By Stacey D. Wheeler
Do you want to find inner healing? Do you crave peace and joy?
Praying through Psalm 19 as a daily practice can lead to healing in your emotions and thought life.
Changing your thoughts will always lead to a change in your actions.
Have you ever experienced a dark night of the soul? A broken heart? Depression or fear? Most of us have.
Life decisions, yours or somebody else’s, can affect you and leave a scar and a mark on your life, affecting everything you experience now. But there is great hope that you can recover and be restored!
Why do some people seem to live a life full of miracles, favor, and blessings, when others don’t? Look at what they THINK about. Look at what they DWELL on in life. Maybe they are like David who constantly turned to God and regulated his thought life to dwell on scripture and God’s laws.
Psalm 19 ends with a famous verse:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer” (AMPC).
Many of us have memorized this verse. It is great as a stand-alone thought, but I actually think that “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart” are referring to the previous 13 verses in Psalm 19.
How can we learn to pray like David did and find favor like David did?
Last December, I felt God gave me a teaching, a revelation of sorts, concerning the concepts in Psalm 19, so I wrote down my thoughts and turned them into this blog.
Some of the revelation came through my background with English, and I attempt to explain those ideas and how they might affect our understanding of this particular scripture and the healing and freedom we can discover as we learn to meditate and pray like David.
This is a detailed blog, full of truth and meat. Grab a cup of coffee and take some time to read through this and allow your heart and mind to open up to what God might say to you.
Miracles can happen in an instant; healing usually happens over time.
God can do both, but our healing usually happens as we choose to seek God from day to day, from glory to glory.
So after you learn HOW to meditate, continue to pray through Psalm 19: and keep praying it!
To do this teaching justice, it will be the most helpful for you to read through Psalm 19 before diving into this blog, but you can just follow along as I go through it, too.
You will find the entirety of Psalm 19 at the end: it is only 14 verses.
Let’s get started!
I’ve separated this Psalm into FIVE SECTIONS:
Consider the first six verses in Section One:
Psalm 19: 1-6 (NIV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The first section of this psalm, these six verses, introduce the psalm, and there is a clear beginning and ending to the introduction. Like an appetizer, they are preparing David’s heart as he magnifies the Lord by dwelling on nature.
The skies and heavens are the focal point of this introduction. It starts in verse one by pointing out the beauty of the heavens and ends in verse six with the sun making a circuit around the earth to provide warmth, with the sun included as an aspect of the heavens.
David begins his day by entering the gates of the Lord with wonder and praise in his heart for God’s creation of the skies.
One of the ways we can praise is by pointing out to God the amazing glory and beauty of his creation and the work of his hands in the earth and how it blesses us.
We become aware of it and spend some time reflecting on it.
Don’t you think it pleases God to hear you reflect on his creation?
We point it out to God and ponder on it as we enter into our time of prayer.
We reflect and enter into a state of being aware and awestruck at God’s brilliance. We tell him how brilliant he is, how beautiful his creations.
His ways are higher than our ways.
His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. We acknowledge this to God.
As an example, if your daughter were in a fashion design class and made a dress, when you saw it you would probably praise the dress in order to praise the maker, your daughter.
This is what David does to God.
This is David’s way, I believe, of telling his mind and heart that God is over all and in all: God is in control of his life.
If I were to pray through these first six verses, I might pray something reflecting on God’s power to create the heavens and skies:
“Mind and heart and soul, do you see the wonders in the skies and the heavens? See how amazingly glorious they are? No man can create this. No man could ever, ever get the astrophysics right to create this sun and these stars and this moon.
Only the one true God could get this right and lay the foundations of the skies to include both light and warmth for the entire earth at the appropriate times.
If God can do this for the earth, what can he do for my life if I trust him?
If God manages this dynamic system in the skies, my life is surely so simple for him to manage and see as I submit to his ways. He organized the order of the planets. He knows how hot to make the sun to both give warmth and nutrients to the plants so they can grow.
