Psalm 19:7-11 The Law of the Lord is Perfect

How do you feel about your Bible?

Of course, every good Christian knows that they should value their Bible, study their Bible, and cherish their Bible. But just because you should feel a certain way doesn’t mean that you actually do feel that way. Sometimes, we can get so bogged down with the cares of this world and the difficulties of life that reading our Bible feels more like a chore than something that we cherish.

In those times, we need the reminder that David gives us in Psalm 19: the word of God is incredibly valuable. If nature is valuable because it proclaims the glory of God, then the Word of God is even more valuable. In fact, it is more valuable than anything else we can imagine.

Please read Psalm 19:7-11 now.

In verses 7-9, David gives six descriptive titles of the Word of God, each followed by a characteristic quality of the Word, and a divine effect of the Word. This is done partly for poetic effect to emphasize the importance of God’s Word through repetition, but it is also done because of the lack of language when describing the things of God. God is so far beyond our comprehension that He cannot be described in simple words.

Each title that David gives to the Word of God emphasizes a different aspect of it. God’s Word could be considered “the law,” “precepts,” “commandments,” and “rules” which must be obeyed, and even lead to a healthy “fear” of the Lord, but God’s Word is also His personal “testimony” to us regarding who He is and what He has done.

This law is “perfect.” There is nothing else that needs to be said, but David continues to praise God’s Word. He describes it as “sure,” “right,” and “true,” which all indicate the validity of God’s Word. God’s Word is also “pure” and “clean.” It is not only valid, but it is good and holy.

This is even more impressive to the Christian when we think that David said all these things about the small portion of God’s Word that was available to Him at the time. In His day, Israelites would have honored the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) as God’s Word. They would have had access to some other portions of the Old Testament, but David was talking primarily about these first five books when he called them “perfect.” Today, we have access to all 66 books of the Bible, each one adding more color to the beautiful tapestry that is the Word of God. If the small portion that David could see was perfect, how much greater is the beautiful tapestry that we now have?

After describing the law of the Lord, David goes on to list its effects. God’s Word can revive our soul by “enlightening the eyes.” Indeed, faith comes from hearing the Word of God, because it is the Word of God which is living and active and can be used by the Holy Spirit to bring a spiritually dead man to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Such faith is the best example of “making wise the simple.” After you come to faith in Christ, reading God’s Word causes rejoicing in your heart. As Charles Spurgeon says, “the truth that makes the heart right gives joy to the right heart.”

This word of God will endure forever, and is altogether righteous. All those who read the Word of God in faith find that it is more desirable than the greatest of riches or the sweetest of pleasures. It warns us of God’s commands, and promises us great blessings for keeping them. May God increase our desire for His Word! Truly, the Law of the Lord is Perfect.