How Can the Law Be Good?

Ready for Bible trivia? What is the longest chapter in the Bible? The
answer: Psalm 119, with a whopping 176 verses! Though it’s long, this psalm
is all about the importance of God’s Word and how much the psalmist loves
God’s law that He gave to the Israelites.

A song about laws seems strange at first. We sometimes think of rules as
annoying restrictions that keep us from doing whatever we want to do. But
imagine a stop sign or a traffic light. Those things might seem frustrating
at times, and we might think that they are getting in the way of our
freedom. But without them, travel would be chaotic and dangerous. Stop
signs and traffic lights point us to a better and safer way of sharing the
road.

God’s law is like that. It holds us back from certain things to protect us
from the danger and damage of sin. It points us to the new way of life God
desires for us: to love Him and our neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). Therefore,
the psalmist loves the law because it’s good for God’s people.

It’s not surprising that the psalmist closes with a prayer, asking for
God’s presence and help in following the law (Psalm 119:174-176). As
humans, we constantly sin against, or reject God’s plan, and His laws make
us realize how sinful we really are.

But that’s why Jesus came. He followed God’s plan perfectly—not to get rid
of the law, but to complete the law so that through Him, we can be made
right with God (Matthew 5:17-20; Galatians 3:10-22). Jesus’s fulfilled law
is not based on rules, but on relationship: following Him out of love and
trust. When we become Christians,
the Holy Spirit changes our lives and transforms us to be more like Jesus
(Hebrews 10:15-24). That’s good news worth singing about! • Abby Ciona

• Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17. When we read Old Testament laws, we can know they
were fulfilled in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. How can laws that
don’t apply to us anymore (like animal sacrifices) still teach us about
following God and living a life centered around Him in all we do?

• Read Hebrews 4:12. God’s Word is powerful. How can it transform our
thoughts, attitudes, and actions?

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Psalm 119:1-Psalm 119:8; Psalm 119:33-Psalm 119:40; Psalm 119:137-Psalm 119:144; Psalm 119:18