Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Why does the Psalmist delight so much in God's law? Christopher Ashe gives three reasons: 1) The law in Psalm 119 combines law as command with law as promise; it encompasses the whole of God's gracious revelation... The 'law words' are at bottom 'grace words.' 2) Only Jesus Christ has gladly and freely kept every word of the law. The obedience of this one man is the necessary and sufficient basis for the many to be made righteous (Rom. 5:19). Psalm 119 is supremely an expression of the flawless piety of Jesus on earth. The reason that 'law words' can be 'grace words' is that Jesus has kept the law for us. 3) Only the Spirit of Christ can write the law on a human heart. Under the new covenant, we pray the psalm as those in whom the Spirit has placed the desires and delights of Jesus. (Ashe, 274) Because Jesus is the great singer of Psalm 119, therefore we who are joined to Christ – we who are united to him by his Spirit – may now sing Psalm 119 with the same love for and delight in God's law...