The Psalm for this coming Sunday is Psalm19 with the
key verse v.8; ‘the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the
commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes,’ which corresponds to
John 6:68 —“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
God's precepts, rejoice
the heart of the godly. They are not felt as stern commands, but as
gracious intimations of what God desires man to do for his own good. The
commandment of the Lord is pure; i.e. spotless, clean, without fault. Compare
this with verse 7, ‘The Law of the Lord
is perfect’. Enlightening the eyes;
i.e. giving light to the intellect.
The eyes are mentioned, as it is by them that we see
where to go. The reference here is undoubtedly to the mind or soul as being
enlightened by the truth of God. We are made by these commandments to see what
is right and proper; to understand what we should do. Thus, the Catechism
teaches that the Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps
us” as we are drawn by the word of Christ.
In this psalm, David reminds us once again and
emphasizes the excellence of God’s Law. The Theme of the Day reminds us that
eternal life is in the words of Christ and not in the words of the Law.
Collect for Psalm 19: Heavenly
Father, you have filled the world with beauty. Open our eyes to see your
gracious hand in all your works that rejoicing in your whole creation, we may
learn to serve you with gladness, for the sake of him through whom all things
were made, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord[1]. -02
March 2021
[1] Collect for Psalm 19, For All the Saints, A Prayer book for and by the Church, Vol.III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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