In the first half of this stanza, we saw the psalmist speak of his experiences of God’s love. In the second half, we will see what his response must be. Take a look at it for yourself in Psalm 119:45-48:

The writer of Psalm 119 describes the outpouring of God’s love and the salvation that is linked to it in the first verses of this strophe, and concludes that there must be a response on his part, and ours. Those two responses must be as genuine from our hearts as his love and saving grace are for us. What really stands out about this though is that God’s love and salvation result in practical, tangible responses. These are things we must do in response to his love and salvation. Not because that earns us any point, but because we love in return.

These two practical responses are obedience to God’s Word, and sharing his love with those around us, or evangelism.

Obedience

This is actually first mentioned in the passage we looked at last week, but it pairs well with the latter half of this passage as application for our lives. It shouldn’t surprise us that the first response to God’s love is to be obedient, but for too many people, that’s exactly what it does. This is because we do not understand what love is. We believe that love is mere sentiment, feelings and emotions. But love is much, much more than that. Love is an action, not simply an emotion. Love is a relationship with the author of love itself, and because of that, it must result in moral actions.

Jesus stated this clearly in the Gospel of John when he said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” True love towards God results in following his will for our lives and obeying his Word. It can be nothing less. And it can never end. The author of Psalm 119 added the phrase “for ever and ever” to the end of verse 44. There will never be a time when we shouldn’t obey, or are finished obeying. This will be a continual response.

Evangelism

The natural outflow of our love for God will be to share that love with those around us who may not know such love. Whether this is a family member, or a neighbor or friend, or a “king” as the psalmist says, we must share that love with all that we can. You might remember the author’s persecutors and enemies from earlier in the psalm, in verses 21-25. Perhaps the psalmist is saying that we should recount the love of God even, maybe especially, to such as these.

This stanza can be summed up in the end by understanding that it is all about love. There are three loves mentioned here: God’s love for us, seen in his willingness to save us from our sins; our love in return, which is demonstrated by our obedience; and our love for God’s Word, which can be seen in our desire to share with others all about God and his love.

It bears repeating, and stating as bluntly as possible. God demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son to die on our behalf. Thus, our love for God is demonstrated in our obedience to him and by telling others about him. What else could we give but that?

Question: Do you tell those around you about the love of God for his creation, and of your love for his commands? What can you do to do this more? You can leave a comment by clicking here.