He sees when a sparrow falls to the ground. He knows my name. He knows my life. He sees my heart and the thoughts I think about my spouse (if married), my kids, my parents, my friends, my struggles, my temptations, and my dreams.
If I give control of my life to God and surrender to him, he holds the power to change me and create the right circumstances in my life for true impact and purpose.
Will I turn the reigns of my life over to him? Do I really trust him? Am I in control? Or is God?
God you are incredible! I praise you for how you created the skies!”
Whatever I am facing, God can help me through it. He can provide for me. He can heal my body and heart. He can walk with me and lead me through the valley of the shadow of death.
In my prayer time, I am reminding myself that GOD IS ABLE.
GOD IS BIG.
HE CAN DO IN MY LIFE WHAT NO MAN CAN DO.
GOD CAN DO MORE THAN WE COULD EVER ASK OR IMAGINE.
GOD OPENS THE DOORS AND WINDOWS IN MY LIFE.
GOD IS THE CREATOR OF ALL GOOD THINGS.
YOU WANT PROOF?
LOOK UP.
David uses poetry to express the sheer magnitude and glory of the skies and the heavens and the rising and setting of the sun.
He uses imagery which creates a picture in our minds.
He personifies it–gives it the characteristics of a person–by saying the skies and heavens have a voice:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
The heavens and skies might not typically make any real sound that our ears can hear. The “voice” they use is so much more powerful as it spreads throughout the entire earth. The warmth of the sun on your face, the clouds floating across a blue sky, the rain watering the earth, and the sunrise and sunsets can be seen wherever you may be.
No matter where you live, the sun will shine on you. God provides his light for the entire world, both in the day and night.
What are the heavens and the skies saying? What is their voice saying?
“Praise the Lord! Know that the Lord is God.”
Doesn’t it sometimes seem to us that nature is alive and speaks? It speaks to our very souls.
It brings joy to our hearts to see a waterfall or to walk among the cool shade of the trees.
In this case, David rejoices in the beauty of the heavens and the skies.
I don’t know about you, but when I am in a dark place in life, I do not typically spend time reflecting on the wonder of the skies.
Oftentimes, my thoughts are turned inward, thinking about how difficult my life is–how hard it is. I’m preoccupied with the past or with my own pain.
It can be extremely challenging to take control of our negative, dark thoughts and turn them outward to something bigger than ourselves.
We know David was blessed and protected and favored. But why?
These verses give us a glimpse behind the curtain of his very thoughts.
David took the time to do the hard work of changing his thoughts and intentionally focusing on God and God’s creation, recognizing that his creation is speaking to us, saying GOD IS BIG. It wasn’t that he had no problems. He had MANY problems. But he knew where his strength was found.
He knew how to train his mind to FOCUS on GOD.
As we do something every day and make it a habit, it becomes easier the next time.
It can be hard work! But it can be done.
What voice do the skies have as they are a part of nature and technically unable to speak?
The verbs “declare” and “proclaim” in the first verse strongly indicate a public and important statement. The words “state” or “say” could have been used, but those words don’t hold the power of “declare” and “proclaim.”
David declares they have a powerful form of speech, even though they can’t and don’t use words; they speak to and impact our minds, hearts, and souls—our inner being, our spirits. The skies minister to us and let us know that God is on the throne. HE ALONE IS GOD!
God created this brilliant system that gives us light and keeps us warm and produces the air we breathe. We live it and see it and breathe it.
If the earth were any closer to the sun, we would all burn from the heat. Any farther away and we would freeze. David reflects and considers God’s hand in creating this complex system. The clouds gather rain and then release the rain to water the earth. The sunlight gives warmth to our bodies.
The heavens are in a state of being magnificent, and it is infinitely more powerful than mere words.
This unique and glorious system never fades. Every morning the sun faithfully rises and gives way to the stars at night. The sun is always hot. The stars always shine brightly providing light even at night; and, even if we can’t see them during a foggy or overcast night, we know they are still there.
Our own eyes witness it.
The mystery of the stars is studied every day.
