What the Word of God Does for Us

Psalm 19:7-14

Ps 19:7     The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure,

and all of them are righteous.

Ps 19:10     They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb.

11 By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can discern their own errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

Ps 19:14     May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

(from Today's New International Version)

As we look at this passage, one of the first things that should strike us is the description of God's Word.  We should all be familiar, as we read through the Scriptures, of this way of describing God's Word.  In these verses in particular the Word of God is said to be: 1) perfect, 2) trustworthy, 3) right, 4) radiant, 5) pure, 6) sure, 7) righteous, 8) more precious than gold, 9) and sweeter than honey.

Now, we could focus on what the Word of God is in these descriptions and talk quite a bit about what they mean.  Clearly, the Word of God stands alone as the most precious book ever.  But in this passage I want to focus on the descriptions of what the Word of God does for us.  What results does it have or what does it produce when it is applied to a life.  We will focus on four things.

First, it is something that refreshes the soul (v. 7).  This could be refreshment that someone needs from intense distress or tragedy or it could be refreshment to someone who is simply tired or worn out.  But God's Word refreshes our desires and emotions to make the life within us, our soul, be revived to take on each day and serve the LORD.

Second, the Word of God makes wise the simple (v. 7).  The idea here is that the Word of God makes us teachable.  This I believe is one of the most admirable qualities a person can have because I believe it demonstrates a degree of heavenly wisdom on their part because we all have things we need to learn.  We need to be teachable people, people that God can mold as he desires.  The need to be teachable no matter what stage we have reached in life is illustrated very well in a short story written by Frank Koch in the magazine Proceedings, produced by the Naval Institute:

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.             I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell.  The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."

"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.

Lookout replied, "Steady captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: We are on collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."

Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."

The captain said, "Send I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees."

"I'm a seaman second class, " came the reply.  "You had better change course 20 degrees."

By that time, the captain was furious.  He spat out, "Send, I'm a battleship.  Change course 20 degrees."

Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

We changed course.

Here we can easily see the need for us to keep the attitude of being teachable no matter what stage we are in life, and it is the Word of God that is the tool that makes teachable if we are in it on a regular basis.

Third, the Word of God gives joy to our hearts (v. 8).  This means that God's Word educates our emotions and our minds to help us feel as we should about our circumstances - no matter how dismal that may seem, we have joy in the midst of them and we examine life in light of that joy

Fourth, the Word of God gives light to the eyes (v. 8).  This means that God's Word gives the reader the opportunity to see the world around them the way God sees it to some extent.  We get God's perspective on things, which is always the most important perspective.  We recognize needs as well as the beauty of his creation, which includes each human being with the dignity he created them with.  It also allows us to see God's boundaries for life.  We understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable to God.  We understand what God values, and what we in turn should value.  In a similar way, Paul speaks of this in Romans 12:1-2, when he speaks of the Christian's need to "renew" their minds.  The Word of God is what will "renew" our minds to have the illumination to see life the way God wants us to see it.