Psalms to Romans

| February 04, 2010

Today’s reading includes Psalm 19.  The first two verses are:

 The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.

This reminds me of what Paul writes in Romans 1:19-20:

Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

When we talk about friends, family, and other people we know, we often say something like, “They don’t know God.”  Cleary, these verses are telling us they DO know God, everyone has seen His majesty.  A more accurate statement might be, “They’re choosing to ignore God.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean they are directly opposing Him, hating the widows, orphans, and the poor, but it does mean that they’re not living for Him, following His will for their lives.  Paul follows this thought about people who haven’t heard the Gospel in Romans 2:12-16:

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of our sins!  I want to end with the prayer for the end of Psalm 19:

 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
       may they not rule over me.
       Then will I be blameless,
       innocent of great transgression.

 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
       be pleasing in your sight,
       O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.