When was the last time you noticed the delicious taste of something sweet in your mouth? Honey and other sweet tasting foods bring a delight to our tastebuds that make eating enjoyable. David used this analogy in Psalm 19:10 to challenge our love for the word of God. The judgments of the Lord are "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." What can we be reminded of by this comparison?
1) Do we study the word?
How do we feel about studying the word of God? Do we realize it is "able to save our souls" (Jas. 1:21)? It is sad that many people in the world, including Christians, view studying as a burden, a chore to be dreaded. That is not the attitude David expresses in Psa. 19:10. He indicates learning what God has said is as sweet to his soul as the taste of honey is to his mouth. He desired it. Another inspired writer wrote "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psa. 119:97). Jesus said we will be blessed and filled if we "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Mt. 5:6). We learn of this righteousness from only one place: the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17). God help us to develop a desire to study His word!!
2) Do we enjoy studying the word?
It is one thing to study the word of God. It is another to enjoy studying it. Too many of us eat as if we haven't eaten in a month. Delicious food is choked down, hardly even chewed. No effort is made to savor or relish a good meal. Disappointingly, our study of God's word has gone this way as well. David affirms that the word of God is "sweeter" than honey or the honeycomb. When we study, do we study in such a hurried way that we can't taste the sweetness of His word? Are we more concerned for getting the lesson done that we don't savor the word? I fear this is the case with many of us. As we have developed a taste for our favorite foods, we should develop more of a taste for the sweet words of God. Our desire for the Lord's word would be heightened if we thought as did Peter in Jn. 6:68..."Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." He knew he couldn't find such delicious words anywhere else.
If we can't agree with David, the problem isn't the word of God. Something is wrong with our tastebuds.
