God’s Word: Sweeter Than Honey

“How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103
Last week, we considered the great value of God’s Word being a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The Bible is a wonderful guide that shines in the darkness and illumines our steps. Another wonderful reality of the Word that David proclaims in Psalm 119 is its sweetness. He compares it to the sweetness of honey. God’s Word is even sweeter, David says!

David’s description of his love and appreciation of the Word in verse 103 taps our senses and triggers our spiritual taste buds, so to speak. We’re drawn to savour and relish God’s words. Matthew Henry commented rightly about this verse, saying, “To this scripture-taste the word of God is sweet, very sweet, sweeter than any of the gratifications of sense, even those that are most delicious.” Considering all the things that we would taste, read, know and say, “Mmm! That’s so good!” – in many, many ways the Word is far better than all of it. As we read David’s words, he brings the taste of honey to the front of our minds. How sweet and pleasant honey is! That sweetness is then beautifully connected to the Word.

We can join with David in being so grateful, for there was a time when we didn’t have such a taste for God’s Word.  Yet now being in the Beloved, we study and meditate on the truths of Scripture. As we do so, the Holy Spirit uses them to nourish our souls. Like honey brings joy to our taste buds and reinforces our desire for it,  so the Word of God is all the more sweeter as it’s received, the Spirit shows us more of our Savior and applies the truth of the Word in our hearts and minds.

Prayerfully meditate on this verse this week.  As you do so, I encourage you to ask the Lord to give you true delight in his Word- that you would taste and see how sweet His words truly are and desire to know and grow in them more each and every day.