Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
God's testimonies are His Word in the Bible, His law, and they are both the believer's delight and wise counsellors that give guidance for life and lead in the way of obedience. David listened to his appointed advisers but would not place their words above God's Word, letting its testimonies and judgments guide his choices. The verse describes true conversion and the sanctification God requires, where the Word once dull becomes the chosen study and counselor and every thought, word, and deed is brought to it as a rule and tested by it. Making the Word the counselor means relying on it for guidance when its lessons are seen to apply to one's own life, keeping the mind free from the rubbish of the world so its truths are written in the soul. Studied prayerfully, treasured in the heart, practiced in life, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, it alone safeguards, makes a person righteous and holy, and keeps that person so.
Delight and Counsel in Testimonies
The testimonies are God's Word, the Bible and His law, and they are both the believer's delight and wise counsellors that give guidance for life. They are a source of joy to the one who keeps them, and they lead in the way of obedience as trusted counsel for receiving knowledge through God's Word. David listened to the wisdom of his appointed advisers but did not place their words above God's Word, letting its testimonies and judgments guide his choices. The whole psalm exalts God's law as the rule of life whose principles define the difference between right and wrong and between truth and error.
The Word of God is truth and is to guide decisions by Bible principles. It is an infinite and trustworthy guide that, when obeyed, leads along safe and sure paths, while teachings mixed with human ideas are not a safe guide. The testimonies found in the Bible are a light for those in darkness and a source of help in times of trial. The Word gives light and guides people in discerning their duty, and studying it with a sincere desire to learn brings understanding of sacred truths. It is to be studied, believed, and followed as a trusted guide that exposes and consumes what is false or worthless, purifying the mind and calling for careful conduct before God.
The verse describes true conversion and the sanctification God requires, for which He will accept nothing less. The Word once dull and uninteresting becomes the converted person's chosen study and counselor, a personal letter from God bearing the inscription of the Eternal, and works of holiness once seen as wearisome become delight. Every thought, word, and deed is brought to the Word as a rule and tested by it, the heart trembling at its commands and threatenings while firmly grasping its promises and applying them personally to strengthen the soul. Meditating on its truths and contemplating the Saviour's love fills the mind with uplifting thoughts, satisfies the craving for other things, and guides a life of virtue and holiness.
Studying and Living by Counsel
Making the Word the counselor means relying on it for guidance, looking to it as counselor when its lessons are seen to apply to one's own life, and knowing it deeply is the mark of spiritual-mindedness. The Bible is to be made the man of counsel by keeping minds free from the rubbish of the world, for acquaintance with it grows rapidly when the mind is uncluttered. The more it is studied, the deeper the knowledge of God becomes, and its truths are written in the soul making an ineffaceable, indelible impression. The Scriptures are to be made one's counsel through careful, prayerful study of Christ's words.
Teachers and students need to learn from it each day because its instruction does not err and forms a character God can approve, and through it God speaks to the soul. The Bible is to serve as daily counsel, and diligent study gives the knowledge needed for salvation and guards against accepting deceptive teachings. Matters on which Scripture is silent are not grounds for speculation. Understanding Scripture and the testimonies of God's Spirit safeguards against error, and the Word must serve as guide and counsellor, since ignorance of Scripture and God's power opens the way to false science and Satan's deception.
Those who take the Scriptures as their counsel and study them are enabled to understand what they read and reveal that they are one with Christ with the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them. Those taught by God work in unity with no discordant opinions, one in Spirit and action, bound together by the Holy Spirit in a union that all the power of satanic agencies cannot break. Studied prayerfully, treasured in the heart, practiced in life, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, the Bible is a safeguard that alone makes a person righteous and holy and keeps that person so. Human influence is weak and changeable unless God's truth reaches the soul and rules the heart, sanctifying and purifying it. God's Word is the true counselor and safeguard that, when studied, treasured in the heart, and practiced with the Holy Spirit's power, keeps people from trusting their own wisdom and drifting from God's way, and makes them righteous and holy.
Diligent study of Scripture enables more intelligent and earnest service to the Lord and makes people truer representatives of Him by filling them with His Spirit and helping them receive His Spirit to represent Christ. The Word is to guide the choices, counsel, and work of those who serve and of every child of God in ministry, not only preachers, so they can live out the truth. Dependence on God and daily learning from Christ shape a life under its truth, and lived truth and followed truth work with power to convert souls and lead souls to conversion. God's Word is to be the rule of parents' lives and their guide in training children, and neglecting its counsel leads children toward carelessness, disobedience, and unbelief.
The Word is to be studied daily and made the guide for life, bringing spiritual understanding to those who surrender themselves wholly to God. Close dependence on Christ and faith that works through love and purifies the soul accompany this counsel. God's Word is to guide people, and they must keep learning from it rather than rely on self-confidence or present knowledge. God's Word directs human effort into pure and holy paths and must not be abandoned to gain even a desirable goal. It is the standard for honest conduct and Christian character, and worldly reasoning, pretense, hypocrisy, and deceit must be rejected when they conflict with it.
