PSALM 19:7-14 - REVELATION THROUGH CONVERSATION

PSALM 19:7-14

REVELATION THROUGH CONVERSATION

David now moves to the other way the Lord reveals Himself to us, though His word. His written word speaks to us, and our response should be praying to Him—a conversation.

Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Susan: The law spoken of in this verse is the entire instruction of the Lord.

Susie: Jesus tells us that this instruction is as necessary as our daily food:

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Susan: We wanted to be sure what was meant by “perfect”. I was thinking complete and whole.

Susie: I was seeing it from the point of flawless and infallible. So we looked it up:

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

8549–tâmîym – entire, (as a noun) integrity, truth:—without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole.

Susan: It looks like we were both right when you consider all the nuances of the Hebrew word. The instruction of the Lord has a purpose, the conversion of the sinner unto salvation.

Susie: The heavens show us there is a God, and His word reveals that we can have a relationship with Him by surrendering to His will. The way we do that is by trusting Jesus Christ—believing He was and IS the Son of God, that He died on the cross to redeem us from sin, that He rose from the dead on the third day, and that He now lives to make intercession for those who trust in Him.

Susan: Awe and reverence for the Lord is where wisdom begins.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Susie: When I think of the simple or foolish things showing God’s wisdom, I am reminded of some of the “special needs” people at my church. There are several with Down’s Syndrome or who suffered brain injuries as a child who function on the level of a six or seven-year-old in many ways. However, they exhibit extreme faith in Jesus and have the wisdom to turn every situation over to Him in prayer immediately. They are prayer warriors, and in that sense, extremely wise.

Psalm 19:8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Susie: In Hebrew poetry, a point may be emphasized by repeating the same idea using synonyms or words close in meaning to say the same thing a slightly different way. Verse 8 of this psalm restates the concepts in verse 7 another way to emphasize and clarify the meaning.

Susan: The precepts of the Lord’s word are correct, which is another way of saying they are perfect.

Susie: Verse 7 pointed to the words ability to lead a person to conversion, to surrendering to the Lord. Verse 8 indicates that the word of the Lord brings joy. Joy, deep peace no matter the circumstances, is a definite result of conversion. Trusting Jesus, relying on Him rather than oneself, brings satisfaction beyond compare.

Susan: God’s word is not tainted, defiled, or poisoned in any way. God’s word is clean and pristine. Another sense of “pure” is undiluted, potent, strong.

Susie: This pure, undiluted word brings light to our eyes and our mind. Light directs and guides us:

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Susan: Jesus described Himself as the Light of the world.

John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Susie: In his gospel, John uses both Word and Light to refer to Jesus. Since Jesus is the living Word, He is the Light that illuminates our way.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Psalm 19:9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

Susan: I like verse 9 in The Voice translation:

Psalm 19:9 (VOICE) The awe of the Eternal is clean, sustaining for all of eternity. The Eternal’s decisions are sound; they are right through and through.

Susan: We are inspired to reverence and awe by studying the living word of God, the Bible.

Susie: The Holy Spirit inspired David to reiterate that God’s word is pure, without fault, clean. We are “washed” by this word to become the purified bride of Christ.

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Susan: To be pure is to be flawless, without inclusions, like a fine diamond. Inclusions are found inside the diamond and some cannot be seen with the naked eye. Even though we may look “perfect” to others, Jesus sees all the tiny flaws inside us. We will not be a completely flawless jewel until we are with Jesus, but we are in the process of being made pure as we submit to Him, study His word, and obey Him.

Susie: God’s word and the reverence it inspires are eternal, lasting forever, outlasting even those who were inspired to write it.

1 Peter 1:24-25a “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Susan: The judgments, the decisions, of the Lord are authentic, correct, and righteous.

Susie: Since Father God sees everything, He is the only one who can consistently, truly discern a person’s motives as well as the resulting actions.

Susan: God is the only one who can truly know us from the inside out. Our divine Designer is the only one who can judge our thoughts as well as our actions. He knows the heart of each person intimately.

