More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
The judgments of the Lord praised here are His law, testimony, statutes, commandment and fear, which are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and altogether righteous to convert the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes. To call them more to be desired than much fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb means they hold supreme worth above all wealth and bring supreme delight above the sweetest food. The saying belongs with what follows, that by these instructions God’s servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward. The law so praised is immutable and unchangeable, given as the plain guide and foundation of God’s government and the great standard of righteousness by which every case will be decided. Along the whole way of life these instructions stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights, and those who keep them find peace with God, a conscience that does not condemn, and great peace that nothing can offend.
Terms and Context
The "they" called more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey are the judgments of the Lord, meaning His law, His testimony, His statutes, His commandment, and His fear as set forth in the preceding verses. Those judgments are true and righteous altogether, described as perfect, reliable and sure, right, pure, clean, and wholly righteous. They are the Word of the living God given as the study book and foundation for education, to be loved, meditated upon, really believed, taken as the guide, and kept, plainly pointing out the right path in the written word so that no one need follow crooked paths. Along the whole way of life God's children must pass they stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights, with bright light shining at every step to lighten the way and leave no excuse for blundering work.
Those instructions are perfect, converting the soul; sure, making wise the simple; right, rejoicing the heart; pure, enlightening the eyes; clean and enduring forever; and true and righteous altogether. Their perfection, sureness, rightness, pureness, and cleanness belong together with their supreme preciousness and pleasantness above much fine gold and honey. They cannot be abolished, altered, or done away, because what is perfect cannot be improved and to remodel them only causes imperfection. They are God's great standard of righteousness, perfect in all requirements, the foundation of His government and the parents' guide and standard of character and righteousness in the home, by which children are trained to obey God and parents, to be peacemakers, and to shape character after God's character.
The verse belongs with the next verse, which adds that by these instructions God's servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward. That warning is against sin, and that keeping calls people to prize God's law and keep it, with thanksgiving and praise to God and joyfulness in the Lord, and with prayer to be cleansed from secret faults, kept from presumptuous sins, made upright and innocent from great transgression, and to have words and meditation acceptable to the Lord as strength and Redeemer. Those who labor for the food that endures to everlasting life, rightly understand the Scriptures, treasure truth as the most valuable store for the mind, receive within a well of living water, and pray to see wonderful things out of God's law, find this delight for themselves.
The psalm joins God's moral law with His created works, connecting the laws of the natural world with the laws given to created beings. It is part of the divine instruction that gives true education, linking Psalm 19:7-11 with the account of the law. The wisdom of God revealed in His works in nature and in His divine laws, both natural and moral, is more to be desired than the arts and learning of men, bringing lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing for all. The ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons present fresh tokens of His glory, His power, and His love, and learning these laws and obeying them gives life and happiness in this world and in the world to come.
Surpassing Worth and Sweetness
The judgments and teachings of the Lord hold supreme value, more to be desired than gold, even than great wealth and much fine gold of the purest quality. They are part of the divine instruction that gives true education and connects the laws of the natural world with the laws given to created beings. The law of God thus praised, when written in the heart, shapes character and leads to conduct like God's. Meditating on these statutes opens their treasures to the student and brings the joy of experiencing God's word in life, making the Word worthy to be loved, studied, treasured, and taken into daily life. God's truth is the most valuable treasure with which to fill the mind.
They bring supreme delight, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb and more pleasant than the sweetest food. The words call people to prize God's law and keep it, since keeping it brings great reward and warns against sin. In a time when that law meets universal scorn and is set aside for human commandments, keeping it brings great reward and serving God should therefore be deemed a pleasure and an expression of love for Him.
As the Word of God in the Bible, what the verse praises is to be accepted as the only foundation of faith. Received as the leaves of the tree of life, it gives life and draws believers step by step nearer to Jesus in consecrated love as the Spirit of God becomes better known. It sanctifies more powerfully than any other agency or means.
The promises in God's Word share this preciousness and sweetness, being more precious than fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. They are offered as life-giving nourishment for the soul, and taking them in and dwelling on them brings encouragement and drives away faintheartedness. Their value leads to gratitude and comfort, while worship belongs to God who gave them and not to the promises themselves.