No man truly grasps or understands a black hole or a shooting star or a meteor or the Milky Way Galaxy. God alone knows how the earth is suspended or how a ray from the sun reaches the earth.
Isn’t this how God shows us HE is there for us, too?
He never changes.
Just as the skies are always there when we wake up and when we go to bed, God is always there for us, too. He never stops ministering to us and seeking us out through his Holy Spirit.
This is a great mystery, a mystery we can ponder, embrace, and then completely put our lives in God’s hands. He loves unconditionally and extends grace when we fall. He knows our every move, our every breath, our every word we speak.
As David reflected on God’s system of giving us light and warmth, he reflects also on God’s constancy in our lives: his wisdom and sheer strength over everything about our lives. As we put our trust in God, he will faithfully orchestrate events in our lives to protect us and bring us aid.
We can “take it to the bank” as the saying goes. We can know in our gut that God is there, watching over the details of our lives.
This is our faith, faith unseen, yet so real, just like the voice “speaking” from the heavens and skies.
We know from scripture that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Do you want to please God and have favor from him?
How is your faith? Where are you placing your trust? Do your actions reflect your beliefs?
We can picture David rising to start his day, doing his morning routine and then having coffee and breakfast brought to him on his outer deck or roof in the cool early morning hours as the sun is rising.
Maybe a brilliant pink sunrise fills the heavens. He looks out at the skies and reflects and meditates on the beauty and on God’s mighty hand to create such beauty.
He magnifies God as he magnifies nature through God. He focuses his thoughts on something higher than the problems in his life.
In verses four, five, and six he refers to God pitching a tent for the sun and then compares the sun to, first, a bridegroom heading towards his bride, or a bridegroom ready to conquer the day’s business, and then to a champion rejoicing to face the events of the day and run his course, reflecting on the sun’s warmth as it makes its great circle:
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The language is hopeful and vibrant with the use of the words “rejoicing” and “run.” Like the bridegroom and the champion, we can begin our day knowing God is with us.
What is the purpose of this first section? These six verses are setting the stage for what is to come. In every day there is an opportunity to seize that day through the vision and strength God provides and run our course, fulfill our purpose for that day.
We can imagine that David’s heart seems to be full of joy to face his day—as the sun rises and sets in one day—and see what God will bring.
He might reflect on the favor God has had on him in the past and imagine his day to be warmed by the sun and warmth God will provide, full of God’s hand on his life.
David prepares his heart before the Lord.
He reflects on God’s brilliance and magnifies what God has put before him in nature, in this case the skies. He praises the skies as a way of praising God.
Now that he has reflected on the skies and focused his thoughts on how nature reflects God’s strength and brilliance in Section One, he switches, now, in the next three verses to focusing on something else that is brilliant: God’s laws:
Section Two, Psalm 19:7-9 (emphasis mine):
“The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.”
This section is the meat portion of the meal.
David has looked and pondered the beauty of the sun and the wonder of God’s wisdom in creating the skies to prepare his mind to receive God’s truths, and now he looks at how God created another system, the system of statutes, laws, and precepts and their effect on our minds, hearts, and lives.
In this case, David is shifting from reflecting and pondering on the amazing glory of God in the nature of the skies, or outward wonder, to inward wonder at how God created the laws of scripture to intersect with the nature of our will and spirit and heart—designed to change us as we seek and OBEY him.
This section completely changes in rhythm and style from the first six verses.
It uses parallelism which is a style technique designed to emphasize a concept or concepts and draw attention to an idea through repetition.
Parallelism occurs when a pattern is created and repeated.
In this case the pattern is created by using the word “The” followed by a powerful concept (a noun) followed by a present tense form of “to be” using the words “is” or “are” followed by, in the first five sentences, an “ing” word phrase which will bring a specific result.
Parallelism tends to create a poetic tone, and, in some cases, like with this psalm, a building intensity, drawing attention to the ideas being portrayed.
Every sentence begins with the word “The.”
The word “the” is the only definite article in the English language.
It precedes a noun, a specific word, as opposed to something general.
I could say to you “A delapidated house might need new windows.”
