Twenty-first Strophe—Psalm 119:161-168
161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. 162 I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. 163 I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. 165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. 166 I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands. 167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. 168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.
Do you believe this?
The Psalmist compares God’s Word to “great spoil” (v.162) which he praises God for seven times a day (v.164)! Back in verses 72 and 127 he compared it to “gold”! Do you believe—really believe—that God’s Word is like “great spoil”? …like gold? I dare say many of us—many Christians—are sitting on a gold mine and we don’t really know it.
During the Great Depression, a man named Yates was operating a sheep ranch in the rolling hills of West Texas. His business wasn’t generating enough money to pay the principal and interest on his mortgage so he ended up living on a government subsidy. His days were filled with stress over the financial concerns of his family. They lived, dressed, and ate in poverty.
One day a seismographic crew asked if they might explore his land for oil. Yates agreed and signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge reserve of oil. The first well produced 80,000 barrels a day while many subsequent wells generated more than twice that amount. Thirty years after the discovery, one well was estimated to still have a potential flow of 125,000 barrels a day. This vast sea of wealth, known as Yates Pool, had always belonged to Yates. He was a multimillionaire who had spent years in heart-wrenching poverty just because he didn’t realize what he already possessed.
Are you are living your life in spiritual poverty? I have good news: You are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams! If you own a Bible, you possess the Word of God! If you will dig into it and mine it’s “great spoil” you will find “joy” (v.162) “righteousness” (v.164) “Great peace…nothing can make (you) stumble” (v.165) and you need never feel lonely or empty “for all (your) ways are known to (God)” (v.168). And—there are numerous other “riches” we could list, but you get the point.
This is real treasure—treasure that a bad economy will never crash.
