Psalm 119:99

In today’s verse taken from the octave Mem of Psalm 119, the psalmist continues to show the edge that God’s word gave him.  In this case, it gave him an edge over all his teachers.

Psalms 119:99  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

We all need teachers, or God would not give them to us. 

Deuteronomy 33:8, 10  And of Levi he said….They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

1 Chronicles 25:8  And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

Proverbs 4:1  Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

2  For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

3  For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

4  He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

Ephesians 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers….

The psalmist had also had his teachers, and he was not necessarily disparaging them when he wrote these words.  It was just that his understanding extended beyond what they had taught him.  No one should limit his understanding to that of the man that taught him.  It rejoices my heart when men I have taught and trained for the ministry teach me things that I have not seen before.  How do you parents feel when your children take things you have taught them and improve upon them to the point of surpassing your understanding?  When they can do that, then you know that you have taught them well.  Any student should take the things his teachers have taught him and expand on them. 

Now the psalmist states the reason why he understood more than all his teachers:  for thy testimonies are my meditation.  As he wrote in the opening of this octave, God’s word was his meditation all the day.  He devoted a great deal of focused thought to the Scriptures.  As he did so, his understanding increased.  If someone taught him something from God’s testimonies, he mused upon it, tossed it over in his mind, and thereby gained more insights into what he had been taught.  The result was that he understood what his teacher had taught him and more. But he got all this increased understanding from studying a single Book called the holy Scriptures, God’s testimonies.  Charles Spurgeon’s comment on this verse is profound:  “There is more wisdom in the testimonies of the Lord than in all the teachings of men if they were all gathered into one vast library.”  Notice that the psalmist did not get increased understanding by surfing the internet.  Of course, he did not have the internet.  Poor, unfortunate, disadvantaged soul!  Doesn’t your heart bleed for him?  I speak as a fool.  He probably didn’t even an encyclopedia to pore over.  He neither needed the internet nor a library full of books to gain increased understanding excelling that of all his teachers.  This is not to say that he read no other books besides his Bible. But it is to say that His focus was on his Bible over and above any other source of instruction.  It is astounding what a man can learn from that single book.  I quote again the old proverb:  “Beware of the man of one book.”  And you can bet the devil knows how believers gain increased understanding and he will do everything he can to distract them from the source of that understanding.  God help us!