Psalm 19: God's Law

Last week I focused on verses 1-4 of this month's memory chapter, Psalm 19. This week, I'd like to hone in on verses 7-11. I know I'm skipping over verses 5 & 6, but I think those fall better under the last week's theme.

Verses 7-11:

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts 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 rules of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and
drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is Your servant warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

As we can see, David has shifted from talking about the speech of the heavens to the Law of the Lord. This may seem like a bit of a non-sequitur, and at first glance it can be a little disorienting. However, in thinking on these verses over the last week or so, I've come to see that it's really not much of a jump at all. More of a hop, really.

As you may remember, in the first six verses, David tells of how the heavens and the sun praise God and proclaim His glory to all of creation. Their voice goes out through all of the earth; everyone is able to hear their unceasing declarations. But these wonders of God are not the only things that speak of His awesome works.

Like the heavens, God has given us commandments, precepts, rules, etc. that tell about Him and who He is. These are His words, His law. We are able to read these holy words in the Bible. And all of these words speak of God, of His works and His character. So, it is natural that David would go from describing the heavens' proclamation to the law of God.

But David doesn't just compare the law of the Lord with the heavens and set them on equal ground. No, the way that he speaks about God's written words to us is contrasted with the heavens. Unlike the words of the skies above, these words (can) have a direct effect on us. 

God's words in Scripture rejoice the heart, revive the soul, enlighten the eyes, and so on. These words are sure and right and pure and more desired than fine gold or honeycomb. Because of these things, these words are even better than what we can learn about God in creation (as glorious as that is). Moreover, these words are superior because through them we can find salvation:

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

Praise God for His word!