Or I could say “The house needs new windows.”
The second statement shows you I mean a specific house as opposed to just any house; and, that’s what the word “definite” means—it refers to something specific as opposed to something “in general.”
“The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.”
What is David declaring to be perfect? Specifically, the law of the Lord: his ways, his scripture, his commandments. He goes so far as to say the law will refresh our souls.
Is this not what we need when we are feeling overwhelmed in anxiety, depression, fear, or shame? Our souls need refreshing.
What is trustworthy? God’s statutes. When obeyed, they are simple and powerful.
Do you want to find inner healing? Do you crave peace and joy?
David is showing us how to press into God through his commands and laws and embrace that what God declares to be the TRUTH in our lives is indeed true. What God declares and commands will bring us the MOST JOY, the MOST PEACE, the MOST REFRESHING.
The “secret sauce” as our modern culture would say, is in KNOWING and KEEPING the laws. In recognizing God is God and we are not.
David is meditating on the TRUTH that God’s ways are right.
By acknowledging and embracing God’s laws and ways, we bring health and wholeness into our lives. In order to do this, we must continually read scripture and truth and reflect on it, believing it as truth and obeying.
We stop trying to do things our own way. We stop trying to create our own world of control and power.
We STOP.
We recognize that GOD IS GOD. We become still and KNOW that HE alone is God.
We are not God. We GIVE IT OVER to God.
Does this make your heart drop into your stomach? Then you are on the right track. Giving up control is harder for some of us than others. Jesus died to his flesh, and if we are his disciples, we will continue to press into him for strength to do the same.
Relinquish your situation to God. The truth is that God IS ALREADY IN CONTROL. When we acknowledge his power in our lives and surrender our will into his, we allow God to have the reigns of our lives.
Find the areas of scripture pertaining to your situation, taking time in prayer to reflect on what scripture says to be true, and then OBEY.
God holds the key to our success in life. Our job is to recognize and surrender and fully embrace God’s design on our lives.
He is the author of our story. He will write the story of our lives.
This is the work of meditation that brings change and healing. Meditate on God’s word in order to KNOW WHAT TO DO.
David understood and knew that at times his heart was broken and tended toward selfishness and evil ways. He was wise enough to know he must continually be turning his heart and mind toward God and embracing the truth of scripture, meditating on the truth, and surrendering himself to these truths.
Does it matter if we obey God?
Does it matter if we keep his laws and commands, even obeying the small whispers of the Holy Spirit as we know we are to obey it?
Scripture states in James 4:17 and explains, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
We can sin by NOT doing what we are called to do: what we know in our hearts we are supposed to do: To give money. To give time. To give hope. To pray. To seek God. To love someone. To resist anger.
Stylistically, this section follows a set pattern of the article “The” followed by a noun representing one aspect of God’s ways with “of the Lord,” a preposition, declaring these ways come from God, straight from his throne room.
These laws did not just happen.
They are not created by man. Like the heavens, they are supernaturally given to us from God, and we are wise to take heed of them, ponder them, reflect on them, and embrace them. In other words, they matter. Scripture makes it clear that God sees what a man does in secret, both the good and the bad. He will reward us for the ways we move toward righteousness.
Matthew 6 gives some great examples of this, starting with giving to the poor:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
I believe David understood something so crucial: God was his audience.
When we know that everything we do is noticed by God, it changes us. We begin to dial in to his voice and care about what he cares about. God cares about the little things, the poor, the hurting, and the oppressed. God was pleased with David’s son, Solomon, when he asked for wisdom in discerning between right and wrong in order to better administrate justice for the people.
Who do you live your life for here on earth? Your spouse and family? Your friends or coworkers? We can have a reward here on earth from these people observing what we do, or we can have a lasting reward in heaven from God. I believe David knew who he was living his life for and what he was doing as he intentionally focused his mind on God’s laws and righteousness. Human nature will pull us off course every time. David made sure to meditate on the fact that the laws God made have a purpose to keep us on track while here on earth.
