Introduction
For many people, this psalm is one of the greatest psalms ever written. David begins by declaring God’s authority through the wonders of God’s creation and finishes with God’s authority as revealed within His Word.
Heading
‘For the director of music. A psalm of David.’
Although the headings aren’t inspired by God, they are important because they give us some understanding of the Psalm and they help us to see why it was written. The headings usually tell us four things.
1. Who wrote them, probably wrote them or possibly wrote them.
2. Information about the historical background to the Psalm. Why it was written.
3. They tell us of the tune the Psalm was written to.
4. How it was used.
This is a psalm of David and some believe that it was written for God and God Himself is the director of music, others believe him to be a leader of choirs or musicians in David’s time, such as Heman the Singer or Asaph, 1 Chronicles 6:33 / 2 Chronicles 16:17 / 2 Chronicles 25:6.
‘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.’ Psalm 19:1-6
David begins this psalm by declaring that the heavens, Genesis 1:1 / Job 38:7, declare the glory of God, he tells us that the created universe stands as a continual witness of the existence of God, Romans 1:20.
Most people at some point in their lives, look up into the sky at night and wonder where did all this come from, Genesis 1:6-7. And anyone who is honest with themselves will come to only one conclusion, they came into existence by God, Genesis 1:1-25 / Romans 10:18.
When we look at the skies above us, we are left with no doubts that the way the universe was designed demands there must be a Designer. The very design of the universe proclaims the existence of a Designer.
When we watch the news, they often tell us that more and more planets and universes have been discovered, however, the more they find, the more God’s work is being proclaimed.
Notice day after day they speak but yet they have no speech, words or sound, their voice goes into all the earth, to the ends of the earth. This obviously isn’t literal, but they are used as a metaphor to remind us that words are not always needed to declare God’s glory. All people can understand the language of the heavens, though they may not be able to understand the language of each other.
In Romans 10:18, the apostle Paul used the words in Psalm 19:4 to describe the spread of the Gospel and thus shows they had heard it, Colossians 1:23. Because God created the earth and everyone on it, He wants everyone to have a chance to hear and obey the Gospel, 2 Peter 3:9.
Despite the wonders of creation, many refuse to believe that God exists, but they really have no excuse for believing such, Romans 1:20-21.
In creation, God established limits or boundaries for that which was created in order to establish order in the universe, Acts 17:26. Although He established the boundaries of the sun, its radiant influence is felt throughout its dwelling, that is a tent, the nighttime sky, Genesis 1:16-18 / Habakkuk 3:11.
The sun comes out of its tent every day to cross the heavens and returns to its tent at night. This is the same sun which shines on the righteous as well as the unrighteous, Matthew 5:45. In other words, God’s glory is seen and felt throughout the earth by everyone.
David uses two metaphors to describe how the sun is a servant used for God’s purposes, he describes the sun as a bride-groom living in a chamber which God provided, and as a champion running a course assigned to him, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. The sun covers the whole sky, and its warmth is felt by everyone.
‘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.’ Psalm 19:7-10
While creation speaks of God’s glory and existence and demonstrates the order of the universe, it’s His Word which brings order to those He created, Genesis 1:26-31 / Genesis 2:21-23.
David uses seven statements here to define the law of God, Psalm 1:2.
1. The law of God is perfect.
The law of God is complete for the refreshing of the soul, John 17:17 / 1 Peter 1:23 / 2 Peter 1:3.
2. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy.
The word of God is a trusted witness of God’s will among men, Genesis 42:20, and because it can be trusted we can be assured that it is a true guide for us to live by. Even the uneducated can trust it to tell us the way of salvation, Psalm 119:89 / Proverbs 1:22.
3. The statutes of the Lord are right.
The commands and directions of God are the trusted and true expressions of the will of God for us, Psalms 119:172. They are right because obedience to them brings joy and peace of mind, Luke 1:6.
4. The commands of the Lord are radiant.
God’s commandments enlighten us to the truth and they bring light to darkness, 1 John 1:7 / 2 Peter 3:16.
5. The fear of the Lord is pure.
The fear of the Lord produces within us a pure relationship with Him as we demonstrate our faith through expressions of kindness to others, James 1:27.
The word ‘fear’ means reverent awe, Jonah 1:10, and it always keeps us close to God and makes it possible for us to live with Him forever, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9.
6. The decrees of the Lord are firm and right.
God’s truth is absolute and obedience to His truth produces right living before God, John 4:24.