The same comparison applies to the calm, waiting trust that comes from continually accepting God's will rather than insisting on one's own, which is more desirable than all the gifts, riches, and pleasures the world can give. It applies also to a heavenly record of perfect reliability and unswerving principle, gained by building solid, enduring character for eternity and standing as God's representative through hardship, temptation, self-denial, and lifelong struggle against inclination, which is more valuable than much precious metal. The Word of God presented in meetings for Bible study is beyond the estimate of gold and silver and more to be desired than money spent to obtain it, for its precious truths are a banquet from heaven that feeds those who attend and no one should lose them. The light of truth opened in Bible readings is likewise precious and beautiful, more valuable than gold, bringing blessing and new conversion to those upon whom it shines.
Doctrine of God's Law
The law praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey is immutable and unchangeable, neither altered nor done away. It cannot be abolished or changed because what is perfect cannot be improved, and to remodel it only produces imperfection. It is the plain guide and the foundation upon which to build, plainly pointing out the right path so that no one need follow crooked paths. Given by God for the government of all human intelligences, it is the foundation of His own government.
It is God's great standard of righteousness and character, perfect in all its requirements. It will stand forever as the immutable standard all must reach to be saved. By it every case will be decided when the books of heaven are opened and all deeds come in review before the Judge of the universe. Obedience to it is the only hope of the human family, with prosperity in this life and eternal interests depending upon obedience to it.
To those who have repented toward God, exercised faith in Christ, and received forgiveness, the law they had transgressed is esteemed above gold, yea, above fine gold. To them it is no longer a yoke of bondage but the law of liberty, the freedom of sonship. The obedient delight in these instructions, are warned by them, and find great reward in keeping them. The transgressor, by contrast, counts them burdensome and wants them out of the way, because as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart they condemn him.
Warning Reward and Response
Along the whole way of life that must be traveled, the judgments praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights. They plainly point out the right path so that no one need follow crooked paths, and bright light shines at every step to lighten the way. That light is to be really believed and taken as the guide, leaving no excuse for blundering work.
By these instructions the servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. That reward includes peace with God and a conscience that does not condemn, even great peace that nothing can offend. This stands in contrast to the wicked, who have no peace but only the wretchedness, misery, and distress of bondage. Therefore service and obedience are to be deemed a pleasure and made the expression of love for Him, with the law cherished as deeply valuable.
When the law is met with universal scorn and set aside for human commandments that have no sanctity, true followers are distinguished from false by loving and reverencing it. They prize it more than ever, heed its warning, and find great reward in keeping it. Their appreciation grows in direct proportion to the contempt others put upon it.
Delight in the law becomes present personal experience for those who keep their eyes fixed on the Saviour and serve with uprightness of heart, proving by their lives that these words are true. It comes by separating from all that mars the character and making an unreserved surrender to God. It comes also by deeply searching the Scriptures as for rich treasure until Christ sweeps away the clouds and mists of error and superstition to reveal the brightness of glory and give instruction in righteousness, producing a burning heart within. The Lord hears the humble desire to understand His Word and to behold wonderful things out of His law, answering with gladness and rejoicing of heart, yet such experience of delight in revealed truth is rare.
The verse therefore calls each person individually to heed the plain word, to know what is truth, and to value Scripture. It calls for humbling before God and awakening from indifference to eternal welfare. It calls students to value and understand these words so they can pray intelligently. It calls for prayer to be cleansed from secret faults and kept from presumptuous sins so as to be upright and innocent from great transgression, with words and meditations acceptable as strength and Redeemer.
Application to Daily Life
The Word praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey is given as the study book and foundation for educating students, to be loved, meditated upon, studied, treasured, kept, and taken into daily life. Meditation upon its statutes opens its treasures to the student and brings the joy of experiencing what is written in actual life. By these instructions the servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
God's truth is the most valuable treasure with which to fill the mind, more valuable than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Those who labor for the food that endures to everlasting life rightly understand the Scriptures and treasure that truth as the most valuable store for the mind. Within them is formed a well of living water, and those who pray to see wonderful things out of the law find this delight for themselves, are warned by these fully true and righteous judgments, and receive great reward in keeping them.
