Psalm 119 - Love for God's Law

Jesus did not separate himself and what he spoke and taught from the scriptures we have as the Bible. And he never spoke about any of the law that is from God in the Bible coming to any end, as long as heaven and earth last. I do not know how real repentant believers who have Jesus as their Lord would think the commandments from God are even not for them. It is certain truth that Paul is being misunderstood by a good number of those reading the epistles from him. I believe what I read from his epistles, but those who say Paul states something that would have us go contrary to what we see Jesus said I must disagree with, and say they are among the ones who misunderstand what Paul wrote. The law from God is good, in Christ we are not condemned for any failing, but God's grace through Christ's atonement for us at great cost should have our repentance bringing us to greater obedience, none of that does away with commandments. The Psalms do uphold faithfulness to God's commandments.

I am intrigued at the moment to consider what is the spirit of the Sabbath, God's character and will displayed in it, which finds its fulfillment in Jesus and us. My starting ideas is that there are a range of things, such as delight, trust, equality, quietness, liberation. I would welcome the Spirit's wisdom to understand more, please don't hold back.

I am also loving the deep swim in Psalm 119 and do not want to discourage the OP from going on and on with that. In fact I'm wondering if that's the very intention of the psalm - to feel we're swimming (in this love for God's word) and can't see either shore - why else make it so long?

Yes, Psalm 119 is completely beautiful and a wonderful part of God's inspiring Word. I have more work to do on this psalm but am in no rush. I want to drink it in and allow for meditation and reflection in the weeks and perhaps months ahead.

I observed the Sabbath as a Christian for several years back in my 20's (a long time ago...). It was a time to put aside worldly concerns like my normal tasks and work and spend some in-depth time studying the Bible, meditating, praying, fasting occasionally, and attending worship services with some great fired-up like-minded Christians.

Today, I look at the Sabbath as an everyday occurrence basking in the rest my Lord and Savior provides in His grace and love.

Thank you for your thoughts on this subject, Frank, and there's a lively discussion related to your observations at the forum listed below.

The gospel of ….. - Christian Chat Rooms & Forums

I think a lot of the confusion and debate centers around which "laws" from the Old Covenant are still applicable for us today under the New Covenant. We certainly are not required to make animal sacrifices anymore (Christ is our Passover Lamb), and the Holy Days (e.g. Passover & Feast of Tabernacles) are not obligatory either because they foreshadowed New Testament events.

When I look at the 10 commandments, those are still valid and in effect today from my point of view. They are not only spiritual laws, many of them like "you shall not murder" are civil laws as well. The first four commandments center around love towards God, and the last six focus on our love towards our fellow man. The only variation I see is the Sabbath--Jesus is our sabbath rest as Christians, so we do not need to observe the "Sabbath" from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Those Christians who still feel a need for this is fine with me.

The key from my point of view is obeying Christ and the "law" or better yet "Word" from His teachings. The Old Testament needs to be put in the proper perspective from the New Testament.