89 Lord, your word is forever;
it is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness is for all generations;
you established the earth, and it stands firm.
91 Your judgments stand firm today,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your instruction had not been my delight,
I would have died in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have given me life through them.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have studied your precepts.
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,
but I contemplate your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your command is without limit.
The twelfth stanza of Psalm 119 (ל/Lamed) begins with a beautiful affirmation of the permanence and timelessness of God’s Word. “Lord, your Word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven.” (verse 89) It is not just another curiosity that has been passed down to us from antiquity; no, it is the living and abiding Word of the one true and living God. In theology, this is called the doctrine of inspiration, namely that God speaks through the human authors of the Biblical documents, such that their words are His very words. This is why the Bible has lasting relevance and authority even beyond the audiences to whom it was originally written. As our psalmist puts it, “Your judgments stand firm today. for all things are your servants.” (verse 91) Contrary to the opinions of modern culture, the Word of God is still the right and true prescription for human flourishing; the virtues it sanctions and the vices it prohibits are not outdated holdovers from people and places now long past. No, the Bible is special revelation from God in which He reveals the problem of humanity’s sin and the way of salvation that comes by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Now, in verse 90, we read “Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm.” As we have noted in previous posts, most of the verses in Psalm 119 contain some synonym for God’s Word, e.g. laws, commands, instructions, precepts, etc., and so here we have “your faithfulness” (אֱמֽוּנָתֶךָ). It seems clear that this word is meant to stand in parallel relationship with “your word” (verse 89) and “your judgments” (verse 91); interestingly, the Septuagint (LXX) translates this word as “your truth” (ἡ ἀλήθειά σου). The point of all of this is to say that the abiding authority of God’s Word is grounded in who He is, i.e. in His unchanging character. He is faithful; He keeps His promises. Whatever He says, He will most certainly do. His Word is a reflection of who He is: His holiness, His grace, His power, His love, and even His incomprehensibility. This is why our psalmist writes in verse 96, “I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your command is without limit,” or as it reads in the NET Bible, “your commands are beyond full comprehension.” The God of the Bible is infinite; He is a mystery whose depths can never fully be exhausted. So also is His Word.
However, this does not mean that we should not read or study the Word of God. Yes, the depths of the Bible’s riches are inexhaustible, but they are also perspicuous and clear. I have previously written on this topic, here. But suffice it to say that in the act of inspiration, the infinite God condescended to our finite capacities for understanding. He is infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness, and we are His creatures, finite in our ability to comprehend His perfections. But He chose to reveal Himself in and through the Word so that we might know Him and be reconciled to Him. So yes, the Bible is so clear that any human being, regardless of their intellectual aptitude or educational achievement, can read it and understand their sin and their need for a savior; it is also, at the same time, a limitless source of mystery and wonder, such that even the finest minds throughout human history have been unable to fully explain all of its secrets.
For our psalmist, this means that the Word of God must be continuously read, studied, and contemplated. As he says in verse 93, “I will never forget your precepts, for you have given me life through them.” Here again, not only do we see that abiding authority of God’s Word, but we also see its all encompassing sufficiency. Our psalmist understands that every need of the human soul is provided for in the inspired Word of God. In verse 92, we read, “If your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction.” The word “delight” conveys the idea of contentment, satisfaction, or pleasure. In other words, our psalmist understands that even in the midst of turmoil, adversity, and heartache, there is a joy, a “peace that passes all understanding” that is available when we rest in the promises of God’s Word. The spiritual disciplines of the Word (study, meditation, memorization) are the God prescribed antidote for our anxiety, our fear, our depression, our despair. Again, our psalmist writes in verse 95, “The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate your decrees.”
This devotion, this diligence in the discipline of the Word, this affection for the perfections of God’s Law, is a distinguishing characteristic of those who belong to Him. As our psalmist writes in verse 94. “I am yours; save me, for I have studied your precepts.” We are a people of the Book. Our faith is not based on a human philosophy or mere reflections on the divine; no, it is based on the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient revelation of God Himself. In His Word, He has clearly and finally revealed the one and only path unto salvation, and He has called His people to walk upon it until we reach glory. So, when our psalmist prays “save me”, he is not simply expressing his desire to be saved from the penalty of sin. Rather, he is praying for the ongoing work of salvation to be applied in his life through sanctification, that God would save him from the power of sin through His sufficient Word. In the same breath, he is also expressing that most fundamental of Christian hopes, namely that one day he would be saved from the very presence of sin entirely, a hope that is grounded in the promises of God’s Word. In other words, our psalmist understands that the full experience of our salvation comes to us through the Word by the Spirit. Therefore, we should never cease to be amazed at the riches of His word, and we should constantly devote ourselves to its discipline.
