A Man Reads the Holy Bible in a City Libraryby CBPepper
19:9Psalms 19:9
The fear of the LORDis clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORDare true and righteous altogether.
The fear of the Lord is a pure reverence that endures forever, and His judgments are altogether true and righteous as a lasting and trustworthy standard of right. It stands among His perfect law, sure testimony, right statutes and pure commandment, which convert the life, make the simple wise, rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes. His law is unaltered, perfect, permanent and unchangeable, firm as His throne itself, reflecting His character and forming the foundation of His government over all created beings. It is the great standard of righteousness by which character is measured, claims to faith and holiness are tested, and every case will be decided when deeds come up in review before the Judge of the universe. In keeping it there is great reward, with peace of conscience, great peace with nothing to offend, and life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, while those who cast it aside have no peace.
Words and Psalm Context
Reverence for the Lord is pure and lasts forever, and His judgments are wholly true and righteous altogether, a lasting and trustworthy standard of right. These enduring, righteous laws belong to the divine order that governs created beings and provide instruction that must be received to avoid perishing in sin. Together with the other descriptions of God's law in the psalm, they show His instruction to be precious, giving warning and bringing reward when obeyed. They stand as words of praise and adoration that call for unceasing thanksgiving and joy in the Lord for His goodness, more to be desired than gold and sweeter than honey, giving warning and great reward in keeping them. They urge readers to examine themselves by God's law and be brought into conformity with it, bringing cleansing from hidden faults, keeping back from willful sins, making upright and free from great wrong, and making words and thoughts pleasing to the Lord as strength and Redeemer.
Kept before the eyes while looking to Jesus, this instruction reflects His character and changes the beholder from one stage of character to another, and used as the lesson book for building character it guides daily life. The verse belongs to a psalm that joins God's law with His created works, declaring that the heavens show His glory and handiwork. That psalm is worth reading to understand the connection between law and creation. God's works in nature give lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing to all, with the ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons constantly presenting fresh tokens of His glory, His power, and His love. Divine laws, both natural and moral, must therefore be learned alongside human arts and learning, and obedience to these laws brings life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, for God's law is bound up with His created works and nature teaches lessons about God.
In the psalm the verse stands with the praise of His law as perfect, His testimony as sure, His statutes as right, and His commandment as pure. The perfect law turns the life around and converts the soul, the dependable witness gives wisdom to the simple, the right directions bring joy and rejoicing to the heart, and the pure command gives light and enlightening to the eyes. These judgments belong with the Lord's perfect law and pure commandments to enlighten, warn, and bring reward to those who keep them, being more valuable than gold and sweeter than honey. Those who love and keep this law have great peace and nothing to offend them, while the wicked who cast aside restraint for freedom have no peace but wretchedness, misery and distress in bondage. The law also exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the sinner wants it removed because it condemns him and feels burdensome to the transgressor, while the obedient rejoice in it and it stands as the standard by which claims to faith, holiness, and perfection are tested.
Law's Character and Authority
God's commands and judgments reflect His own character and belong to the divine order that governs created beings, forming the foundation of His government and the standard of character to be received in the duty to love God and others. Reverence for the Lord shown in obedience is pure and endures forever, while His requirements and decisions are wholly true and right altogether. By this law His servants are warned, and in keeping it there is great reward, marking the difference between those who love and fear God and obey and those who disregard, disobey, and pour contempt upon it.
The law is unaltered, perfect, permanent, and unchangeable, standing as firm as the throne itself, and it has not been abolished, changed, or done away because what is perfect cannot be improved by change. It was given to govern all human intelligences, and God's Word is the guide and foundation to build upon. Obedience to it is the only hope of the human family, upon which prosperity in this life and eternal interests depend. Though slighted, scorned, and rejected by human beings, conformity to this standard of righteousness remains the only way to gain admittance into heaven.
God does not change to suit sinfulness but rules the world in wisdom and love and omnipotence, requiring perfect obedience today just as He required of Adam. Satan's work through all ages is to make the law of no effect by leading men and women to transgress the divine commands, to mistake darkness for light and error for truth, and to tell them that God has abrogated His law so that all they have to do is believe. Those assertions are false, for were they true Satan would have accomplished on earth what he attempted in heaven and would be entitled to the throne as ruler of the universe.
The law is wonderful in its simplicity, comprehensiveness, and perfection, with no mystery in it, so that even the feeblest intellect can grasp its rules for regulating the life and forming the character after the divine Model. It holds the great principles of loving God supremely and loving neighbors as self, with the first four precepts defining duty to the Creator and the rest forbidding selfishness, oppression, deception, and impurity. Obeying this law to the best of ability gives strength of intellect and power of discernment to comprehend still more of God's purposes and plans, and this advancement in knowledge of His wisdom and power continues not only during the present life but through the eternal ages, with ever an infinity beyond. As people receive Scripture's teaching and depend on Christ to obey it, their lives are transformed and their characters made pure.