Imagine Moses spending forty days on the mountain receiving the ten commandments and other instructions from God (Exodus 20).
These laws were designed by God to protect and bring life to the Israelites. God even gave detailed instructions about how to protect, honor, and carry the ten commandments in the ark of the covenant.
They must have been quite special to God for him to take such great care in every detail.
They are still special to him, and in Psalm 19 David is reflecting on this concept.
One of the most frequently used verbs in the English language is the verb “be” or “to be.” This is the verb that encompasses our state of being, our state of existing, at any given time.
We can BE happy, sad, overjoyed, tired, or patient, usually reflected in the present tense with the verbs “is, am, are” and the past tense with “was, were, been, being.”
Every moment we are in some form of a state of being.
What is your state of being right now?
Can you say you are at peace with your life and your relationship with God?
Can you say you are in a state of trusting God with your situation?
In Psalm 19, the laws of God can also represent a state of being:
In this case, every verb tense is in the present, meaning it is current and for today.
It is an ongoing, permanent state of being.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul,” declares verse 7.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t typically wake up and think, “I really need some refreshing today. I think I’ll spend some time reflecting on God’s laws and how perfect they are, really attempt to live them out in my life in order for my soul to be refreshed!”
It doesn’t use the past tense verb “was” because it is happening NOW.
It doesn’t state, “The law of the Lord WAS perfect.”
No. It is present tense. It is still true for us today and will continue to be true forever.
It IS perfect.
You and I cannot change it. It IS set and will be true for eternity.
We can fight it or accept it. Which are you doing?
This principle was true for David and is true for us today. It will not stop being a principle.
We can choose to follow it or not. It is happening TODAY and will continue to happen tomorrow, when tomorrow becomes TODAY.
I believe David was taking each concept and testing his heart and bringing his heart into alignment with the truth as he declared each word, in a way, willing his mind and heart to come into agreement with what he knows to be the truth of God:
God, are your ways and laws
PERFECT?
TRUSTWORTHY?
RIGHT?
RADIANT?
PURE?
FIRM?
Then declaring it, probably speaking it into the atmosphere out loud:
God, your ways and laws ARE PERFECT!
TRUSTWORTHY!
RIGHT!
RADIANT!
PURE!
FIRM!
We might pray, “Show me where I am messing up. Align my heart and thoughts with yours, Oh God! I admit your ways are better than my ways. Show me where my actions are not in line with yours. Show me where I need to make adjustments to love those around me. Show me ways I need to change my thinking.”
“Teach me your ways.”
Right now, today, we have access to a refreshing of our souls. How?
This verse says God’s perfect law will refresh us as we experience it working in our lives. As we consider and DO IT, it will refresh us. Obeying God’s commands will refresh us and it puts all the pressure on God to go before us and for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. We’ve done our part.
The verbs “is” and “are” follow the preposition “of the Lord,” and introduce a character trait such as “perfect,” “trustworthy,” “right,” “radiant,” “pure,” “firm,” and “righteous.”
Do you want these attributes to manifest within your character as they are in the Lord’s?
Following God’s way will bring a flood of GOOD things into our lives.
Verse 8 declares we can have joy.
How do we find joy when we have been through a bitter divorce?
How do we find joy when we feel poor and overlooked and cast aside?
How do we find joy when we are addicted to food, sex, or alcohol?
Well, according to verse 8 we can begin to find joy by recognizing and declaring the precepts of the Lord are right. Meaning, God’s laws, like the sun and stars in the beginning of the psalm, were not a mistake. They were created with a purpose, a true and holy purpose in our lives.
As we turn to God and honestly bare our soul and heart to him, acknowledging his precepts (laws) and applying them to our lives, we can experience a joy that passes understanding for our particular circumstances.
This change in our thoughts does not happen overnight. As we shift from a focus on self to a focus on God and the way he shows us to think and live, we will see a gentle, yet powerful, shift begin to take place in how we approach our self and others.
Are you jealous of your sister? Or boss? Or husband?
What do God’s precepts (laws) say about this? Research the Bible for your condition. Find out what God thinks and then repent and acknowledge his ways are true for your life.