For further study:
Introduction
Psalm 119.1-8
Psalm 119.9-16
Psalm 119.17-24
Psalm 119.25-32
Psalm 119.33-40
Psalm 119.41-48
Psalm 119.49-56
Psalm 119.57-64
Psalm 119.65-72
Psalm 119.73-80
Psalm 119.81-88
33 Teach me, 
Faith seeking Understanding 
On Sola Scriptura and the Use of Bible Study Resources
Five hundred years ago, the leaders of the Protestant Reformation championed the refrain sola scriptura, that scripture alone is the ultimate and final authority for all questions pertaining to Christian faith and practice. It is a refrain that continues to ring out today in Bible believing churches all over the world. The perspicuity, sufficiency, and authority of the Bible are convictions that are foundational for the overall health and wellbeing of the church, and this is especially so when these truths are under the kind of direct attack that they have suffered in this current cultural climate. It is no understatement to say that the trends of the culture are moving against the authority and sufficiency of Holy Scripture. Therefore, it is imperative for every new generation of Christians to affirm, proclaim and defend these truths.
However, in my experience, there is widespread misunderstanding about what the doctrine of sola scriptura actually means. Many Christians commonly confuse the doctrine of sola scriptura, or “scripture alone”, with a position that might be called solo scriptura, or “scripture only”. Solo scriptura is the position that Holy Scripture is the only valid resource for matters of Christian faith and practice, and usually, it holds that other kinds of extra biblical resources are unnecessary, nay even inappropriate. According to this perspective, biblical commentaries, historical studies, biblical and systematic theologies are typically viewed as distractions or obstacles in the study of the Bible rather than as aids in the process. These resources are typically viewed as merely the opinions of men, and so they are deemed to be inappropriate for the Christian who truly wants to hear the voice God in His Word.
Now, I think that the believers who hold this kind opinion are genuine in their desire to know and obey the Word of God, and this should be applauded. But, to eschew all extra biblical resources out of some supposed devotion to the primacy of Holy Scripture is fundamentally short sighted and unwise. This is primarily because God has gifted his church with pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4.11), and these gifts have been preserved for us in the form of commentaries, theologies, and the like that have been passed down through the ages. Moreover, the Proverbs remind us that “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12.15), and “Without guidance, a people will fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance” (Proverbs 11.14). In other words, it is in keeping with Biblical wisdom to listen to the counsel of those who have studied the Bible before us. Or to put it another way, “[Interpretations] fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15.22).
Of course, the doctrine of sola scriptura rightly affirms that these extra biblical resources do not stand above the Bible in any kind of authoritative or determinative way. The Bible is norma normans non normata; it is the norming norm that is itself not normed. On the other hand, biblical commentaries, systematic theologies, and the like are norma normata, or “normed norms”, in the process of biblical interpretation. They are the guard rails that keep us from falling into the canyon of interpretive subjectivism, but they are ultimately subservient to that final authority which is the inspired and inerrant Word of the one true and living God. This is the doctrine of sola scriptura rightly understood; it is the affirmation that scripture the final and highest authority on matters pertaining to Christian life and practice, but it is not the only authority on these matters.
So, when it comes to reading and studying the Bible, Christians are right to avail themselves of the plethora of resources both modern and ancient that are available today. This includes but is not limited to biblical commentaries, biblical, systematic, and historical theologies, socio-cultural background studies, linguistic and literary aids, and many others. These are valuable helps in the interpretive process. However, as helpful as these kinds of books are, we must remember that nothing can substitute for simply reading the Bible; this is the God-ordained means by which we are transformed into His image by the renewing of our minds. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible. ” Or as the Bible itself reminds us,
For more on this topic, see also:
On the Use and Benefit of Tradition
On Hermeneutics & Interpreting the Bible
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