Blessed Are Those Who Keep His Testimonies

“Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart”

Verse two begins with the word “blessed” once again - same context and intention is in verse one.  Verse ones sets the general context and this verse continues it for the current section - that is, the first eight verses.

The emphasis here seems to be more experiential than positional and it is likely that the author is trying to get us to see active relationship between obedience and the happiness that comes as God blesses that obedience.

“Keep” is to mean preserve or maintain, and is even used to describe a watchman keeping guard.  It speaks of the careful observation of the testimonies of which this entire section speaks concerning the blessings of obedience to the Word and underscores the great diligence and attention required to walk according to the blessing of God; namely, in real and true happiness.  The verb is a participle and portrays the action vividly for us, inviting us to envision and see the “keeping” as ongoing.

The writer refers to the Word of God as “testimonies” in this verse because in the Word, God “testifies” of truth. It is, in effect, God’s witness to men regarding what is true and what is not true.

This particular word is always used of the law as Divine testimonies and is always found in the plural referring not to a single command or section but to the entire Word of God.  This reminds us of two things.  First, it reminds us that God requires that all of the Law must be kept or it is all broken.  This in turn, of course, points us squarely to Christ as we immediately realize the truth that we are incapable of that level and quality of obedience - and so it must fall to Him.

Secondly, it reminds us, on a practical level that we do not get to pick and choose what commands we will and will not heed and obey. The Law of God is a unit and the task of the believer is to heed it and obey it all.

Further, we’re forced to note that blessedness, that state of happy fulfillment and completion, comes as we zealously seek to observe and obey the whole of the Testimony of God to us as given in His Word.  This is borne out by the use of the word “seek” or “enquire” in the second part of the verse.  It is in the imperfect and so speaks of incomplete action - emphasizing the ongoing effort to fulfill the Law as put forth in the Word.

It is important to understand this in terms of the whole Bible. What is in view here is not a man seeking to be justified, but rather the justified man seeking to walk fully with his God. There is a huge and profound difference between the two! On the one falls the onus of the legalist, and the terrible tragedy of falling short of God’s glory because they sought to establish a righteousness of their own, doomed from the start to be seen for what it truly was - woefully short of the requirements of the whole Law. The other, humbled in meekly calling on the Name of the Lord for his salvation by means of a righteousness only Christ could produce - the result of his fulfilling of the entirety of the Law - the “testimonies” of God.

“Heart” refers often to the organ that pumps the blood, but frequently also refers to the center of man’s being which is how it is used here.  The imagery is simple - the heart pumps the blood - where the heart goes and how it goes - the man goes.  It is easy to see how it came to be a euphemism for the faculties of men mentally and spiritually.

The writer assures us that as goes our “heart” so we go. The zeal of the heart is key - it demonstrates where the being and priorities of a man truly are. This is the testimony of the Word of God - the actions of man show his true heart!