PSALM 19 UBIQUITOUS WITNESS

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
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 display knowledge.
³ There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, 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 hidden from its heat.
⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving 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 ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
¹¹ By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

What is the “glory of God” that is being revealed to humankind through creation, the Scriptures and our experience of life? The unifying thread throughout is that of order.

No matter how human beings examine the physical world, regardless if they search the skies with the unaided eye, the heavens with a radio telescope, the depths of the ocean with infrared cameras or the building blocks of the cell with an electron microscope, they observe an overarching regularity, predictability, called order. And not only an established order but a sustained order in that physicists tell us that any system left to itself without some outside source of energy will drift from order to disorder. We go to bed assured that there will be morning and night, the force of gravity and we will have a physical body as long as creation exists. The “Force” behind all this is God,

God’s order also is applied to the ethical realm through the law and precepts that God has set forth for the way in which we are to live. These not only aid us in living our lives in the manner for which we are designed, but also as a revelation of the nature of the Designer. Scripture is the factory manual for humankind and a road map for every human life. In it we find what it means to be made in the image of God.

As God’s revelation through creation informs us about God and ourselves, it also serves as a corrective when we err or are rebellious. We are not left to guess about God’s will, our relationship with God and our neighbors, or how we should respond to a given stimulus. God has set his order before us and we are given the choice to regard or disregard, and the consequences that are inherent to either choice.

The opposite of order is chaos. God s indeed our Rock in the midst of our sin-generated storms.

Father, you are all I need. As you have revealed yourself as the source of all order, help me to order my life by obeying your will. Amen.