Psalm 19
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Intro:
Intro:
VBS Jesus’s power
Hope, makes me bold, live forever
Growing up hunting
Duck hunting in the morning
Deism - God creates and has no intervention or is not active with His creation
Francis Schaeffer, a Christian intellectual giant of the 20th century, says this: “the infinite-personal God is there, (he exists) but also he is not silent; that changes the whole world….he is there and is not silent, nor far-off”
I think I’ve made this distinction before when it comes to the character of God and how He is a relational God
And how we see that from the very beginning
When God creates, He speaks
And in that moment we see the way the God relates to humanity.
2 books
the book of nature
and the book of Scripture
Francis Bacon, a 15th century scientist says this on the matter:
Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 God Is There and He Is Not Silent (Psalm 19)
“There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error: first the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the creation, which expresses his power”
Our Psalm today, Psalm 19, addresses both of God’s books: the book of nature in vs 1-6 and the book of Scripture in verses 7-14
So I want us to, as we read this Psalm today, to mindful of that reality, listen as the beauty of this poem unfolds
C.S. Lewis once said
Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 God Is There and He Is Not Silent (Psalm 19)
“I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world
For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
pray
So, this is one of the primary verses christians use when speaking about general revelation
Or the idea that God reveals himself to all humans in a general sense through nature.
Right? So, as David begins his psalm by making a powerful statement of general revelation
“The heavens declare the glory of God”,
referring to the moon, sun, planets, and stars.
They speak of the greatness and awesomeness of God
“the skies proclaim the work of His hands”
Referencing the lower atmosphere where the clouds float and the birds fly
Sunsets, the northern lights
they proclaim the masterpiece of divine craftsman.
These words declare and proclaim here in the Psalm express: continuous, ongoing revelation.
So it can be read as the heavens keep on declaring
the skies keep on proclaiming
Verse 2 expands on that idea of constant revelation with
“day after day they pour forth speech.”
they bubble up and overflow
“night after night, they reveal knowledge
Even in the darkness of night we can see the moon and stars, the galaxies.
Even the night shouts to us that God is there
Yet vs 3 “there is no speech; there are no words; no sound is heard from them.”
Without a single word the world speaks of great things from a great God
The message is for all. no one is excluded
And verse 4 caps of the universality of this revelation from the skies with “their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.”
All have seen it. All have heard it.
I love how Charles Spurgeon puts it: “although the heavenly bodies move in solemn silence, yet in reasons’s ear they utter precious teachings.”
The heavens truly speak of the glory of God!
David continues as he speaks of the greatest stellar light from the earths perspective, the sun
Although it is ninety-three million miles from the earth, we are dependent on its regularity and its faithfulness for our existence.
David uses 2 metaphors here
First with the sky, likened to a tent, as its backdrop
the sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his bridal chamber on his wedding day headed for his bride
It is brilliant, joyful, and exuberant
It is something to see, something to behold
Second, it is like an athlete running a course
It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to the other end
Nothing is deprives of its warmth
God’s glory, power, wisdom, and greatness shine bright for all to see and feel
Now, before we move to the next section a few takeaways:
#1 From creation we can know God exists
#2 All people everywhere have this visual knowledge.
Not verbal but visible
heard with the eyes not the ears
#3 creation informs all that God is a powerful and glorious creator.
The magnitude and wonders of creation display His omnipotence
#4 the superstitious who are enslaved to the worship of nature and the deception of astrology, see more in the stars than what is there
So, pantheism would tell us to look at the skies and stars and creation in general and see it’s beauty, not pointing to a Creator, but pointing to more than what is there.
So, in other words, as majestic and stunning as these object can be they are simply just that.
Objects. Not deities. Objects that reflect the glory of the one true God
And so we are not meant to look to the sky for knowledge and wisdom but only to God and His Word
#5 the modern secularist and atheist actually see less than the heavens reveal
So, for the atheist, who believes in no God, no creator, no higher power
Might see creation with amazing insight remain blind to the Creator it points to
Scripture and Psalm 19 would argue, that creation alone debunks that thought
That it is much more logical to believe in a creator who has the ability to create all that we see than to believe by happenstance, coincidence, or luck it just bursted on to the scene
And Psalm 19 is demanding that we see that Creator as Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
The God of the NT who sent His Son Jesus into the world for the sins of the World
The King of kings and Lord of Lords
The alpha the omega, the beginning the end, the first and last
Our loving heavenly Father who was and is and is to come
The Holy of holies, our provider and protector
The almighty God!
