“True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections”
– Jonathan Edwards

We checked out joy and thanksgiving last week. Now, let’s turn to Psalm 19 to consider others: wonder, awe, and fear of the Lord.

Psalm 19

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.

What are the big takeaways from this Psalm?

The Psalmist teaches us two important points concerning the affections of wonder, awe, and fear of the Lord.

1. Wonder and awe flow from reflecting upon God’s works and words.

The first two-thirds of the Psalm list praise after praise after praise. The writer is meditating upon all the ways in which God amazes him. It’s as if he was standing in front of the Grand Canyon one second in awe-struck wonder, then the next is whisked away to Mt. Everest, then to the rainforest of northeast Australia, and so on. To an even greater degree, he can barely catch his breath as he reflects upon the beauty and greatness of God. It’s in turning from one work of God to the next as well as one aspect of His Word to the next, that he finds himself in wonder and awe. Far too often we are underwhelmed by God, and that’s primarily because we’ve fit God into a neat little box that we can wrap our minds around. We must dwell on his greatness, or praise and satisfaction in Him will cease to be found.

2. Reverent fear of the Lord fuels humility and faithfulness.

The wonder that the writer feels toward God as he considers God’s works and the fear of the Lord that he experiences as he dwells on His Word, both contribute to the humility and desire for faithfulness that is expressed in the final three verses. When we feel like we have everything figured out or we’re better than those around us (Let’s be real, we’ve all been there)—when that happens, our pride swells. We have a screwed up perspective. We begin to think that we’ve somehow been slighted when others don’t praise us or treat us as we expect, or we begin to assume that authority over our lives. We belittle others, get angry at our family, friends, or coworkers, and rebel against authority in our lives.

But when we have a proper perspective—fearing God for His ultimate greatness and authority—then we begin to produce the humility and faithfulness of Christ. It’s as we keep God high and lifted up in our mind’s eye that we begin to walk in a way that honors God and loves mankind.