Listen here.
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!
Comments