By this time we are familiar with the idea that these testimonies, the Scripture, are God’s and not the words of man.  This is an extremely central and important point in David’s mind.  If we are talking about the words of men, we are talking about things that can be interpreted and “dealt with”.  All men have an opinion and, on the surface, no man’s opinion is worth more than anyone else’s opinion.  No man has an intrinsic authority.  I am no more of an authority in and of myself than the next fellow.  What lends my opinions any authority over and above the opinions of any other man is what the content of my opinion is.  It is what I say that makes a difference in the authority my words carry.

Only God has intrinsic authority.  Men can mirror or wield His authority when we have the Word of God as the root and substance of our words and message.  You and I wield a derived authority.  There is no actual transfer of authority from God to us, except as we stand on and operate in the form and function that God’s Word puts forth for us and with the content consistent with what that Word proclaims.

When David says that God’s Words are his counselors this is exactly what he is speaking of.  He understood that opinions are worthless at the bottom line.  He knew that God was the only One whose opinion truly mattered.  He needed to give God’s opinion heed – it mattered.

Men listen to a wealth of sources of information, all because they believe it to be of benefit to them to listen to.  Our counselors are our counselors because the counsel they give is the best course of action for us to follow.  Our over-riding concern is that of self-interest.

David was no different and this verse commends us to observe that principle.  What it asserts is that the testimony of God’s is that which is truly in our self-interest to heed.  There is nothing that benefits us more, on more levels and in more ways than the Word of God.

This is not to say that we heed and obey the Word purely for selfish reasons.  That is not so.  But, self-benefit is an inescapable truth for us and must be a part of our thinking.  WE are, after all, human and God knows that.  That is why He tells us these things.

By “testimonies: we mean the witness or communication from the heart of God.  David says these testimonies are his “delight”.  This speaks of earnest enjoyment.  The delight of one’s heart is that which one earnestly enjoys.  It is a legitimate question to ask ourselves – what is it that gives us pleasure?  For David, I am sure that there were many things that gave him pleasure.  But chief among all those things were the Scriptures.

This is a challenge for us.  We note that David was not delighted by the results or the effects of the Word – but rather by the Word itself.  He was delighted in its character as the testimony of the heart and mind of God.  It was a joy to him to know what God thought and to understand what God’s desire was for his life.

Further, we note that the clear implication here is that the testimonies of God were David’s chief delight!  Nothing brought him more pleasure then the pursuit of the Scripture.  To hear it, study it and meditate on it was his greatest pleasure.

This is another challenge to us.  For many the Word is one of the pleasures of their lives, perhaps even one of the few great pleasures.  But for the great majority of Christians there are other things that, when push comes to shove, give them more satisfaction than interaction with the Word.  Be it family, sports, or whatever, the Word does not have first position in their lives.  It is no wonder that we are not the men that David was!