Psalm 19: Congruence Not Chaos
C. S. Lewis said of Psalm 19, “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.” Psalm 19 begins as a meditation on the beauty of the world crafted by the hands of God. David images the sun as a bridegroom emerging from the bridal chamber after a night of amorous activity, glowing and parading across the heavens. The light of the sun nourishes the whole earth with warmth and testifies to the tender care of the God who made it. Nature is often so stunning in its splendor, so awesome in its sheer magnitude, so radiantly beautiful that many throughout the ages have concluded that in and of itself is divine. They have bowed down to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars. And who can blame them?
But David in this psalm, like Paul on Mars Hill, is inviting them to look behind the curtain. He proclaims to anyone who would listen that the author of all of this glory, is not anonymous, he has a name. We may be surprised to observe how exactly he does this. Look at vv. 7-11:
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
David moves from exalting in the glories of the heavens and the earth to basking in the glory of the…Law? This is an interesting juxtaposition to say the least. The natural world is breathtaking and commanding, an untamed spirit ever invoking its divine right to freedom. The law, it would seem, is the opposite of that. Obeying the law is routine, repressive. Or is it? David certainly would disagree with that sentiment. David moves from describing the wonders of the created world to valuing the law as worth more than the most precious metals because he thinks that in the law of the Lord, we find the freedom and holiness that the sun expresses with each step across the cloud-dotted sky. Nature is almost frivolous in its spontaneity, and nearly arbitrary in its cruelty. The law brings congruence, revealing the ways of God to humanity and inviting daughters and sons to know their maker and to live like him.
Henry David Thoreau, the apostle of Walden Pond, preached the gospel of romantic rapture in the natural world. He thought by embracing the created world as an end unto itself, he was freeing himself from the shackles of order and relationships. He said, “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.” But King David, in Psalm 19, is telling us that the cosmos without the care of a creator is mere chaos. The law of the Lord compels us to the congruence that is thread through all things. We think that freedom is being able to do whatever we want. But freedom is not infinite choice, freedom is choosing the ways of the infinite. The law of the Lord, because it reveals the character of the divine, the beauty that is behind all the beauty beckons us to holiness. Holiness is the heart of beauty, the heart of freedom.