Commanded to Keep His Precepts

These next tow verses form a unit and ought to be considered together.  “You”, of course refers to God.  That is implied though it is not objectively stated such in the text.  There is reference to the Lord in verse 1 and by antecedent reference in verse 2 and 3 (Him).  In verse four we turn to a form of direct address as the author speaks directly to God.  It is as if the text is a record of the prayer breathed by the author.  His thought turn inward and he personalizes what he is saying.  The obedience, active and passive, positive and negative is obedience that is commanded by God.  The verb is intensive and purposeful and is in the perfect indicating a completed action.  It is God’s fixed and firm desire that we obey His revealed Word.

“Keep” refers to observing or heeding in a matter.  It is interesting that the text supplied the plural.  The writer considers himself a part of the group and addressed that entire group.  All men are commanded by God to obey.  There is no hierarchy or qualification.  We are all commanded to obey the precepts of God.

“Precepts” is a word whose basic idea is to exercise oversight over a subordinate.  It implies superiority or at least the existence of authority over the one commanded.  Implied is the idea of accountability.

God has the authority, as God and Master, to command us to obey His commands and to hold us accountable for that obedience.  This is a “given” in spiritual matters.  Sadly it is a given that most people reject.  That, however does not mean they are not accountable to Him for the commanded obedience.

“Diligently” is a word of comparison and is translated greatly or very the majority of times it appears.  The idea that of exceedingly or doing something to a great degree, even to the greatest degree.  We are to observe the precepts of the Lord to the greatest degree we are capable of.  This is obligatory for us, as it is for all men.  If there is a God in heaven, then it just makes sense for His precepts to be binding on all men.

But authority is not the only issue here.  Remember that the stated goal here is that of blessedness or happiness.  The point here is that if we want to be blessed – the obedience, positive and negative, is the only path to securing it.  This is where we begin to fall down.  We are quite willing to acknowledge God’s authority and to agree that He has every right to command us.  We might even agree that God’s command is the best way to blessing and to happiness.  However, we are loathe to admit that it is the ONLY acceptable way!  There are so many ways to approximate happiness in our day and age that we often decide that one of the lesser, easier ways is acceptable and embrace it.  If we want true, biblical happiness in the stead of the worldly kind, then obedience is the only way to secure it.  The author undertakes this for us in the next verse.