Thus beautiful Psalm is dedicated by David, to the "Chief Musician". That person was the Conductor of the choir and the Orchestra that performed in the Temple. He was the one who led and controlled the worship of the singers, and the musicians, who were all Levites. This person was a man who was skilled in both the reading of music, and also of the words of the compositions that were set to music by him, (probably). We live in the New Testament age, and such a sacred duty is no longer entrusted to men, but is carried on by the Person of the Holy Spirit. When believers worship the Father, the Lord Jesus, (the Son), loves to take the lead in that matter. He says in (Psalm 22:22) "I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, and in the midst of the Congregation, (Church), will I praise Thee". Since the discovery of this truth by past generations of Christians, those that gather to the name of the Lord Jesus alone; have enjoyed some very sweet times, as they have met to remember the Lord Jesus, and to worship God, and the Father and the Son. I remember reading the testimony of brother Daniel Smith, who was en-route to China to serve the Lord as a missionary there. As the ship on which he was travelling was birthed in Singapore over a weekend, he went looking for a Church, and found his way to the Bras. Bazaar Road, Gospel Hall. He joined with the believers in their remembrance service, and he testified to the blessing that it was to him. He had been brought up in a formal denominational Church where everything was under the control of the priest or minister, but in that meeting there was no man in charge. He testified to the sweetness of that occasion; and how that the sweet savour of it remained with him for many years.

The Holy Spirit is the "Chief Musician" to us, and He still loves to prompt the hearts of the believers to worship both the Father and the Son. He cries within our hearts, and He causes us to cry, "Abba Father". Where He is in control of the meeting, there is a lovely harmony, a symphony of praise and adoration. In some Assemblies, because He has been ignored and grieved, things have become very dead. To remedy this some have suggested introducing "Controlled Worship", (that is "controlled" by men), thus the Holy Spirit is organised right out of the whole thing. Where this has been adopted, worship has become entertainment, and is very mechanical, at best!

The Psalmist now directs the gaze of those to whom he is writing, heavenwards, and he causes us to hear afresh the voice of God in His creation. This is a subject in itself. The witness of creation is dealt with in several passages of scripture. We are told in (Romans 1:19-23) that the Eternal Power and Godhead of God are apprehended by thinking men wherever they are. They see the testimony to this in the things that God has made, and night and day He shouts to men about His glory etc, so that men are responsible to listen to His voice through the creation, wherever they are. This makes intelligent men to be responsible, wherever they are, and whether they have heard the Gospel of His grace and salvation, or not. They are left without excuse.

In saying this, I am not seeking to minimise the responsibility of true Christian believers to preach the Gospel to every Creature. (Mark 16:15) & (John 20:22-23) As long as we are here in this world, it will be both our duty and our privilege to share the Gospel with each person that we meet. But if we fail in this responsibility, God will not be hindered in what He has determined to do. There will be myriads in heaven that have never once heard the Gospel. They have lived and died without hearing it even once. Yet they have heard the voice of God through His creation. But let me make this absolutely clear; that each one that finds their eternal home in that place, will only be there because Christ has died.

Let us take Job as an example; he had a knowledge and a fear of God; yet he had never heard the Gospel. When at last God spoke to him, He did not point to any sacrifice, but instead drew Job’s attention to just a few things in His creation. It was the contemplation of the greatness of God that was displayed in His Creation that brought Job down to brokenness and repentance. But God imputed to Job, the precious merit of the sacrifice of Jesus, and it was because of this that he was made righteous, and because of this, and this only he will be in heaven.

This answers the question that arises in the minds of many, "What happens to those that have never heard the Gospel?" God is a just God, and His wisdom, His power, and His unselfishness also are to be seen by men, wherever they are, in His creation, the things that He has made. He holds men responsible to listen to His voice, whether in the Gospel, or in the Creation.

The story is told of a traveller, who spent the night with a lonely man in his tent in the desert. In conversation with this man the traveller discovered that his host had a firm belief in God. He was amazed and he asked the desert dweller how he could possibly believe in God, when he was dwelling in such a lonely barren place. The host replied, "How do I know that a man passed by my tent through the night"? He then took his guest outside and showed him footprints in the sand. So it is that God has left a testimony to Himself, in the Creation. The Heavens do declare His glory. The Firmament does show His handiwork. But there is a deeper meaning in these words also.

Hebrews 3:1, tells us that we are "Holy Brethren:, and that we are "Partakers of a heavenly calling". There are also many other scripture references that support this claim, but they are too many to mention one by one, in this paper. (Philippians 2:15), tells us that we are "Lights in the World". That is we are to shine as stars in the firmament, shedding light in the darkness that has engulfed this world. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul compares the saints with stars, saying, "As star differs from star in Glory", (1Corinthians 15:40-41). Thus it is that God speaks to lost men through the lives of His Children. Each star does not have any light in itself, but they reflect the light of the Sun. The same is true of the moon, and the Planets. The same is also true of you and me. Once we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. It is God’s intention that we should "Show forth the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light", (1Peter 2:9. Darby trans.) However in the heavens we see perfect order. This is because each star is held in its proscribed orbit, by the power of attraction. There is a law that operates in our heavenly system, and this law is the ‘Law of Gravity’. This ‘Law’, gives weight and stability to everything. Yet it is a "Law of Attraction", it does not compel, or repel, but it attracts. If this Law were not operating in our universe, then all would be absolute confusion. Not one thing would have either weight or stability. Thus it is, that you and I need to be daily and constantly yielded to the attractive power of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. If this is so He will hold us in the orbit that God has proscribed for us. (The path of God’s will). Our lives will then be a daily display of the faithfulness, and power of our God. (Isaiah 40:26). In another setting, the Lord Jesus is called "The Sun of Righteousness. (Malachi 4:2) He is indeed the Sun and centre of God’s heavenly system.

