The 19th Psalm: God’s Two Books
For me, whenever I may be troubled, or struggling, and just have a tough time concentrating on reading the
Word,------I find the Psalms a blessed haven. There is so much ‘pure worship’ there, which always focuses
us on the Lord, and thus, frames our hearts in worship and adulation, which quiets our hearts before Him.
Even on the very surface of the Psalms, their beauty and worship shine through. But, when we can be ‘lead’
to experience them even ‘more deeply’----as this ‘commentary’ I am going to share with you, written by an
old saint, who has devoted his life to the study and contemplation of God’s Word,------it can literally ‘take
away our breath’ as we ‘consider our God in all His glory!’ (Limited as we are by the ‘filter of our carnal
nature.’) This is taken from the Bible Believers Commentary, by William MacDonald, who has said, The
values of the Word cannot be computed in terms of gold. But it does have this one thing in common with
gold: persons must dig for its treasures. Great wealth is hidden in the pages of God’s Book, and our best
interests are served by searching for them.
Please, please take the time to open your Bible, and read this as you follow along.
Psalm 19: 1, 2 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” And
what a story they tell! Think, first of all, what they tell about the immensity of the universe. If we traveled at
the speed of light----186,000 miles a second or roughly 6 trillion miles a year-----it would take us 10 billion
years to reach the farthest point we can see with a telescope. But this would still be far from the outermost
limits of space. Now astronomers think space may have no bounds at all! Our earth is nothing but a tiny
speck in a limitless expanse!
Think too of the number of stars and other heavenly bodies. With the naked eye we can see about 5,000 stars.
With a small telescope we can see about 2 million. But with the Palomar telescope we can see billions of
galaxies, to say nothing of individual stars.
Then think about the distances of the heavenly bodies from the earth and from each other. Someone has
pictured the distances as follows: If it cost a penny to ride a 1,000 miles, a trip to the moon would cost $2.38,
a trip to the sun would cost $930, but a trip to the nearest star would cost $260 million.
It takes light from the most remote stars which can be seen with telescopes ten billion years to reach the
earth. So when we look out into space, we are really looking backward in time. For example, we do not see
the Andromeda galaxy where it is now, but where it was 2 million years ago!
Although the stars may appear to be crowded in the firmament, the distances between them are so great that
they have been likened to lonely lightships a million miles apart, floating in an empty sea.
If creation is so great, how much greater is the Creator!
Day and night the heavens are telling the greatness of His power and wisdom. The firmament unceasingly
proclaims the marvels of His handiwork. (In Bible usage “firmament” refers to the expanse of the heavens.)
As Isaac Watts wrote, “Nature with open volume stands to spread her Maker’s praise abroad.”
19: 3, 4a There is no speech, no words, no audible voice, yet the sermon of the stars goes out through all
the earth, and its message to the end of the world. Simply by looking up into the heavens man can know
that there is a God and can perceive His eternal power (Rom. 1: 20). The terrifying dimensions and
complexity of the universe confirm Lord Kelvin’s observation that “if you think strongly enough, you will be
forced by science to believe in God.” Kant wrote: It is impossible to contemplate the fabric of the world
without recognizing the admirable order of its arrangement and the certain manifestation of the hand of God
in the perfection of its correlations. Reason, when once it has considered and admired so much beauty and
so much perfection, feels a just indignation at the dauntless folly which dares ascribe all this to chance and a
happy accident. It must be that the Highest wisdom conceived the plan and Infinite power carried it into
execution.
19: 4b-6 The psalmist sees the vaunted arch of heaven as a vast tent which God has prepared for the sun. As
the sun rises in the morning, it is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. The sun moves through
the arc of the heavens like a strong man joyfully running a race. The course begins at the eastern end of the
heavens and continues on down to the western horizon. We know, of course, that the sun does not actually
rise and set, but that the earth moves in relation to the sun, creating this illusion. But in poetic passages the
Bible often uses the language of human appearance, just as we do in our everyday speech.
There is nothing hidden from the heat of the sun. It enjoys universal exposure, pervading every remote
corner and crevice of the world.
