Job 19
Psalm 19 can be divided into three main parts. First (verses 1-6) sings of how the heavens and all the works of the universe declare God’s glory. Second (verses 7-10) praises the beauty and completeness of God’s law and His word. Finally (verses 11-14) concludes with the psalmist’s prayer for self-examination through the word and for cleansing. This structure flows from general revelation (God’s being made known through the created world) to special revelation (made known through the law and the word), and then to a response from within the individual.
1verseThen Job answered,
2verse“How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?
3verseYou have reproached me ten times. You aren’t ashamed that you attack me.
4verseIf it is true that I have erred, my error remains with myself.
5verseIf indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach,
6verseknow now that God has subverted me, and has surrounded me with his net.
7verse“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry for help, but there is no justice.
8verseHe has walled up my way so that I can’t pass, and has set darkness in my paths.
9verseHe has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
10verseHe has broken me down on every side, and I am gone. He has plucked my hope up like a tree.
11verseHe has also kindled his wrath against me. He counts me among his adversaries.
12verseHis troops come on together, build a siege ramp against me, and encamp around my tent.
13verse“He has put my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
14verseMy relatives have gone away. My familiar friends have forgotten me.
15verseThose who dwell in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am an alien in their sight.
16verseI call to my servant, and he gives me no answer. I beg him with my mouth.
17verseMy breath is offensive to my wife. I am loathsome to the children of my own mother.
18verseEven young children despise me. If I arise, they speak against me.
19verseAll my familiar friends abhor me. They whom I loved have turned against me.
20verseMy bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21verse“Have pity on me. Have pity on me, you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me.
22verseWhy do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
23verse“Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24verseThat with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
25verseBut as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth.
26verseAfter my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in my flesh,
27versewhom I, even I, will see on my side. My eyes will see, and not as a stranger. “My heart is consumed within me.
28verseIf you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’ because the root of the matter is found in me,
29versebe afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment.”
The Glory of God Revealed by Nature (Verses 1-6)
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky shows what his hands have made."Beginning with this passage, this section carries a sense of awe that the heavens and celestial bodies testify to God’s greatness day and night, even without words. The psalmist’s insight—that all of nature itself reveals that someone great exists through a quiet voice—reminds us that the world we meet every day is already a message of mystery.
The Wholeness and Value of the Law (Verses 7-10)
Following nature, the psalmist sings in detail about the characteristics and value of God’s law (His word). Using various expressions such as "the law of the LORD," "testimony," "instruction," "commandment," and "ordinance," he emphasizes that these words revive the human soul, give wisdom, make the heart glad, and enlighten the eyes. The psalmist shows how precious the word is and how unchanging its value is by describing the law as pure, more valuable than gold, and sweeter than honey.
Prayer and Self-Reflection (Verses 11-14)
After praising the word, self-reflection on the self standing before the word follows. The psalmist pleads to be able to recognize even his hidden faults, and prays to be freed from sin and made clean before God. The final line “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord.”brings the passage to a close as a prayer of humble self-checking and of seeking grace. This shows human weakness revealed before God and a fervent longing for salvation.
Points to Meditate On
- Let’s look back on whether our experience of meeting God through two kinds of revelation—nature and the word—also exists in our lives.
- We can ask ourselves whether we are receiving God’s word as something "precious, sweet, and strengthening."
- It would be good to check whether our words and thoughts are appropriate in line with God’s will, and offer a prayer of thanks.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Let’s make an effort to discover God’s traces in the nature we encounter every day, and to view every moment of life through God’s grace.
- Stand humbly before God’s word, and take time to examine your life’s priorities and your attitude.
- In prayer and meditation, ask so that my words, actions, and thoughts may become a joy to God, and build the habit of self-reflection.
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