March 3 - Psalm 19

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Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me today.

The psalm for this week, Psalm 19, explores God’s wisdom, power and authority. It speaks of Him as the Creator of all things, and declares the benefits of His Law.

The Reading: Psalm 19
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
 2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
 3 There is no speech,
nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
            5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
 8 the precepts 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 rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
 12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and 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 rock and my redeemer.

Comments:
Throughout the Scriptures the thing that makes God, God over every other god is that He alone is the Creator. Some gods might have been seen as gods of the storm, of fertility, of the sea, or even of destruction, but only the God of the Old Testament created the storm, invented fertility, established the sea, and creates all things from nothing. This is important for us today, and we must continue to hold on to this basic belief that God created all things even as some claim that all of this came about purely by natural occurrences without God’s Word.

When we see Creation, we see God’s handiwork, His skill, His artistry, and it proclaims His glory and identifies Him as the one true God.

God also reveals Himself to us in His Word. In this psalm, and in many of the psalms, it talks about God’s law, testimony, precepts, commands and rules. This is more than just some list of demands that God places on His people. The word we translate law in verse 7 comes from the verb to teach; it is the full counsel of God and includes the good news of God’s mercy, loving kindness, and faithfulness. These are all communicated to us through the Word.

So this psalm draws us to look at our relationship with our Creator who also reveals Himself to us as the life giver, the source of wisdom, one who blesses us with joy, and gives us blessedly sweet words. In other words, this relationship begins in God’s grace, and then in verse 11 we are reminded that God’s Word contains warnings as well.

I would encourage you to meditate on this psalm thinking about God as your Creator who wants you to know Him as the one who makes your life good by His blessings and His Word, so that in the end your prayer would align with David’s, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”


The Reading: Psalm 19
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
 2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
 3 There is no speech,
nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
            5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
 8 the precepts 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 rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
 12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and 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 rock and my redeemer.

Prayers:
O Lord God, the Creation and Your Word show us Your glory and majesty. We thank You for making Yourself known to us so that we might rejoice in Your deeds and in Your Word. Forgive us, Lord, for our doubts and confusion about who You are as our Creator and Redeemer. Be our rock, our solid foundation, our place of surety and protection, and keep us always in Your ways. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Memory Verse:
Joel 2:13 - Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)

Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of the day.

I want to remind you to be prayerfully and thoughtfully generous in the giving of alms during this Advent season. Pray that God open your eyes, your heart, and your hand to help others in need.

Another devotional habit we can use to help us meditate on God’s word is memorization.

Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.


God bless you!

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