The law, when written in the heart, shapes character and leads to conduct like God's own. Those who keep the commandments bring them into life and reveal their supreme value and delight in character, becoming Christlike and showing true charity in loving God supremely and neighbor as self. The same law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, and judgments are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and righteous altogether, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, and enduring forever.
That unaltered law, not done away, is the parents' guide and the standard of character and righteousness in the home. By it children are trained to obey God and their parents, to be peacemakers, and to shape character after God's character. Each person is called individually to heed this plain word, to know what is truth, to keep the holy Sabbath instead of transgressing it, to stop caviling over plain statements, misinterpreting Scripture and harmonizing disobedience with Scripture, and to stop turning from Christ the greatest Teacher to the traditions and maxims of men. Prayer is to be made for cleansing from secret faults and restraint from presumptuous sins so as to be upright and innocent from great transgression, with words and meditations acceptable to the Lord as strength and Redeemer.
Understanding this psalm calls for consecrating talents to God and serving Christ, whose sacrifice gives that service its meaning. Meetings for Bible study present a Word beyond the estimate of gold and silver and more to be desired than money spent to obtain it, whose precious truths are a banquet from heaven that feeds those who attend and which no one should lose. The wisdom of God revealed in His works in nature and in His divine laws, both natural and moral, is more to be desired than the arts and learning of men, bringing lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing for all. Learning these laws and obeying them gives life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, as the ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons present fresh tokens of His glory, power, and love. The law thus praised is His great standard of righteousness, perfect in all its requirements, sure, right, and pure, to be loved and obeyed rather than despised, warning His servants with great reward in keeping, standing forever as the immutable foundation of His government that cannot be abolished or changed because what is perfect cannot be improved, by which every case will be decided when the books of heaven are opened and all deeds come in review, which the wise in heart will receive while those who disregard it pour contempt on what is more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey.
The judgments of the Lord praised here are His law, testimony, statutes, commandment and fear, which are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and altogether righteous to convert the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes. To call them more to be desired than much fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb means they hold supreme worth above all wealth and bring supreme delight above the sweetest food. The saying belongs with what follows, that by these instructions God’s servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward. The law so praised is immutable and unchangeable, given as the plain guide and foundation of God’s government and the great standard of righteousness by which every case will be decided. Along the whole way of life these instructions stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights, and those who keep them find peace with God, a conscience that does not condemn, and great peace that nothing can offend.
Terms and Context
The "they" called more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey are the judgments of the Lord, meaning His law, His testimony, His statutes, His commandment, and His fear as set forth in the preceding verses. Those judgments are true and righteous altogether, described as perfect, reliable and sure, right, pure, clean, and wholly righteous. They are the Word of the living God given as the study book and foundation for education, to be loved, meditated upon, really believed, taken as the guide, and kept, plainly pointing out the right path in the written word so that no one need follow crooked paths. Along the whole way of life God's children must pass they stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights, with bright light shining at every step to lighten the way and leave no excuse for blundering work.
Those instructions are perfect, converting the soul; sure, making wise the simple; right, rejoicing the heart; pure, enlightening the eyes; clean and enduring forever; and true and righteous altogether. Their perfection, sureness, rightness, pureness, and cleanness belong together with their supreme preciousness and pleasantness above much fine gold and honey. They cannot be abolished, altered, or done away, because what is perfect cannot be improved and to remodel them only causes imperfection. They are God's great standard of righteousness, perfect in all requirements, the foundation of His government and the parents' guide and standard of character and righteousness in the home, by which children are trained to obey God and parents, to be peacemakers, and to shape character after God's character.
The verse belongs with the next verse, which adds that by these instructions God's servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward. That warning is against sin, and that keeping calls people to prize God's law and keep it, with thanksgiving and praise to God and joyfulness in the Lord, and with prayer to be cleansed from secret faults, kept from presumptuous sins, made upright and innocent from great transgression, and to have words and meditation acceptable to the Lord as strength and Redeemer. Those who labor for the food that endures to everlasting life, rightly understand the Scriptures, treasure truth as the most valuable store for the mind, receive within a well of living water, and pray to see wonderful things out of God's law, find this delight for themselves.
