The Glory of God – Psalm 19

 “To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:1-6

Francis Bacon wrote, “God has, in fact, written two books, not just one. Of course, we are all familiar with the first book He wrote, namely Scripture. But He has written a second book called creation.” [1]

Sun, moon, stars, sky, land, sea, trees, grass, rocks, birds, fish, animals convey knowledge to us about our Creator. Your image and mine created in His image speak to us about Him. His wisdom is embodied in each tangible handiwork.

“Thank You Heavenly Father for speaking to us via the visible wonders You have created.”

God’s creation serves not only to show the folly of atheists, who see there is a heaven and yet say, ‘There is no God,’ who see the effect and yet say, ‘There is no cause,’ but to show the folly of idolaters also, and the vanity of their imagination, who, though the heavens declare the glory of God, yet they give that glory to things made with human hands. [2]

All created things had a beginning. They could not make themselves. They could not be produced by a casual hit of atoms, that is an absurdity. They had a Creator. They are God’s works. The works of His fingers as Psalms 8:3 proclaims. They declare His glory. [3]

God is not limited by time, space of matter as we are. Time, space and matter are called a continuum. All of them must come into existence at the same instant. Because if there were matter but no space, where would you put it? If there were matter and space but no time, when would you put it? You cannot have time, space or matter independently. They have to come into existence simultaneously. Genesis 1:1 tells in ten words how God began creation: “In the beginning” [there’s time], “God created the heaven” [there’s space], “and the earth” [there’s matter]. So, you have a trinity of time, space, matter with each of these also containing a trinity. Time is past, present and future. Space is length, width and height. Matter is solid, liquid and gas. The Triune God created the basic elements of the universe in trinitarian formation. [4]

The statement that describes God’s essence to us is recorded in 1 John 4:8, this verse says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” “God is love.” John repeats this truth in 1 John 4:16, “We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Seek for love in this world, and you will be continuously disappointed until you find God, for love is from God.

The word for “love” in the New Testament is agape. Agape is an unconditional love, meaning to love when love is not reciprocated. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus urged people to love their enemies. In Romans 5:6-8, Paul differentiates between natural and divine love, writing, that God demonstrated His love for people by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners. We had nothing to offer God, but He had a great gift of grace to offer us... the gift of love.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, God defines what love is. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” It is after we have experienced God’s love, that we are able to give His love to others. In Acts 20:35, Paul quoted Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Once, a person is born again and made anew by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. He or she wants to love people as God loves people... finding great delight in showing His love to people.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus had a new command for the people of God. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Divine love is from above. The world is starving for the Father’s love. God has called us by His Word and Spirit to express it.

“Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.” God preserves this established order without variation, according to His covenant with Noah in Genesis 8:22. The counterchanging of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great display of the power of God. The sunrise and sunset circuit are so consistent that we can foretell the hour and the minute at which the sun will rise at such a place. As the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night. Every day and every night speak of the goodness of God. [5]

God’s Word compares the sun to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, richly dressed and adorned. He rejoices as a strong man to run a race. In Matthew 9:15, 25:1-6, Ephesians 5:25-30, Revelation 19:7-9, Jesus Christ is referred to as the Bridegroom who returns for His Bride the Church. His presence lights up her life. His seeming absence due to her sin leaves her in a dark place. The consistency with which the sun returns each day is a reminder that her Bridegroom shall faithfully return for her just as He promised that He would. When Jesus Christ returns, He will be mighty and all victorious.

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. In Romans 10:18, Paul used this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with him and others for preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already made himself known to them by the works of creation. In Romans 1:20, Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” All people may hear these natural immortal “preachers” speak to them in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. [6]

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11

The Law of the Lord is perfect. It does not need to be revised or amended. The Law converts the soul by revealing the soul’s depravity and by pointing us to the Gospel where we learn of our Redeemer’s love and forgiveness of sinners.

The testimony of the Lord is truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “God’s Law is called a testimony because it witnesses to what God requires of people, and what upon the performance of that condition, God will do for people.” [7] God’s testimony yields wisdom. In John 8:32, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” How can anyone make good decisions based on deceptive intelligence? They cannot.