The law is God's great standard of righteousness, perfect in every requirement, by which human character is measured, family life is governed, and claims to faith, holiness, and perfection are tested. It will stand forever as the unchangeable measure all must reach to be saved and the rule by which cases will be decided when deeds come up in review before the Judge of the universe. Its standard condemns disobedience and the twisting of Scripture to excuse it. It exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the sinner wants it removed because it condemns him and it feels burdensome to the transgressor, while the obedient rejoice in it as perfect, sure, right, and pure, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, and enlightening the eyes.
All the precepts are true and righteous altogether because God Himself is sincere and true, His Word is truth, Jesus is faithful and true, and the church is the witness and ground of the truth. Falsehood and deception of every kind are sin against Him, so prevarication and any exaggeration, falsehood, or deceit stand condemned before Him and have no place among His followers. Not one command may be treated as unimportant or safely ignored, even when obeying it costs earthly success or advantage.
Warning Reward and Obedience
God's Word is right and worthy of obedience, plainly pointing out the right path and shining bright light at every step, so that no one need follow crooked paths and there is no excuse for blundering work. It stands as beacons of warning and guiding lights along the whole way of life that God's children are called to pass, condemning disobedience and the twisting of Scripture to excuse it. Its teachings are precious, warning God's servant against sin and guiding to seek cleansing and live uprightly.
The law is more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, giving warning and bringing great reward when obeyed. Together with the perfect law that converts the life, the sure testimony that makes wise the simple, the right statutes that rejoice the heart, and the pure commandment that enlightens the eyes, it calls for unceasing thanksgiving and joy for goodness. Keeping it brings cleansing from hidden faults, keeps back from willful sins, makes upright and free from great transgression, and makes words and thoughts acceptable as strength and Redeemer.
In keeping the law there is great reward and blessing, including warning, peace of conscience, and trustworthiness worthy of obedience. Those who love and keep it have great peace with nothing to offend them, while the wicked who cast aside restraint for freedom have no peace but wretchedness, misery and distress in bondage. Obedience to these laws, natural and moral, learned alongside human arts and learning, brings life and happiness in this world and in the world to come.
These judgments are found by laboring for the food that endures to everlasting life, which rightly opens the teachings of Scripture. They are found by praying for opened eyes to behold wondrous things out of the law and by rightly understanding the teaching of God's Word. When found, truth is esteemed as the most valuable treasure with which to store the mind and becomes a constant inner wellspring of the water of life.
The verse urges self-examination by God's law to be brought into conformity with it, taking the Word as written for a guide and lesson book for building character and daily life. Kept before the eyes while looking to Jesus, the law reflects His character and changes the beholder from one stage of character to another. Through grace, obedience puts the divine attributes in the character, molds it after the divine likeness, and makes believers partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of lust, including licentiousness, covetousness, desire for position, love of money, false dealings and unjust practices. As people receive Scripture's teaching and depend on Christ to obey it, their lives are transformed to purity, opposing selfishness, deception and impurity, and those who keep the commandments reveal its value in Christlike character and true charity, loving fellow men with the same love as He who gave His Son.
Obedience to this unchangeable law given to govern all human intelligences is the only hope of the human family, on which prosperity in this life and eternal interests depend. God's Word is the guide and foundation to build on, giving the standard of character and righteousness by which human character is measured and family life is governed. It is the parents' guide for training children to obey their heavenly Father, against the teaching that it has been done away.
Keeping the law makes service to God a pleasure and an expression of love, with faithful lives as witnesses to its right, pure and heart-rejoicing qualities, more desirable than riches and sweeter than honey. The law exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the transgressor feels it burdensome and wants it removed because it condemns him, while the obedient rejoice in it as perfect, sure, right and pure, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart and enlightening the eyes. It is the standard by which claims to faith, holiness and perfection are tested.
The verse is the language of true followers in an age when universal scorn is thrown upon God's law, distinguishing them from false Christians. While the commandments are despised and set aside for the commandments of men, those who have come out from the world and remain loyal prize and love the law more strikingly than ever, bound above gold to prize and love it.
The verse is an inspired word containing precious promise to accept and warning to believe, calling every soul to awake to true spiritual condition and the peril of indifference to eternal welfare. It calls to humble heart and mind before God, to search the Scriptures as never before, and to let the Word be educator and guide by asking what the Scriptures say. Understanding awakens through consecrating talents to God and recognizing the sacrifice of Christ and the responsibility to serve Him.