The psalm joins God's moral law with His created works, connecting the laws of the natural world with the laws given to created beings. It is part of the divine instruction that gives true education, linking Psalm 19:7-11 with the account of the law. The wisdom of God revealed in His works in nature and in His divine laws, both natural and moral, is more to be desired than the arts and learning of men, bringing lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing for all. The ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons present fresh tokens of His glory, His power, and His love, and learning these laws and obeying them gives life and happiness in this world and in the world to come.
Surpassing Worth and Sweetness
The judgments and teachings of the Lord hold supreme value, more to be desired than gold, even than great wealth and much fine gold of the purest quality. They are part of the divine instruction that gives true education and connects the laws of the natural world with the laws given to created beings. The law of God thus praised, when written in the heart, shapes character and leads to conduct like God's. Meditating on these statutes opens their treasures to the student and brings the joy of experiencing God's word in life, making the Word worthy to be loved, studied, treasured, and taken into daily life. God's truth is the most valuable treasure with which to fill the mind.
They bring supreme delight, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb and more pleasant than the sweetest food. The words call people to prize God's law and keep it, since keeping it brings great reward and warns against sin. In a time when that law meets universal scorn and is set aside for human commandments, keeping it brings great reward and serving God should therefore be deemed a pleasure and an expression of love for Him.
As the Word of God in the Bible, what the verse praises is to be accepted as the only foundation of faith. Received as the leaves of the tree of life, it gives life and draws believers step by step nearer to Jesus in consecrated love as the Spirit of God becomes better known. It sanctifies more powerfully than any other agency or means.
The promises in God's Word share this preciousness and sweetness, being more precious than fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. They are offered as life-giving nourishment for the soul, and taking them in and dwelling on them brings encouragement and drives away faintheartedness. Their value leads to gratitude and comfort, while worship belongs to God who gave them and not to the promises themselves.
The same comparison applies to the calm, waiting trust that comes from continually accepting God's will rather than insisting on one's own, which is more desirable than all the gifts, riches, and pleasures the world can give. It applies also to a heavenly record of perfect reliability and unswerving principle, gained by building solid, enduring character for eternity and standing as God's representative through hardship, temptation, self-denial, and lifelong struggle against inclination, which is more valuable than much precious metal. The Word of God presented in meetings for Bible study is beyond the estimate of gold and silver and more to be desired than money spent to obtain it, for its precious truths are a banquet from heaven that feeds those who attend and no one should lose them. The light of truth opened in Bible readings is likewise precious and beautiful, more valuable than gold, bringing blessing and new conversion to those upon whom it shines.
Doctrine of God's Law
The law praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey is immutable and unchangeable, neither altered nor done away. It cannot be abolished or changed because what is perfect cannot be improved, and to remodel it only produces imperfection. It is the plain guide and the foundation upon which to build, plainly pointing out the right path so that no one need follow crooked paths. Given by God for the government of all human intelligences, it is the foundation of His own government.
It is God's great standard of righteousness and character, perfect in all its requirements. It will stand forever as the immutable standard all must reach to be saved. By it every case will be decided when the books of heaven are opened and all deeds come in review before the Judge of the universe. Obedience to it is the only hope of the human family, with prosperity in this life and eternal interests depending upon obedience to it.
To those who have repented toward God, exercised faith in Christ, and received forgiveness, the law they had transgressed is esteemed above gold, yea, above fine gold. To them it is no longer a yoke of bondage but the law of liberty, the freedom of sonship. The obedient delight in these instructions, are warned by them, and find great reward in keeping them. The transgressor, by contrast, counts them burdensome and wants them out of the way, because as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart they condemn him.
Warning Reward and Response
Along the whole way of life that must be traveled, the judgments praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey stand as beacons of warning and guiding lights. They plainly point out the right path so that no one need follow crooked paths, and bright light shines at every step to lighten the way. That light is to be really believed and taken as the guide, leaving no excuse for blundering work.