In this corrupt world, reporters get paid for portraying news in a particular fashion whether it is based on truth or not. Thus, it is nearly impossible for listeners to discern if they are being fed facts or propaganda of a particular consortium of con artists.

The testimony of the Lord is sure. He does not lie or deceive. The testimony of the Lord makes us wise unto salvation. In 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “From a child you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ...that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Do you want to rejoice? Learn and hold to the statutes of the Lord. The statutes of the Lord are right, and, because they are right, they rejoice the heart. When the Law is written in our hearts, it lays a foundation for everlasting joy, by restoring us to our right mind.

Do you want your lights turned on? Embrace the commandments of the Lord. Don’t be a rebel. Lucifer was a rebel and he ended up becoming a devil. His future home is the Lake of Fire. The commandment of the Lord is pure. There is no darkness, no dross and no defilement in it.

The fear of the Lord is clean and makes us clean. In John 15:3, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.” The disciples walked with Jesus due to their awe of Him. He cleansed their hearts and minds from sin by His words.

The Lord’s judgments are true and righteous. In the Hebrew Scripture, judgments were primarily something done FOR people. God heard a cry for justice and brought justice about.

The Law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandments, the fear of the Lord and the judgments of the Lord warn us so we avoid harm. They keep us in the way of eternally rich rewards. They are more fulfilling and meaningful than gold and sweet treats.

In each of the six statements of Psalms 19:7-9, the phrase “of the Lord” is repeated. The Law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandments, the fear and the judgments are weighty because they are of the Lord who made heaven and earth. The angels in heaven live by them. One day, the Lord will judge the world in righteousness by them. [8]

God’s people prefer God’s Word over the world’s wealth. Gold is earthly. Grace is heavenly. Gold is temporal. Grace is eternal. [9]

God warns His servants by His Word. He warns us of our duties toward Him, of the dangers we are to avoid, and the day of judgment for which we must prepare. In Ezekiel 3:17, 33:7, He warns the wicked not to go on in his wicked way and warns the righteous not to turn from his good way. The wise do receive and act on His warnings. [10]

“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:12-14

Who can understand his errors? God’s Law describes errors. Every transgression of God’s commandment is an error. An error is a deviation from God’s rules by which we were to live. By the Law, says David in Psalm 40:12, he learned that his sins were more than the hairs on his head. Unable to the perceive the number of his sins, he cried out to the Lord to cleanse him from secret faults. Those faults which were hidden from his self-observation. Secret sins render us unfit for communion with God. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” [11] That’s a scary thought! Imagine being in danger and crying out to God and being ignored!

1 John 1:7-10 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” God is ready to forgive and cleanse our record of sins, but we must be willing to acknowledge them, confess and seek His forgiveness.

When God forgives our sins, those sins are purged from our record forever.

David asked the Lord to keep him back from presumptuous sins. “Let them not have dominion over me.” David did not want to be enslaved or addicted to any particular sin. Sins against Holy Spirit convictions and admonitions from God’s Word begin to numb the conscience and harden the heart. “God, please keep us from temptation and deliver us from this evil in this regard... either by Your providence preventing the temptation or by Your grace giving us victory over it.”

If we favor our sins, we cannot expect God should favor us or our services. David’s services unto God were the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart. His holy affections offered up to God! [12]

May the godly meditations of our hearts be expressed with words from our mouth for God’s glory and the edification of others. [13]

What was David’s main care concerning his services unto God? That they might be acceptable with God. If our services be not acceptable to God, what do they avail for us? [14]



[1] Enduring Word Commentary
[2] Matthew Henry Commentary (revised wording for simplicity)
[3] Ibid
[4] @highlightTruth
[5] Matthew Henry Commentary (revised wording for simplicity)
[6] Ibid
[7] John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
[8] Matthew Henry Commentary (revised wording for simplicity)
[9] Ibid
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid
[14] Ibid