Psalm 19
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
Saint Paul gave the Christian church a great legacy, and that gift is the truth we proclaim: that grace overcomes law. Paul's writings are shot through with this concept, making this notion central to us in our tradition. It runs through sermons and texts, permeates church doctrine, and causes us to snicker and sneer at the concept of law. Even when our institutions reach pharisaical heights that would have made Jesus flinch, we mouth the verbage of grace over law.
Let's be candid here. Law has gotten a less than deserved, bad reputation. Especially if it's God's law we're discussing. This psalm pushes the point with clarity. "The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul." While it's true that laws and the blind following of them can be destructive, God's laws, if followed, can actually revive our souls. Take the Ten Commandments as a good example. If we don't steal or kill or commit adultery or covet our neighbor's property, even the most unreasonable among us will admit that life will be better. Even the Levitical code, which draws so much ridicule from contemporary analysis, sought to improve the quality of life.
God's law seeks the welfare of the people and the creation in which they live. If the law in question doesn't do this, then the law itself should be questioned. But given this parameter, God's laws are indeed "more desirable than gold," and "sweeter than honey"
(v. 26). Think about it. Deuteronomy 26 makes it clear that God's law involves taking care of the "resident aliens," the "widows and the orphans." Indeed, if we care for those who are most vulnerable among us, are we not ourselves the recipients of healing?
Finally, think for a moment about God's call to keep the sabbath. In our world of eighty-hour work weeks and disappearing vacations, pensions, and benefits, what does it mean to keep sabbath? Where is the rest that literally re-creates us? Do we take it? Are we allowed? Do we suffer because of it? The law requiring us to keep sabbath is about far more than getting yourself into a pew each Sunday. It's about authentic rest. This is indeed a "true and righteous" ordinance.
All this being said, it should be understood that Paul is right. Grace overcomes law, but we should take note that God's laws are not the dictates of some silly autocrat. They have, at their core, our well-being and our salvation as their goal. Indeed, "the precepts of the Lord are right."
Let's be candid here. Law has gotten a less than deserved, bad reputation. Especially if it's God's law we're discussing. This psalm pushes the point with clarity. "The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul." While it's true that laws and the blind following of them can be destructive, God's laws, if followed, can actually revive our souls. Take the Ten Commandments as a good example. If we don't steal or kill or commit adultery or covet our neighbor's property, even the most unreasonable among us will admit that life will be better. Even the Levitical code, which draws so much ridicule from contemporary analysis, sought to improve the quality of life.
God's law seeks the welfare of the people and the creation in which they live. If the law in question doesn't do this, then the law itself should be questioned. But given this parameter, God's laws are indeed "more desirable than gold," and "sweeter than honey"
(v. 26). Think about it. Deuteronomy 26 makes it clear that God's law involves taking care of the "resident aliens," the "widows and the orphans." Indeed, if we care for those who are most vulnerable among us, are we not ourselves the recipients of healing?
Finally, think for a moment about God's call to keep the sabbath. In our world of eighty-hour work weeks and disappearing vacations, pensions, and benefits, what does it mean to keep sabbath? Where is the rest that literally re-creates us? Do we take it? Are we allowed? Do we suffer because of it? The law requiring us to keep sabbath is about far more than getting yourself into a pew each Sunday. It's about authentic rest. This is indeed a "true and righteous" ordinance.
All this being said, it should be understood that Paul is right. Grace overcomes law, but we should take note that God's laws are not the dictates of some silly autocrat. They have, at their core, our well-being and our salvation as their goal. Indeed, "the precepts of the Lord are right."
