Psalm 19:11 “By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (NIV)
Every one of us from time to time is overwhelmed by the awesome beauty and magnificent workings of nature. All of us experience these feelings, and for me they were most prominent during my summer stay in Montana while collecting and analyzing water samples for the U.S. Forest Service. The exquisite beauty of the mountains and forests combined with the serenity of cool and transparent lakes was almost beyond my ability to take it all in. Combined with the open skies and smells of nature, it seemed like a paradise to me in that summer of 1972.
Psalm 19 opens up with testimony to God, the law giver, and uses the elegance and power of nature to point to the deity of God, which all men everywhere must recognize and now stand before their God without excuse for not being obedient to him (Romans 1:20). But the real focus of Psalm 19 is on the written word that God has given to men. The glory of his nature is only a supporting reason for believing the word of the living God. Have you ever taken the time to break down the attributes and resulting outcomes in the lives of those who honor God’s word and obey it?
Read Psalm 19:7-10 and meditate on what God is telling you about his word.
- His word is perfect and it revives our soul. (19:7)
- His word is trustworthy and it gives us wisdom. (19:7)
- His word is right and it gives joy to our heart. (19:8)
- His word is radiant and it gives light to our eyes. (19:8)
- His word gives us fear or respect for God, and these words will endure forever. (19:9)
- His words are sure and they provide us with an understanding of righteousness. (19:9)
- His words are more valuable to men than pure gold, and they are sweeter than honey from the comb. (19:10)
When we examine the attributes of the given word from the Creator, and understand the benefits of accepting it and using his word to direct our lives in this world, we are overwhelmed that God could love us enough not to leave us alone without a map to guide our way through the tests and turmoil of life. If we are willing to believe the creation of God and its testimony about him, and are willing to submit to the obedience of his word, then good things will happen to us.
Note our devotional text where David says by his word he is warned not to stray from God’s protective path and get stuck in one of life’s traps or ditches, unprotected and without support. In fact, David says in Psalm 19:11 that there is great reward in keeping or obeying the word of God. Here is the material point: God always will give us faith building feedback on his good and acceptable will if we will be committed to listening, understanding, and applying the eternal and life giving word of God by the obedience of faith. Yes, God is an awesome God who we see day and night in his creation, but he has given us his word that we might find our way in this world.
THANK YOU, FATHER, FOR YOUR WORD AND GIVE ME THE COURAGE TO URGENTLY OBEY YOU MOMENT BY MOMENT. AMEN!
Article source: Mike White @ Summit Church of Christ
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