When I’ve read Psalm 19 in the past, I’ve thought to myself, “It’s really a beautiful psalm, albeit a bit disjunctive.” It goes from the heavens declaring the glory of the Lord, then to the sun as it makes its beautiful arc across the sky, and then the Law. Creation, beauty, and then…Law. Seems out of place.  But more and more I get this psalm.

This psalm is about nothing being hidden, everything laid bare. And David feeling his exposure. If I were to summarize the psalm, it would look like this:

The heavens declare your glory,
never are they silent as they declare your works.
There is none on earth who are hidden, everyone hears.

The sun is full of splendor,
triumphant in glory as it makes its procession across the sky.
There is none on earth who are hidden, everyone is touched by its heat.

The Law of the Lord is spectacular,
Lifting up the head of man.
There is none on earth who are hidden, no one is untouched by His commands.

There are none untouched by You,
To the one who responds there is life,
To the one who rebels there is death.

“Oh Lord!” cries out David.
I have unintentional sin and I am exposed by that which sees all.
Please forgive me.

“Oh Lord!” cries out David.
I am a willful sinner and am exposed to that which exposes all.
Do not let me be ruled by my stubbornness.

If you do these things,O Lord
then I will be righteous.

So dear God, my prayer is this:
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You…”