To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
Comments by Dennis Edwards
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament (the expanse of heaven) shows His handiwork (the work of His hands).
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line (or sound or activity) has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
Abraham Lincoln commented, “I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.” Emmanuel Kant the German Philosopher (1724-1804) wrote, “Two things fill my mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more seriously I reflect and concentrate upon them: the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me.”
Apostle Paul wrote, “For 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 they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20.
In the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job, we find Job saying, “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who know not in all these that the hand of the Lord has wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”
In other words, Job is saying, go study the animal kingdom and they will teach you, or the birds and they will tell you, or in your study of geology, it shall teach you, or in your study of the fish of the sea, they shall declare unto you: that it is God’s hand that created all things and it is His hand that keeps both man and animal alive. Like we read in the psalm, “Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves,” Psalm 100:3a.
Apostle Paul in his defence to the Athenians explains who the “Unknown God” they worship is. “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing He gives to all life, and breath, and all things. And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being,” Acts 17:24-28a.
In Them He has set a tabernacle (tent or habitation) for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Isaac Newton was another one whose meditating on the heavenly spheres came to the following conclusion: “Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.”
God has given us ample reason to believe. Our study of science should bring us to God, not away from Him. Rocket scientist Wernher von Braum said, “My experiences with science led me to God. They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun?”
Even Einstein, though not a Theist, came to the same conclusion: "the laws of nature manifest the existence of a spirit vastly superior to that of men, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble."
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
In the book of Hebrews we find, “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s word gives us discernment and helps us decipher truth from falsehood.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
It's knowing and following God’s word that enlightens our minds. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path, Psalm 119:105. Apostle Paul tells us that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not,” 2 Corinthians 4:4a. Believing in God’s word enlightens our minds. Rejecting God’s word causes us to be blind. Saint Augustine therefore reasoned that we should seek to believe that we might properly understand, rather than seeking to understand to believe. Belief in God enlightens our understanding so that we can understand properly. Without God as our initial assumption our reasoning is futile. Like the Scripture teaches, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” Proverbs 1:7a.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Even God’s judgments must be seen as blessings. The Lord says that they are sweeter than honey and more to be desired than gold. Whatever God allows in our lives must be seen through the lenses of Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” If we filter all our life experiences through the sieve of these two verses, we will prohibit bitterness and negativity from entering our lives and we will maintain a right relationship with God and with others.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
We cannot really understand all our errors. Our pride causes us to be blind to many of our own mistakes. We must ask God to cleanse us from and help us get victory over our secret sins. The enemy wants to use those secret sins as a way to make a hole in our spiritual dike, so that he can flood into our lives with his lies and destroy our faith and testimony for God. Don’t play with secret sins. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Ask for prayer. One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousands to flight, Deuteronomy 32:30.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Presumptuous sins are sins of pride. The Bible says that the root of all sin is pride. It’s our rebellion against God, our pride, that cause us to sin and do it our way. As a result, we become “bloody, but unbowed.” We end up in bitterness and far from God.
Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression, or in the KJV “from the great transgression.”
The great transgression is unbelief or disbelief. For God has given us ample reasons to believe, but men have “suppressed the truth in unrighteousness,” Romans 1:18b. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were they thankful: but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” Romans 1:21-22.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) in his philosophical thoughts Pensées wrote, “[God] has willed to make Himself quite recognisable by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition”
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength (or rock) and my Redeemer.
May our words and thoughts be of our Redeemer who has given us victory over evil. He is our strength, our rock and by Him we can do all things and have victory over the enemy. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world,” 1 John 4:4. “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13.
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