Your Perfect Law (Psalm 19)
The heavens declare the glory of God
The skies do proclaim the work of His hands
And day after day, they pour out His praise
And night after night, they show us His ways
Still lost in the world, my tired, weary soul
Still fearful of change and losing control
This sad, foolish heart is needing to see
The God who would humbly come rescue me
You revive my soul, give joy to my heart
Grow wisdom within and light up my eyes
With Your perfect law and trustworthy ways
More precious than gold; Lord, help me to obey
Ten beautiful laws You graciously gave:
There’s no other god besides You, Yahweh
No idol would give its own life for me
And love me so unconditionally
To rest in Your Sabbath, honour Your name
To love every neighbour, my family
To give up my lust of all earthly gain
For You satisfy me eternally
Cleanse me from every fault that’s hidden within
Keep me back from committing all willful sin
Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to You
Jesus Christ, my Rock, Redeemer!
Songwriter’s Story/Reflections:
I wrote this song in conjunction with a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, and a big challenge was capturing the Decalogue without it sounding like we were literally singing the Ten Commandments. The end result was Verse 2: Lines 2-4 (“there’s no other…”) reflect the 1st and 2nd commands. Line 5 (“to rest…”) corresponds to the 3rd and 4th commands. Lines 6 and 7 (“to love… to give up…”) summarise the essence of the 5th to 10th commands, which relate to right relationships and our propensity for greed.
Yet in considering God’s laws, it’s Psalm 19 that’s always been a profound revelation to me about not just what the law is, but how we are to engage with it. When we think about studying laws and legislation, I suspect that most of us don’t jump up in joy and passion (unless you’re a law professor). Yet Psalm 19 overflows with the psalmist’s love for God’s ways and appreciation of the law’s benefits (vv. 7-9). Things that we typically treasure, like physical wealth and delicious food (dim sum custard buns, anyone?), can’t even compare to God’s law (v. 10). So do we think and feel the same as the psalmist about God’s law? How does it revive and bring joy to you? Do we perceive the great reward in keeping it, and what might that reward be?
You might be tempted to feel that the law is a massive burden that you can never live up to. You might be tempted to feel the constant guilt of being a continual lawbreaker. The psalmist closes with a declaration that Yahweh is their Rock and Redeemer. Today, we know that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that statement. As God incarnate, He’s the only one who perfectly obeyed the law. He’s the rock on which we can build our lives. He’s the one who redeems us into freedom and relationship with Him. Christ perfectly fulfilled God’s perfect law so that we don’t need to. Instead, we simply get to bask in God’s unconditional love as we respond to Him, day by day, like little kids learning to love and listen to their adoring parents.
May “Your Perfect Law” inspire you to learn more about God’s ways, obey His will for you, and grow to love Him even more.