H.U.M.B.L.E yourself.
God says we should not be jealous but should rejoice for others when good things happen to them.
Is this what you are doing?
If not, to find joy, repent, confess your thoughts have been contrary to God’s ways, and seek God for the TRUTH.
Are you struggling with temptation?
If you’re tempted in some way, and there is a stronghold in your life, what does the Bible say about this condition? Search it out and discover God’s truth in the pain and shadows of your life.
It will usually concern your thought life, your faith life, and your actions. It will be radically different from what you might be thinking and doing now.
I’m not discussing salvation right now. That’s a separate issue.
This concerns your specific thought life in how you are approaching God in prayer and then taking action as you see where you are not following the perfect law of God for your situation.
You might have to humble yourself.
If so, you’re on the right track. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble,” as stated in James 4:6b.
Obey him and watch him keep his word to you.
Verse 8 states “The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Do you regularly revel in the beauty and magnificence of the commands of God?
Do you celebrate them, follow them, acknowledge their power in your life to set you free?
Do you want to experience freedom from what binds you?
If you’ve ever struggled with an addiction you know that this addiction will slowly cause your eyes to become “dark.” This darkness is a darkness of the heart and soul reflected in the eyes both literally and spiritually.
When we are hiding from others and ourselves, our eyes reveal this to others.
When we consistently live in shame and fear of being discovered our eyes grow darker and we lose our zest for life and love for our family and friends.
Usually an area of addiction, say pornography, food, drugs, alcohol, or gossip will lead to lying, stealing, and hiding in the shadows. The ring of darkness widens as the chains tighten.
Our precious energy goes to hiding and avoiding, draining us further.
Shame envelopes and chains us even more, the plan of the enemy. Our eyes begin to look at our own selves, trying to figure out how to manipulate others and make ourselves seem “fine.”
When we are full of joy and purity it shines out through our gaze as we look at others.
Our eyes are bright and open and “seeing.” We have nothing to hide. We are confident in the purity of our love for others.
David is celebrating the laws of God, how they protect and direct, in this psalm. He is lifting them up and examining them as if they are under a microscope. He takes each one and turns it over and over, looking at it and celebrating it: The law. The statutes. The precepts. The commands. The fear. The decrees. These are what he studies and embraces: how to treat other people with integrity and how to seek God.
David knows God will be faithful to keep his end of the bargain. And he will for you, too.
If David is obedient and stays true to scripture and God’s laws, GOD WILL have his back.
He’s seen it happen before with the lion and the bear as a young shepherd boy, and then with Goliath, and then with being sustained as he hid in caves and ran from King Saul who wanted to kill him.
He’s seen it in fighting the Philistines and in maintaining his reign over Judah and Israel.
He has EXPERIENCED it OVER and OVER, building a relationship of hope and trust that God WILL KEEP HIS WORD . . . if David will obey the law and seek God.
When Saul wanted to kill David, God tested David’s heart. David could have killed Saul himself, but he never did. He knew it was wrong. He knew God’s law declared: “Do not murder.”
He knew he needed to let God be the sovereign power in his life, and he trusted God to protect him from Saul. Did he know HOW God would save him? Did he know WHEN he would become king? Probably not.
Did he know God would SAVE him? I believe he did.
He left the details to God, continuing to worship him and wait on him, doing what was right, in the midst of the pain and terror. At times he was torn and conflicted, not understanding what was going on in his life. Yet, he continually sought to wake up in the morning, I believe, and turn his eyes to the heavens and remind his mind and heart that God is God over his life and will watch over him as he trusts in him.
David became king once Saul was killed in battle, not by David’s own sword, but by the sword of an enemy.
David actually mourned and held services to honor Saul and Jonathan after their deaths. One of God’s concepts? Treat others how you would like to be treated, even going so far as to bless someone who has NOT BLESSED you but has treated you in an evil way:
Luke 6: 27-31 describes this concept:
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
David could do this even though Saul betrayed him and came against him because he continually studied God’s laws and precepts, knowing God’s very heart for people. God was protecting him and helping him as he was true to honor God’s commands in his life.
