The text: Psalm 19 – NRSV
We have reached the halfway point in this little discipline of daily Lenten psalms, and on this “midway” Sabbath, we celebrate a truly beautiful hymn of praise to God famously set to music by Joseph Haydn in The Creation. The opening of the psalm is reminiscent of part of Paul’s opening argument in Romans 1: Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. It is a powerful statement: not only are we surrounded by God’s creation, we are God’s creation. Our God is not a pagan god: Nature is not God; rather, Nature reveals who God is. Maybe the writer of John had this in mind in the opening of the gospel: All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. This point is underscored in the psalm by the extended celebration of the Law, the ideal representation of the Covenant, the relationship between God and humankind. Perhaps take a moment to read it alongside Psalm 8 or 139. Again, the closeness of God’s relationship with us becomes the focus of the psalm: But who can detect one’s own errors? Clear me from hidden faults. Fittingly, the psalm ends with a prayer I have heard prayed before countless sermons. The goal, in all that we do, is alignment with God, our creator and source. What a beautiful prayer for our Lent!
Curious about this series of posts? Read the initial post.
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