The fear of the Lord is a pure reverence that endures forever, and His judgments are altogether true and righteous as a lasting and trustworthy standard of right. It stands among His perfect law, sure testimony, right statutes and pure commandment, which convert the life, make the simple wise, rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes. His law is unaltered, perfect, permanent and unchangeable, firm as His throne itself, reflecting His character and forming the foundation of His government over all created beings. It is the great standard of righteousness by which character is measured, claims to faith and holiness are tested, and every case will be decided when deeds come up in review before the Judge of the universe. In keeping it there is great reward, with peace of conscience, great peace with nothing to offend, and life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, while those who cast it aside have no peace.
Words and Psalm Context
Reverence for the Lord is pure and lasts forever, and His judgments are wholly true and righteous altogether, a lasting and trustworthy standard of right. These enduring, righteous laws belong to the divine order that governs created beings and provide instruction that must be received to avoid perishing in sin. Together with the other descriptions of God's law in the psalm, they show His instruction to be precious, giving warning and bringing reward when obeyed. They stand as words of praise and adoration that call for unceasing thanksgiving and joy in the Lord for His goodness, more to be desired than gold and sweeter than honey, giving warning and great reward in keeping them. They urge readers to examine themselves by God's law and be brought into conformity with it, bringing cleansing from hidden faults, keeping back from willful sins, making upright and free from great wrong, and making words and thoughts pleasing to the Lord as strength and Redeemer.
Kept before the eyes while looking to Jesus, this instruction reflects His character and changes the beholder from one stage of character to another, and used as the lesson book for building character it guides daily life. The verse belongs to a psalm that joins God's law with His created works, declaring that the heavens show His glory and handiwork. That psalm is worth reading to understand the connection between law and creation. God's works in nature give lessons of wisdom and gifts of healing to all, with the ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons constantly presenting fresh tokens of His glory, His power, and His love. Divine laws, both natural and moral, must therefore be learned alongside human arts and learning, and obedience to these laws brings life and happiness in this world and in the world to come, for God's law is bound up with His created works and nature teaches lessons about God.
In the psalm the verse stands with the praise of His law as perfect, His testimony as sure, His statutes as right, and His commandment as pure. The perfect law turns the life around and converts the soul, the dependable witness gives wisdom to the simple, the right directions bring joy and rejoicing to the heart, and the pure command gives light and enlightening to the eyes. These judgments belong with the Lord's perfect law and pure commandments to enlighten, warn, and bring reward to those who keep them, being more valuable than gold and sweeter than honey. Those who love and keep this law have great peace and nothing to offend them, while the wicked who cast aside restraint for freedom have no peace but wretchedness, misery and distress in bondage. The law also exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the sinner wants it removed because it condemns him and feels burdensome to the transgressor, while the obedient rejoice in it and it stands as the standard by which claims to faith, holiness, and perfection are tested.
Law's Character and Authority
God's commands and judgments reflect His own character and belong to the divine order that governs created beings, forming the foundation of His government and the standard of character to be received in the duty to love God and others. Reverence for the Lord shown in obedience is pure and endures forever, while His requirements and decisions are wholly true and right altogether. By this law His servants are warned, and in keeping it there is great reward, marking the difference between those who love and fear God and obey and those who disregard, disobey, and pour contempt upon it.
The law is unaltered, perfect, permanent, and unchangeable, standing as firm as the throne itself, and it has not been abolished, changed, or done away because what is perfect cannot be improved by change. It was given to govern all human intelligences, and God's Word is the guide and foundation to build upon. Obedience to it is the only hope of the human family, upon which prosperity in this life and eternal interests depend. Though slighted, scorned, and rejected by human beings, conformity to this standard of righteousness remains the only way to gain admittance into heaven.
God does not change to suit sinfulness but rules the world in wisdom and love and omnipotence, requiring perfect obedience today just as He required of Adam. Satan's work through all ages is to make the law of no effect by leading men and women to transgress the divine commands, to mistake darkness for light and error for truth, and to tell them that God has abrogated His law so that all they have to do is believe. Those assertions are false, for were they true Satan would have accomplished on earth what he attempted in heaven and would be entitled to the throne as ruler of the universe.
The law is wonderful in its simplicity, comprehensiveness, and perfection, with no mystery in it, so that even the feeblest intellect can grasp its rules for regulating the life and forming the character after the divine Model. It holds the great principles of loving God supremely and loving neighbors as self, with the first four precepts defining duty to the Creator and the rest forbidding selfishness, oppression, deception, and impurity. Obeying this law to the best of ability gives strength of intellect and power of discernment to comprehend still more of God's purposes and plans, and this advancement in knowledge of His wisdom and power continues not only during the present life but through the eternal ages, with ever an infinity beyond. As people receive Scripture's teaching and depend on Christ to obey it, their lives are transformed and their characters made pure.