God's testimonies are His Word in the Bible, His law, and they are both the believer's delight and wise counsellors that give guidance for life and lead in the way of obedience. David listened to his appointed advisers but would not place their words above God's Word, letting its testimonies and judgments guide his choices. The verse describes true conversion and the sanctification God requires, where the Word once dull becomes the chosen study and counselor and every thought, word, and deed is brought to it as a rule and tested by it. Making the Word the counselor means relying on it for guidance when its lessons are seen to apply to one's own life, keeping the mind free from the rubbish of the world so its truths are written in the soul. Studied prayerfully, treasured in the heart, practiced in life, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, it alone safeguards, makes a person righteous and holy, and keeps that person so.
Delight and Counsel in Testimonies
The testimonies are God's Word, the Bible and His law, and they are both the believer's delight and wise counsellors that give guidance for life. They are a source of joy to the one who keeps them, and they lead in the way of obedience as trusted counsel for receiving knowledge through God's Word. David listened to the wisdom of his appointed advisers but did not place their words above God's Word, letting its testimonies and judgments guide his choices. The whole psalm exalts God's law as the rule of life whose principles define the difference between right and wrong and between truth and error.
The Word of God is truth and is to guide decisions by Bible principles. It is an infinite and trustworthy guide that, when obeyed, leads along safe and sure paths, while teachings mixed with human ideas are not a safe guide. The testimonies found in the Bible are a light for those in darkness and a source of help in times of trial. The Word gives light and guides people in discerning their duty, and studying it with a sincere desire to learn brings understanding of sacred truths. It is to be studied, believed, and followed as a trusted guide that exposes and consumes what is false or worthless, purifying the mind and calling for careful conduct before God.
The verse describes true conversion and the sanctification God requires, for which He will accept nothing less. The Word once dull and uninteresting becomes the converted person's chosen study and counselor, a personal letter from God bearing the inscription of the Eternal, and works of holiness once seen as wearisome become delight. Every thought, word, and deed is brought to the Word as a rule and tested by it, the heart trembling at its commands and threatenings while firmly grasping its promises and applying them personally to strengthen the soul. Meditating on its truths and contemplating the Saviour's love fills the mind with uplifting thoughts, satisfies the craving for other things, and guides a life of virtue and holiness.
Studying and Living by Counsel
Making the Word the counselor means relying on it for guidance, looking to it as counselor when its lessons are seen to apply to one's own life, and knowing it deeply is the mark of spiritual-mindedness. The Bible is to be made the man of counsel by keeping minds free from the rubbish of the world, for acquaintance with it grows rapidly when the mind is uncluttered. The more it is studied, the deeper the knowledge of God becomes, and its truths are written in the soul making an ineffaceable, indelible impression. The Scriptures are to be made one's counsel through careful, prayerful study of Christ's words.
Teachers and students need to learn from it each day because its instruction does not err and forms a character God can approve, and through it God speaks to the soul. The Bible is to serve as daily counsel, and diligent study gives the knowledge needed for salvation and guards against accepting deceptive teachings. Matters on which Scripture is silent are not grounds for speculation. Understanding Scripture and the testimonies of God's Spirit safeguards against error, and the Word must serve as guide and counsellor, since ignorance of Scripture and God's power opens the way to false science and Satan's deception.
Those who take the Scriptures as their counsel and study them are enabled to understand what they read and reveal that they are one with Christ with the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them. Those taught by God work in unity with no discordant opinions, one in Spirit and action, bound together by the Holy Spirit in a union that all the power of satanic agencies cannot break. Studied prayerfully, treasured in the heart, practiced in life, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, the Bible is a safeguard that alone makes a person righteous and holy and keeps that person so. Human influence is weak and changeable unless God's truth reaches the soul and rules the heart, sanctifying and purifying it. God's Word is the true counselor and safeguard that, when studied, treasured in the heart, and practiced with the Holy Spirit's power, keeps people from trusting their own wisdom and drifting from God's way, and makes them righteous and holy.
Diligent study of Scripture enables more intelligent and earnest service to the Lord and makes people truer representatives of Him by filling them with His Spirit and helping them receive His Spirit to represent Christ. The Word is to guide the choices, counsel, and work of those who serve and of every child of God in ministry, not only preachers, so they can live out the truth. Dependence on God and daily learning from Christ shape a life under its truth, and lived truth and followed truth work with power to convert souls and lead souls to conversion. God's Word is to be the rule of parents' lives and their guide in training children, and neglecting its counsel leads children toward carelessness, disobedience, and unbelief.
The Word is to be studied daily and made the guide for life, bringing spiritual understanding to those who surrender themselves wholly to God. Close dependence on Christ and faith that works through love and purifies the soul accompany this counsel. God's Word is to guide people, and they must keep learning from it rather than rely on self-confidence or present knowledge. God's Word directs human effort into pure and holy paths and must not be abandoned to gain even a desirable goal. It is the standard for honest conduct and Christian character, and worldly reasoning, pretense, hypocrisy, and deceit must be rejected when they conflict with it.