Psalm 119:4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
The opening three octaves of Psalm 119 contain many striking and well known verses (eg verses 9, 11 and 18). Each verse relates in one way or another to the law of the LORD, his statutes, his ways, precepts, decrees, commands, righteous laws, statutes, his word. In verse 4 the point is that, firstly, the LORD has laid down precepts. In the Bible we find the mandates or requirements that he has sent down from heaven for us to obey. Secondly, these precepts are to be obeyed, of course. There is no question that God expects that we should do what he says, what he requires. More than that, the writer adds an intensifier. This obeying or keeping of God's precepts is to be done fully, with earnestness and commitment. We are not called upon to more or less follow what it says but to follow it absolutely. A good accountant is one who writes down the figures completely accurately not just more or less. With the same attention to detail we must get to know God's word and then apply it in our lives from day to day. God's intention has always been that we follow his word closely and completely just as he laid it down. When someone does a job for you, you want him to do it thoroughly not half heartedly. That is how God wants us to obey, just as the angels do in heaven. This means that we will pay careful attention both to getting a proper understadning of the word and to seeing that we carry it out in every area of life.
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