Psalm 19:7-11 - "And In Keeping Them There Is Great Reward"

You'reconcerned about eternal things rather than temporal things. The delight of theLord is in your heart. You meditate in His law day and night. You observe to doall that's written therein. Then as God promised Joshua, you'll make your wayprosperous. You'll have good success (Joshua 1:8). So, it's my prayer you'vestarted already on the most important disciplines. I'm convinced at the verytop of that list is Bible intake and prayer. Remember, Bible intake is readingthe Bible, listening to the Bible, memorizing the Word of God, studying theBible, mainly meditating on it, thinking about it, digesting it spirituallyinto your soul. So that then it guides and directs and renews your mind everyday.  Thenright alongside that is prayer. Prayer and the Bible are close companions. Prayer,Bible reading, Bible study, Bible memorization, and meditation go hand in hand.You won't keep doing the one without the other. If you're not praying, it won'tbe long till you're not reading your Bible. If you're not reading your Bible,it won't be long till you're not praying. My friend, I encourage you topractice these two main disciplines. They will give you the wisdom, thestrength to continue on to live for the Lord in other areas of your life. Ican't help but think of Psalm 19:7-11. This Psalm begins by reminding us that creationspeaks and tells us that there is a God in heaven who created all things.Creation speaks to us loudly that there is a great and awesome and wonderfulGod (vv. 1-6). But then it also reminds us that God not only speaks throughcreation, but He speaks through His Word in verses 7-11.  “Thelaw of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul”. Back in the day whenDavid was writing this psalm, the law of the Lord would have been considered the Pentateuch, the firstfive books of the Bible. The stories of the patriarchs, the story of the nationof Israel leaving Egypt and going on their journey to the promised land. They convert, they restore, they renew the soul. That's the firstthing we read it does.  “Thetestimonies of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple”. This would be thestories of these dear people in the Old Testament and how God worked in their livesdespite their sins and failures. Then we find that that makes us wise becausewe don't have to make the same mistakes they made.  “Thenthe statutes of the Lord are right. They rejoice the heart”. That's the principlesof God's word. There are principles in God's word that guide and direct oursteps. You find these principles throughout the Bible and the eight mainprinciples listed in Matthew 5:1-11 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Each one ofthose represents a principle of living. I wish we had time to go through a listof those. They rejoice the heart.  “Thecommandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eye”. That's thosecommandments that God gives us throughout His Word. Of course, the Great Commandmentis to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.Secondly, and equal to that, is to love your neighbor as yourself. When you dothat, your eyes are looking at God. They're looking at others the way God wantsyou to look at them. Enlightening the eyes.  “Thefear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever”. Why is it clean? Because you have afear of the Lord which means that you have a constant awareness of the presenceof the Lord in your life. You are not going to do things you shouldn't dobecause the Lord is right there. You wouldn't want to displease Him.  Then“the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether”.Otherwise, God is a just God. He punishes evil. He rewards good. He's a justGod. You recognize that. That's what you live for. Then he says in closing, “Moreover,to be desired are they than gold. Yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also thanhoney and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned. Inkeeping them, there is great reward.”