What Christians Do When They Believe and Feel about the Word of God Rightly?
The Psalmist believed God’s word was true (Psalm 119: 42, 89, 96, 142, 160). He knew the Scriptures demanded what was right (Psalm 119:75, 86, 128, 137) and provided what was good (Psalm 119:1, 2, 6, 9, 24, 98-100, 105, 130). He delighted in God’s word (Psalm 119: 14, 24, 47, 70, 77, 103, 111, 129, 143, 174). He desired God’s word (Psalm 119:5, 10, 17, 20, 27, 29, 33-35, 40, 131, 135, 169). He depended on God’s word (Psalm 119:31, 50, 52). In other words, the Psalmist believed what we should believe about the word and felt what we should feel about the word.
And notice what happened as a result. When all this underground pressure of believing and feeling explode on to the surface it makes a splash. Our thoughts and our affections concerning the word of God can’t help but burst forth as a geyser of Spirit-led activity.
So what do Christians do when they believe and feel about the word of God rightly?
- They sing (Psalm 119:172).
- They speak (Psalm 119:13, 46, 79).
- They study (Psalm 119:15, 48, 97, 148).
- They store up (Psalm 119:11, 16, 83, 93, 148).
- They obey the word (Psalm 119: 8, 44, 57, 129, 145, 146, 167, 168).
- They praise God (Psalm 119:7, 62, 164, 171).
- They pray for help (Psalm 119: 36, 58, 121-23, 147, 149-52, 153-60, 175-76).
These seven actions are the best indicator of what you and really believe and feel about God’s word. If you do these things, you probably believe what is right even if you can’t quite explain it; you probably have your affections in order even if they don’t always feel like much. And on the other hand, if there is no geyser bursting forth into these kinds of activities, you probably don’t feel what you should or really believe all that is true.
Sing, speak, study, store up, obey, praise, pray.
That’s what Christians do with the word of God.
– Kevin DeYoung