The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.
Psalm 19:8 HCSB
As I was reading this passage, the word ‘precepts’ caught my attention. I have heard it many times. But what, exactly, is a precept?
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary
– a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action
– a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought - Wikipedia
– a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action
…Because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate,
My commands, My statutes, and My instructions.
Genesis 26:5 HCSB
A ‘precept’ is a statute, mandate, command, instruction, law, or ordinance that gives direct advice. The precepts of the Lord will set us right if we heed them. They give us a great advantage and provide many benefits. Matthew Henry states: “The Holy Scripture…is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in or the light of the sun.” Wow!
Psalms 19:11 states “Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them.” So what are some of the benefits we receive when we pay attention to the Lord’s precepts? Verse 8 told us they make the heart glad and the eyes light up. Look at some other benefits listed in the following verses:
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies,
for [Your words] are ever before me. I have better understanding and deeper insight
than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, because I keep Your precepts
[hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].
Psalm 119:98-100 AMP
Every word of God is pure; He is a Shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Proverbs 30:5 HCSB
For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.
Proverbs 6:23 HCSB
Who wouldn’t want these benefits? I certainly do! The Lord’s precepts show us what sin is. And they provide great and wonderful benefits. But there is one benefit these precepts absolutely cannot provide—righteousness.
For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law,
because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
Romans 3:20 HCSB
On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.
Romans 7:7b HCSB
As Galatians 2:9 (AMP) points out, righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ:
For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law]
have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law
and all the Law’s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God.
Christ was crucified for us. His grace provided our acquittal. Even so, we can honor Him by following His precepts. We receive so many benefits by being attentive to them.
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Lord, thank You for Your amazing grace that removes all guilt from us. Let us be more attentive to Your precepts and use them daily. Thank You for the direct advice they provide to us and for the marvelous benefits we receive when pay heed to them. In Your Holy name I pray, Amen – It is so!
Cynda, thank you for this good study! The definition that popped out at me was this, “a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action.” I think God’s precepts are to become a way of life for us, not just rules and regulations but us wanting to live like Jesus. You are so right to point out the Scriptures that show us that living by the law doesn’t earn us our righteousness, it only comes by our faith in Jesus Christ. When we walk in that righteousness, His percepts will become “a general rule of action.”
That’s it Clella! His Word is to become a way of life for us, not just more rules to follow, when Jesus is our role model <3
(what clella said!) 😉 thank you, cynda, for looking more deeply at what ‘precepts’ are…each and every word of God’s Words are so important! <3
Thanks Coleen! I am a “word nerd” 😉 I like to understand what the word means in the time it was written and now. Helps me better understand the passage
Great word study, Cynda, and it reminds me of Jesus’ Words in Matthew 5: 17-18 “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.” (The Message) So thankful for the guidance of all God’s Word and I add my “Amen – it is so” to your prayer.
I like that L! Thanks for sharing