Psalms 19:7 - Meaning and Application

God’s glory, that is, his goodness toward people, appears clearly in creation. But it appears even more in God’s revealed word. Scripture, as the rule for our duty to God and our hope in him, is more useful to us than day and night, more needed than the air we breathe or the sunlight we enjoy.

What God shows through his works would have been enough if Adam had stayed innocent. But to bring fallen people back, another way was needed. That work must be done by the word of God. So the psalmist explains the excellent qualities and uses of God’s word in six statements, each linked to the name of the Lord. This is not empty repetition, because the law gets all its authority and worth from the lawgiver, God himself.

These six names for God’s word cover all of divine revelation, including commands and promises, and especially the gospel. They show the word’s divine origin, call us to love it, and lift it above every other law. They also show what the law does in people’s lives, what use we should make of it, and how powerful God’s grace is when it works through the word.

The law of the Lord is perfect. It is completely free from corruption, filled with all good, and fully suited to its purpose. It will make the man of God complete (2 Timothy 3:17). Nothing should be added to it or taken away. It turns the soul back, bringing us back to ourselves, to God, and to our duty. It shows us our sin and misery when we turn away from God, and it shows the urgent need to return to him.

The testimony of the Lord, which bears witness to him, is sure. It can be trusted fully and will never fail us. It gives a sure view of God’s truth and a sure guide for duty. It is a firm base for present comfort and lasting hope. It makes us wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). It opens our minds to divine things and to things still to come. It gives us the best work to do and guards our true interests. Even simple people, those who may be unwise in worldly matters, can be made wise for their souls and for eternity, if they are humble and willing to be taught (Psalm 25:9).

The statutes of the Lord, laws given by his authority and binding wherever they go, are right. They agree exactly with the eternal standards of good and evil, with right reason, and with God’s wise counsel. All God’s commands about everything are right (Psalm 119:128). They set us right when we receive them and submit to them, and because they are right, they make the heart rejoice. Seen in the hands of Christ, the law gives reason for joy. Written in our hearts, it lays the ground for lasting joy by restoring us to a sound mind.

The commandment of the Lord is pure. It is clear, without darkness, and clean, without any corruption. It is pure in itself and also makes people pure when they receive and embrace it. It is one of the main ways the Spirit uses to open our eyes. It shows us our sin and misery and guides us in the path of duty.

The fear of the Lord, meaning true religion and godliness taught in the word, lived in the heart, and practiced in life, is clean. It is clean itself and makes us clean too (John 15:3). It cleanses our way (Psalm 119:9). It endures forever. It always remains in force and can never be canceled. The ceremonial law has long since passed away, but the call to fear God is always the same. Time does not change what is morally good or evil.

The judgments of the Lord, all his wise and ordered commands, are true. They rest on the most holy and certain truth. They are righteous, completely in line with fairness, and every one of them is so. There is no wrong in any of them. They all fit together perfectly.

From this praise of God’s word, the psalmist moves to its value in his own life. He valued God’s commands far above all the riches of the world. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than fine gold, than much fine gold. Gold belongs to the earth, but grace bears the image of heaven. Gold serves the body and the things of this life, but grace serves the soul and eternity.

He also valued God’s word above every pleasure of the senses. The word of God, received by faith, is sweet to the soul, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Sensual pleasures are the delight of animals, and they lower the dignity of human beings. The pleasures of religion are the delight of angels and lift the soul. Sensual pleasures deceive, quickly become too much, and never truly satisfy. The pleasures of religion are solid and satisfying, and there is no danger of having too much of them.

He also saw what God’s word did for him: by them your servant is warned. The word of God warns people of the duty they should do, the dangers they should avoid, and the judgment they should prepare for (Ezekiel 3:17; Ezekiel 33:7). It warns the wicked not to keep going in evil, and it warns the righteous not to turn from the good path. All who are truly God’s servants take this warning seriously.

He also knew the reward of obedience: in keeping them there is great reward. Those who take duty seriously will not lose by it. They will gain richly. There is reward not only after keeping God’s commands, but even in keeping them, a present reward in obedience. Religion brings health and honor. It brings peace and pleasure. It makes our comforts sweeter, our troubles easier, life more valuable, and even death more desirable.