The law is God's great standard of righteousness, perfect in every requirement, by which human character is measured, family life is governed, and claims to faith, holiness, and perfection are tested. It will stand forever as the unchangeable measure all must reach to be saved and the rule by which cases will be decided when deeds come up in review before the Judge of the universe. Its standard condemns disobedience and the twisting of Scripture to excuse it. It exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the sinner wants it removed because it condemns him and it feels burdensome to the transgressor, while the obedient rejoice in it as perfect, sure, right, and pure, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, and enlightening the eyes.
All the precepts are true and righteous altogether because God Himself is sincere and true, His Word is truth, Jesus is faithful and true, and the church is the witness and ground of the truth. Falsehood and deception of every kind are sin against Him, so prevarication and any exaggeration, falsehood, or deceit stand condemned before Him and have no place among His followers. Not one command may be treated as unimportant or safely ignored, even when obeying it costs earthly success or advantage.
Warning Reward and Obedience
God's Word is right and worthy of obedience, plainly pointing out the right path and shining bright light at every step, so that no one need follow crooked paths and there is no excuse for blundering work. It stands as beacons of warning and guiding lights along the whole way of life that God's children are called to pass, condemning disobedience and the twisting of Scripture to excuse it. Its teachings are precious, warning God's servant against sin and guiding to seek cleansing and live uprightly.
The law is more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, giving warning and bringing great reward when obeyed. Together with the perfect law that converts the life, the sure testimony that makes wise the simple, the right statutes that rejoice the heart, and the pure commandment that enlightens the eyes, it calls for unceasing thanksgiving and joy for goodness. Keeping it brings cleansing from hidden faults, keeps back from willful sins, makes upright and free from great transgression, and makes words and thoughts acceptable as strength and Redeemer.
In keeping the law there is great reward and blessing, including warning, peace of conscience, and trustworthiness worthy of obedience. Those who love and keep it have great peace with nothing to offend them, while the wicked who cast aside restraint for freedom have no peace but wretchedness, misery and distress in bondage. Obedience to these laws, natural and moral, learned alongside human arts and learning, brings life and happiness in this world and in the world to come.
These judgments are found by laboring for the food that endures to everlasting life, which rightly opens the teachings of Scripture. They are found by praying for opened eyes to behold wondrous things out of the law and by rightly understanding the teaching of God's Word. When found, truth is esteemed as the most valuable treasure with which to store the mind and becomes a constant inner wellspring of the water of life.
The verse urges self-examination by God's law to be brought into conformity with it, taking the Word as written for a guide and lesson book for building character and daily life. Kept before the eyes while looking to Jesus, the law reflects His character and changes the beholder from one stage of character to another. Through grace, obedience puts the divine attributes in the character, molds it after the divine likeness, and makes believers partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of lust, including licentiousness, covetousness, desire for position, love of money, false dealings and unjust practices. As people receive Scripture's teaching and depend on Christ to obey it, their lives are transformed to purity, opposing selfishness, deception and impurity, and those who keep the commandments reveal its value in Christlike character and true charity, loving fellow men with the same love as He who gave His Son.
Obedience to this unchangeable law given to govern all human intelligences is the only hope of the human family, on which prosperity in this life and eternal interests depend. God's Word is the guide and foundation to build on, giving the standard of character and righteousness by which human character is measured and family life is governed. It is the parents' guide for training children to obey their heavenly Father, against the teaching that it has been done away.
Keeping the law makes service to God a pleasure and an expression of love, with faithful lives as witnesses to its right, pure and heart-rejoicing qualities, more desirable than riches and sweeter than honey. The law exposes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, so the transgressor feels it burdensome and wants it removed because it condemns him, while the obedient rejoice in it as perfect, sure, right and pure, converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart and enlightening the eyes. It is the standard by which claims to faith, holiness and perfection are tested.
The verse is the language of true followers in an age when universal scorn is thrown upon God's law, distinguishing them from false Christians. While the commandments are despised and set aside for the commandments of men, those who have come out from the world and remain loyal prize and love the law more strikingly than ever, bound above gold to prize and love it.
The verse is an inspired word containing precious promise to accept and warning to believe, calling every soul to awake to true spiritual condition and the peril of indifference to eternal welfare. It calls to humble heart and mind before God, to search the Scriptures as never before, and to let the Word be educator and guide by asking what the Scriptures say. Understanding awakens through consecrating talents to God and recognizing the sacrifice of Christ and the responsibility to serve Him.