Lessons from the Life of David - Chapter 7
His Love of the Scriptures
In our present series of studies of the life and work of King David of Israel, we have noted many of the reasons for his great achievements and successes as a dedicate servant of God. His growing love for God and willingness to serve Him, is an example for all believers to emulate. Today we will consider, particularly, David's obvious love of God's word in the scriptures.
In Psalm 12 verse 6, David writes, "The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." He says further, in Psalm 18 verse 30, "As for God, His way is perfect! The way of the Lord is tested and tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him." In Psalm 19, David writes about God revealing Himself to man in two particular ways. Firstly, through creation. This he describes in verses 1 to 6, and then through His word, this he details in verses 7 to 11.
The psalm opens with this great statement: "The heavens declare the glory of God ; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth." David was obviously a student of the stars. He must often have studied the heavens as he sat keeping watch over his father's sheep in the fields at night. So he tells us that the solar heavens are constantly preaching sermons.
Genesis 15 tells us that the stars are innumerable. It is therefore difficult for us to grasp their immensity and majesty. Scientists tell us that if we travelled at the speed of light - 186,000 miles per second - or roughly a trillion miles a year, it would take us ten billion years to reach the farthest point we can see with a telescope. Now, astronomers think that space may have no bounds at all. Our Earth is nothing but a tiny speck in a limitless expanse. We are amazed therefore at the wonder of it all. Someone has rightly said, "If creation is so great, how much greater is the creator," the Lord of heaven and Earth. Day and night, nature is declaring God's greatness, power, wisdom and glory. It is obvious then, that man is without excuse in the light of such unending revelation.
In verses 7 to 11 of Psalm 19, David writes about God's revelation to man through his word, the Scriptures, having told us that God's works reveal his knowledge and power, as seen in his creation, David now tells us in effect, that God's words reveal his love and His grace. David only had the first five books of the Bible and it is clear that he treasured all that he could read about in them. Today we, many of us as believers, have the complete and final revelation of God and his precious Son, Jesus Christ to read, meditate and act upon daily. We, like David, should value highly the living word of God.
In these verses in this psalm, we are thinking about, David uses six titles in describing God's word 1. As the Law of God. 2. It is the testimony of the Lord. 3. It contains the statutes of the Lord. 4. It lists the commandments of the Lord, as given to Moses, Israel's great servant. 5. It speaks of the fear of the Lord and 6. It tells of the judgements of the Lord.
David goes on to list eight qualities of God's word: It is perfect; it is sure; it is right; it is pure; it is clean; it is enduring; it is true and it is righteous. Little wonder that David was so thankful for and enthusiastic about the Scriptures.
It is very important to note further, that David in these verses reminds us of what results can be expected if God's word is accepted and applied to the life of the recipient. They are described like this:
1. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul (or bringing about conversion.)
2. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple
3. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the soul'
4. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
5. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
6. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
David then sums all this wonderful truth up in this delightful statement. All these attributes of the Lord in His word are much more precious than gold and they are sweeter than honey. One Christian writer reminds us that that just as men have to dig deep to find gold, so the believer will need to search the word of God to find its treasures.
The section finishes by David saying to all his readers, "By these ordinances your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward." May we continue to learn from God's precious, eternal word.