Revive My Soul!

 

Psalm 19

 



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 display knowledge.
³ There is no speech or language
    where their voice is not heard.
⁴  Their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun,
⁵     which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
    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 hidden from its heat.

 

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving 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 ordinances of the Lord are sure,
    and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the comb.
¹¹ By them Your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his 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 the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in Your sight,
   O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

This Psalm has constantly been finding its way into my thoughts for quite a few weeks!

I love the way the psalmist (David) starts by acknowledging God's work of creation, which teaches us so much about Him. God loves beauty and variety, His creative ability is infinite! All of creation points us to a Higher Power, and He is revealed to man by what is seen as we look at our world, as we look up at the sky. For me, the more I learn about the great universe we live in, the more I am in awe of the One who made it all. I believe that God made it all in such a wondrous way, well, because that's who He is; that's what He is like! Creation is intended to point us to our great God, and it should bring us to a point of praise and worship of Him, like is expressed in this Psalm. I think of the verse in Romans 1:20, where it says:

 

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities

- His eternal power and divine nature -

have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,

so that men are without excuse."

As the psalmist goes on in his beautiful prayer of worship, he gives us a neat picture of the sun. In so many ways, the sun reminds me of the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great bridegroom, and one day He will come forth to sweep His bride (every true believer) away to our forever home in Heaven. Nothing can escape His heat... Jesus shines His light on our hearts, which, before Him, are as dark as night because of our sin. When we truly come before Him with hearts that are humbled, hearts that are aware of His perfect righteousness, we become very aware of our sin and how it separates us from His glory. We become aware that without Him, we are helpless, just like our planet would be helpless without the warmth and light of the sun. We realize our total need for Jesus to come and deliver us, to cleanse us. A different version uses this wording at the end of verse 6: "...nothing is deprived of its warmth." I am so thankful that there is not a person that would be rejected by the Lord, no one who would be denied the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. God's grace to mankind, His gift of restoring us through Jesus Christ, is for everyone! Here are some verses that show this: John 1:12, and Romans 3:22:

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name,

He gave the right to become children of God."



"This righteousness from God comes through

faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."

I think of the sun, every day, doing what God made it to do, "...like a champion rejoicing to run his course." I want to be like that. God has made me for a purpose also, and every day when I wake up, as I go through the day that the Lord has given me, I would wish that I would rejoice as I run the course that He has marked out for me! I think of the motivating verses in Hebrews 12:1-3, quoting the part that I'm reminded of:

"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith..."  

 

Verses 7-11 of this Psalm remind me so much of Psalm 119. Years ago, as a teenager, I set out to memorize this 'longest chapter of the Bible', and though it remains on my list of unfinished items :), I learned a lot as I meditated on what I did memorize! The whole psalm seemed to have a theme of declaring love for the Word of God. The writer sought the wisdom that God's Word brought him, loving it more than anything this world could offer, he was committed to walking in the ways of the Lord as the Scriptures revealed it to him... This psalm also, shows such a deep love for God's Word! From this section of verses in Psalm 19, here are some things that the Word of God is:

 

Perfect

Trustworthy

Right

Radiant

Pure

Sure

Righteous

Precious

Sweet



 

Here are some of the things that searching the Word of God will do in a believer's life:

 

It will revive our soul!

It will make us wise!

It will bring joy to our hearts!

It will give light to our eyes!

It will endure forever!

Living by it will bring great reward!

 



Hebrews 4:12 says:

"For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,

joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

 

As I think about the last few verses of Psalm 19, I see this very thing happening in David's heart as he prays. He has spent time worshipping God, and he has seen the Word of God do two things - it has revealed God's character, His splendor, and it has shown David his own heart. He is humbled before his God, knowing that he isn't worthy. But... God's great love is evident in the way He reveals Himself to David. It is evident in the blessings that He gives as we submit to following Him. We are unworthy, but praise God, He has made a way!!! The way is revealed to us fully now, as we read through the New Testament - the way is Jesus Christ! John 14:6 says:

 

Jesus answered, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.

No one comes to the Father except through ME."



David longed to give God his whole heart. He wanted to be pure from sin, which separates a person from a close relationship with God. He cried out, "Forgive my hidden faults", and asked the Lord to keep him from willful sins. He didn't want sin to rule over him. David's deep desire was to be pure and blameless before God, to be innocent of sin and transgressions.
 

Today, I cry out to God in the words of the psalmist. My life and my actions, like David's, are not always pure and perfect. I stumble and fall over and over again, as I try to walk in my own strength. I cannot accomplish on my own, what my heart desires. I live in a fallen world where, for now, sin constantly struggles to reign over me. But I hold on to what Jesus accomplished for me, when He died on the cross for my sin. He took my sin from me, and not only mine, and yours, but the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). He offered me His gift of righteousness. I gladly accept it, for it is the best gift I have ever been offered. Eternal Life, instead of what I deserve! As I think about all of this, I pray the closing words of Psalm 19 once more:

 

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord,

my Rock and my Redeemer!"