Bible Benefits

We've heard this one before: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork" (Psa 19:1). It's the hymn of natural revelation, the Old Testament version of Paul's "What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them, for His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20). God is seen in creation. Got it.

I think there are a couple other parts of the psalm that are pretty commonly known as well. I have, on the side of my blog, a slightly modified version of the last verse: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Psa 19:14). And I've heard a song made out of verse 10: "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (I used the King James version there because those are the words of the song.) But I wonder if we ever actually looked at the middle part? The reason I ask is because the words of this song I just mentioned talk about "more to be desired are they". What is "they" referring to?

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether (Psa 19:7-9).

What the "they" refers to is "the law of the Lord". It encompasses all of Scripture, essentially. The Law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandments, the fear of the Lord, the rules of the Lord -- all of that is in view. The psalmist claims here that God's Word in its entirety is far more desirable than gold and far sweeter than honey. Why?

The qualities of God's Word are included in this list. His Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous. The benefits of immersing yourself into God's Word are also listed, and they are not minor. It speaks of reviving the soul, making simple people wise, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes.

How about you? Do you find yourself delighted with God's Word? Do you long to swim in it, to bathe in it? Is time in God's Word boring to you, or is it a wonderful thing? Or, let's compare it to your time spent in front of screens. Which is more important to you? If you have any interest in wisdom and enlightenment, any need for reviving the soul, any desire for joy, then it would seem obvious to me which of the two should be more important.

Beyond these three verses the psalmist lists one more benefit.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. ¹² Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. ¹³ 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.

How about that one? Any interest in being warned by God about sin? Any concern about your hidden errors -- sins you're not aware of? Any problems with sins that seem to beat you? Any desire to be blameless? Now, that one is big. It's a benefit of making God's Word an integral part of your life. And if you have no concern about sin in your life, I would suggest that there are bigger problems than whether or not you prefer TV to Scripture.