God’s Revelation to Us (Psalm 19)

CONSIDER THIS

Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. Most recently, he served as the president of Asbury Theological Seminary among other posts he holds across the global church. She is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.

This psalm is a celebration of God’s revelation. The first part of the psalm celebrates God’s universal revelation to the entire human race. We sometimes call this “general” or “natural” revelation. This general revelation is mostly observed in the external witness of creation and the internal witness of our conscience. This psalm outlines the great sermon of the created order: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (v. 1). We don’t often think of creation as proclaiming, but the psalmist reminds us that “day after day” the creation “pour[s] forth speech” and “night after night” displays knowledge (v. 2). What is this sermon of nature? Nature is a daily declaration of the beauty, order, dependability, and power of God. We can learn much about the Creator by observing his creation. The fact that the sun comes up every day and shines down on the whole human race is a picture of God’s power and order shining down on all humanity.

The latter part of the psalm moves from general revelation to special revelation. This refers to revelation that is not known universally but has been revealed by God in specific acts in history. God revealed himself through prophets and through Holy Scripture: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (v. 7). The psalm reverberates with praise for God revealing his mighty acts through law, statutes, precepts, commands, and ordinances. This part of the psalm is a mini summary of that grand and majestic Psalm 119, which celebrates God’s law using eight distinctive words over and over in an intricate and nuanced act of praise.

It is also fascinating to notice how the psalmist interweaves the images of general and special revelation. When speaking of general revelation (vv. 1–6), he uses images that we normally associate with special revelation, such as speaking and the tent of meeting, which in these verses is now the proclaiming creation and the entire canopy of sky. When speaking of special revelation (vv. 7–14), he uses language we normally associate with the general revelation of nature, such as universal access and the radiance of the sun’s light (v. 8). This is a way of telling us not to separate out the beauty and majesty of nature from the revelation and self-disclosure of God. He has given both to us for our benefit and insight.

On a deeper level, this psalm ultimately points us to the triune God. This psalm is captivated by the singularity of God’s ineffable presence. This is the first psalm in the Psalter that contains no reference to enemies or the wicked (only twenty-five of the 150 can claim this). For Christians, this psalm draws us into the presence of the triune God. The Father is the Creator, and the voice of creation reflects his power, order, and majesty. The Son is the Redeemer, and he alone embodies the law of God so we could see firsthand what the righteous life actually looks like in real space and time. The Holy Spirit is the one who not only teaches us God’s truth but empowers us to conform our lives to it (v. 14). Paul teaches in Romans that “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). The triune God has spoken. He has spoken in creation. He has spoken in the law. He has spoken in Jesus Christ. His Holy Spirit now actively speaks in our lives, convicts us of sin, and whispers the truth of God’s revelations to the whole human race.

For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent

THE HYMN

Sing Psalm 19 with the Seedbed Psalter today. I suggest the tune LYONS (“O Worship the King”). You can hear the tune played online by Julie Tennent here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, I will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below. 

1   The heavens declare the glory of God;
The skies do proclaim the works of His hands.
2   For day after day their speech loudly pours forth,
And night after night knowledge rings out and stands.

3   Like language and speech throughout the whole world,
So there is no place their voice is not heard.
4   Their voice goes out unto the ends of the earth;
The whole world proclaiming His almighty word!

5   The sun from his tent in heaven above
comes forth like a bridegroom, mounting the sky.
It’s like a great champ-i-on running his course,
With joy as it travels its circuit on high!

6   It rises to shine from heaven’s far end;
Its circuit extends throughout the whole day.
There’s nothing on earth that can hide from its heat;
Great warmth is enjoyed by all under its sway.

7   The law of the Lord is perfect and sound,
For with it the soul is revived and crowned.
His statutes are trustworthy, making us wise;
8   His precepts are right and they make joy abound.

Commands of the Lord are radiant and bright;
They light up the eyes and bring us new sight.
9   The fear of the Lord is enduring and pure.
His laws and decrees are eternally right!

10   Most precious are they, more precious than gold,
And sweeter by far than sweet honeycomb.
11   By them is Your servant warned, and he is told,
“Rewards shall be yours in your heavenly home.”

12   O who can discern his errors and ways?
Forgive all my faults when from You I stray.
13   And keep me from willful, habitual sin;
Then I will be blameless of great transgression.

14   May words of my mouth and thoughts of my heart
be pleasing to You and clean in Your sight.
O Lord, You’re my Rock in the day and the night,
And my true Redeemer in whom I delight.

P.S. LAST CALL!!

There’s still time to register for our How to Keep a Word and Spirit Journal workshop coming Monday evening, August 26. Link here. 

P.P. S. GET YOUR EXODUS JOURNAL

There’s still time to order and get your Exodus Journal for the upcoming Wake-Up Call series. Use the Code SOWEXODUS and we will send you two for the price of one. Invite a new sower to join us for the series. Link here. 

P.P.P.S. Get the Resources

If you would like to have the meditations and the metrical psalter in a beautiful two-volume set—which I highly recommend— you can order those through the Seedbed store.