Awaken Your Worship: How studying Psalm 19 can awaken our worship
My 18-month-old son is fascinated by the sky. His little hands often grab mine and tug me to our storm door. He immediately points toward the clouds. He spots every bird in the sky and squeals joyfully when a plane passes by. As the sun fades, he finds the moon in the distance and “oohs and ahs” at the stars. My husband and I giggle at his consistency. Without fail, his little neck is bent back—taking in as much of the sky as his mobility can afford.
Little by little, I’ve noticed myself participating in his fascinations. I find planes, birds, helicopters, clouds, sunsets—anything in the sky to encourage his wonder. My sweet boy turned my eyes heavenward.
This new parenting adventure turns my eyes toward heaven often, admittedly out of desperation. The sleepless nights, the tornado of toys and laundry, the reasonless cries—leave me searching for peace amidst chaos. In the exhaustion of this past year and a half, my prayers have sounded much more needy, much more dependent, and much more humble. As I gazed at the heavens with my boy, he awakened a piece of my prayer life that I’ve been lacking lately. I began to marvel at God’s Creation. I thought about the feathers on each bird that soared above, the spectrum of blues that color the sky, and the miracle of modern transportation expanding our footprints on the moon. Suddenly, God seemed big and my cares became small.
How studying Psalm 19 awakens our worship
In Psalm 19, David has a similar experience. He is captivated by the beauty and grandeur of the sky—how it constantly communicates the glory of God and inspires us to worship. Creation around us points to the creativity of an all-knowing, all-sufficient God. Yet often, we fail to remember. I was suddenly convicted that my prayers sought the Lord’s provision and instruction, but neglected to bask in His glory.
God’s glory revealed in His Word
Though the first half of the psalm describes the glory above, the middle verses (Psalm 19:7–11) call our attention to the glory of God’s Word. In the same way, we marvel at God’s creation, we are to marvel at His eternal promises. How faithful of our God to give His only Son on our behalf! How freeing it is to know that sin is paid for! How incredible will eternity be with Him! We are reminded to renew the joy of our Bible reading. His instruction is perfect and His testimony is trustworthy.
David’s Praise of God
Throughout the Psalm, David gets continually personal, first praising God for the skies, then praising Him for His instruction, and finally, David asks for cleansing from his sin. In the vastness and beauty of God, David feels unworthy. He humbles his position before the almighty God. David demonstrates a pivotal truth: the bigger we see God, the smaller we see ourselves. Pride slowly fades. Our selfishness is tempered. Our anger fizzled in the unrelenting love of God.
Awakening Our Worship of God
David’s practice of admiring God stirred in his heart a desire for more of Him. How often do we sit down to read our Bibles and simply check off a box? When was the last time you were humbled by the very presence of God? When was the last time you called Him holy? The truths of Scripture will sink deep in our hearts if we take time to meditate on them. Just as we marvel at a beautiful sunset, we can marvel at the redeeming, restoring, and rescuing power of the gospel.
When our pride swells, and we are determined to push through on our own strength, we can remember God is the strength we need. When we struggle to forgive those who hurt us, we can gaze upon the cross and remember we’ve been forgiven much. When pain feels too dark and too deep to trudge through, we can remember God’s unrelenting faithfulness detailed in Scripture. This practice of marveling is a practice of remembering.
In childhood, a sense of wonder sparks a million questions and fuels make-believe games. Let us not keep this wonder shut in the closet of our youth. Let us unlock the door and let loose our fascination with the gospel. Let worship fill our hearts and spill from our mouths. Jesus is worthy of our deepest thoughts and our most exclamatory praise. Maybe Jesus’s call to become like the little children in Matthew 18:3 allows us to peek into the doors of heaven—where we will be in awe forever at the beauty and splendor of His reign.
