O, HOW I LOVE THY LAW - A common feature of wisdom psalms is the dominant motif of devotion to the Law. Here in Psalm 19, we find the beginning of a law-based piety which sees the true word of God as being embedded within statues and precepts and ordinances and commandments. [1]

ADDING SCRIPTURE TO DISCIPLESHIP - Study, while demanding, is never grievous. The outcome of learning the Bible is a love for it content and a respect for its relevancy. [2]

SHIP OF FOOLS [1494]:

The fool who nurtures no belief
In Scripture for his soul’s relief
And thinks that he can prosper well
Without a thought of God or Hell,
Nor hearkens to what sermons say,
His eyes and ears have gone astray. [3]

The ‘law of the LORD,’ the psalmist reflects here, offers wisdom more valuable than riches and more satisfying than any sweetness. Why do we neglect Scripture, the centerpiece of our Christian lives? And when the words become all too familiar and we know the stories by heart, how are we to listen afresh to God’s words? [4]

Try reading this psalm as you would a love letter. What gifts do you receive from Scripture? What do you desire from God’s truth? [5]

An extremely useful homily for this Sunday should you wish to isolate Psalm 19 as a preaching text would be to offer your own way of entering the Bible for personal growth and to listen to what God might be speaking into your life. Or you could play with the notion of quality of words of Scripture vis-à-vis words of our culture-both of which lay claim to our lives. On the other hand, you could introduce your community to the two ways to approach Scripture: 1) for information and 2) for formation. That is, you could suggest the need for both approaches-the first as a serious study of historical context and meaning. But the second as a way to practice "lectio divina," or spiritual reading.

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[1] Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), page 296.
[2] Calvin Miller, The Taste of Joy in Judith Couchman, ed., Breakfast for the Soul (Tulsa: Honor Books, 1998), page 41.
[3] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture III (InterVarsity, 2003), page 81.
[4] The Spiritual Formation Bible (Zondervan, 1999), page 707.
[5] Ibid, page 707.