God's Precepts

Good Morning,

Psalm 119:93 (New International Version)
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have preserved my life.

So, I read this verse and decided to explore what, exactly, "precepts" are. I mean, I wanted to know what David was talking about, you know? So, here's the Webster's definition...

precept n . 1. a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct. 2. an injunction as to moral conduct; maxim. 3. a direction for performing a technical operation. 4. Law. a written order issued pursuant to law.

Now this verse makes more sense to me, after reading what precept means.

"...for by them (God's commandments, directions, rules of action and conduct; His injunctions to moral conduct; His laws written by those to whom He gave them) you have preserved my life."

I guess we can see how God intervened and protected David those thousands of years ago so He could use him to send along to all people the Psalms we so much love and learn from. But, more than that, I think that because of God's precepts, more than just physical life was preserved for David and, therefore, us as well.

Yes, of course, we want our physical lives preserved and lengthened so we can do God's work...that which He gives us in order that we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation. But, we should also want more than just quantity of life in service to God, we should also desire the QUALITY of that life to be great, also. That's what I read here today. I read that if we do NOT forget God's precepts, which He has diligently set down in the Bible for us, then our lives will have been preserved...both the length of our lives and the quality of our lives.

However, it is up to us to remember what God has had written for us in the way of His precepts. That, for us, is the hard part because so often our human desires and personal pleasures sort of get in the way and we tend to put aside what God has told us, set down for us. You see, WE have the responsibility to make the decision to live by what we read in the Bible and to follow and remember God's precepts.

He's done His part. We have to do ours.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David