The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! (Psa 119:64)
The steadfast love of God is a thematic concept in the longest chapter of the Bible (119:41, 64, 76, 88, 124, 149, 159). As the psalmist reflects on the Lord, His Word, and life, he numerous times appeals to God’s glorious inclination to do good to His people.
Here, the original language reads, “Your steadfast love, O LORD, fills the earth...” While most translations give a more passive rendering—“the earth is filled”—the original describes the love of God as an active force filling the earth. It may seem like grammatical hair-splitting, yet the emphasis is notable: the active vastness of God’s love.
How vast must be the love of God if it fills the known world! Consider just one of our oceans. The Atlantic Ocean has a volume of 80 million...cubic...miles. And the Atlantic is not even the largest ocean in the world—it makes up only 20% of the world’s surface!
It isn’t much easier to comprehend the size of the earth’s landmasses. We could say that relative to the entire human population, the earth is oversized. If every person on the planet moved to Texas, there would be enough room for everyone to have 1,000 square feet of space to themselves. The earth is so large that all humanity could live in one U.S. state, leaving the rest of the planet completely uninhabited.
All of this is to say that to fill the earth with anything would be a gargantuan task. Yet, the psalmist testifies that God’s love fills the earth.
Once again, it is important to understand the grammar of Psalm 119:64. The God's love is not depicted simply as a substance that takes up space. It is not just that the earth is filled, but the love of God fills. That is, the love of God acts and accomplishes. God’s love preserves us (Psa 40:11). God’s love feeds all His creation (Psa 136:25). Every act of providence and sustenance is fueled by His love (Psa 136). The whole earth bears the fingerprint of God’s providential care.
God’s steadfast love is so vast that it is depicted as filling the known world. What does that compel the psalmist to do?
First, God’s love draws the psalmist to intimacy with God. “Teach me your statutes,” he prays. A careful reading of Psalm 119 indicates that for the psalmist the statutes, commandments, ordinances, ways, paths, directions, judgments, and instructions of God are more than impersonal, moral directives for successful life. Certainly, God's statutes do direct one’s life, but the psalmist understands them as a window into the character of God (Psalm 119:68, 75, 137, 142, 172).
A verse very similar to v64 is 119:68, “You are good, and do good; teach me your statutes.” To learn God’s statutes is not only to learn to obey, but to learn God Himself. An awareness of the reality, the nature, the vastness of God’s love draws the psalmist to God Himself for intimate fellowship.
This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:14a, where Paul notes that “the love of Christ controls us.” The greatest picture of the reality, nature, and vastness of God’s love comes in the person and work of Christ. Paul reasons in 2 Corinthians 5 that this love is a controlling force in the life of a believer. It controls us not like chains to a slave, but more like a flame to a moth. His love draws us to Him. We want more of Him because of the greatness of His love.
And where can He be known more fully than in the Scriptures? As vast as is the earth’s testimony to the love and character of God, it pails in comparison to the fullness of the testimony of the Word. Thus, the psalmist prays, teach me your statutes!
Second, God’s love compels the psalmist to obey. This is the most straightforward implication of the prayer, “Teach me your statutes.”
Love moves the regenerate heart to obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 15:14). In 2 Corinthians 5, noted above, Paul shows that an outworking of Christ’s love is that we no longer live for ourselves but for the one who died for us and was raised (2 Cor 5:15).
Psalm 119 seems to show that the psalmist's meditations on God and His Word move him to want more and God and His Word. In verse 64 specifically, meditation on the active vastness of God’s love moves him to desire greater intimacy with and obedience to the Lord.
Like the psalmist, we would benefit greatly from meditating on the love of God. Some great Scriptures for this are:
If we need help with meditation, there is no one better than the Puritans to mine a text for glorious truth:
All Loves Excelling, John Bunyan
Christ’s Love for Us, Thomas Brooks
The Love of Christ, Richard Sibbes
The Heart of Christ, Thomas Goodwin
Certainly, those who are taken with the vastness and power of God's love in Christ will be drawn to Him, desiring to please Him. So let's gaze then at His love in Christ!
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