Learning How To Worship: Psalm 19

The great author, C.S. Lewis, once said of Psalm 19 that it was by far "the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."


One of the most profound philosophers to ever live, Immanuel Kant, marveled at the starry heavens above and the moral law within and noted that "both echo this truth of this psalm, because both reveal God's glory."

Any time I come to this psalm it forces me to think through all of the things the writer references. How often have I taken for granted the world around me?
How often have I missed the beauty of the sun rising "like a great athlete eager to run a race"?
I chose to focus our attention on this psalm today in hopes that we will learn to worship God in the every day things, because as the psalmist goes on they point us to the Word of the LORD, or the Laws of God.

Spurgeon comments regarding this psalm as a response of David and his particular study of God's two great books: nature and Torah, saying,

[David] had so thoroughly entered into the spirit of these two only volumes in his library that he was able with a devout criticism to compare and contrast them, magnifying the excellency of the Author as seen in both. He is wisest who reads both the world-book, and the Word-book as two volumes of the same work, and feels concerning them, "My Father wrote them both."

In Psalm 19, God transcends any box of understanding I could possibly try to trap Him in.
Yet, He is immanently revealing Himself in the most paradoxical, wonderful, mysterious, and intimate of ways.


In case the reader hasn't been aware in the first 18 Psalms... Psalm 19 is clear: God is present. Personally present. The Psalmist is speaking of God as if he is presently creating, intricately involved in all he sees and hears, and then he ends with a personal prayer to YaHWeH.

And this idea floors me.

God is personally present in our world, in our worship services, in our preaching and teaching, in our distress, in our happiness, in our holiness, and yes, in our sin... and He is ready to cleanse us from them.

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.

-Psalm 19 (NIV 1984 Version)

Can you picture David writing these words? Perhaps as a young shepherd boy he remembers stretching out on the ground in the middle of the pasture. Crickets chirping, sheep occasionally "Bhaaa-ing". And there he is taken aback by the immense beauty that is before him. No light pollution, no carbon emissions clogging the atmosphere... Just Creation in it's splendor.

Billions of stars stretched out across that Bethlehem sky. 

It is as if everything he wrote about in Psalm 8 wasn't enough... He had to go further.

In the middle of the day, can you imagine him looking up at the movement of the sun... how it just races across the sky, the clouds covering it as like a tent?

Standing in a field all day of course he would feel the immense heat that rains down from it...

When we read this psalm we are reading words on a page, yes, but also we are reading into existence an image of David experiencing all of the things he writes about. Psalm 19 is about God, but it is also about a man who is enthralled in the creativity of God.

But not just in the outward creativity of his God, but also regarding the Words of YaHWeH:

Without missing a beat David transitions and starts writing about the Law of the LORD.

Because David cannot separate the God of wonders he sees in the sky and field, with the God of the story of His people. 

The LORD is One.

David loves the the law of his people, or rather the commands of this immeasurable, loving, and wonderful God.

The Law of the LORD is a gift... because though He is strong and mighty and powerful to create all we see around us, and create us as we are... He also wants to be involved in our lives.

David describes the Law by five names, epithets, and effects. In the span of ten lines. And adds 7 statements to qualify his descriptions.
For an Israelite, that is something important.
The topic is the law.
It is written in 5 sets.
And with 10 lines.
With 7 qualifying statements

Torah. (First 5 books.)
10 Commandments.
7 days of Creation which equates to completion.
Numbers have weight in Hebrew Poetry and often convey a more subtle truth beyond just the words written down.

The Law however is a rule. God’s testimony for the truth, His special and general prescription of duty, fear (as its cause) and judicial decision. It is distinct and certain, reliable, right, pure, holy, and always true. It is the Word and Rule of the LORD that revives those depressed by doubts, makes wise the unskilled (2 Tim 3:15), rejoices the lover of truth, strengthens the desponding (Psalm 13:4; 34:6), provides permanent principles of conduct, and by God’s grace brings a rich reward.

This is God swimming through the mud of humanity and getting involved in our lives.

So much so, that he dared to wrap Himself with human flesh and dwell among us. (John 1)
The clearer our view of the law, the more manifest are our sins... And the more we come to grips with the age old truth that WE NEED A SAVIOR.
Which is why it is a perfect transition David makes from these statements to his personal prayer request. A personal request that we all need to make.
David asks how he can know about the sins that are lurking within his heart and if God will cleanse him. He prays that God will enable him to say no to sin, to keep him far from deliberate faults.
(We see Jesus echo this sentiment when he teaches his disciples to pray.) He does not wish to be controlled by his iniquity, but rather controlled by the Law of the LORD, which bring joy and life.

God is a person with no needs, but deep, deep desires... and he desires to save us.

In the midst of all the bad and evil that we have clogged ourselves with and this world with. A cry for help, mercy, and a real, honest, and true desire to be close with Our Father and Creator again... Well, nothing on earth can make His heart skip faster.

God gets to be our Savior when we understand that we need Him to be.

The Law of the LORD gives us that understanding.

Worshiping Christ with Psalm 19 looks a lot like meditating on the wonder of creation, not losing the wonder in the things we so often take for granted, and meditating on Scripture.

And I hope you can find that the prayer to close Psalm 19 out can become your own, as I am finding it to be my own:

Father,
    Declare me innocent from my hidden faults. 
 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me! 

Make me blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression! 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer!

-----

 

Nathan Bryant

is a pastor at River Run Church in East Orlando, FL. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology.  In 2014 he attended the Leadership Institute in Phoenix, AZ where he continued his education from other pastors and educators at one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He loves the outdoors, whether it is camping in the mountains or jumping through the waves at the beach, nothing is better than enjoying God’s creation. Nathan longs for unity and commitment to Jesus to be a defining element in the global church of his generation.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

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