Section Three of Psalm 19 shifts again:
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
In the next section, in verses 10 and 11, David honors these concepts of the law and scripture.
He praises them for the power they can hold in his life, more precious, even, than money or gold—sweeter than honey from the honeycomb because they protect his life as he follows them.
He reminds his mind and heart of the sheer POWER of KEEPING God’s laws, more precious than gold.
The laws warn him and keep him safe from danger. They bring rewards into his life as he takes action in the right direction and obeys God.
And David seeks God for forgiveness in Section Four:
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
Verses 12 and 13 turn inward into reflection on David’s own heart. He takes all of this into account and thanks God that he has been warned and helped by reflecting on the truth of God’s laws over his own thoughts and urges.
He knows he has hidden faults and asks for forgiveness for even these in his life. We all have blind spots. He asks God to help him to keep from willfully sinning, from not obeying the concepts and laws of God. He wants to be blameless before God in how he treats people and avoid any great transgressions in his life.
And, lastly, consider Section Five, that famous scripture so many of us have memorized:
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Finally, we get to the last verse, verse 14: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
David has just meditated on the wonder of God’s creation of the skies and the heavens and then turned his thoughts to the wonder of how God gave us his laws to keep us pure and holy and to give us joy and righteousness. He reflects on how God’s laws are PERFECT, TRUSTWORTHY, RIGHT, RADIANT, PURE, and FIRM!
He reminds his heart that these very laws will protect him and aid him more than money or gold.
He wraps up this psalm by asking God to recognize all of these thoughts and these meditations and be pleased with him.
He has turned to God and acknowledged God’s ways are higher than his ways. He calls God his “Rock” and his “Redeemer.”
He has spent time intentionally focused on God and his laws and asks God to be pleased with him because he has spent time reflecting on God’s ways.
Interestingly, it is probable David was speaking these words aloud as he says, “May the words of my mouth. . . .” And the second part of that sentence—“and the meditation of my heart” speaks to the reflection and commitment happening in his heart as he speaks the words out loud.
Are you struggling to find healing from past wounds? It will take time.
Time spent meditating on the truth of God’s laws and scriptures will help us to allow God to work in our lives and bring hope and joy.
It took time for our wounds to fester, bitterness to take hold, addictions to creep in, anger to stir us, envy to creep in, and for our eyes to grow dark.
As we seek God, he will be faithful to reward those who earnestly seek him: putting our hope fully in God’s hands, trusting his ways, seeking him daily, and our eyes will slowly begin to see what he sees and become bright again.
Our fleshly instinct can often be to control everything about our lives, but here, David understands that his job is to seek God, worship him, keep his mind focused on the truth of God’s word, and OBEY what God shows him to do. We cannot control circumstances or other people. We can control how we put our lives in God’s hands.
As we consider God’s ways and laws, we can compare our current actions to what God says to do and see how we measure up.
We can learn how to heal by reflecting on God’s ways as David did.
God never changes. He is not like a shifting shadow like a person might be.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The God who helped David kill Goliath and cut off his head is the same God who can help you and me overcome addiction, heal a relationship, have self-control in a difficult area, and free our hearts to serve and love others. He remains the same.
Just as David reflected on God’s law, we can do the same and expect the same results as David: refreshing to our souls, wisdom, joy, light in our eyes, purity in our hearts, righteousness, miracles, healing, and a hope that endures forever with freedom from past pain.
Now it’s in your hands. Only you can decide if you will actually practice meditating on God like David did, or stick with the thoughts you currently have. You decide. May God give you mercy and grace to seek him.
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Reflection:
Is there an area of your heart that is burdened and broken? Follow David’s lead in Psalm 19 and begin your day by reflecting on nature and how the God of creation has the power to control and watch over your life. Identify your specific need and find scriptures (the belt of truth) to study and pray over. Humble yourself and ask God to give you the strength to respond the way his Word directs. Many blessings on you as you find your healing.
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