The Beauty Of God’s Word

Passage: Psalm 19:7-10

The Value of God’s Word

Intro:

How much does your Bible cost? If you had to put a price tag on it, what would it be?

The Bible I use I bought for around 40 dollars, I have some Bibles I own than are worth a couple dollars, and then I have one grandaddy of them all, a 250$ Bible!

Let me ask it in a different way, How much does God’s Word mean to you? What’s its worth? Is it something you hold as important in your life.

This morning I want to share with you a passage that I happen to know very well, one that I’ve sang for many years, and one that speaks on the importance of God’s word in our day to day lives. Turn with me to Psalm 19, and we’ll be looking at verses 7-10.

Ever since an early age I’ve always had a Bible! Mom and Dad had always been very faithful to the church and so each and every Sunday I’d carry my old NIV Bible. And over the years I’ve been gifted with new Bibles, changed translations a few times, and now have one I use everyday, but my Bible is something special to me. And even if someone was to offer me money for it, id probably turn it down.

Well the passage I want to call our attention to this morning is one of the psalms David writes to the choirmaster, and he begins the chapter by showing how God has revealed himself throughout His creation.

And within this masterpiece David writes how the heavens declare his glory and sky proclaims his handiwork.

Even C.S. Lewis was quoted saying “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalms and some of the greatest lyrics in the world.”

And after a handful of verses where one can read of God revealing himself within his creation, David shifts and begins sharing the many ways in which God reveals himself through His Word.

And I believe in looking at these 4 verses, we can gather a greater appreciation for scriptures, and for our relationship with God above.

1. The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; (7)

God’s Word is always going to be perfect.. never be wrong.. incomplete

He has made all things, bestowed all things, given all things because of his own goodness and righteousness. There is no malice in his word, no errors or false teaching.

True on every scientific level, it’s confirmed by all historical reports. The word of God is flawless, given to us to “revive the soul.”

What does reviving the soul mean to you?

Merriam-Webster “to restore consciousness or life, to become active or flourishing again, to renew in mind and in memory.”

Is this not the work of God’s word?

When you are looking to revive your spiritual life with God, are you approaching His word or approaching your word?

“It gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3)

And so simple reasoning states that if God’s word gives us all things pertaining to life and Godliness, then we gain favor and blessings and righteousness through reading the very Bible within our hands.

The law of God is perfect. When you share the good news of Jesus with those you meet, understand that his law is unblemished, unchangeable, and undeniably true.

It’s God’s word, that revives our souls, and gives us the strength and encouragement to continue on, and showers us with blessings and a firmer picture of the wonderful God we serve.

2. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; (7)

David in continuing his poem writes that God’s word is sure.. it’s something we can rely on. His very testimony is true and worthy of our praise and adoration

Have you ever heard someone tell you a story that just blew you away?.. And asked yourself, could that really be true?..

There are things in scripture we don’t understand..

How angels work and interact in this world

How Jesus walked on water How Jonah survived in a big fish

But the testimony of our Lord is sure, we can trust in Him and have faith in knowing His Word is true. And because of this, “it makes wise the simple”

Sometimes it’s the poor, the mistreated, the simple people in our world today who have become some of the most spiritual people know. And its because they trusted and put their faith in the word of God

The word “simple” in Hebrew means “ignorance”, one without understanding who doesn’t know.

It is His very word that bestows upon us knowledge and wisdom, how we should conduct our lives and follow in the footsteps of God.

When we feel like we’re ignorant.. we don’t understand, we have to realize that we were created to be dependent on God’s council

You can’t do this alone.. there’s a reason we don’t understand, a reason we aren’t getting the full picture of life, it’s because the answer your looking for is in a book that’s collecting dust on your bedside table.

The testimony of God.. is true. It makes wise.. the simple.

3. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart (8)

God’s word will always be right

In the midst of a pandemic.. God’s word will always be right

In the politics between Democrats and Republicans..

In the decisions you make in your life every single day..

Have you ever thought that God is truly the only person you can completely trust with your life? If you have, I want you to know that that is certainly true.

We can know that His precepts are just and fair, we can know He will always be right.

That is exactly why David follows it up and says “rejoicing the heart”

You see the person who understands God’s righteousness has every reason under the sun to rejoice within our hearts. Not only can we find comfort and peace in God’s word, but we can find knowledge and understanding (verse 7).

In John 16, Jesus was talking with His disciples and something he said really trouble the 12. He said in verse 16: “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”…

v.22 “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ”

In the same way the disciple would rejoice at seeing their savior again, is the same way we should rejoice at the hearing and preaching of God’s word. He precepts are right! His words are true! His law is perfect!

As Christians and followers of the most high God, we need to be thankful and rejoice in knowing that God has laid His word before us

That He hears every concern, and answers every problem we face. Rejoice in knowing, that God.. is.. RIGHT.

4. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; (8)

When I think about the Word of God being pure, I think about it being clean, refreshing, free of any contamination.

Picture God’s word as being a clear glass of water.. water is something we drink because its a necessity! If you aren’t drinking water..

Refreshing.. Good.. and healthy for our well being

Thats why David describes the commandment of the Lord as being Pure.. Undefiled.. Genuine.

And He says that because the scripture itself is pure and undefiled in every way, it enlightens our eyes. Just as its true that God word is pure and holy, it’s also true that can we be made pure by reading and contemplating on his word.

My mom loves working with Babies.. pure, made faces when I saw them

Man named David from Westminster Chapel writes: “The pure command of the LORD enlightens our eyes. Without the light of Scripture, our vision is blurred… The commandment of the LORD reveals what is true, right, good, beautiful, and glorious. It reveals who we truly are and it reveals who God truly is.

God’s Word enlightens our mind and enlightens our hearts. It’s pure and holy in every way, and is the shining light that leads us back to God.

5. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; (9)

David here describes the word of God in a weird way, as the “fear of the Lord”, but its important we understand that the Law David is referring to was intended to teach the people of Israel to fear the Lord. Not a fear of being afraid or trembling before God, but a fear that means respect and humility before Him

Even In Psalm 34:11 David wrote, "Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” That being the very word of God.

“The fear of the Lord is.. clean, enduring forever.”

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)

His Word won’t fade or corrode or diminish from impurities, it lasts and endures forever.

6. The rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. (9)

Commentary: “David summarized this beautiful chain of seven pearls, each describing some aspect of the word of God. Here he declared that the words of God are true and righteous altogether; there is nothing false or unrighteous in His word.”

So David has been expressing deeply the very value of the Word God in multiple ways, and he ends it here saying that His word is true, and his word is righteous.

I think he puts it in this simple way to make us realize just how simple, yet important it is to dive into Gods word. To read it.. study it.. meditate on it.. to love it..

When David was writing this psalm, the only scripture he had was a mere fraction of what we have today!.. Genesis through Deuteronomy.. Joshua, Judges, a few Psalms and possibly Job and Ruth. The complete word of God we have now is far greater than King David could ever imagine, and yet he desires it with such reverence and praise.

Do you think we adore the scriptures today as David did? I definitely don’t. And I think that’s why David writes verse 10.

You see after laying that firm foundation of the very value and importance of God’s word, He ends it with this:

7. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. (10)

David says that we should desire after the word of God more than we do for Gold. More than we do for our family, more than we do for the things we enjoy most in our life!

David was known for his heart for God, but he was also massively wealthy! And so him saying that he should be desired more than Gold portrays a massive picture of the love w should have in store.

And he doesn’t stop there! He says even MUCH fine gold. God is more important than anything in your entire life beginning to end. And more important to David than the finest of the finest jewels in an overwhelming amount.

God’s word is precious, its sacred, it’s the most important thing we could ever read.

How much time, are we giving to God?

How much effort are we giving Him each day?

How much Love do you really have for Him today?

More to be desired are they than Gold David says, “Sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.”

If you’ve had honeycomb, you know just how sweet it is! When I was in Greece, one of the breakfast dishes..

One show I watched when I was really really young was Winnie the Pooh!…

Whether you’ve watched it or not, Winnie would do just about anything to get a taste of that sweet honey. Sometimes he’d have to travel long and hard, and recruit friends to help him out, but eventually if he was persistent, he would find more honey and he’d enjoy it and save the rest for later. But usually the honey was all gone once the next day rolled around!

You see, in David’s time, honey was valued greatly and didn’t come at a cheap cost. He’s saying in verse 10 that unbelievers will find God’s word to be bitter and useless, but believers find it to be sweeter than honey, and enjoy it more and more as they continue to trust in God and get into His word.

Conclusion:

This morning are you valuing God as you should be, spending time with Him in His word and enjoying the moments you have with Him?

I know sometimes in life we feel discouraged, we feel like we aren’t where we need to be, we feel that there’s something missing in our lives.

David makes it clear that God’s word provides us all the answers and gives us the comfort we need. It provides wisdom and hope, it revives us and enlightens our eyes. It endures forever, and we can trust in God and know that he will always be right.

Sometimes its easy to lose sight of God in midst of our day to day lives, but know that Jesus is “the light of the world. (John 8:12). Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”

And as we depart from this building and meet again next week, let us remind ourselves what David says at end his poem in Psalm 19: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Know this morning that if you aren’t a child of God, that he wants you to accept his word. That you believe in Him, and put Christ on in baptism to have your sins washed away, and slate wiped clean.

Or if you have any burdens on your shoulder or doubts you been carrying for a while now, won’t you let us pray for you, a we stand and sing