about how to best use the hypothetical limited remaining time. I suspect the Psalmist would go one step beyond the professor’s recommendation to read the greatest literature to receive the greatest pleasure. The Psalmist would surely assert that the greatest work of literature is the Bible, and reading and studying it would be the best use of time. To the Psalmist, as to some of the other writers in the Bible who expressed an opinion on this theme, the reading and study of Scripture was an absolute delight, as enjoyable as the best meal they ever ate. My students in high school found it hard to enjoy so-called great literature. I posted some famous quotations for them which brought out that our own personal opinion about a great work of literature is more a judgment upon us than a judgment, say, upon the quality, worth, or greatness of Shakespeare. So with the Bible. The more you know about it, the better and more interesting it gets. To start, you don’t have to read the whole thing at once. You can start small, say by reading it for twenty minutes a day, starting in the New Testament, perhaps the Gospel of Mark (the shortest of the Gospels), or the Gospel of John. As you develop your taste for Scripture, it will indeed become “sweeter than honey.” If you want your reading time to count for eternity, spend a good part of it reading the Bible!
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 631.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 676 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Psalm 119:103.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them further given below:
Psalm 119:103. sweet. T#1082. ver. 113. Ps *19:10. 56:10. 63:5. 104:34. Ne 8:12. Jb **23:12. 33:23. Pr 2:10. 3:17. *8:11. 16:24. 22:18. *24:13, 14. SS 1:2-4. 5:1, 16. Je **15:16. Ezk 3:1-3. Mt 5:6. Ro 12:2. 1 J 5:3. Re 10:9, 10. taste. Heb. palate. Ps 34:8. 137:6. Jb 6:6, 30mg. 12:11mg. +31:30mg. 34:3mg. Pr 5:3mg. SS 2:3mg. Ho 8:1mg. sweeter than. Lk 18:30. Jn 4:32. Ro 12:2. He *5:14. honey. Ps 19:10. 34:8. 81:16. Ge 43:11. Pr 16:24. 24:13, 14. 27:7. SS 4:11. Ezk 3:3. 2 C 2:14. Re 10:9, 10. to my mouth. SS 5:16. Ho 8:1.
psm 119.103″ how sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth”!psm 104.34 “my meditation of him shall be sweet: i will be glad in the lord”
psm 1.2″ but his delight is in the law of the lord; and in his law doth he meditate day
and night. we are to meditate on his word “day and night” psm 19.10″ more to be
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and
the honeycomb.” psm 63.5 “my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:” job 23.12 “neither have i gone back
from the commandment of his lips; i have esteemed the words of his mouth more
than necessary food.” prov 3.13-14.”my son, eat thou honey,because it is good; and
the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: vs 14 so shall the knowledge of wisdom
be unto thy soul; when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy
expectation shall not be cut off.” psm 34.8 ” o taste and see that the lord is good!
blessed is the man that trusteth in him”
psm 19.14 a prayer” let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in they sight, o lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”pro 4.23 keep thy
heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 4.27″ turn not to the
right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”i tim 4.12″take heed unto
thyself,and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both
save thyself, and them that hear thee.”1 pe 1.1-3 wherefore laying aside all aside
malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking.” vs2
as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby;”
vs 3″ if so be ye have tasted that the lord is gracious.”