Warnings and Rewards

This morning as I was praying and giving thanks to God, I was thinking over my life. I was thinking about the man I am and what I could have become had it not been for the grace of God. I thanked God for the Scriptures, and for the difference their influence has made in my life. As I thought on this, this verse came to mind:

Psalms 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

This verse is dealing with the Scriptures, which are variously named the law of the LORD, the testimony of the LORD, the statutes of the LORD, the commandment of the Lord, and the judgments of the LORD in Psalm 19.

As I thought about the influence the Scriptures have had on my life, I realized that I have avoided many pitfalls because of the warnings of Scripture. “By them is thy servant warned.” I have been presented with many temptations, but the warnings of Scripture have frightened me away from yielding. Now Satan will suggest to the mind: “Oh, go ahead, nobody will ever find out.” But then I recall warnings like these:

Numbers 32:23 …be sure your sin will find you out.

1 Timothy 5:24 Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

King David thought he had covered his adultery with Bathsheba, when he ordered her husband Uriah to the front lines to be killed. But his deed ended up written in the Bible for the whole world to read. Let that example warn you when you are tempted to think that you can get away with secret sin. Thank God for the warnings! And thank God for the work of His grace in my heart so that I have respect unto those warnings. How many shameful things I have been spared from because I respect the warnings of Scripture and take them very seriously!

Psalms 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

God’s commandments will not have much influence in your life if you have no respect for them.

But my life has also been greatly influenced by the fact that “in keeping of them there is great reward.” Keeping God’s commandments always pays off in the long run. Many have been the rewards in my life for following the Bible. And these rewards only reinforce my desire to obey God’s commandments. Every Sunday that God blesses me to be in church brings a reward with it which makes me want to keep coming back, as I am sure others of you will attest.

So by means of warnings and rewards the Scriptures keep me straight. By warnings they keep me running from the whip and by rewards they keep me chasing a carrot.

I have written this meditation in the first person. I was thinking this morning of what the Scriptures have done for me personally. And so I decided to write my thoughts as I thought them. Please do not think I am praising myself. It grieves me that I find so much evil in me to be warned against. And were it not for God’s grace choosing me, redeeming me by the blood of His Son, and regenerating me by His Spirit, I would have neither desire nor respect for the Holy Scriptures. And that same grace of God has likewise affected you, my brethren. Otherwise, we would not have a Christian fellowship together in righteousness.

So I join with the apostle Paul in affirming: “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1CO 15:10). May the warnings and rewards of God’s word continue to be a prevailing influence in my life so that I may answer the call of 1TI 5:22: “Keep thyself pure.” And may God likewise bless you. I am your servant only by the grace of God.