By these instructions the servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. That reward includes peace with God and a conscience that does not condemn, even great peace that nothing can offend. This stands in contrast to the wicked, who have no peace but only the wretchedness, misery, and distress of bondage. Therefore service and obedience are to be deemed a pleasure and made the expression of love for Him, with the law cherished as deeply valuable.
When the law is met with universal scorn and set aside for human commandments that have no sanctity, true followers are distinguished from false by loving and reverencing it. They prize it more than ever, heed its warning, and find great reward in keeping it. Their appreciation grows in direct proportion to the contempt others put upon it.
Delight in the law becomes present personal experience for those who keep their eyes fixed on the Saviour and serve with uprightness of heart, proving by their lives that these words are true. It comes by separating from all that mars the character and making an unreserved surrender to God. It comes also by deeply searching the Scriptures as for rich treasure until Christ sweeps away the clouds and mists of error and superstition to reveal the brightness of glory and give instruction in righteousness, producing a burning heart within. The Lord hears the humble desire to understand His Word and to behold wonderful things out of His law, answering with gladness and rejoicing of heart, yet such experience of delight in revealed truth is rare.
The verse therefore calls each person individually to heed the plain word, to know what is truth, and to value Scripture. It calls for humbling before God and awakening from indifference to eternal welfare. It calls students to value and understand these words so they can pray intelligently. It calls for prayer to be cleansed from secret faults and kept from presumptuous sins so as to be upright and innocent from great transgression, with words and meditations acceptable as strength and Redeemer.
Application to Daily Life
The Word praised as more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey is given as the study book and foundation for educating students, to be loved, meditated upon, studied, treasured, kept, and taken into daily life. Meditation upon its statutes opens its treasures to the student and brings the joy of experiencing what is written in actual life. By these instructions the servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
God's truth is the most valuable treasure with which to fill the mind, more valuable than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Those who labor for the food that endures to everlasting life rightly understand the Scriptures and treasure that truth as the most valuable store for the mind. Within them is formed a well of living water, and those who pray to see wonderful things out of the law find this delight for themselves, are warned by these fully true and righteous judgments, and receive great reward in keeping them.
The law, when written in the heart, shapes character and leads to conduct like God's own. Those who keep the commandments bring them into life and reveal their supreme value and delight in character, becoming Christlike and showing true charity in loving God supremely and neighbor as self. The same law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, and judgments are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and righteous altogether, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, and enduring forever.
That unaltered law, not done away, is the parents' guide and the standard of character and righteousness in the home. By it children are trained to obey God and their parents, to be peacemakers, and to shape character after God's character. Each person is called individually to heed this plain word, to know what is truth, to keep the holy Sabbath instead of transgressing it, to stop caviling over plain statements, misinterpreting Scripture and harmonizing disobedience with Scripture, and to stop turning from Christ the greatest Teacher to the traditions and maxims of men. Prayer is to be made for cleansing from secret faults and restraint from presumptuous sins so as to be upright and innocent from great transgression, with words and meditations acceptable to the Lord as strength and Redeemer.
Understanding this psalm calls for consecrating talents to God and serving Christ, whose sacrifice gives that service its meaning. Meetings for Bible study present a Word beyond the estimate of gold and silver and more to be desired than money spent to obtain it, whose precious truths are a banquet from heaven that feeds those who attend and which no one should lose. The wisdom of God revealed in His works in nature and in His divine laws, both natural and moral, is more to be desired than the arts and learning of men, bringing lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing for all. Learning these laws and obeying them gives life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, as the ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons present fresh tokens of His glory, power, and love. The law thus praised is His great standard of righteousness, perfect in all its requirements, sure, right, and pure, to be loved and obeyed rather than despised, warning His servants with great reward in keeping, standing forever as the immutable foundation of His government that cannot be abolished or changed because what is perfect cannot be improved, by which every case will be decided when the books of heaven are opened and all deeds come in review, which the wise in heart will receive while those who disregard it pour contempt on what is more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey.