In Praise of God's Word
Why
did David praise the word of the Lord? What
is it about God’s word that prompted his praise and thankfulness? After all, David was in a deeply distressful period of
his life. He was at risk daily of being
killed by king Saul and his agents. He was living a life of scarcity and
loneliness, hiding in caves and mountains. There really wasn’t much to be
thankful for at this point in his life. Yet he takes time to give thanks for and
to praise the word of God.
David,
of course, did not have the full Bible we enjoy today. But he praised the word
of God. Perhaps he had some fragments of
the writings of Moses, or Joshua, or Samuel, or the priests of Israel. We don’t
really know for sure if David had any form of God’s written word, but we know
that he certainly had God’s word written upon his heart. David had grown up as
an Israelite boy, where he had been taught the Book of the Law. As a child, David had “hidden
God’s word” in his heart (see Psalm 119:11).
But more than that, God had spoken to David on numerous occasions
through Samuel, the Judge and Prophet of Israel and again as David inquired of
the Lord, the Lord spoke to him directly via the impressions of the Holy
Spirit on his heart. David certainly had God’s word, but
why did he praise it? What prompted his
praise and thankfulness?
David
praised the word of the Lord because he recognized its power in his life. He had come to know the word of God as
something that was always with him and that he could always fall back on as a
form of comfort, encouragement, conviction, guidance, and confidence. To him, it wasn’t just some empty “religious”
words, but it was communication from the very heart of God. For this, David gave praise.
Spending
time in God’s word does some pretty amazing things! As you turn to His word, your anxiety and fear
gives way to peace ruling in your heart. Like David, you no longer fear what
man can do to you, because you recognize that God is on your side. Not only do
you get peace, but you get wisdom for life causing you to feel more confident to make decisions and act in God-honoring
ways. The word of God brings you to the place where God confides in you as His
friend. Oh, how God loves to speak to us through His Word! One of the most awesome benefits to reading
the Bible is that suddenly God really becomes real – He’s not just “out
there” somewhere, but He is tangibly showing up in your life. Ultimately, the word of God has power to
cause you to know your faith and live out your faith. Instead of just
remembering Bible stories or things that others have said, the word really
starts to come alive for you. For all of this, and more, we should live
in praise of God’s word.
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