Psalm 19: Meditations on God’s Revelation, Part One.
Outline of the chapter:
1-6: God’s Power in His Creation
7-11: God’s Power in His Word
13-14: God’s Power in My Heart
Part One - Creation: A Universal Testimony to the Maker of the Universe
A Glorious Testimony
A Universal Testimony
A Joyous Testimony
What is the link between God’s general revelation and His special revelation?
What is the link between God’s creation, His natural law, and His Word?
Both originate from the same source. The Lawgiver is the Creator. What are the ramifications of this idea? Before we even look at the description of the Word itself, we can draw a few conclusions.
Like Creation, the Word will speak joyously and gloriously to God’s Power
Like Creation, the Word’s testimony will be inescapable.
Both of these ideas find their ultimate expression in Jesus Christ, the incarnate word. It is at the name of Jesus, in the last days, that every knee will bow. And it is to His name that every person will be forced to respond, to acknowledge or to deny.
There will be no escape from the reality of God’s Word in Christ Jesus.
Part Two - Word: The Many-Faceted Jewel of God’s Revelation
The focus here in Psalm 19 is on the Word written, not the Word Incarnate, though every point here made is born out in Christ’s earthly ministry, often literally. Try to see how many of the descriptions of the word in Psalm 19 match specific instances.
The law is perfect, reviving the soul.
Perfection inspires.
The testimony is sure, making wise the simple.
Reliability gives confidence and wisdom. Every child is able to predict the rhythm of the seasons - day by day, season by season. Why? Because those things are completely, utterly reliable. And so even a child becomes wise in the prediction of days, weeks, months, and years.
God’s testimony is utterly certain. It stems from the same source as his natural law, and draws on the same power.
The precepts are right, rejoicing the heart.
There’s a joy that comes to the godly when following God’s precepts. This psalm is a vibrant testimony of that fact, and it isn’t alone among the psalms.
We also see the principle illustrated more broadly in the world. Seeing justice and right-ness, correctness, properly administered gives us joy. Why do we rejoice when some rich celebrity goes to jail for cheating on taxes? Or when a criminal is caught?
Or why does it bring joy to see someone perform a task correctly?
God’s Word is completely correct and fully just. Follow it, keep it, and find great joy in it.
The commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
David speaks of the moral purity of the law; the law is morally just, but also consistent and pure, stemming from a pure source - God Himself. Enlightenment follows it.
If you wear corrective lenses of any kind, this is easy to understand. Clean your glasses, remove the dirt and smudges left on them, and your vision improves. God’s Word is the cleanest glass available to us, allowing us to see Him and be enlightened. To carry this idea to its full conclusion, think only of Christ. No man hath seen God, but we do see Jesus, and through Him - through the Word Incarnate - we see God the Father and are enlightened and transformed.