Psalm 19:8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

A statute is a mandate. Our governments have had different mandates that they tried to push on us over the past 2+ years. Some people were fined for not complying, but many of those have also been thrown out as unenforceable. They were scare tactics that worked for many.
God’s mandates are not like that. God’s statutes are not designed to scare people. They are absolute. They are also well thought out and are right. Those who bow before the true God will hear His “well done” one day. Those who defy His statutes will be found at the great white throne where they will know God’s statutes stand and they will be cast into the lake of fire because they chose to ignore them.
God says His statutes are right. Even though people want to find fault with God’s Word, God’s Word is right. God does not need your permission or mine to declare truth. He is truth and His Word is truth. Those who humbly submit to His statutes will rejoice in heart. We see again that the Christian life is not a dreaded life. It is not a “have to”, but a “want to”. The difference is the change that God makes in the heart of the repentant sinner.
There was a time when I fought against God’s truth. I did not want to go God’s way. I chose the world’s way and I thought that was the right way to go. I scoffed at Christianity. However, God is merciful and He showed me that I was wrong and He was right. I turned to God in repentance and I trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I needed to learn that He is also the Lord of my life. There were things I did not want to do as a Christian, but God spanked me. He loved me enough to show me that it was foolish and even wicked to fight against Him. His holiness does not allow Him to accept defiance from His child. I have learned that obeying God as His child is right. It rejoices my heart. I can go to sleep without shame or guilt. I can get up and look forward to what He wants to teach me each day. My schedule is adaptable to what He wants of me. Complaining is a waste of time. Rejoicing is a choice that I can make because God’s statutes are right.
God’s commandments are also pure. They are clean and they are sincere. I have met some people who have tried to tell me that there are errors in the King James Bible. There are errors in all the perversions. However, God has promised to keep His Word pure.

Psalm 73:1  Truly  God  is good  to Israel,  even to such as are of a clean  heart. 

The word “clean” in that verse is the same Hebrew word as “pure” in our text. That Hebrew word is found in seven verses.  It is a blessing to be able to read the Word of God and not be directed to sin. It is good to read God’s Word and obey Him and not have to ask forgiveness for being led the wrong way. God’s Word is pure.
Because God’s Word is pure, It is able to enlighten the eyes.

Numbers 6:25  The LORD  make his face  shine  upon  thee, and be gracious  unto thee:

The word “shine” in the above verse is the same Hebrew word as “enlighten” in our text. The Hebrew word we have is found forty two times in the Bible. God’s Word is a light to those who humble themselves and submit to Him; those who are saved. God’s Word will shine upon the works of the ungodly on judgment day and it will reveal the wickedness of their hearts. Those at the great white throne judgment will not want to see what God will reveal to them. However, He will reveal it to them and they will be cast into the lake of fire with that on their minds.
It is far wiser to humbly submit to God’s Word now and be saved and then learn to walk humbly with the LORD as His child. It is amazing how He opens the eyes of His children to see things more clearly. There are many people who want to experiment with sin. Some of them are shocked when they discover the consequences of sin. No doubt king David did not expect all the ramifications of his sin in lusting after Bathsheba. He likely never planned things to go the way they did. He suffered greatly because he did not let God show him that his thoughts were wrong. He buried any thought of that and commanded that she be brought to him. He likely did not expect that she would be with child from a “one night stand”. His mind had to come up with a plan quickly. He thought he had a good plan but Uriah would not go along with his plan. Then he thought he could have Uriah killed in battle and no one would be the wiser about that nor the birth of Bathsheba’s child.
Nathan needed to confront David and David finally saw what he had done. He was directed to write Psalm 51 as a prayer of repentance and confession. We know from God’s Word that this sin that David committed had an affect on his family and on the nation of Israel.
We can read all about that, not to stand in condemnation of David, to see that sin is never a wise move. We can see that God’s way is right. God says that a man needs to be happy with the wife of his youth. He does not need to look elsewhere for more. God provides all he needs in that one woman that he chooses to marry.
Achan learned the hard way that stealing from God is not wise. He lusted after something he could not have. He chose to follow his evil heart rather than listen to God. He and his family lost their lives because they all worked together to try to conceal his sin. We can read about that and see that stealing is not a blessing. Obedience to God is a blessing. Putting in an honest day’s work is a blessing. Being content with what we have is a blessing. Paul was directed to write:

I Timothy 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

There are so many lessons we can learn from God’s Word once we are saved. His Word will open our eyes to the way of blessing. Every Christian has discovered that sin does not pay. We have also learned that God holds us accountable for our actions. Those who are saved must confess their sin to God to be forgiven. We also learn there are consequences to sin. We can avoid the chastening if we will look with our enlightened eyes through God’s Word. If we ignore that, it will hurt.
God shows us that it is better to heed His Word and rejoice than to ignore His Word and suffer the consequences of sin.
Pastor Bartel