Psalm 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Susan: The most luscious piece of gold or fine jewelry cannot and should not be more precious to us than the word of God. The purest gold, the finest gem, is dung in comparison to the word of God.

Susie: Susan enjoys fine jewelry, but I relate more to the food analogy. LOL. God’s word is sweeter than honey which to me is much sweeter than refined sugar. One of my favorite snacks as a child was bread with butter and honey. God’s word leaves a sweet taste in my mouth. It brings joy and pleasantness to my life along with its warnings.

Susan: I felt the following summary of verses 7-10 from the New King James Study Bible notes was right on target:

The law is the Torah, which means “instruction” or “direction.” This passage (vv. 7–9) presents six words for the law of God—law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, and judgments; six evaluations of the law—perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true; and six results—converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, enduring forever, and righteous altogether. The value of the Scripture cannot be compared with any other desirable thing—even gold. It provides the key to wisdom, joy, and most importantly, eternal life.

Psalm 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Susan: God’s word cautions us against sin, disobedience, in thought, in word, or in deed.

Susie: God rewards those who seek Him and follow His commandments.

Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB) And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Susie: Very rarely do we see ourselves as we really are. We find it hard to admit our flaws, especially those that are not obvious to other people.

Susan: It is better to examine ourselves, see our flaws, and work on them rather than to have someone else need to examine us.

Susie: Sometimes we have so blinded ourselves to our secret sins, that we fail to see them. Therefore, David asks the Lord to cleanse even from the sin he is unaware of. He does this again in Psalm 139.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Susie: Presumptuous sin is knowingly, willingly, and deliberately disobeying God. These sins were to result in being excommunicated from Israel, no longer being counted as a part of the people of God, and executed. Wow!

Susan: David was praying the Lord would guard and protect him from committing presumptuous sin. He prayed to be guided away from this deliberate disobedience.

Susie: Presumptuous sins were considered blasphemous because they denied the power and the sovereignty of God by acting as if disobedience was “no big deal.”

Susan: David is asking to be set apart for God and God alone. He is asking to be sanctified for God’s service.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Susan: David asks the Lord to make his speech, what he says, exalt God at all times.

Susie: Taming our tongues is impossible without the help of the Lord.

James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Susie: Even if we, with the strength of the Lord, curtail our spoken words, there is the matter of what lurks inside our hearts.

Susan: Meditations of the heart would be the intentions, the motivations of my heart . . .

Susie: . . .those ideas I dwell on rather than just a fleeting thought.

Susan: Whatever my heart is focused on, zeroed in on, those are things that need to be God-approved.

Susie: If we obey the first commandment, this will be less of a problem for us:

Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.

Susan: The Lord is my vitality and my empowerment. He is who gives me my get up and go.

Susie: The word emphasizes this truth in many places in both Old Testament and New Testament.

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Romans 14:4 (AMP)     Who are you to judge the servant of another? Before his own master he stands [approved] or falls [out of favor]. And he [who serves the Master—the Lord] will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Susie: It is God Himself who enables those who trust in Him to obey Him, and it is Jesus who redeems us when, in our own strength, we fail.

QUESTIONS

1.               Was there a particular verse of scripture that really got your attention and helped you to realize you needed Jesus?  If not, what caused you to understand your need of a Savior?

2.               Share a verse that makes your heart rejoice. Why does this verse encourage you to be joyful?

3.               Can you think of a scripture verse that “enlightened” you, helped you to understand something better than you did before?

4.               Is God’s word more precious to you than gold or the tastiest dessert? If not, have you tried “tasting” a bit of the Bible every day?

5.               Take a moment to be really truthful with God and yourself (He knows all your secrets anyway). Pray for His help to follow Him more completely.

6.               Try making a commitment to God and yourself to have pure words and pure thoughts for an entire day. (Not as easy as it sounds). Journal your successes and failures and use them as points of praise and prayer.