By Gold: something considered to be precious, beautiful, or of the most superior quality.
I’ve been going through Psalm recently, and in Psalm 19:9-10 it says something that I’d like to highlight.
“The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.”
Growing up, being told to “fear the Lord” sounded wrong. I always wondered why I was supposed to be afraid of a God that I was in turn supposed to love and serve. It didn’t make sense to me.
Later, I learned that fearing the Lord simply meant “reverential awe” or, in more layman terms, deep respect.
We are called to respect God. And with respect comes obedience. We can’t respect a person we’re constantly defying. We can’t respect someone we ignore.
If a parent sets rules in place and we (as children) ignore them, are we not disobeying our parents? Aren’t we disrespecting them?
The same is true in regards to God. Similar to parents, God has laws and decrees in place for our good. His laws are in place so that we may have a safe and happy life on the earth (for example: don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t covet, etc.) and so that we may have eternal life with Him.
His laws are not in place to bind us, but rather to free us.
In this passage, God’s laws are described as “more precious than gold”. Gold is defined as “precious, beautiful, or of the most superior quality”.
So the laws of God are more precious than the most superior thing. Those are laws worth following!
Continuing on in verse 11 it says, “By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
So if we keep these laws, and follow them, there is “great reward”. How amazing is that!
If you’ve struggled lately with falling into temptations; running back to old sins; or have tripped up, Psalm 19 verses 12 through 14 is a great prayer.
Pray this today:
“Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Amen.
Maddisen Sauls is the smile and voice behind the Everyday Joy blog as well as the author of the Word of the Week posts and the editor of by leaps and bounds. Throughout her life, Maddisen has worked as a reporter for small town newspapers, a School Age and Preschool teacher, and has acquired her ministerial license.
An avid book reader and lover of the written word, Maddisen is passionate about using her favorite medium to reach the lost and the hurting, and to offer encouragement and hope to those struggling through life.
Following her battle with depression, Maddisen has made it her mission to help other people through this journey and to bring joy to the lives of the people around her.
You can find Maddisen on Instagram @maddisen.paige
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