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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 decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. (Psalms 19:7-10)


The psalmist pronounced that the laws of the Lord were perfect. He described God's laws as “perfect”, “trustworthy”, “right” and “radiant and pure”. To him, these laws were the source of his joy, because they brought about the rebirth of man, and let the eyes that were darkened be able to see, bringing joy to their hearts. The psalmist embraced God's laws, and saw them as “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey… from the honeycomb.” The law of the Lord is holy, righteous and eternal.

When you read these verses, do you feel the same way about God's laws? Do you delight in the laws of the Lord and meditate on them day and night? Do you cherish God's teachings to the point where they are more important than our lives? To be honest, even though we know what the psalmist said is true, the average believer (including myself) may not be able to make such a claim. I have heard believers criticize that some of God's laws are old fashioned, out of place, and even groundless. Why, as believers, do we have so such a different attitude towards God’s laws?

This may be because God's laws are too difficult to follow, so we stop in our tracks, and thus are unable to experience the benefits of these laws in our lives. It can be because during the process of observing the laws, we have experienced a lot of hardships which do not allow us to see how these laws can be a source of joy. There may be many other reasons, but in conclusion, it is mainly because we cannot clearly see the blessings behind the laws of the Lord.

Abiding by the laws of God is a “choice” that enables us to learn how to make God-pleasing decisions. When we are willing to follow God’s laws, each of our choices is a slight diversion from the core self within us. No matter how small the change within us is, it has pushed the “I” one step further towards the “new self”. The more we follow God's laws, the more we grow into Christ’s image. Even if in the process of observing the laws, we have shed tears and suffered, but when we look back, we can see the blessings upon our lives. That gives us strength to continue and experience first-hand that the laws of the Lord are indeed “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey… from the honeycomb.”