Verse 129 begins this stanza by using the word “wonder.” And God’s Word is indeed wonderful. Take a look at this week’s passage in Psalm 119:129-132:

My kids frequently utter the statement, “I’m bored.” When my wife and I try to excite their wonder, little comes from it most of the time. We have been inundated with a barrage of incredibly life-like scenarios and creations from Hollywood, and prominent in the news of the day is the issue of “deep fake” news. This is the ability to create news events so real that they cannot be identified as fiction.

As a result of the entertainment industry, and the media and social media, much of our culture has lost our sense of wonder. But I don’t think that we can lay the blame at the foot of media and entertainment completely. I think that we have lost this sense of wonder because we have lost our sense of awareness of who God is and what he is doing in our lives.

The writers of the psalms have not lost this sense of awareness. The words “wonder” or “wonderful” or one of their many derivative forms occurs more than thirty times throughout the psalms.

In this stanza, the writer begins by stating that God’s statutes are wonderful, and worthy of obedience. This statement summarizes the theme of this stanza and the next, that God’s Word creates wonder within us when our obedience springs form a proper understanding and appreciation of it.

Why does the psalmist make such a claim about God’s Word? There are seven reasons given in these two stanzas, which we will look at in turn. From this segment, we can immediately see two of them.

First, God’s Statutes Give Understanding – Psalm 119:130-131

In the early days of Israel’s history, they spent a lot of time wandering in the wilderness, living in tents. The only opening to a tent is, of course, the doorway, usually a flap of skin that hangs down, and can be drawn aside in order to go in or out. When that flap is drawn aside, it allows light to enter in, allowing those inside to see clearly.

This is exactly the image that the writer conveys when he speaks of God’s Word giving us light. When we spend time in the Bible on a regular basis, reading it and studying it, it sheds light upon all areas of our lives. It illuminates how we should live, how we should think, what our priorities should be or not be. It speaks into every area of our lives, from marriage to money, from parenting to holiness, and everything in between.

And God’s Word, when it brings this light, creates a desire for more.

Second, God’s Word Displays Mercy – Psalm 119:132

God’s Words are wonderful because they display his mercy to us. We need God’s mercy more than anything else, because we are truly lost in our sin without it. It’s through his mercy that he reaches into our lives to save us, and it’s in the pages of his Word that we can see this mercy clearly.

When Scripture leads us to the cross, leads us to an understanding of the shed blood of Jesus on that cross, it displays God’s mercy to us loud and clear.

So this week, as you read through these words and others from God’s Word, seek that sense of wonder that the psalmist felt. Just see what God might do.

Question: Do you maintain a sense of wonder for the Word of God? If not, try reading it with a fresh awareness of God’s love and see what he might do within you. You can leave a comment by clicking here.