Sweeter Than Honey

The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb. (Ps 19:9b-10)

In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. writes, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Throughout human history, civilizations have risen and fallen, each with their own stories of justice, goodness, and mercy, as well as evil, cruelty, and hatred. At times, laws are enacted to protect the powerless and give voice to the voiceless. Yet, it seems humans are equally capable of unspeakable injustices towards their fellow man, legislating immorality and approving wickedness as the law of the land.

Of course, no one is so bold as to acknowledge the brokenness of their beliefs. As Deuteronomy 12:8 reminds us, we as humans are all too quick to do what seems right in our own eyes. We assume our motives to be pure and our intentions ordered towards the collective flourishing of society. Yet are our hearts truly this benevolent? Can we trust our own ability to discern what is good, beautiful, or true?

Increasingly, our struggle is not only against unjust laws, but the very notion of the law itself. We live with a perpetual allergy to constraint, in any form or fashion. The western world is built upon the foundation of individual choice, freedom, and autonomy. Could it be that this default lens through which we see the world keeps the world of Scripture in general, and the Psalms in particular, at arms length?

Do you believe that the law of God is truly good? Can you join your heart and life to the words of Psalm 19? “The laws of the Lord are true…more desirable than gold…sweeter than honey.” Time and time again, the Psalms go out of their way to celebrate the gift of the law, the goodness of God in revealing his will and his ways to his people. The boundaries of the law are good and pleasant (Ps 16:6), limiting and constraining us when we are prone to rush headlong into places of chaos and self-inflicted pain.

Until you believe the law of the Lord to be good and for your good, you will never be free.

Similarly, until you reject the modern notion of absolute freedom, you will always be a slave to your own disordered desires. Is the sheep that wanders away from the flock truly free? Is the shepherd abusive and manipulative when he leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one, bringing it back into a life of constraint?

If boundaries are unjust, they deepen brokenness and perpetuate pain. Yet, a life bounded by the love of God, hemmed in on every side (Ps 139:5), discovers a freedom unlike any the world has ever known. And so, saturate your heart and mind with the ancient words of the Psalms, tasting the sweetness and lingering in the delight that comes from a life of faithful obedience.