Photo by Jordan Wozniak on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
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 has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle 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.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
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.
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.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
David was on top of his game when he wrote this Psalm. My Bible calls it the perfect revelation of God. While many of David’s psalms are prayers and poems, this one is a song. Of all the distinct types of literature, songs and then poems, are the easiest to memorize. This one definitely falls into that category; a song that should remain on our lips.
The first two stanzas praise God as creator of the universe and all that is in it. He used poetic language to talk about the sun’s movement. Even today we talk about sunrise and sunset as if this is something the sun does. However, even in David’s day, Israel knew the earth rotated around the sun. Job, the oldest book in the Bible describes God’s handiwork in Chapter 26.
The third stanza reflects on the attributes of God’s Word and the Law in verses seven and eight. Nine through eleven focus on the rewards of obeying God’s law. The law commands us to fear the Lord. However, if we are God’s children this isn’t fear as if God wants our harm, but reverential awe of His might and provision for us. And, as we learned in the study of Psalm 8, those who aren’t God’s children do have a reason to fear the judgment of God if they do not repent.
After recounting the majesty of God and His law, David asks for forgiveness of any sin, whether he knows about it or not. The accidental, thoughtless, and forgotten sins that we haven’t asked God to forgive are covered by David’s prayer in Stanza four. We all need to pray this prayer from time to time, after all the Bible tells us if we don’t ask, we don’t receive.
The final chorus is a verse many people and churches close their prayers with. This might be the most famous prayer closing other than a simple amen.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
