Great Peace have they

"Great peace have they who love God's law and nothing shall offend them..." Psalm 119:165
There is that concept of ‘peace’ in a very interesting context. A special friend asked me about it.

“Great peace have they who love God's law and nothing shall offend them..." Please tell me where that came from. (see above) Grandma used that verse often but I'm now not sure just what she was trying to teach us.”

I’m not grandma but in thinking about the context of that text here are some thoughts that have come to me as I have pondered the subject again.

Whatever that kind of ‘peace’ is, it is ‘great’. I’ll come back to that later.

According to what I have been learning about peace, its meaning deals in part at least with ‘attitude’. A ‘peace’ attitude, when dealing with the mind, includes trust in another mind. Trust cannot be forced. It is developed as an ‘other’ mind exhibits in word, attitude and actions (when the opportunity presents itself) that they truly ‘love’ you, that they love for you to be in their presence, that you are special to them, that you bring JOY to them as you respond positively to them. As you experience that kind of love from another mind, you are given the opportunity to respond. When you ‘relax’ in their presence, when you realize that you can truly ‘fall into the arms’ of the one who loves you with that kind of love, when you accept that you can trust that they have your best good at heart, that is at least part of what ‘peace’ means in that context, as I presently understand it.

In that context might the ‘great’ indicate ‘how much’ a person experiences and responds positively to the one who is offering that kind of true love.

The text goes on to indicate that the ones who have great peace are basing that experience on ‘loving God’s law’. Ooh, is that fascinating.

From the beginning of HIS STORY – the Creator God of the Universe, to the end of that story as recorded in the Bible, God’s law has two key concepts. Jesus said it very simply in Matthew 22:37-39 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

O.K. ‘Peace’ is an attitude, due at least in part to returning love to someone who loves you.

The last part of that text gives at least one ‘effect’ of peace. “Nothing shall offend them”

Whew! Looking back on my life I realize that a lot of my problems have stemmed from my ‘feeling’ offended by others. “If so and so hadn’t done such and such, bla,bla,bla. . .” But looking at others the way God does –through His love – gives me the ability to ‘feel’ like Jesus did – “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” Might this be God’s remedy for ‘being’ or ‘feeling’ offended (real or imaginary) – I’m not being treated ‘fair’, I shouldn’t be treated this way, I’m hurt by how you are treating me, talking about me, or even not responding to me.

Wow! When I think of even a few of the implications of experiencing that kind of PEACE, I am awed.

How does Psalm 119:165 sound in the following ‘words’?

My attitude of trusting you, Lord - of my experiencing that you love me so much, leading me to love you most and loving others as you have enabled me to love myself - enables me to ‘let go’, ‘release’, ‘not hold as guilty’ all who have wittingly or unwittingly offended, hurt or pained me.
There is more in that text but for now I am going to ponder the above some more.

So, if PEACE is more 'attitude' related rather than strickly intellectual, can words be adequate to describe the miracle of PEACE God gives to those who love Him in return for accepting His love.

Peace to you!

Maiden, Bringer of Peace