“Psa. 19:0     TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

Psa. 19:1       The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

²           Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

³           There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

⁴           Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵           which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

⁶           Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psa. 19:7       The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving 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 rules of the LORD are true,

and righteous altogether.

¹⁰         More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹         Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

Psa. 19:12     Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

¹³         Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Psa. 19:14     Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”  (English Standard Version)

According the psalmist, God speaks in two ways: in God’s creation and in God’s Law.  In lyrical language, the poet speaks of the silent speech that all creation pours out.

The sun will be coming up shortly.  The psalmist saw the same sun that I will soon see, and he compared it to a young bridegroom, coming out to run a race.  (Were newly married young men in his days showing off to impress their brides with how fast and powerful they were?  Maybe human nature has not changed as much as we might think.)

But then, in verse 7, the psalmist makes a hard right turn.  He begins to talk about another language that God speaks, the language of law.

Most of us don’t like the word “law.”  We think of it as boring at best, and as positively confining at worst.  And human laws, even at their best, may be both boring and confining.

However, the psalmist seems to respond rather differently to God’s law.  It is perfect, refreshes, is trustworthy, makes us wise, is right and brings joy (yes, joy!).  It gives light to the eyes and is firm forever.  The decrees of the LORD are more precious than gold, and sweeter than the sweetest thing imaginable.  There is not simply great reward for keeping God’s commandments.  There is great reward in keeping them.  The deed done in faith and obedience is its own reward.

What window was this psalmist looking out of, anyway!?!  Is it really the case, is it even possible, that what God says is this wonderful?

I have to confess that, most of the time, this is not my own perception.  I’m ashamed to admit that, but there it is.

Perhaps my problem is that I haven’t kept reading.  Maybe I stopped with verse 11.

In verses 12-13, the psalmist adopts a more somber tone.  He worries about his own errors.  Is he really listening to this wonderful creation and the LORD’s wonderful word, or are hidden errors or blatant sins causing hearing loss?

None of us knows what we don’t know.  Perhaps none of us even wants to know what we don’t know.  I know enough of my own hidden errors and willful sins to not want to know any more.

I have often heard people ask, “Does God still speak?”  Someone has responded to this question with a counter-question: “The question isn’t whether God still speaks.  The question is, are we listening?”  And I will have ears to hear, only if I am aware of my own unawareness, and if I have a heart to at least desire to obey.