Psalm 19:1,7. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handywork. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure making wise the simple.”
Throughout the Bible, God reveals Himself to us. In the prophets God speaks to the people through the prophets. “Thus saith the Lord” is the prophet’s declaration. But in the Psalms we find man in the midst of all sorts of problems reaching out to God.
The Psalmist is often discouraged, depressed, disappointed, oppressed and the like. He reaches out to God in the midst of his frustrations, illnesses, and problems, and God is there. Rather than this being a prophetic “This saith the Lord” it is more of our identifying with the Psalmist in all the difficulties and problems and realizing that God has a word for every situation. Nothing we face surprises God. In the Psalms we find help for our every day lives.
The first six verses are about natural revelation. We can look into the created world and see God. Only a fool does not see God in nature. Two times in Psalms, the psalmist says, “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”. ( Ps.14:1;53:1) Only the fool looks at this world and thinks it merely happened by some cosmic explosion, or that something came out of nothing. The first portion of the psalm reminds us of the great revelation of God we find in natural creation.
Then in verse 7 we have an interesting contrast. “The law of the Lord is perfect…” The natural revelation of God in the world is great, but the special revelation of God in His Word is perfect. Simon Peter declared, “For we have not followed cunning devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” ( 2 Peter 1:16).
What could be more sure than what we see with our own eyes? “We have also a more sure word of prophecy…” ( 2 Peter 2:19) Peter is speaking of the Word of God. It is more accurate, more to be trusted, more perfect than even our experience. We must measure our experiences by the Word of God. We measure truth by the Word of God, not by what we perceive truth to be. The more perfect, more sure word is the Word of God.
The phrase, “law of God”, refers to the revealed Word of God. It certainly includes all the books of the Bible that were then in the psalmist hands and would include today all the books of the New Testament.
Here is how God’s Word works. The Purpose of God’s Word is to help us know ourselves. “Who can understand his errors?” Who of us really understands himself? Who of us really understands why we do what we do? Who of us really comprehends what we are like inside? Who of us has done things and not wondered why we did them? Who of us has not discovered secret faults in his life? The work of God through His Word is to detect and to remove error in our lives. The Word of God works in us to help us know ourselves better.
This psalm is a call to our hearts to see God in the created universe. Every wonder in this beautiful world is a reminder of the glory and majesty of God. Beyond the clear revelation of God’s world is the perfect revelation of God’s Word. This ought to cause us to love God’s Word and seek to plant it in our hearts and lives. As we do that, God’s work will be manifest in our lives, and our hearts will burst forth in His praise.
“The Word Of God Is Perfect, Converting The Soul: The Testimony Of The LORD Is Sure, Making Wise The Simple”. (Ps. 19:7)
Pastor Paul Okonkwo
Independent Baptist Bible Church (IBBC),
New Haven,
Enugu
