HE'S JUST SO DANG GOOD (PSALM 19): Rejoicing The Heart

Psalm 19:8A

⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;

     So what's a precept? I bet that is what many are asking as they read this... If many are reading. Well one really cool thing about this here internet thingy is the fact that we can type in things like dictionary.com and lo and behold.... A DICTIONARY!!! :D

     

Precept-a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct.

     I find it simple to restate it this way 

"the commands of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart..."

     When I read God's word I see many commands, but I've never really thought about them this way until I recently found my way through this psalm again. His commands are not only right but they rejoice the heart. 

     Now that isn't to say that following His commands will always be easy, but in my experience God's commands have brought joy to my heart when I follow them, even when they were hard to follow. There is a joy of knowing that we've done what is pleasing in God's sight regardless of what the world thinks.

     What we must be careful of is the fact that this world also has commands. It has many, and most of them are not Godly at all. This world commands us to get the biggest toys, commands us to have the most money, commands us to be the most popular, commands us to do things that leave us empty in the end. It's crazy because the world may never admit that it does command these things, but look at what this world glorifies on television, and the internet. We've glorified things that do not truly rejoice the heart, and getting caught up in chasing the demands and commands of this world will lead us into a state of joylessness.

     I think simply of the first commandment

Exodus 20:3

You shall have no other gods before Me

     This simple command is such a great reason to rejoice. The ONE TRUE GOD that rejoices the heart does not want us to give our lives over to anyone/anything else. He's the eternal God, and apart from Him we are eternally broken hearted. The only one who can fix an eternal brokenness is the Eternal One. 

     His commands lead us to Him ultimately. Why settle for the commands of this world. The world doesn't rejoice the heart. It may bring about a temporary happiness, but it doesn't rejoice the heart. God's commands rejoice the heart, when we look at them the correct way, and follow.