Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
[New International Translation]
Summary
With 176 verses, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter and the longest psalm in the Bible. Psalm 119 is an alphabetic acrostic (i.e. composition) psalm. The first eight verses of the psalm all begin with the letter "aleph," the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The next eight verses begin with "beth," the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and so on. Psalm 119 covers the entire Hebrew alphabet, this is one of the reasons why the Psalm is so long.
Verse 103 of Psalm 119 is under the Hebrew letter, "mem." The verses under "mem" contain verses that express "the love of God's law"--- the sweetness of GOD's WORD.
As you read the eight verses of "mem," it is as if the writer is overwhelmed with emotion at how GOOD GOD's WORD is. In the sweet communion with THE MAKER, the rich joy of listening to HIS PROMISES, in remembering GOD's whispering WORD of comfort, the writer of Psalms 119 delights and rejoices in THE WORD. He marvels at how the WORD taught him to walk [in the right direction] and how THE WORD opened up his understanding as no human teacher could do. The writer is in awe at how much GOD's WORD has shaped his life. To the writer, not even the best and the sweetest honey in all the land compares to how sweet THE WORD.
Sugary Sweets
Many Americans are addicted to sugary sweets. If you grow up in America, there is an endless succession of "sweet days." We are encouraged to consume sweets on most American holidays: Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are the birthday parties, weddings, office parties, athletic gatherings, retirement parties, wedding receptions, graduation parties and the numerous church events. Most cough remedies, such as cough drops and cough syrups, are sugar sweetened. Then there are the sugared cereals, donuts, muffins, pastries that many consume just to start their day. Throughout the day, Americans consume a number of sugar sweetened drinks: sodas, coffee, juice, milkshakes and other sugared laced drinks. If you enter any grocery store, corner store, drug store or convenience store in America, you generally have to walk the candy display gauntlet before you can pay your bill and exit the store. When you consider all of the above, it is not surprising that most American have very few "non-sweet" days.
The American public is literally bombarded with sugary sweets. Like alcohol, sugary sweets are profitable and heavily marketed. However, unlike cigarettes and alcohol, our government will not protect the American public, including our children, from "sugar addiction."
Read Food Labels
Most products identify their sugar content in terms of grams. For example a 12oz can of Coca Cola contains 39 grams of sugar. A 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew Soda may list 77 grams. If you were to use your measuring spoons, one teaspoon of granulated sugar equals 4 grams of sugar. One gram of sugar equals approximately 3.87 calories.
Not all sugars are created equal. A product that contains sugar could be fructose, a natural sugar contained in fruits; lactose, a sugar found in milk products; or an added sugar like refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Added sugars are usually added to processed foods.
According to the American Heart Association, Americans eat over 355 calories per day from added sugar. The American Heart Association suggest that women get no more than 100 calories a day (about 6 teaspoons) from added sugar and that men limit their consumption to 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons).
Some of the sources of added sugar foods include: soda, energy drinks, sweetened fruit juices, pastries, processed breads, soups, salad dressing, condiments, bottled pasta sauces (e.g. barbecue sauces and spaghetti sauces), baked goods, canned fruit, instant cocoa (e.g., Swiss Miss Mocha Cappuccino or Marshmallow flavors: 1 envelope made with 6 ounces water = 19 grams sugar, 120 calories); some yogurt products (e.g. Yoplait Original 99% fat free, Lemon Burst: 6 ounces = 31 grams sugar, 180 calories); some frozen breakfast foods (e.g. Jimmy Dean Breakfast Entrees, Scrambled Eggs with Sausage & Cheese with diced apples and hash browns: 1 entrée = 16 grams sugar, 390 calories); and some frozen desserts (e.g. Weight Watchers English Toffee Crunch: 2 bars = 20 grams sugar, 220 calories; Skinny Cow Low-fat Ice Cream Cone (different flavors): 1 cone = 19 grams sugar, 150 calories); bottled tea drinks (e.g. Arizona Iced Tea: 16 ounces = 48 grams sugar, 180 calories; SoBe Green Tea: 16 ounces = 50 grams sugar, 200 calories); some instant hot cereals (e.g. Instant Cream of Wheat, Apples 'n Cinnamon: 1 envelope = 16 grams sugar, 130 calories); some breakfast cereals (e.g., Kellogg's Smart Start Strong Heart, Toasted Oat: 1 1/4 cup = 17 grams sugar, 220 calo-ries); pudding and pudding cups (e.g. Jell-O Instant Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, or Cookies and Creme Pudding: 1 serving as packaged (not including milk) = 21 grams sugar, 110 – 120 calories). See, "Sugar Shockers: Foods Surprisingly High in Sugar," by Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, www.webmd.com.
The calories from added sugar can pack on pounds without most of us realizing it. We all need to be aware of the dangers of sugar. So be sure to read the label.
Plan Ahead
One way to resist the sugar temptation is to plan ahead. Sometimes our craving for sweets is physiological, related to a drop in our blood sugar. We feel hungry, so we automatically grab the candy bar, chocolate bar, or quick snack. So, don't skip meals. This will help reduce the ups and downs of your blood chemistry.
Ryan Coyle, Jack Herrick, Hayley K., and Ben Rubenstein, in "How To Stop Sweet Cravings," www.wikiHow.com, suggest that to combat by hypoglycemia or low-blood sugar:
- Eat a breakfast that is NOT sweet.
- Have no sweets (that includes fruit, refined flour, and all sweeteners) until after 3:00 pm. After that eat either fruit rather than sweets that contain refined sugars. Eating sweets in the morning or early afternoon tends to stimulate sweet cravings throughout the day.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners. Research has shown that artificial sweeteners cause intense cravings for sweets.
They also note that:
Some women tend to get sweet cravings the week before or week of their menstruation. If you know you have powerful cravings during a certain time of the month, prepare yourself by keeping sweets out of the house and having healthy snacks available. If the cravings are for chocolate in particular, make sure you're getting enough iron and magnesium in your diet or supplements: in some women, low levels appear to stimulate chocolate cravings.
In addition, they give the following recommendation:
Remove temptations. Go through your refrigerator and food pantry. Get rid of the cakes, ice cream, cookies, etc. When you go food shopping, make a conscious effort not to buy [sugary] sweets. A good habit to get into is to take a walk instead of eating dessert. If, after 10 minutes, you still want sweets, gargle with an antiseptic mouthwash or brush your teeth. The aftertaste doesn't mix well with sweets and you'll probably lose your craving quickly
Eat naturally sweet fruit. Instead of drinking fruit juice, eat a piece of fruit (e.g. grapes instead of grape juice; oranges instead of orange juice, apples instead of apple juice, etc.). Consume pineapple, mango, bananas, pears, peaches, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or other naturally sweet fruit.
If you are diabetic or have a specific medical condition, you should always consult your personal physician, who is knowledgeable about your specific medical history and your dietary needs.
Spiritually Sweet
In the 1989 movie "Steel Magnolias," actress Shirley MacLaine, plays Ouiser Boudreaux, a disagreeable, complaining, ill-tempered, widowed woman, who seems to enjoy her dogs more than her relatives. When she runs into a smiling aging old high school boyfriend, who she hasn't seen in years, she looks at him critically with an intense frown on her face and says: "I'm not as sweet as I used to be."
The psalmist in Psalm 119 found spiritually sweetness in the WORD of GOD! Some, like the character in "Steel Magnolias" had it at one time but lost it somewhere along the way.
Today, pray that GOD gives us all the intense, love and reverence that the writer in Psalm 119 has for GOD and HIS HOLY WORD.
Pray for spiritual sweetness and BE BLESSED!
