Today I will be thinking about Psalm 19. I’m taking a seminary course that has challenged me to think about the Word of God. I am grateful I was brought up in a Christian household that helped me know the Lord early on. From a tender age, I knew going to church wasn’t something to negotiate. At times I was excited about church, but other times it felt like a burden, an obligation, a duty I had to fulfil. The same was true of my attitude toward God’s Word. It felt like only special people could understand it well. Anyway, the Lord, in His grace and mercy, kept and sustained me through it all.
After campus, when I had the opportunity to join a church ministry apprenticeship program, I had more time to think about God’s Word. And my, oh my, wasn’t I excited to study God’s Word? A friend of mine (a work colleague and mentor) helped me study through the book of Revelation. I can tell you we took almost 2 years to get through the whole book, but it was definitely my turning point. I always dreaded this book of the Bible. Too mysterious, confusing and fearful.
Over the years, the Lord has used His Word to deepen my understanding of Him and my desire to know Him. This brings me to a Psalm I have been thinking through over the past couple of days. This is not an attempt at a full exposition of this Psalm, but to highlight a few things. The last article helped us to focus on how creation reveals the majesty and greatness of our God. We looked at Psalm 19:1-6. In case you missed it, click the link at the bottom of this page.
Psalm 19:7-14 continues to teach us more about the Law of God.
Psalms 19
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The beauty of God’s Word
The word of God is perfect. It is flawless. This is God’s Word. It gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness. While it does not give us all knowledge, everything it does give is true and perfect. It makes the simple wise. We are privileged to live in a technological era where tasks have been eased by technological inventions. Think about the flying cars. Who would have ever thought we would get here? Anyway, this clearly shows that human beings are intelligent. Closely related to this is the idea of Wisdom. I asked Google who a wise person is, and this was the reply I received: “an individual who uses deep understanding, life experience, and good judgment to make sound decisions and guide others.” So the Bible makes even those who seem to exercise good judgment and make sound decisions seem simple. Why? Because the wisdom found in God’s word cannot compare.
The precepts are right. Precepts are defined as the commands of the Lord, which are right. The Lord’s commands are pure and enlighten the eyes. It is not just enough to look at creation and think, I now fully know God. You have to read his word. Then you shall truly know who He is. The list goes on..
The Priceless treasure of God’s Word
David continues in vs 10
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
There is nothing more precious than this. Probably we know this but have never paused to think. Just picture in your mind having a bag of gold in front of you. 1 gram of Gold currently goes for an average of $129 (Ksh 16,780). Now just imagine the value of 1kg of Gold. But David says that this word is more precious than gold. No precious metal in the world compares to this. These commands are even sweeter than honey.
Living in Light of God’s Word
This same precious commands, David says,
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
He knows this command is not just about being desirable and nice. There is seriousness in this goodness. David does not want to go down the slippery slope of sin (vs 12-13). He is actually asking the Lord to keep him from Sin. Remember, David was called a man after God’s own heart. But he still knew he could sin against God.
He finally lands on the point in verse 14
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
This should be our prayer today. That we not only think about, but dwell and meditate on , the Lord’s commands. May our words be full of the Word of God. May everything we think about glorify the Lord.
Now, what does meditation look like?
I want you to think of a note or a message that you may have ever received from a friend. Probably it was really encouraging and thoughtful, meaning you kept on going back to it during the day. Reading it again and again. It is the same thing here; meditating on God’s word means going back to it, over and over again. Letting our minds be saturated with the Word of God each time. So much can occupy our time, especially today, when we end up mindlessly scrolling through our phones. But could you make a point of dedicating time to learn more about God through His Word.