Nephi Delights in the Word of God

John W. Welch

Throughout this psalm there are parallelistic couplets identifiable by the way the lines break. Here the soul is parallel to heart, and delighteth is parallel to pondereth, and things of the Lord parallel things which I have seen and heard, which are the things of the Lord. This is not, however, a synonymous parallelism. This is a parallelism that intensifies. At first Nephi just delights, but then he ponders it. It is something heavier.

It is not just "the things of the Lord," but more than that—"the things which I have seen and heard." It’s not distant things that the Lord has said to someone else, but it is now intensified with a more personal reception. We can follow that same pattern in our lives as we first delight, but then say, "I need to ponder." It must be done deeply and continually and in more than just a passing way.

John W. Welch Notes

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