C.S. Lewis Called this the Perfect Psalm - Psalm 19
Psalm 19
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 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.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules 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.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
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.
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.
Looking at the skies, it’s as if they are filled with writing that is telling us about the glory of the Lord. All day and all night, you can read ‘GLORY’ written there, even though nothing is actually ‘written’ there. But, no matter where you go, you can still see the message.
In particular, the sun is glorious. It’s like he is a strong man waking up after his wedding day, and he delights to run his race and show his strength as he makes his way from East to West every day. Imagine a man coming out of his tent, stretching his shoulders and rejoicing at the new day.
And the heat of the sun is felt EVERYWHERE, searing every inch that is exposed to it, searching every crevice with its heat. Imagine the noonday heat of the sun in the desert, where there is no place to hide from its burning.
You know, that’s what the teaching of the Lord is like! It is pure and clean and bright. It makes things clear and shows them beautiful.
The law of the Lord is golden like sunlight and golden and sweet like honey.
The law’s light burns into me and shows me the things I had tried to hide.
Lord, please burn up anything dark and rotting in me, and make me clean!
--Psalm 19, AFV
(the Andrew Forrest version)