7. The decrees of the Lord are valuable and sweet.
What value can anyone put on the Word of God? David says it’s worth more than gold, much pure gold, in other words, no amount of money or wealth would take his attention away from the Word Of God, it’s simply too precious, Psalm 119:127 / Proverbs 8:19 / Isaiah 13:12 / Lamentations 4:2 / Psalm 21:3.
David sees God’s Word as sweeter and more pleasant to eat than honey, even sweeter than the honeycomb. In other words, the truth of God is more grateful to the heart, or finds more pleasure to the soul, than that which is esteemed as the highest luxury to the palate.
‘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 wilful 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.’ Psalm 19:11-14
God’s Word warns us of the consequences of disobedience, Leviticus 15:31 / Ezekiel 3:18 / Romans 6:23. But as a result of those warnings, we also learn that there are rewards for being obedient to His Word, John 3:16 / Mark 16:16. These rewards will only be found when we desire His Word more than gold and honey.
It’s only through God’s revealed Word can we truly understand our errors and ask for forgiveness and learn how to live a life which pleases God, Psalm 51:6-7 / Hosea 14:2.
‘Wilful sins’ are sins which are committed deliberately, Hebrews 10:26-31, or they may be sins where people think that God will excuse them because of His grace, Romans 6:1-14 / 1 John 3:6-9.
God has given us everything we need to live lives which are ‘blameless’. Remember, to be blameless doesn’t mean sinless. When Paul is arguing with the legalizers in Philippi, he tells them he was blameless, Philippians 3:6, however, he was blameless in the sense that he did everything he had to do to be right with God according to the Law. The same idea applies to innocence, Job 1:1 / Job 4:7.
The law of Moses demanded that a person had to offer the appropriate sacrifice to be right with God, but now under the law of Christ, a person needs to be baptised and confess their sins to God, Acts 2:38 / 1 John 1:9-10.
David says not only must our speech testify that we are controlled by God’s Word, but our thoughts must also be controlled by the Word of God. The reason for this is to bring glory to God, to speak and think more like Him, and to be pleasing in His sight, Galatians 1:10.
David ends his psalm by reminding us that it is God who is His Rock, that is, his strength, Psalm 18:2, and his Redeemer, that is, his rescuer from sin and death, Job 19:25 / Isaiah 41:14 / Romans 3:24 / 1 Corinthians 6:20.
Conclusion
How do you communicate with someone who can’t see? We use brail, don’t we? How do you communicate with someone who is deaf? We use sign language, don’t we?
God knows that the world is filled with people who are deaf and blind which are the two main ways of communication, so how was He going to let all those who are spiritually blind and deaf know He exists?
Well, He did that in two ways and the first way was by ‘creating a ‘braille pad’ for the spiritually blind’. A braille pad which is so huge that even the blindest of the blind couldn’t miss what’s been written, Romans 1:20. Since the beginning of time, God has made Himself known to mankind through creation, Romans 1:18-32.
It’s been well documented that when a person loses one of their senses, the other senses heighten. If someone loses their eyesight, it’s been proven that their sense of hearing and feeling increases.
Spiritually blind people can feel the beauty of the flowers in the ground and hear the glorious singing of birds in the air. And they can know that God is indeed an awesome God, who is powerful enough to create even the smallest things in creation. Paul says that anyone with a drop of spiritual common sense will know that there is a Designer.
The second way which God uses to show people He exists is by using ‘sign language for the spiritually deaf’, Psalm 19:1-4. We noted that God communicates but He doesn’t speak, He communicates but doesn’t use words, He communicates but He doesn’t use sound.
And yet creation itself speaks so loudly about its Creator, it’s God’s sign language to the spiritual deaf of the world, that He exists.
I’m sure you’ve noticed over the past few years, that some people are now moving away from the theory of evolution and turning to the universe for the answers to life and where we came from.
The latest theory is that we must have come from aliens who populated the earth millions of years ago. It appears that they will go to any length to keep the existence of God out of the picture.
But those who want to remain spiritually deaf tell us that evolution is just so wonderful, it’s incredible how the universe has evolved over the years. But for those people who are really listening to what the universe is really declaring, we can’t help but conclude that God is so wonderful, it’s incredible how powerful He is.
When we look up into the universe, we find that God speaks to us, when we look at our planet, we find that God speaks to us. Every blade of grass, every human being, and every new planet discovered tells us something about our God. His creation shouts out to us all and tells us something about His invisible qualities, His eternal power and His divine nature.
Some people have eyes, but they can’t see, some people have ears, but they don’t understand what creation is saying to them. The attitude of some people today is still very much like the attitude of the people in Jesus’ day, Matthew 13:13.
