Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 3-135 Sunday 03 Aug 2003

Psalms on Sundays Reading: Psalm 19 – THE DELIGHTS OF GOD’S LAW

Close your eyes and imagine your favourite view. Praise God for the awesome wonder of his creation.

Psalm 19 is a poem of two halves. What connects them is the idea of regularities in God’s creation. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’; the example given of how they do this is the regularity of the sun’s motion. Today we call these regularities ‘laws of nature’. These physical laws have a counterpart in the moral and spiritual realm. There are moral laws, which God uses to guide us. They don’t operate in the ‘automatic’ way that the physical laws do, but in the end we will ‘sow what we reap'(Gal 6:7)

‘Law’ is not popular today. It is seen as restrictive, a necessary evil to be ignored when inconvenient. Christians can transfer this attitude to the Law of Moses, and so be surprised by the positive attitude to the Law found in the Psalms. Here the psalmist delights in the Law because it is ‘trustworthy’ (v 7b) and ‘sure’ (v 9b). Both words express the idea of stability. The Law gives a firm basis for life in God’s world. The Law is ‘perfect’ (v 7a), ‘right’ (v 8a) and ‘pure’ (v 9a). For Israel, it proscribed evils that were commonplace among their neighbours, such as child sacrifice, exploitation of the poor and ritual prostitution.

The Law makes the simple wise (v 7d). It expresses God’s character, and so studying it is a means of getting to know God better. Keeping it has a ‘reward’ (v 11b). In the Old Testament keeping the Law is not the means of salvation but it is the way to enjoy the blessings of salvation. Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as he loved us.(John 13:34; 15:12) Such love fulfils the Law.(Rom 13:10) Shouldn’t we delight in this law?

Preachers often use verse 14 as a prayer. All Christians would do well to use verse 13 in the same way. Why not incorporate it in your devotions today?

– Ernest Lucas

Copyright Scripture Union, 2003, Encounter with God

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