Verse 1 tells us that the "Firmament showeth His handiwork. This is a lovely thought, because it reveals to us the exquisite nature of what God does, (and is doing), in the life of each believer. But is it true of your life and of mine? When other believers, or when lost men look at our lives, do we really "Show forth the excellencies of Him? What power there would be in the testimony, if this was really so?

When we look at the sphere of ‘Christian testimony today, such confusion meets our eyes, Why? In the light of this Psalm the reason is quite clear: Those that are not subject to Christ, and are not controlled by the Law of His Attraction, are out of their proscribed orbit, and thus are likely to clash with others. Where all are subject to Christ, there is perfect order, because we are told, "God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace, in all the Churches of the saints". (1Corinthians 14:33)

The path chosen for us by God, (the path of His Holy Will), is the very best path for us. We could never hope to improve on the great mind of Wisdom that has planned this universe. If we joyfully submit to that authority we shall be stable, happy, and fruitful. We shall fulfil the purpose for which we were created, and redeemed. If we rely on His power alone, we will surely be kept, because Isaiah tells us that because of the greatness of His power, not one of the Heavenly bodies that He Created, are missing, all are still there.

Day unto Day, Night unto Night.

The path chosen for the believer is not all sunshine. God in His Great wisdom sometimes chooses times of darkness, and coldness, times of difficulty. But if we have the grace to accept all from His wise and loving hand, then He will choose those times to enable us to shine for Him. Day unto Day uttereth speech, thus when all is well, and we bask in the warmth and sunshine of the Love of Christ, God speaks through us to others, both to the saved and the lost. It is a matter of great grief that so often when things are easy for us, when we are materially comfortable, it is then that we often fail. It is a regrettable fact that so often when the going is tough. When money is scarce, and life is hard, it is then that believers shine for God. But let material circumstances improve, and comforts increase, then the believer loses their shine. They tend to become apathetic, and to become occupied with material comforts. When they grow rich, and increased with goods, they tend to leave the Lord Jesus out of their lives, even as the Church at Laodicea did.

Though it may seem strange to some, yet we should pray that it might please God to take away from us, those things that will rob us of the wonder of eternal things. We do not relish sickness, hardship, and difficulty but it is these things that enable Him to manifest His great knowledge. (Romans 11:33-36, & 8:35-39)

In them hath He set a tabernacle for the Sun

Here God gives us a picture of the whole area of the activities of His grace. Though we form a part of the system of His revelation, yet His real purpose is that Christ may be glorified, and may bring out into display His ability to produce beauty, and to demonstrate His wondrous love.

It is interesting that the Sun, (our Lord Jesus Christ), is spoken of as being like a Bridegroom. This would remind us once more; that our relationship with Him is a love relationship. It is His love that produces

warmth, life, colour and beauty in the lives of all His chosen ones. It is only the rays of the sun that produce life and beauty on this earth. If the sun did not shine, then all would be cold, dry, drab and lifeless. I know that some my object; saying that rain is the basic requirement. That may be so; but without the sun, and the action of its rays in evaporation, there would be no rain. It would help us if we were to remind ourselves that there is no colour in anything. All colour and the contrast that it brings is derived from light. To prove what I say, when all light is excluded from a room, everything in it becomes black. But turn on the light once again, and all the different colours appear once more. This means that apart from the Sun of Righteousness, there would be no beauty, and no life. John suggests this to us when he tells us in his Gospel, that there was life in Christ, and that He was the Light of men.(John 1:4)

This Psalm indicates that the Lord Jesus anticipates with joy, the opportunity to display the wonder of His life, His love and His beauty in your life and mine. He rejoices at the challenge that our lives present. To Him. His strength it so much greater than our weakness. He is able to affect everything by the brightness of His presence. His circuit is from the end of the heavens, and to its end also. Nothing is hidden from the warmth and the life giving, beauty imparting power of His wondrous love.

Let us then gladly surrender ourselves to Him and His wondrous love. Let us yield ourselves wholly to Him, so that He may then use our poor lives to display the greatness of His love to us, and to others!

There seems to be a division in Psalm nineteen, at verse seven. There the Psalmist seems to (almost abruptly), change his occupation with the Person of Christ, (the Sun), and he then turns to examine what lays behind this whole system of glory. He begins from verse seven to speak about the positive effect of the Law of Jehovah. So we will leave that to be dealt with in the following paper.

May God bless you, and instruct each one of us in the truths of His word!