the sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. [psalm 119:160]
the sum of Your word is truth
there’s a promise and a challenge in this. the promise is that God has shared truth with us through his word and his Son, and we don’t have to live in the dark. the challenge, though, is that truth comes from the sum of God’s word. we can’t just take bits and pieces from here or there, making theology as we consume parts of God’s word. we must consider and meditate on it all!
even a reading of leviticus and deuteronomy (to which i think most can agree is hard reading) enhance Jesus’ words in the gospels. for example, when the disciples are accused of sin by not always washing their hands before eating, someone who has recently read the torah may recall not ever reading such a law! many of the things Jesus and his disciples are accused of come not from scripture, but the oral tradition created by the teachers of the law.
this is but one example, and this text does not authoritatively tell us exactly how often we must read each part of the Bible. 2 timothy does echo this, however: all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproduction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [3:16-17]
much of God’s work, even his miracle of regenerating our souls is a miracle and a mystery that we will always struggle to comprehend, but the whole inerrant truth of the scriptures has been revealed to us. if we will labor with God, through the whole Bible, to see it, God will not hold it back from us.
every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Lord, we thank you that neither you nor your word ever change. in this ever-shifting world and our ever-distracting environments, you are the only dependable one. teach our hearts to trust only in you! and make our hearts yearn for truth—truth that only you can give, and only comes through dedicated time in your word.
~ stephen hall