Psalm 19

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure

and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

When I recently read this beautiful psalm I noticed something very interesting about it. In this one psalm we are taken from the grandeur of the heavens to the secret place of our hearts.

"The heavens declare the glory of God." What a way to begin! And who could argue otherwise? The sheer magnitude of the heavens is mind-boggling, yet even in its enormity we now know that it is a finite space. And within that space we are now able to see more and more of God's handiwork. When I first saw a photo from the Hubble telescope of the center of the Whirlpool galaxy I was amazed to see a cross very clearly visible in the galactic dust. The heavens do indeed declare the glory of God!

"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul." We are then taken from the majesty of the heavens to the wonder of the perfect Law of God - His Word - which does indeed revive the soul. There is no other way for a person to come into line with the will of God, for how can we know His will apart from His Word? In this process of learning about God and fostering our relationship with Him, He will indeed revive our souls. It is also during this time of communing with God in His Word that we come to treasure His Word and do find it more precious than gold and sweeter than honey.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." From the sweeping majesty of the heavens, to the perfect Word of God, we are then taken to the only place left - ourselves. In looking at the wonders of heaven, in seeing God in His perfection in His Word, how can we feel anything but "less than?" But God does not want us to feel small and inferior, helpless and alone. Through the most amazing gift, given in the most amazing moment in the history of the universe, God has made it possible for us to be His own children. Through the perfect sacrifice of Christ made on the Cross in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, God is now able to come to us by His Holy Spirit, to revive our souls, to make wise the simple, to bring joy to our hearts, to teach us about Himself, and to help us make the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts pleasing in His sight. Oh, what a wonderful God we serve!

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