My Heart Rejoices!

Psalm 19:8a- “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:”

The Hebrew word for statute is “hoq”. It means “statute, prescription, rule, law,or regulation. It is derived from the Hebrew word, “haqaq” which means “to cut in, determine, or decree”. According to the Vine’s “in a general sense it refers to the “laws” of nature like rain. Psalm 148:6 states that he hath established the celestial bodies forever. But the most important meaning is in reference to the law, which correlates with our text. Yahweh’s statutes, decrees, law, or determinations about nature, mankind, or anything else is right!

Right means morally right or straight. People look for all kinds of loopholes in the laws of man, but there are no loopholes in the laws of Yahweh. He said what He meant and He meant what He said. Barak found this out when he tried to curse the children of Israel as they made their way to the promise land. God had decreed that they were blessed, so Barak couldn’t curse them, but ended up blessing them also. He finally had to say, “God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Has He said it, and shall He not do it. Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) We need to start taking God at His word! He will keep His word to us!

Then we look at the phrase, “rejoicing of the heart”. I don’t know about you, but my heart rejoices at the decrees of God. When I think of decrees I always think of the decree King Nebuchadnezzar made in chapter three. The one where he decreed that when the music was played everyone had to bow to him or be thrown in the fiery furnace. Then the music sounded and the three Hebrew boys refused to bow. So because of the decree they were thrown in the furnace. Or the decree in the book of Esther when King Ahasuerus gave Haman permission to destroy the Jews? Remember how Esther had Haman and the king over for dinner and she exposed Haman’s plot against the Jews? In chapter eight she asked the King to reverse the decree and the king’s response to her was: “for the writing which is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.” If this is true of the earthly king, it is even more true of the heavenly King. No man can reverse what He has decreed. So that is reason to rejoice! This is what He said about His word, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” His word always produces. That’s reason to shout!

What has He said about you?

• You are blessed!

• You are healed!

• You are prosperous!

• You are the head and not the tail!

• You are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus!

• You are an heir and a joint heir with Jesus!

• You are more than a conqueror!

• You are the Blood bought Church, the redeemed!

So the next time you are feeling as if it is too hard to follow and obey the statues of the Lord, please remember, that His statues are His decrees that are meant to bring joy to your heart! He was and is looking out for your best interest and mine. His statutes gives us reason to hope and to move forward in life! Embrace His decrees and know that they are there for the rejoicing of your heart! Wonderful Jesus!