They are more precious than gold,
Psalm 19:10-11 NIV
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
The previous three verses expressed David’s appreciation for God’s law, statutes, precepts, commands, fear, and decrees. For David, these six descriptive terms were essentially the same thing: God’s instructions for us. Teachings that had great value for the one who would heed what they taught.
David did not have access to a multitude of Bibles in various translations, like many of us have today. In his day, much of the Bible had not even been written. But what he did have was of greater worth to him than gold and more desirable than honey, the sweetest thing he knew. There was nothing better than God’s instruction to him. He understood that God’s word would help him walk faithfully with God, which, for David, was a great reward.
How many of us today find as great a value in the Bible as David did? For how many of us is reading the Bible the most rewarding thing we do each day? There is no greater goal we could have in this life than to walk faithfully with our Lord. And there is no better way to do that than to read God’s word, meditate on it, and follow its instruction. It is more precious than gold.
