Psalm 119:47

The psalmist links the verse we consider today to the preceding verses by the word and.

Psalms 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

The man to whom God’s mercies have come (verse 41), who trusts in God’s word (v. 42), who hopes in God’s judgments (v. 43), who keeps God’s law continually (v. 44), who seeks God’s precepts (v. 45), and who is unashamed to speak of them before kings (v. 46), is a man who is going to find pleasure in God’s commandments. His Bible will be a source of joy for him in time to come.

The psalmist states: “I will delight myself in thy commandments.” What makes you most happy with yourself? Matthew Henry’s comment on this is most insightful:

“I will never be so well pleased with myself as when I do that which is pleasing to God.”

Observe the verb tenses in this verse. I will delight is the future tense. I have loved is the present perfect tense. According to Wikipedia and other resources I have checked, the present perfect tense is “used to express a past event that has present consequences.” The psalmist had loved God’s law in the past and he continued to love God’s law in the present, as he wrote later in this psalm:

Psalms 119:97 O how love (present tense) I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Having loved God’s commandments, the psalmist was sure to delight himself in them in the future. From this we may draw a conclusion in general about life: What you have loved up to now determines what you will enjoy in the future. The things you most care about and place your affections upon are the things that have the greatest potential to bring you pleasure. Now some persons or things we have loved can disappoint our expectations and bring us grief in the future. But such will never be the case with God’s unfailing word.

It is interesting that the psalmist loved God’s commandments. When we studied verse 19 of this psalm, I pointed out that “this word commandment not only refers to those things that God has commanded us to do…but that word also refers to God’s government of this universe. Everything in this universe is subject to the command of God. It was created and continues to function by the commandment of God.” The psalmist loved the government of God over His creation. But he also loved God’s commandments as they pertain to the things God ordered him to do. He loved being under God’s authority. The person who loves being subject to God’s commandments is the person that is going to delight himself in them. If you resent any commandment God has given you, then to that degree you resent His authority over you. Such a rebellious attitude toward God’s authority is a poison that will spread and rob you of your pleasure in God’s word. If you want to enjoy your Bible study and your pastor’s teaching in the future, make sure you have the right attitude toward God’s word today.