This psalm is one of the more popular psalms of David.  It is a popular choice for meditative readings.  And for good reason as the psalm is full of rich poetic imagery.  Many will recognize the opening line, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (19:1; ESV).

C. S. Lewis, the great Christian author and British literature professor wrote concerning Psalm 19, “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”[1]  It is clear in Lewis’s writings that this psalm was his favorite.

The end of Psalm 19 is an unswerving statement of trust in God: “O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (19:14; ESV).

The use of rock signifies God’s immutable quality that invites us to trust in him because God does not change; he is always righteous, always holy, and always just.

The use of redeemer signifies God’s work of salvation from our known and unknown enemies.  The use of redeemer also points toward God’s work of atonement by which he has redeemed us from the power and penalty of sin and called us to his own.  To be redeemed is to live life differently than before you were redeemed.

David, however, goes one step further than a declaration – he makes a personal declaration: “O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (19:14; ESV).  The use of the personal pronoun my serves to bring greater attention to the intimacy of the confession of trust that David has in his Lord.

So how does David get to this point of overwhelming trust in God?  How does he make such a confession of trust and in such a personal way?  Let us turn to the text and find out how David builds the Psalm that ends with this great confession of trust.

Join us for this multi-part series in Psalm 19 ~ Overwhelming Trust.

• psalm 19:1-6 [creation]
• psalm 19:7-11 [the law]
• psalm 19:12-14 [personal prayer]
• psalm 19:14 [the declaration]
• psalm 19 [conclusion]

[1] C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1958), 63.