March 29, 2024

God’s Pure Word

SeekingHimLogo

As for God, His way is perfect:
The LORD’s Word is flawless;
He shields all who take refuge in Him.
Psalm 18:30

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

There are benefits and value to God’s Law and Word.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm 19:8

The ‘precepts of the Lord’ are definite rules concerning righteous living that are a joy to the godly.  The ‘commands of the Lord’ are the authoritative source of guiding light for the faithful who seek His way. Therefore as we follow His precepts and commands contained in the Word we are assured of the tree of life.

 And if anyone takes words away from this Book of prophecy,
God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life
and in the Holy City which are described in this Book.
Revelation 22:19

We may not ever have a careless attitude toward this Book…or any part of God’s Holy Scripture.  Such an attitude is manifested if we choose to believe only certain parts of God’s revelation and reject other parts that we do not like.  As at the beginning of the human pilgrimage on earth, failure to take God’s Word with absolute seriousness is a matter of life and death (Genesis 3:3-4).

Dear ones, every word of God is flawless.

Every word of God is flawless
He is a Shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Proverbs 30:5

His words are truth and they are right.

I have not spoken in secret from somewhere in a land of darkness,
I have not said to Jacobs descendants ‘seek Me in vain’.
I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Isaiah 45:19

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear Lord, we give You all the praise and honor for You are the great I AM, the all-seeing, all-knowing God who is present everywhere.  We give You all the praise and honor because there is none who is like unto Thee.  We bless You, Lord.  Father, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus for the zeal to study Your Word and take all the precepts and commands therein and do them all to the glory of Your name. Whatsoever You have spoken since You are a true God, let it be true to our lives also in Jesus’ name. Be glorified and magnified at all times.  We also pray for forgiveness for we have previously taken Your Word not to its entirety.  We have chosen what is the best for our ears;  please forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Create in us a clean heart, dear Lord.  Blessed be Your holy name and all this we ask in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

Benefits of Precepts

Many of you have gone on Spring Break or are anticipating taking a vacation this summer.  It is a time to refresh spirit, soul, and body.  Over the next couple of weeks, our faithful bloggers will be taking a ‘spring break’ from writing so that they can come back to us refreshed and freshly anointed.
However, Girlfriends’ Coffee Hour website won’t ‘go black’!  We will be revisiting some of our favorite blogs and daily devotions which have blessed us in the past.  We pray that each of you, our faithful friends and readers, will continue to start your day meditating on the devotionals and songblogs, and be encouraged and blessed.

Let’s give each of our bloggers a big round of applause,
a hug, and the rest they so deserve.  God bless you, ladies!

SeekingHimLogo

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!

Psalm 19:11 tells us, “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].
Psalms 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.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

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!

Benefits of Precepts

SeekingHimLogo

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.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

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!