Psalm 19:1 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
“Our family will first recognize God as our creator and redeemer. We will put our trust and confidence in Him and obey His word as the instruction and authority as how we are to live our lives.”
This is one of the Core Values or core beliefs that we have established as a foundation to build our family and stand on as we navigate life. David writes of the testimony God provides to us, the right instruction and perfect truth that God has provided for us, and his reaction to the encounter with such a God in Psalm 19. I is likely David wrote this psalm while being pursued by Saul and living in and under God’s wilderness.
Psalm 19
The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The heavens so declare the glory of God, and proclaim his wisdom, power and goodness, that all men are left without excuse. God forms the light and creates the darkness, Isaiah 45:7, and sets one against the other. God is the Sun of righteousness and is symbolized as the bridegroom coming in love and bless his bride, the church, which he has espoused to himself. His plan and His purpose is powerful like the sun, determined to run his course to bring light to all mankind. We often live between our houses, cars, offices and malls and seldom take the opportunity to witness the testimony of God’s creation that he provides to us every day. The awakening of the earth in the morning sunrise and the uniqueness and beauty of the setting sun. The engineering marvels and perfect design in the way the eco system cleanses and purifies itself, the strength of trees to give with the wind and shed their outer most branches to survive in drought, and the power revealed in the skies with lightning, thunder, and expanse of a starry night. God has placed numerous testimonies of His perfect love demonstrating the necessity for death of a seed in order for life to be born and bear new fruit. All men are left without excuse to recognize God.
7 The law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
The law is perfect, the statutes are right, the commandment is pure, Holy fear of the Lord is clean and the judgments bear Truth. The promises He gives to us is a restored soul, to make wise even the simplest of minds, to let our hearts rejoice in the discovery of God’s love to sinful men, to enlighten the eyes of our minds, to experience Holy fear and reverence of our creator and redeemer, and recognize His judgments are righteous and true.
11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be [e]blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
David’s reaction to this revelation and so should be ours is to experience Holy fear and live in a way to practice His commands so that we may know and experience the blessings of obedience to our creator. There are a few times recorded in the Bible when man had a direct encounter with God Himself and all the reactions are the same. Isaiah 6:5 Then I said, “ Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” When standing in the presence of a Holy God we will be overwhelmed with our sinfulness and inadequacy and recognize our desperate need. Woe is me for I am ruined. Psalm 19 ends with our reaction to ask God to forgive us of our willful known sins as well as those that we are unaware. David goes on and completes the psalm with His prayer and can be our prayer also as we recognize our God, realize His love and our inadequacy and express our desire to be right with Him. “Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Our family will first recognize God as our creator and redeemer. We will put our trust and confidence in Him and obey His word as the instruction and authority as how we are to live our lives.
Take a moment today to watch the sunset, contemplate the stars, or simply observe the order and work of bugs, the lowest of his creation, that serve great value in consuming and cleaning our environment. All of God’s creation testifies to His greatness. He greatly desires to bless us and express His love to us as the bridegroom loves His bride. We are without excuse. If we are obedient to His instruction our souls will be restored, our eyes enlightened, and we will know Holy Fear. We will recognize our inadequacy, pray for forgiveness and seek to live our life in a way that is acceptable to Him, our rock and Redeemer.
