Mensa Otabil - God's Commandments are Pure (11/07/2025)
We’re in Psalm 19, verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The Bible uses different words to describe God, God’s word, and it shows us the word of God doing different things in our lives. It says here that the word of God is the statute, and the statutes of the Lord rejoice our hearts.
What does a statute mean? A statute is a fixed declaration, something that is written; it’s fixed, it doesn’t change. So God does not leave us to emotions when we need guidance. Today he says one thing, and next time he says something else. His words are statutes; they are fixed so that when we’re going through the changing scenes of life, there is something that is fixed in our lives, and that is the word of God. The statutes of the Lord teach us how to please him and how to do the will of God. He has made his will and his ways clear to us through his statutes, and his statutes help to make our lives meaningful because they are his fixed guiding posts for life.
When we’re going through difficulty, we’re perplexed by events of life. God’s fixed statutes tell us that all things will work out according to his purpose for our lives. So we know that no matter what’s going on that we can’t figure out, God is working out a purpose. Why? Because his statutes are fixed; they don’t change. He says that he has good thoughts towards us, so these are fixed opinions that God has of us, and they are established in his word, and that is what makes our hearts rejoice. We can be confident that although we don’t fully understand what’s going on, God’s statutes tell us that it’s going to turn out all right. Then it says the commandment of the Lord is pure; it enlightens the heart. God’s word, God’s word is also a command. Why does the Bible say it’s a command? It’s not subject to debate.
So when God says, «Thou shalt not,» you cannot say, «May I?» No, «Thou shalt not» is «Thou shalt not.» There is no debate about it. When we make the word of God flexible, it hurts us. The word of God is a command from God; it’s not subject to your opinion or how you feel about it. You may ignore it, you may decide not to obey it, but it doesn’t change God. He’s not going to accommodate his word to you; you have to accommodate yourself to his word. His word is fixed; it is a statute. His word is a commandment; it’s an order, and that is how he wants us to order our lives.
In our lives, we have to have things that are fixed and ordered. For example, on Earth, we have what we call the true north. The true north is the magnetic field at the North Pole, and that’s what guides every other direction. We have in life, without that fixed true north, we would not be able to tell our direction in life. And so God’s word is our true north; it’s our fixed guidance system, and by it, we are able to make the right choices and decisions in our lives. When we obey them, the passage says it enlightens our eyes. It enlightens us; it opens our eyes.
You know, sometimes you can be going through life, and you may feel like you are lost, and you don’t know the next turn. But when you read the word of God, it just opens your eyes. You just know what to do, and you may struggle with it, but you know what to do. You’re not going to be guessing as to should I do this, should I not do it, because God’s word is clear on a lot of matters in our lives, and that is what opens our eyes, enlightens our eyes, and helps us to see our way clear in the journey of life. I pray that this specific revelation of God through his word, the Bible, will help you to navigate all the difficult parts of your life.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, your word enlightens me. Thank you for the joy of knowing that you are with me always. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.»