PSALM 19

The Works and the Word of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

2Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge.

3There is no speech, nor are there words;

Their voice is not heard.

4Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their utterances to the end of the world.

In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

6Its rising is from one end of the heavens,

And its circuit to the other end of them;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

10They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

11Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

12Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

13Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I will be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

7What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

The Conflict of Two Natures

14For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

1) How does the psalmist celebrate Torah?

2) How does Paul defend its goodness?

3) What role does Torah play in shaping life today?

God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

1“Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth?

Do you observe the calving of the deer?

2Can you count the months they fulfill,

Or do you know the time they give birth?

3They kneel down, they bring forth their young,

They get rid of their labor pains.

4Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;

They leave and do not return to them.

5“Who sent out the wild donkey free?

And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

6To whom I gave the wilderness for a home

And the salt land for his dwelling place?

7He scorns the tumult of the city,

The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.

8He explores the mountains for his pasture

And searches after every green thing.

9Will the wild ox consent to serve you,

Or will he spend the night at your manger?

10Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,

Or will he harrow the valleys after you?

11Will you trust him because his strength is great

And leave your labor to him?

12Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain

And gather it from your threshing floor?

13“The ostriches’ wings flap joyously

With the pinion and plumage of love,

14For she abandons her eggs to the earth

And warms them in the dust,

15And she forgets that a foot may crush them,

Or that a wild beast may trample them.

16She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;

Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;

17Because God has made her forget wisdom,

And has not given her a share of understanding.

18When she lifts herself on high,

She laughs at the horse and his rider.

19“Do you give the horse his might?

Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

20Do you make him leap like the locust?

His majestic snorting is terrible.

21He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;

He goes out to meet the weapons.

22He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

And he does not turn back from the sword.

23The quiver rattles against him,

The flashing spear and javelin.

24With shaking and rage he races over the ground,

And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.

25As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’

And he scents the battle from afar,

And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

26“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,

Stretching his wings toward the south?

27Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up

And makes his nest on high?

28On the cliff he dwells and lodges,

Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.

29From there he spies out food;

His eyes see it from afar.

30His young ones also suck up blood;

And where the slain are, there is he.”

Genealogy: The Priestly Line

1The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 2The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 3The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 4Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, and Phinehas became the father of Abishua, 5and Abishua became the father of Bukki, and Bukki became the father of Uzzi, 6and Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah, and Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth, 7Meraioth became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub, 8and Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz, 9and Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah, and Azariah became the father of Johanan, 10and Johanan became the father of Azariah (it was he who served as the priest in the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem), 11and Azariah became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub, 12and Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Shallum, 13and Shallum became the father of Hilkiah, and Hilkiah became the father of Azariah, 14and Azariah became the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak; 15and Jehozadak went along when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem away into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

16The sons of Levi were Gershom, Kohath and Merari. 17These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. 20Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 22The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son and Assir his son, 24Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son and Shaul his son. 25The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth. 26As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were Zophai his son and Nahath his son, 27Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28The sons of Samuel were Joel the firstborn, and Abijah the second. 29The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

PSALM 14

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

2The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there are any who understand,

Who seek after God.

3They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

4Do all the workers of wickedness not know,

Who eat up my people as they eat bread,

And do not call upon the Lord?

5There they are in great dread,

For God is with the righteous generation.

6You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,

But the Lord is his refuge.

7Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores His captive people,

Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.