YOU
OWN A BIBLE! SO WHAT?
Psalm
19:10-14
More
to be desired are they than gold,
even
much fine gold;
sweeter
also than honey
and
drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover,
by them is your servant warned;
in
keeping them there is great reward.
Who
can discern his errors?
Declare
me innocent from hidden faults.
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.
Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be
acceptable in your sight,
O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer.
Do
you hold the Word of God in the high esteem it deserves?
The
implication, as David concludes this psalm, is that every person needs to recognize
his utter dependence upon the input of God’s Word. Does the Word of God hold
greater value to you than anything else? Most of us would answer with a
resounding ‘Yes!’. But, although we might give mental assent to this question,
our daily behavior answers the question with much more clarity and
truthfulness.
These
verses express the value of the Word to us, based on the amount of desire we
have for it, the value we assign to it, and the sheer pleasure we find in it.
The
desire we have for the Bible will flesh out in the priority we give to it in
our lives. Our desire for the Word of
God is a clear indication of where we are spiritually; in fact, it is a primary
sign of being a child of God. Sin and worldliness will always have an effect on
our appetite for God’s instructions.
Every
decision we make is directed by what we value most. Our desire to get up in the
morning and be fed by the Word is indicative of the value we give to its
instruction. Our making a priority of going to Bible studies and church exposes
the value we assign to being instructed.
As
the psalmist compares the Word of God to honey, he is poetically expressing the
idea of what kind of soothing benefit he found in it.
In
some ways it is true that our desire for, value in, and pleasure we have in the
Word depends on our exposure to it and our having learned to appreciate its
value.
The
psalmist reminds us of the benefits that the Word provides to us. We are warned
by it, and in following it we are rewarded. By reading it we are able to
evaluate things correctly and know how to make godly decisions. Left to
ourselves, we will be quickly driven by our arrogance into presumptuous sins. How
easily we can then allow sin to dominate us.
Dear
friends, as I look back on my own life, I can see that my darkest moments were
accompanied by lack of biblical teaching, lack of meditation on the Scriptures,
and consequently, a lack of desire to have the Scriptures bring light to my
sin.
At
times, when some hear about this kind of dependence and submission to the Word
of God, they react negatively, thinking that one is becoming legalistic and
radical in his thinking.
David
was not legalistic. He had experienced times of sin and desperation, and he had
known the pain produced by his sin. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he knew where
he could find peace and rest. He knew where he could find true wisdom and
protection from his propensity to sin. These words are the result of the
forging hand of God in his life.
I
don’t know how you measure or evaluate your love for God. But realistically, it
seems impossible to make any kind of true evaluation, without measuring your
love for His Word.
David
says that the ultimate evaluation is done by asking God if one is meeting His
standards. In fact, even the way David addresses his God displays the
relationship he had with Him.
He
calls Him, his Lord, his Rock, and his Redeemer. David knew who his Master was.
How could he know his marching orders, if he did not go to His Word? He knew
that he lived in a slippery and unstable world and needed a Rock to stand on.
He knew that he needed a Redeemer; he was a sinner whose natural tendencies
were willful, whose personal ideas were unwise. He needed the WORD!
We
would all say that we need the Word. Peter expresses it in a beautiful way.
1
Peter 2:2,3
Like newborn infants, long for the
pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed
you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Have
you ever tried to postpone the feeding of a newborn? Have you ever tried to
dissuade a baby from having his milk? The innate desire is unquenchable; it is
as evident as the persistent cries we have all heard. The baby might trade a
bottle for a pacifier or a finger, but not for long. He knows well the
difference in taste and the satisfaction that true nourishment provides.
God
uses that image for us to evaluate our love for His Word, and ultimately, if we
have tasted the goodness of God through His Word.
The
question we should ask ourselves is if our love and desire for the Word,
demonstrated by our daily behavior, is acceptable in God’s sight.
Our
love for the Word is not demonstrated only by the time we give to its study and
meditation, but also for the degree to which we submit to it, allowing it to
shape our thinking and our behavior..
May
the Lord help us to be honest, as we evaluate this vital aspect of our lives.
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