Psalm 19

Psalm 19 | New International Version:

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 reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 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 deprived of its warmth.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing 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 decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

RAMP: READ / ANALYZE / MEDITATE / PRAY

R: Read the Passage

Read the passage fully from start to finish — twice!

This Psalm is written by David and can be seen as having three main parts — verses 1-6 serve as a doxology (a praise to God), verses 7-11 take a look at God’s grace and the last three verses are David’s personal prayer in light of the glory and grace of God.

Interestingly, Psalm 19 was probably written closer to the end of David’s life. As you may have picked up on by now, the order of the Psalms in our Bibles is not the order of the Psalms chronologically. Instead, the Psalms are grouped into five ‘books’ that correlate with the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) in telling the story of God (not David). All of Scripture tells one story — the story of God’s redemptive love of His people. I could go on and on about this, but I’ll get to the point of Psalm 19!

A: Analyze

Journal your response to these questions:

1. What does this say about God?

We will break this down more below, but take a look at what this passage says about God through two lenses:

• What do the Heavens declare about Him?

• What does the Law declare about Him?

2. What does this say about you?

A couple of thoughts here:

• Is your heart/life reflecting what the Heavens are declaring?

• Be honest about if your heart can agree with verses 7-11. We will discuss more about the beauty of the law below.

• Let verses 12-14 be a prayer of your heart.

3. Is there a command to follow?

As the epitome of God’s creation, we are to echo the praises of all of His creation. How the heavens declare His glory are how our lives should also be declaring His glory.

4. Is there a sin to repent of?

If your heart is hard to the law of God and do not see them in the way David describes them, ask God to show you why.

Meditate on verse 12 and be obedient to the Holy Spirit if conviction comes and draws your heart to repentance of any hidden sins.

5. Is there a promise to claim?

I believe this entire passage is a promise. God will be praised and He will receive glory — with or without us. As followers of Jesus, we are invited into the chorus of praise declaring the glory of God in all of His creation.

M: Meditate

• Be honest with God about how you see His ways.

• In light of verses 7-11, where your your blindspots / hidden faults (verse 12)

• Commit to memorizing verse 14 this week

P: Pray

• Ask God to show you His glory among the nations. Ask Him to show you how the heavens are declaring His praise.

• Ask God to transform the way you view His ways.

• Ask God to reveal your hidden faults and keep you from your willful sins
  

Nicole’s Notes:

David paints a beautiful word-picture of what the Heavens are declaring about God. We see a beautiful truth in these first six verses — everything God makes sings praises to Him. Everything in creation is declaring His glory. And this truth is not dependent on our willingness to see it. He is being glorified regardless of our attention to it. The question for us is — will we join in? Will our lives join the chorus? Will our ground level, every day living join the songs of praise declaring the glory and beauty of God?

Oh God, may this be so.

The Heavens do not sit quietly by. The Heavens are not preoccupied with responsibility or function. The Heavens are laser focused on their ultimate purpose:

• To declare the glory of God

• To proclaim the work of His hands

• To speak His truths

• To display the knowledge of Him

• To be heard everywhere

• To pursue His glory with unhindered passion

Is your life falling into accord with this?

Let me ask you this — have you thought about the glory of God being declared across His creation? As in, not just in south Mississippi or North America? What is true about God to you must also be true about God to the orphans in Africa, to the muslim in Asia and to the surfers in Australia. That is the depth of Truth we must understand — the truth of God’s word, the truth of who He is, the truth of salvation made possible through the finished work of Christ — is true across all contexts. It’s true for every person in every culture. Ask God to widen your view of Him to encompass His entire creation. Allow Him to blow your mind in the sovereignty of His glory. Ask Him to allow your life to fall into the chorus declaring His glory among the nations.

Let’s talk about the Law — and no, not laws within the context of speed limits and U.S. legal matters — the Law of God.

As you probably remember, God handed down a set of laws to the people of Israel in what we read in the Old Testament. At this time, Jesus Christ had not made His appearance on earth, and the Holy Spirit had not been given as a gift of God’s presence. Instead, the Law was given to the people. Why? The Law outlined how live in accordance with the will of God. And, ultimately it exposed our need for a Savior. Without law, there is no measure for what pleases or does not please a holy God. The Law of God was intense and stretched far beyond the Ten Commandments. The people of Israel went through seasons of keeping God’s law and breaking it foolishly. And throughout the scriptures, the Law was seen as the measure for living a life pleasing to God.

Until … Christ came.

The work of Jesus on the Cross fulfilled the laws and prophecies, ultimately providing the payment for the sins of the world. What the law was unable to do ‘once and for all’ (read Hebrews 10:1-18), Christ did.

Let’s look at Galatians 3:13-14: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

And Galatians 3:21-25: Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

From our perspective, it’s easy to have a negative view on the Law of God. We see it as a lot of rules, unfair expectations and a ’set up’ for missing the mark. That’s not how God sees it, and that’s not how we should see it. In Galatians, Paul describes it as a ‘guardian.’ It was designed to protect the people and to create in them a longing for a Savior. By continuing to miss the mark, hearts longed for a coming Savior to take away the sins of the world once and for all.

As we see in David’s words in Psalm 19, the Law of God was a beautiful gift to His people. David’s heart wanted to hold God’s Law in holy regard —seeing it as the only way (at the time) to live a life pleasing and honoring to His God.

How do you feel about the ways of God? Allow yourself to read verses 7-11 through your 2019 mindset, and ask God to soften your heart to His ways.

Do you sometimes feel as is God’s ways are:

• Flawed? Ask God to show you they are perfect (verse 7) and are designed to revive your soul.

• A trick? Ask God to show you they are trustworthy (verse 7) and designed to develop wisdom.

• Wrong? Ask God to show you just how right they are (verse 8) and how they can bring joy to your heart.

• A hindrance? Ask God to give light to your eyes through the radiance (verse 8) of His ways.

• Given with an ulterior motive? Ask God to open your heart to His pure goodness (verse 9) and teach you reverence (fear) before a holy God.

• Flaky? Ask God to reveal the steadiness of His ways (verse 9), showing you the eternal purposes of all He does.

• Cheap? A waste of time/energy? Ask God to show you the value of His ways (verse 10) and to make them precious and sweet to your heart.

In light of God’s glory and the beauty of His ways, it’s no wonder David breaks out into prayer in verses 12-14!

Like David, take an honest looks at your blindspots, or as David calls them, your hidden faults. Where may you be in denial? What sins are creeping in from the corners, catching you off guard because your attention is elsewhere? In addition to the Holy Spirit, a Christ-centered community is vital to paying attention to your blindspots.

When we learned to drive as teenagers, watching those blindsports was the trickiest part. Why? Because we are focused on what’s in front of us, we haven’t gained the wider perspectives to see everything that’s happening on the road around us.

The same is true in our walk with Christ. Ask the people closest to you if they see dangers in your blindspots. Take their answers back to God and let Him help you discern where you should be aware.

And ask God to help keep you from those willful sins — the ones you wish you didn’t do but do over and over and over again. God wants to help you fight against these, He delights in this. Don’t ever be ashamed or afraid to ask Him for His help in fighting against your sinful nature.

Am I the only one who wants to plaster verse 14 all over my life so I see it constantly? May this be our daily prayer — for our hearts and our mouths to please God and declare His glory forever.

Psalm 19 | The Message:

God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.

Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded,

But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome!

The morning sun’s a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed,

The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape.

That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset,

Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.

The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together.

The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy.

The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes.

God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee.

The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.

God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds.

You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.

There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.

Otherwise how will we find our way?

Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray.

Accept them when I place them on the morning altar,

O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.