Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thanks for joining Part 4, the last of Psalm Summer 2025, to study Psalm 19, a favorite of mine. Before we begin, let’s review the summer series. On June 29, Part 1 - Vol. 274, featured three popular Psalms 23, 91, and 27. Part 2 on July 6 was Vol. 275 with Psalms 46, 121, and 139. Last week was Vol. 281 when we discussed Psalm 63.
For newcomers, I repeat an overview of why Psalms are meaningful and essential:
“Psalms are a collection of prayers, lamentations, songs, and poetry. Often, Catholic masses and other Christian worship services include Psalm verses.
“The beauty of the Psalms lies in their ability to express a wide range of human emotions, experiences, and situations, all of which point to God. The recurring themes include praising, glorifying, thanking, and fearing Him. Additionally, trust or a lack of trust in Him is often present, along with talking to or praying to God and asking for His help.
“When reading the Psalms, you understand that He is omnipresent and wants you to draw near to Him. Psalms are forever relatable, which is why they are the most frequently read book in the Bible.”
Psalm 19 begins with a subtitle, “For the director of music. A psalm of David.” As do so many others, I recite the first verse when experiencing God’s awesome power on display in the sky during a sunrise or sunset.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
For some reason, that verse penetrates my soul. Is it just me? David was struck by the same beauty. Think about that for a moment. Millennia later, we are looking at the same sky that David saw, and through Psalm 19, we share David’s love of God’s creation as the “heavens declare” His glory.
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Continuing about the wonder of the sky, David wrote:
“Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice 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.”
We see God’s majesty in the world He created. The heavens may be silent, but unlike language barriers, there are no barriers for universal understanding of The Power who built that “tent for the sun.”
In verses 5-6, David describes the movement of the sun as an example of God's orderly design. Such an order can make the case for the existence of God, a natural order that could not happen by accident or coincidence. Today, that order is often referred to as “intelligent design” for those who are reluctant to directly credit God:
“It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”
In verses 7-8, David shifts his thoughts from God in nature to the nature of God —His authority over humanity, His special creation, as revealed in Scripture. (That would be the Hebrew Bible books written before the Psalms.) In the following verses, David describes God through His law, His statutes, His precepts, His commands:
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Then David warns about God’s power if unleashed on those who disobey His laws and orders that David just described:
“The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
David knows that God’s law is perfect and must not be a burden. He calls the Lord’s decrees “sweeter than honey.” David writes that God’s laws carry both a warning and a reward to those who keep them.
After describing God’s natural creations that reveal His glory and majesty beyond human understanding, and the laws He established for us to honor and obey Him, David gets personal, admitting his human weaknesses and sinful temptations. One of David’s many literary gifts is writing about all aspects of God’s greatness in relation to his personal struggles and frailty:
“But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”
Finally, David ends with what is a popular prayer that worship leaders often use before or after a sermon or lessons:
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
David is trying to reconcile the nature of God, His power of creation, and His laws with a desire to do what is right and pleasing to Him — knowing that sin will always be present. However, David will continue to try with his words and what is in his heart to please God since he knows that God is his rock and redeemer.
That final verse is a hopeful conclusion to the Psalm, which is a model of spiritual devotion. It takes a prayerful reader on a journey through nature, law, sin, and forgiveness, with a desire to please God out of love for Him and who He is. Those are all the reasons I chose the brief but beautiful Psalm 19 to end Psalm summer.
God willing, we will continue next summer! Amen!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible" reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” reprints Vols. 57 –113. Order it here.
She is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. You can join our new effort in Orlando, Florida. Contact: <Myraadams01@gmail.com>
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