Glory in the heavens and on earth, words. Psalm 19. Blog Through the Bible Project | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice^[b] 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.
⁵ It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
   like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
   and makes its circuit to the other;
   nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Does your life feel flat? Do you find it hard to glimpse the glory of God.

What is glory anyway? The glory of God?

Be quiet and still at night, and look up at the heavens. At its infinity, spreading everywhere you look.

See its changing moods, white as I write. Sometimes a glorious blue, sometimes dappled with clouds, red in the morning, rose turning to vermilion in the evening, the most glorious sapphire in the night. Sometimes a Giotto-blue.

The moon, floating in the wide expanses. The silent, eternal stars. “Le silence eternel de ces espaces infinis” as Pascal puts it.

The things God made speak of him without words in a way Francis of Assisi who is reputed to have said, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary use words,” would have approved of.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
   refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
   making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
   giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
   giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
   enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
   and all of them are righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
   than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
   than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹ By them your servant is warned;
   in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² But who can discern their own errors?
   Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
   may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
   innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

And now David moves to another glory of God: His revealed word. It refreshes the soul, makes wise the simple, brings joy to the heart, and helps one to see clearly.

As such, these words are more precious than much pure gold.

Wow. I come from a culture in which gold is treasured like, well, gold.

And the word of God is more precious than gold.

I have decided to make it more precious to me by increasing the time I spend with it. People who treasure gold and wealth–and the latter has some importance in my life–spend time earning it. So people who truly treasure God’s word as more precious than gold spend time with with it. As I have resolved to do.

It is also sweeter than honey. For much of my life, until the last few months really, I have been addicted to sweet things, chocolate in particular.

God’s word is sweeter than honey.

I am trying to remember to turn to God rather than to the blood sugar and energy rush of sugary things and chocolate when I need a spike in mood.

God’s word warns us of danger.

And there is great reward in obeying it. Reward from God who can more surely give us the best and surest rewards there are.

David asks forgiveness for his hidden faults, the sort of sins of which we may not be fully aware of at the time of commission, and for which we need a Nathan to announce to us, “You are the man.”

He also asks God to preserve him from wilful sins (as opposed to spur of the moment sin).

I love his concluding prayer,
   May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
   be pleasing in your sight,
   LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Okay, so here’s my challenge to myself, and my dear readers (and I am so honoured that you are reading along).

Do we truly believe that God’s word is more precious than gold, sweeter than honey, and provides great rewards to those who keep it.

Then, let’s look at our schedules, and see where we can carve out time to spend more time with it.