Psalm 19 (NRSV) The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances 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. But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
We live in a world that cannot be controlled. No one can really control the weather and no one can really control other people (nor our own selves!). The heavens are beyond our control.
Many scholars suggest that two separate psalms have been fitted together, one about the glory of God in the heavens and another about how God “intends” for us to live. But others, I think rightly, see that this psalm recognizes that God has established both the heavens and the earth and that He “built us” to be in harmony with both realms.
Most of us live around a lot of light, even at nighttime. There are some areas around the country designated somehow as “dark places,” where you can observe the sky without ambient light dimming the view. Kathy and I stopped once in central Iowa on the way to a wedding that I was performing and the sky just “thundered down” on us as we saw the stars of the Milky Way. The same sun and moon that Adam and Eve saw still shines on us. That glory and majesty scared the ancient peoples, who thought there were “gods” who had powers over the earth. Another psalm reminds the people that the sun would not strike by day, nor the moon by night. All was, and remained, in order in the heavenly realm and declared God’s glory.
On earth, the situation changed. When Adam and Eve left the relationship with God, the order that God built into living in a relationship with Him changed. Love became enmity, toward God, oneself, and others. We have to work hard at all the relationships that once were natural. They will be again, in eternity. But the fear of the Lord and the “right” way to live have been instilled in us and installed in us by the Spirit. Jesus’s death and resurrection has restored us, even if not perfectly, to desire to love and serve the Lord. We can detect in the description of the commandments that we are filled with joy, in our Lord, as we get a glimpse at the proper way life is intended to live. We confess our sins, hear the word of forgiveness, and go forth cleansed and empowered to serve. We pray that we may have peace in our life in Christ and that He guides us daily into this New Year.
Pastor Tom Trapp, Mission Pastor
Walking the Emmaus Road with the Risen Lord
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XVII, Number 6, January 2016)