Day 39

Psalm 19 Part 3 

In the previous verse (v11) David reflected on the warnings found in the word of God, and in the great reward found in obeying God’s word. This made him reflect on the times and ways he had ignored the warnings and not kept the word (v12-14.) 

Knowing that he could not know just how many of his ‘errors’ were before God, he wisely prayed this prayer. He needed cleansing even from the sins and ‘faults’ that were secret to him. 

David added ‘the presumptuous sins’ to his prayer because he knew that his problem was greater than ‘secret faults’. Indeed, King David not only knew that he was capable of such sins, but that they could potentially have ‘dominion over’ him. His prayer was rightly placed; his love of God’s word and his dependence upon God in prayer would help him stay free from the dominion of enslaving sin. As Paul similarly wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14). 

David closed this glorious Psalm with a humble surrender of his mouth and heart to God. He knew that real godliness was not only a matter of what a man did, but also of what he said and thought in his heart. 

The prayer ends by offering himself as an ‘acceptable’ offering; using a term used in a sacrificial context. Was Paul thinking of this Psalm when he wrote Roman’s 12:1? 

The last word, ‘Redeemer’ is that great Hebrew word ‘goel,’ the kinsman-redeemer. It was the ‘goel’ who bought his relative out of slavery; who rescued him in bankruptcy and total loss. It is the story of Ruth. King David looked to God Himself as his kinsman-redeemer. 

In three sections dealing with the natural, revealed and practical world, this Psalm is a perpetual torrent of eloquence that runs a glorious course. It begins with recognizing the footprints of God in creation, then the brilliance of His written revelation. Besides the God of creation and revelation was the wonderful God of personal relationship and redemption. King David knew this and so should we.