Rejoicing The Heart


Psalm 19 is a triumph and certainly among some of the most beautiful words ever written. The Psalm rejoices in God's general revelation of his glory and splendor that shines through in the world he has created, and then turns to delight and praise God through the exaltation of his word which comes to us as special revelation.

Let's look at Psalm 19 as a whole, while zooming in more on God's law.

Psalm 19

 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.


I want to emphasize verses 12-13 and make four comments.

12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

1. Rhetorical question: "Who can discern his errors?"

The answer that we should supply to this rhetorical question is that we cannot discern our own errors. First, we need the divine revelation of our Creator speaking to us in his word to help us see our errors. Secondly, we need to be granted by God the gift of discernment that allows us to see and understand his word in ways that pierce us (Cf. Hebrews 4:12). Thirdly, we need others in the community of believers, the local church, the body of Christ to help us see our hidden faults. We are far too easily self-deceived, obtuse, ignorant, and blinded to our hidden faults. We need help in discerning our errors.

2. Presumptuous Sins


We can see immediately in this verse (13) that we need God's help. The prayer is, "Keep back your servant!" We need God's help to resist the willful disobedience to his was, a fowler that so easily ensnares us. God must rescue us from the dominion of our presumptuous sins. Our willful sins truly do intend to have dominion over us, they truly desire to become our master, and we must long to say, "I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Cor. 6:12).

We need God's liberating rescue to usher in the immediate deliverance from sins that comes from the first time we repent and believe the gospel. We need to be freed from the reign of sin. As we continue on in the Christian life, we need the daily and ongoing grace and power of God to equip us to be people who let nothing have dominion over us.

When we give sin an inch of our souls, it seeks to take a mile. The end goal of indwelling sin is that whatever lust, whatever presumptuous sin seeking to ensnare us would have full reign over our lives. Sin seeks to have control over our faculties, desires, motivations, and decisions. Sin wants to reign in our mortal bodies as to make us obey its passions (Romans 6:12). Therefore, we beg with the Psalmist that God would in his power, "Keep back your servant." Thus, we see the depth of sin in us, hiding in us as hidden faults and also spurring us treacherously toward willful sin.

3. Blameless


As Psalm 19 delights in the commands of God, there is much rejoicing to be had in all of the glorious, life-giving benefits of God's word.

God's Word revives the soul;
makes wise the simple;
rejoices the heart;
enlightens the eyes;
endures forever.

 God's Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and righteous altogether. 

God's law, then, is the authority and standard of truth. As Creator and Sovereign, God is the one who defines truth because he is truth. Only God's ways are the ways of life. The psalmist desires to be free from hidden faults and kept back from presumptuous sins. The psalmist desires God's law more than honey or gold, knowing that true, lasting, and great reward comes from obeying God.

The path to blamelessness and innocence from great transgression is paved - not with the "good intentions" of sinful human hearts - but with God-empowered obedience to the unfailing laws of God. God's word enlightens our eyes, giving us the vision to walk down this path, and it also rejoices our hearts like a timely trail mix along the journey. This inspires the exalted reverence for God's word that the psalmist is delighting in.

God's special revelation comes to us in the Bible alone. In the Bible alone, we find the trustworthy resource that imparts to us all God's ways and wisdom. The righteousness and truth of God is revealed to us in the Bible. Therefore, the psalmist seeks the blamelessness and innocence that come from delighting one's heart in knowing and keeping the commands of God. God's words are life-giving, heart-rejoicing, wisdom-imparting, eye-enlightening, soul-reviving commands that endure forever because they come from the mouth of God.

God's word breathes life into God's people. 

4. Rock & Redeemer


14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

In v. 14 we see the prayer of the psalmist again indicate the internal and external nature of sin. Our prayer is that our words (external) and the meditation of our heart (internal) would be acceptable to God. We want to be fully aligned inside and out with the perfect and life-giving will of God.

God's words are a sure foundation because God himself is a sure foundation. God is our rock. The bad news is that we lack in ourselves the ability to please God, because within ourselves we see the sin of hidden faults and presumptuous sins. Apart from God, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5).

Thankfully, God is both our rock and our redeemer. 

God's full revelation came to us in the face of Jesus Christ, the God-man who dwelt among us.

John 1:16–18

 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God came and lived in this sinful world, becoming like us in every way, yet without sin. Jesus was in our place the blameless and innocent one, without hidden fault or presumptuous sin. Jesus kept every jot and tittle of the perfect and unfailing law of God, inside and outside of his person. Jesus was perfect holiness in the flesh. This made Jesus the God-man the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

In obedience to the Father, Jesus willingly gave his life on the cross to be our sacrifice. On the cross, Jesus took away our sin, delivering us, saving us from ourselves, and becoming our Redeemer. Because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we get to repent of our sin and self-trust and believe the gospel. Because of Jesus, we are declared blameless in the sight of God, because he gives his perfect righteousness to us. Because of Jesus, we rejoice and delight in the words of God through the Holy Spirit who is within us.

In Christ, we have received full redemption. The life-giving word became flesh (John 1:14).  We now live as reconciled sinners who have become the children of God the Father. Our lives are lives of seeking and depending on God's life-giving Word. We are equipped in the power of God the Holy Spirit to delight in our eternal life, and we rejoice in our heart in our Heavenly Father and his words which are righteous and enduring forever.

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