This Psalm has the same subject as Psalms 119:1. Both of them are full of praise of God's Word. God has written two books for us to read,-the volume of the Creation and the volume of the Sacred Scriptures,-and these two are in complete harmony. Happy are they who can read both these books, and see the same vein of teaching running through every page.
Psalms 19:1. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The heavens are always declaring God's glory; if we gaze up to them by day or by night, we always read in them the power, the wisdom, the goodness, the greatness, the immutability of God.
Psalms 19:2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
If we have but ears to hear, and hearts to understand, how much of God may we see in that vast volume of nature which is spread out above us both by day and by night!
Psalms 19:3-4. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard, Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
All men must hear God's voice in nature if they are only willing to do so.
Paul wrote to the Romans, «The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;» so that those who will not see «are without excuse.»
Psalms 19:4-6. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a Strongman to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof:
The sun has his place, and keeps it, so let us keep ours. The sun is glorious in his goings forth,-«as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,»-glad himself, and making all things glad in his gladness; the whole world rejoices at the sight of the face of the sun. The sun is strong to go through his appointed orbit, and fulfill his ordained course. So may it be with us; may we not only have the gladness of our conversion, when we are «as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,» but may we have strength and grace to run the race set before us from the start to the finish The sun makes his influence felt wherever he goes: «there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.» So also may it be with us; may our influence be felt wherever we go! The sun is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sun of righteousness; but he is also a type of what every Christian should be, for «the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day; « and there should be nothing hid from the fervent heat of our Christian character. We ought so to serve God that our influence should be felt everywhere. May God give us more of his light and his heat that we may shine and burn to his glory!
Psalms 19:7-9. 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 for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Six sentences, according to the parallels of Hebrew poetry, all in praise of God's Word. Let us always regard this holy Book as the Word of Jehovah; let us never look upon the Bible as being on a level with other books. The Word of the Lord is our ultimate Court of Appeal; we accept its teaching as infallible, we obey its commands, we desire to reflect its purity.
«The law of the Lord is perfect.» Nothing may be taken from it, and nothing added to it, for it is perfect as it is. It is without admixture of error, and without adulteration of falsehood; and it proves its supernatural power by converting men from the error of their ways. What other book can convert the soul of man except so far as it contains Biblical truth?
«The commandment of the Lord is pure.» There is no other code of morals so pure as that revealed in the Bible. The gospel reflects glory on all the perfection's of God; and, therefore, it makes wise the simple. Poor simple-hearted folk, conscious of there own ignorance, come to this Book, and not only find wisdom in it, but are themselves made wise by it. It is also «sure» as well as « pure.» There is no question about its teaching; it is certainly true. If we learn only what is sure, we may be sure that we shall not have to unlearn it.
«The statutes of the Lord are right,» and they will set us right if we obey them. They will also rejoice our heart, for unrighteousness brings sorrow, sooner or later; but rightness in the end brings joy.
«The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.» There is a close connection between the eye and the heart. «Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.» Sin in the heart puts dust in the eye; we cannot see right unless we feel right.
«The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever.» When you come to know God, and the power of true religion in the form of holy, childlike fear, you never lose it, it is yours for ever. Time cannot destroy it, eternity will but develop it.
«The judgments of the Lord are true;» there is no alloy of falsehood here.
Whatever destructive criticism may be brought to bear upon it, no part of sacred Scripture will ever be destroyed:
«The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.»
Psalms 19:10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
Or, the very best gold. No riches can so enrich the mind and heart as the Word of God does. A man may have tons of gold, and yet be utterly miserable; but he who is pure in heart, he who hath God's Word and the love of it in his heart, is truly rich, however poor he may be in temporal things.
Psalms 19:10. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
As I read those six poetic lines in praise of the Word of God, I could not help thinking how the bees build their honeycombs in hexagons of six-sided combs, all full of honey. Such is this portion of the Word of God with its hexagons of commendation, every part of which is fall of sweetness to the true believer.
Psalms 19:11-12. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors.
While David is speaking of the Book that has no errors in it, he is reminded of his own errors; and they strike him as being so many that he cannot understand them. Every sin is really an error, a mistake, a blunder, as well as something a great deal worse. It is never a wise thing to do wrong. At the end of a book, we sometimes find that the printers insert a list of «Errata,»-errors made in the printing of the volume. Ah, me! we shall need to have a long list of «Errata» at the end of the volume of our lives. How many mistakes we have made! Augustine, in his «Confessions,» amended what he had written amiss in his previous books. The best of men need continually to confess their errors, but God's Book has no error in it from beginning to end.
Psalms 19:12. Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
«Cleanse me from the faults which I cannot see, and which no mortal man has ever seen. Thou, Lord, seest them; be pleased, therefore, to cleanse me from them.» This view of the omniscience of God is very comforting to the believer; because he perceives that, even if he cannot see his sin, so as to own it, and confess it, yet God can see it so as to forgive it, and cleanse it.
Psalms 19:13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;-
If we indulge in secret sins, we may gradually slide down an inclined plane until we come to presumptuous sins, sins committed willfully, sins known to be sins, daring. God-defying sins. Lord, keep me back from such sins as these! If others urge me to advance in this wrong direction, O Lord, do thou keep me back! «Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
Psalms 19:13. Let them not have dominion over me:
For, when a man once sins presumptuously, the tendency is for him to become a slave to that sin, it gets dominion over him. The worst slave-owner in the world is sin; and presumptuous sin is a tyrant with many a cruel whip in its hand.
Psalms 19:13. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
«That greatest transgression of all, that sin against the Holy Ghost which shall never be forgiven;-if I am kept from presumptuous sin, I shall never fall into that fatal pit.»
Psalms 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
David does not hope to be accepted till he has first of all been pardoned; but when the Lord has forgiven him, and sanctified him, then he comes with both mouth and heart to serve his God; and his prayer is that he may be acceptable in the sight of God, to whom he owes the strength to worship, and through whom he hopes to be accepted because he has a Redeemer: «O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.» May each one of us be thus acceptable in the sight of God, for Christ's sake! Amen.