Psalm 119:41-48

Psalm 119:41-48
New International Version (NIV)

  There's something pure about the delight of a child.  As adults, we tend to complicate things (just go to any youth sporting event for evidence).  Children have a way of enjoying something with pure delight.  I was eating dinner with my daughter tonight and was startled by the way she expresses happiness -- it's something I long for.  I'm so often weighed down by burdens and anxieties that pure joy is a reach, whereas my children can go from pain and tears to joy in the blink of an eye (and often right back again!).
  When I read the Psalms, I get the impression of someone who has found pure joy in the Lord.  It's not an uncomplicated joy, but while it recognizes the other forces at work in the world, the Psalmist has also found peace and joy in the Lord, and once they've been given a taste of this, they long for nothing more.  It's compelling, for it draws me in as well -- this is the satisfaction of the soul that we long for, the divine bread that fills us in a way no earthly bread can ever hope to do.  Come, taste and see, the Lord proclaims, and we will find him good -- we will find healing for our wounds and hope for our downcast eyes and eternal life for our mortal lives.  In Him there is true joy, lasting joy.  The Psalmist has found this and points us forward, shouting with thanksgiving for the life that is truly life.