19: 7-9 But creation is only one of God’s volumes of self-revelation. Verse 7 introduces us to Volume Two
of God’s revelation----“the law of the Lord.” Both volumes glorify God and inspire the worship of
thoughtful persons. Few commentators of the Psalmist can resist quoting Kant’s famous dictum: The starry
sky above me and the moral law in me, are two things which fill the soul with ever increasing admiration
and reverence.
But there is a difference between the two books of God. Creation reveals God as the Mighty One, the God
of Power. But His Word reveals Him as the One who enters into covenant relationship with His people.
God’s works reveal His knowledge and power but His Word reveals His love and grace. Scientific truth
may stimulate our intellect but spiritual truth convicts our heart and conscience!
In his eulogy of God’s Word, David describes it not only as the law of the Lord but also as the testimony
of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, and the
judgments of the Lord. The psalmist attributes eight excellent qualities to the Word of God; it is perfect,
sure, right, pure, clean, enduring, true and righteous. Then he lists five of its wonderful ministries: it
converts the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, and warns the servant of
God.
19: 10 The values of the Word cannot be computed in terms of gold. But it does have this one thing in
common with gold: persons must dig for its treasures. Great wealth is hidden in the pages of God’s Book,
and our best interests are served by searching for them.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter (Prov. 25: 2)
I can truly say that no prospector is ever more delighted with the discovery of gold than I am to find nuggets
of spiritual truth in the Bible! Much as I like honey, its taste is never as sweet to me as the taste of the good
Word of God! No words can ever describe the enrichment and satisfaction I have found in my Bible.
This old book is my guide;
‘Tis a friend by my side.
It will lighten and brighten my way.
And each promise I find
Soothes and gladdens my mind
As I read it and heed it each day.
Edmund Pillifant
Incidentally, there is a beautiful touch in the expression “sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the
honeycomb.” The purest honey is that which drips from the comb rather than being pressed out.
19: 11 Morever, by them Your servant is warned. By the Scriptures the believer is taught to resist the
devil, flee from temptation, hate sin and avoid the very appearance of evil. In obeying the precepts of the
Word, the Christian finds true fulfillment in life. Spiritually, physically, and mentally he enjoys the good
life! On top of all this, he accumulates reward to be bestowed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. “Godliness is
profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come” (I Tim. 4: 8).
19: 12 But when we think of how holy, just and perfect the law of the Lord is, we realize what failures we
are, and we exclaim with David, “Who can understand his errors?” Barnes writes: In view of a law so
pure, so holy, so strict in its demands, and so extended in its requirements----asserting jurisdiction over the
thoughts, the words, and the whole life---who can recall the number of times he has departed from such a
law? A somewhat similar sentiment is found in Psalm 119: 96: “I have seen an end of all perfection; Thy
commandment is exceeding broad.”
As the Scriptures expose us to ourselves and convict us of sins we were previously unaware of, we are
prompted to pray for forgiveness from secret faults----faults hidden to ourselves and even to others but not
to God. Sin is sin, even if we are ignorant of it. So our confession should always cover hidden sins.
19: 13 But the Psalm teaches us to pray not only for cleansing from unknown sins, but for preservation from
presumptuous sins, that is, from sins that are born of pride and self-confidence. Pride was the parent sin of
the universe. It led to Lucifer’s original rebellion against God. More than anything else, the psalmist feared
the dominion of such presumptuous sins in his own life. If he can escape their dominion, he writes, he shall
be innocent of great transgressions----specifically the great transgression of departing from God and
revolting against Him.
19: 14 The eulogy is finished. David has extolled the book of creation and the book of revelation. Now he
lifts a parting prayer for his words and meditation to be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, his strength
(lit. “Roc”) and his Redeemer. When God is referred to as a rock, the figure is designed to express strength,
security, and salvation. As our Redeemer, God in Christ is the One who buys us back from sin, servitude,
and shame.
My closing comment: May this bless you and stimulate you too to ‘dig for these nuggets of gold’ in the
perfect and harmonious (in perfection) Word of God-----and may this bring you ‘closer to Him’ in devotion
and worship----and enlarge your vision of our God, our Creator! My constant thanks for the ‘illumination’
we can receive from those who have invested their lives in Him, and share that with us.
In Him,
Bill Watts