And intellectualism does not equal denial of that truth
In fact, Scripture would argue that only the foolish would look at creation and deny its creator
I would argue that every human in all of creation has an innate belief in the reality of a god
But it is the sin of man that rebukes that truth and looks somewhere else
In other words, we should listen to God through nature, but we must listen clearly and carefully, accurately and truthfully.
He is saying a lot, but he is not saying everything we need to hear and know.
To know him savingly, we need His Word!
So, we continue on.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
In other words, nature leaves everyone without excuse
It is enough to condemn them but it is not enough to save them
So, the theoretical person isolated on a island is neither safe nor innocent.
He is a condemned lost sinner
He needs the gospel
He needs the Scriptures which is why we are tasked with taking the very gospel to the ends of the earth
Humanity needs Jesus, they need the gospel, and they need the Word of God
Let’s look at some reminders of Scripture and then see what David has to say about it
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
And here in Psalm 19 David adds his witness to the Holy Scriptures
12 marvelous truths
#1 it is perfect and it strengthens
It is all that God wants us to know about him.
It is perfect. Not needing anything added or taken away
It is perfect and does a perfect work in refreshing the soul
#2 it is sure and gives wisdom
The Word of God is sure, true in principle, trustworthy.
It is never fallible, unstable, or undependable
You can always trust it is leading you to truth
It can take undiscerning, naive, and gullible people and make them wise
It allows us to see life as God sees life and act accordingly
#3 It is right and brings joy
They are never wrong
They are accurate
If your heart needs joy, we should dive into God’s Word
In it is joy and gladness evermore
#4 It is pure and provides direction
It is absent of sin, malice, and corruption
It is not dark, vague, or contaminated
And because of that it gives light to the eyes
It brings understanding so that we can see how to live and what to do
#5 It is clean and endures forever
It gives us a fear of God that the Bible produces in us, a right and holy reverence and respect for God.
And this pure book will endure forever
Its power and purpose will never end
#6 It is true and righteous
God’s word is the only measure for reality
The Word of God provides us with the standard of righteousness because it flows from the nature of God himself
A righteous God will only speak a righteous word
#7 it is valuable and priceless
It is more desirable than gold
Take the best this world can offer and it is nothing compared to the Word of God
Scripture exists in a class by itself
#8 it is delicious and sweet
David says it is sweeter than honey
The Bible tastes sweet to the soul
This is why even when it is physically difficult at time to stay in the Word, it is sweet for the soul that we do
It satisfies the deepest desires and longings of the heart forever
#9 It is helpful and rewarding
It alerts us to sin
It warns us of spiritual danger
It screams at the sight of evil and wickedness
It informs how to live and not to live, how to walk and not to walk, and how to find joy and avoid sorrow
#10 It is instructive and cleansing
David addresses those sins in our life that are often hidden faults
Perhaps even unintentional
that sin that is often confusing or baffling to us
Where we look at ourselves in hindsight and say “what was I thinking? I cannot believe I said that. Or I cannot believe I did that.”
We need the light of God’s Word to reveal it, to bring it to the light.
#11 It is protective and liberating
But then David address the other side of sin in our lives
The sins that we commit because we presumes to know better than God or presume that sin is no big deal
fully intentional sin
How do we combat this type of sin?
by not letting them rule us but the Word of God
Confessing confidence in God grace and forgiveness found in His Word
and declaring our assurance that even our great sin will not be able to slap a guilty sentence on us or cut us off from the community of God’s people according to His Word
#12 it is transforming and saving
A beautiful and appropriate prayer to end
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
The Word of God urges us to hold nothing back
To give all of ourselves to the Lord
For how he sees us is all that really matters
He is our redeemer, deliverer, and Savior
And guess what church: we have this God and His Word.
And if that is true, then what more do we need?
David would respond with: absolutely nothing!
for in Him we have all we need.