From this meditation on the excellence of God’s word, he draws a few good conclusions. Thoughts like these should stir holy feelings in us, and they are meant to do real good. First, he turns to humble repentance for his sins, because by the law comes the knowledge of sin. If the commandment is so holy, just, and good, then who can understand his errors? I cannot, whoever else may be able. From the straightness of God’s law, he learns to call his sins errors. If the commandment is true and righteous, then every breaking of it is an error, based on some false idea. Every sinful practice starts from some corrupt principle. It is a turning away from the rule we should follow and the path we should walk.

From the law’s reach, strictness, and spiritual character, David learns how many sins he has. He sees that he cannot count them all, and that they are far worse than he first imagined. We often commit sins we do not notice because we are careless or too easy on ourselves. We also forget many of the sins we have done, so even after a careful confession, we must still add, “and the like,” because God knows far more evil in us than we know in ourselves. “We all make many mistakes” (James 3:2), and no one can fully tell how often he sins. It is a mercy that we are under grace and not under the law, or we would be ruined.

David then turns this knowledge of sin into a prayer against sin. When the law shows us our guilt, it should drive us to God’s throne of grace. There we should pray, as David does, first for mercy to forgive. He finds that he cannot name every wrong he has done, so he cries, “Cleanse me from my hidden faults.” These are not hidden from God, for nothing is hidden from him. They are also not just sins hidden from other people, but sins hidden from David’s own notice. Even the best people have reason to suspect that they have many hidden faults, and to ask God not to charge them with them. Our sins of weakness, carelessness, and ignorance would still destroy us if God treated us only by what they deserve. Even hidden faults make us unclean and unfit for fellowship with God, but when God forgives them, he cleanses us from them (1 John 1:7).

David also asks for grace to help in the time of need. After praying that his sins of weakness would be forgiven, he asks that presumptuous sins might be kept from him (Psalm 19:13). All who truly repent and receive forgiveness should also be careful not to fall back into sin or return to foolishness. That is shown in their prayers, and David’s prayer here gives the pattern. His request is, “Keep me from ever committing a willing, proud sin.” We should pray to be kept from sins of weakness, but especially from presumptuous sins, which dishonor God most and wound the conscience most deeply. They dry up our comfort and shake our hope. He also asks that no such sin would rule over him, so he would not become its slave.

His reason is, “Then I will be upright.” In other words, he will show himself upright, keep the proof and comfort of an upright heart, and be free from “the great transgression.” That is what he calls a presumptuous sin, because no sacrifice was accepted for it (Numbers 15:28-30). Presumptuous sins are very serious and dangerous. They happen when people sin against the clear warnings and settled convictions of their conscience, and do so in open contempt of God’s law and its penalties. That is a sin with a high hand, and it is a great sin. Even good people should keep watch over themselves and be afraid of falling into such sin, even if God has kept them from it so far. No one should become proud, but everyone should fear. Since we are so exposed to this danger, we have great need to pray that God will keep us back from it, either by stopping the temptation through his providence or by giving us victory through his grace.

David then humbly asks God to accept his thoughts and desires, as in Psalm 19:14. Notice how this connects with what comes before. He first asks God to keep him from sin, and then he asks God to accept his service. If we keep holding on to sin, we cannot expect God to approve us or what we offer him (Psalm 66:18). His service is “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart.” That includes his holy thoughts and feelings offered to God. The good thoughts of the heart should not be kept hidden, but should be spoken for God’s glory and for the good of others. At the same time, the words of our mouth in prayer and praise must not be empty formality. They should rise from the heart’s meditation (Psalm 45:1).

David’s concern is that these words and thoughts would be pleasing to God, because if our service is not pleasing to him, it is of no value to us. A gracious person wants this above all else, and if God accepts us, that is our true happiness. David has confidence in this because God is his strength and his redeemer. If we look to God for help as our strength in worship and obedience, we may also hope for his acceptance. By his strength, we can have favor with him. When we sing these words, we should feel deeply the excellence of God’s word and give ourselves to it. We should also feel the evil of sin, the danger of falling into it, and the harm it brings. Then we should seek help from heaven against it.