Fallen short

Psalm 19 is famous and rightly so:

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. (vv. 1-2)

The psalm, originally a song,¹ was turned into words on a page. Courtesy of all sorts of musicians down the centuries, it has been turned back into songs.

The psalm is easy to remember because it deals first with how God reveals himself in creation, and second how God reveals himself in his perfect word:

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; (vv. 7-8)

But have you noticed how there is a sudden shift in the last three verses?

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. (vv. 12-14)

From declaring the glories of God in creation and in the law, the entire focus of the psalm moves inwards, and stays firmly fixed there until the last line. Why? Why does the psalmist move from considering the wonder and grace of God to what looks suspiciously (to modern minds) like navel-gazing—a contemplation of “hidden faults” and “presumptuous sins”, followed by a plea that the LORD will make both words and inward thoughts acceptable? Is there even a suggestion that there is something deficient in the psalmist’s words in the first half of the psalm?

Hardly. The most natural response in the world, upon contemplating the glory of God in creation and in his word, is to think of our own sin. He is perfect, holy and good. We are not. The psalmist realizes this and responds accordingly. (You see another example in Romans 1:20-21 where Paul moves from the awareness of God revealed in creation to the reality of universal human sinfulness, which deliberately blots out the knowledge of God that creation gives.)

God is great and glorious. Scripture, in particular, reveals his perfections, even at those times when, because of sin, we are blind to what we see in his world. Because God made us in his image, knowledge of God should give us perfect knowledge of ourselves—great and glorious reflections of God’s greater and more glorious self.

But instead what we see is what Scripture reveals. We are not perfect, and we don’t reflect God’s image. Scripture—in particular, the perfect “law of the LORD”
—simply shows us more and more of our own sinfulness, desperate corruption and rejection of God’s rule. To think about the glory of God is to be shown what we are really like—wicked transgressors of the perfect, right law of God and his commandment. “[T]he commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes”—true. “[T]he rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether”—indeed. “[B]y them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward”—that is surely so. But the more I know of God’s pure law and true rules, the more I understand his righteous character, the more I see that the law warns me even as it offers “great reward”, the more I am filled with fear over my own sin, which is judged by these perfect commandments. The contemplation of the glory of God in his law leads naturally to the acknowledgement that I am a sinner.

Incidentally, we see this movement in Romans as well. Just as Paul’s contemplation of creation leads him to reflect on universal human sinfulness in Romans 1, so Paul’s contemplation of the law in 3:10-20 leads him to declare that that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Seeing God and his will for us revealed in creation and in Scripture leads us to an awareness of how unlike him we are, even as we realize that we were made to be like him.

No wonder Isaiah, when confronted with the glory of God, cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). No wonder Peter, when confronted by Jesus, said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O LORD” (Luke 5:8).

Seeing God more and more clearly in creation and in his word is a wonderful yet dreadful experience. For as we do, we see more clearly the glorious image we’ve fallen short of. Do you want to know what you are really like? Start with God. But, like the psalmist, be prepared to be shown things that cause despair. But recognize too that there is comfort, for once the psalmist has realized what he is like, he is able (and we are able) to pray for rescue: “Declare me innocent from hidden faults”, he asks. He addresses his request to “my rock and my redeemer” for the Lord himself will rescue guilty sinners. He is the one who declares us innocent as well, if we ask Jesus our rock and redeemer to make us what God designed us to be.