Mem (Verses 97-104)
The letter mem symbolizes waves of water, and refers to a large body of water such as a sea or ocean. The idea of water rising out of a spring to form a body of water is symbolic of wisdom rising out of the Word of God to fill a man’s soul and words with wisdom, as in Proverbs 18:4: “The words a man speaks are deep waters, A flowing stream, a fountain
of wisdom.”
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
The source of wisdom, insight and understanding is the Word of God (97-100). It is a spring of water that fills the sea of the psalmist’s soul. When he meditates on the law, God’s commands are always with him (97-98), and the wisdom which springs from the Word fills his soul to make him wiser than his enemies (98), give him more insight than his teachers (99), and provide him with more understanding than the elders (110). The psalmist does not mean he is too arrogant to learn from others; nor is he implying that he is wiser – with more insight and understanding – in his own self or by his own ability. He is simply making a humble acknowledgement that the source of eternal wisdom is not men (“enemies”), nor even the great teachers and elders of Israel. Instead, his wisdom comes from the Word of God itself. Men are to fill their souls with the Word of God as the rivers fill the sea. The soul filled with the Word of God produces obedience:
“I obey your precepts” (100)
“I have kept my feet from every evil path” (101)
“I have not departed from your laws” (102)
“I gain understanding from your precepts therefore I hate every wrong path” (104)
Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com
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