Pastor Jim Lawless

THE GLORY AND GOODNESS OF THE WORD OF GOD

Psalms 19:7-10

INTRODUCTION:

This Psalm is difficult for modern people to understand because it confronts the prevailing idea that the Law of God is dead, destructive, and damning. Paul in Romans 7:12 makes a statement which should be carefully considered by every Christian, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." The Law of God is holy because it is appointed by God for a specific purpose. The Law of God is just because it does not play any favorites. The Law of God is also good because it has accomplished the purpose for which it was, and is, intended. For this reason this Psalm is of utmost importance in understanding how the righteous person of the Old Testament is not so far from the righteous person of the New Testament.

EXPOSITION OF THE SCRIPTURE:

PSALMS 19:7 “THE LAW OF THE LORD [IS] PERFECT, CONVERTING THE SOUL: THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD [IS] SURE, MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE.”

"THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT,” - We need to understand something here. At the time this Psalm was written, the only Scripture that the people had was probably the Law of God or the Law of Moses. Therefore the statements made here concerning the "Law" can well be applied to the entire Scripture as we know it, both the Old and New Testaments.

In this portion of the Psalm, we have the Bible known by a particular description and then an application which rises from that description. The first is that the bible is "perfect". The Hebrew word has more the meaning of “completeness”. While God's Word is perfect in the absolute sense, when dealing with the written record we call the Bible, it might be better to use the idea of "complete". In the Bible we have the COMPLETE Word of God. It needs no help, no augmentation, no further expansion, or new discipline in order to meet the spiritual need of mankind. It is a real shame how that well meaning people have bought into the idea that God needs help from other sources to handle the world’s problems. It is a good indication of just how far the spiritual health of our people has sunk.

"CONVERTING THE SOUL:" - Here the "completeness" of the Scriptures is applied to the necessity of being converted. That is, the soul of man is "restored" to its place before the God who created it. Man fell from a place of fellowship and peace with Almighty God. His conversion, then, restores him to that former place he had before the fall. While the circumstances surrounding all of mankind is not the same as the first man enjoyed, there is the "sure hope" in the restoration being complete one day when God ushers in the Eternal Order. Hence the first benefit is "Conversion".

“THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD IS SURE,” - The second description is concerned with the message of the Bible. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. As such, then, it is His Testimony concerning Himself, His Character, His Attributes, and His Actions. The best any other source of knowledge about God can do is just to show His Presence. That is not enough for a person to be able to serve God. When "natural revelation” is all that there is, the result is man-made religion and idolatry. The Scriptures give us an adequate enough understanding of God to be able to live for Him and to live with Him.

"MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE." - The Bible has the capacity to do what eating the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden could not do. From Adam and Eve in the garden this idea of a man’s wisdom has been the greatest point of contention. In Genesis we see that this was at the root of the very first sin. In Genesis 3:6 it says, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Many of the trees of the garden no doubt were “good for food", many were also most likely "pleasant to the eyes", but only one was "desirable to make one wise". The second benefit is "Wisdom".

PSALMS 19:8 “THE STATUTES OF THE LORD [ARE] RIGHT, REJOICING THE HEART: THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD [IS] PURE, ENLIGHTENING THE EYES.”

"THE STATUTES OF THE LORD ARE RIGHT," - One of the attributes of God is that He is Righteous. This means, among other things, that He is always right. Since the Scriptures reflect the very character of God, then the Scripture also is always right. They are correct in every single command that is given. Even the passing of time has not dulled them one bit. God charges mankind with His kind of life and man can do no wrong as long as he walks in the ways of the Lord.

"REJOICING THE HEART:" - David said this. Paul said this. Every true child of God knows that the end result of facing the impossible task of keeping the Law in order to come up to God's expectations for man, we have utterly failed, BUT this failure has led some of us to fall back upon God's marvelous Mercy and find salvation. Nothing makes the heart rejoice like being at peace with Almighty God.

"THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD IS PURE," - Without admixture or error, the Laws of the Lord are completely trustworthy to tell exactly how God looks at something. Either it is sin or it is righteousness. Adam and Eve thought that they could find a shortcut to this kind of understanding in eating of the tree in the midst of the Garden, but it led to their sin and the downfall of mankind. They found, sadly, that there was no way to circumvent the commandment of God, therefore, it was pure.

”ENLIGHTENING THE EYES." - Real knowledge and real wisdom come from a thorough acquaintance with God's Word. Later we will study a verse in Psalm 119 which deals exactly with this concept. The Word of God gives Spiritual light to a sin darkened soul.

PSALMS 19:9 “THE FEAR OF THE LORD [IS] CLEAN, ENDURING FOR EVER: THE JUDGMENTS OF THE LORD [ARE] TRUE [AND] RIGHTEOUS ALTOGETHER.”

"THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS CLEAN," - It is interesting to note that the "fear of the Lord" is here listed with the attributes of the Scriptures. It teaches a man to be aware of the fact that God is always watching and listening to every thought, word, or acts and has the perfect right to judge that thought, word, or act at any time He sees fit. In Its being clean, the Bible intends us to understand that it requires a holy separation from all uncleanness.

"ENDURING FOR EVER:" - The Law of God is permanent. There are those who try to preach and teach that Christ, in fulfilling the Law, did away with it. However, the Law of God is just as much in force today as it ever was, if not more so, since the Christian now has the Holy Spirit to give guidance and wisdom in dealing with sin. The Law of God is just as alive as He Himself is, and many preachers and teachers need to understand that.

"THE JUDGMENTS OF THE LORD ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ALTOGETHER." -What God has decided is right! He needs no input from either Angels or us. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a Democracy. It is a Theocracy in which God rules and reigns absolutely. If Angels totally failed in rebellion, then mankind is doomed to failure in his own petty rebellion.

PSALMS 19:10 “MORE TO BE DESIRED [ARE THEY] THAN GOLD, YEA, THAN MUCH FINE GOLD: SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE HONEYCOMB.”

"MORE TO BE DESIRED ARE THEY THAN GOLD, YEA, THAN MUCH FINE GOLD:" - Now the Word of God is compared to many of the things which man holds to be valuable to him. The first is the one thing which, for most men of the world, is held to be the first priority of their lives, gaining wealth. Yet the Psalmist says that the Word of God is much more desirous than even a veritable treasure chest of gold. The impression is that all the gold in the world would not take the place of God's Word in its benefit to a man. In other words, salvation cannot be bought.

"SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE HONEYCOMB." - Then the Word of God is compared to one of the most prized delicacies in the Biblical world. Many people do not see much favor in the diet of John the Baptist, locusts and wild honey, but it was sufficient to give him much strength and health for a very rigorous life. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." Obviously these pleasant words are from God's Book.

APPLICATION OF THE SCRIPTURE:

God's Word is complete, perfect, and meets every contingency which man can possibly face in his life. Since God is the One who created all things, He is also the One who is in control of all things. Also, since He is aware of all things, He has been able to anticipate, in our frame of reference, all things. The Bible never was outdated, is not now outdated, and never will be outdated. Nothing which man has invented, is inventing, and will invent has not already been woven into the grand Plan of God. In short, the Bible is The Word for all men at all times.