Psalm 19: The God who speaks
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intro:
intro:
Break from 1 Peter series. This morning we will be walking through Psalm 19 Please turn with me there now.
As you are doing that, i want to ask, how many of us love and chase after novelty? put another way, how many of us get bored really quickly? If we are honest, many of us do. We grow bored of things that should continue to fill us with wonder. For those of us who have our license to drive, think back to the first time you drove on your own. Do you remember how cool you felt? You were more than willing to do errands for your parents if it meant you got to jump in the car, blast your own music. But what happened? A few weeks then months went by, and you lost some of that wonder you had before. Or think about airplanes. Do you remember your first time in an airplane experiencing the g-force as you took off from the runway? What did you feel as you saw the buildings below you quickly shrink as you disappeared into the clouds? You felt wonder! You felt awe! But just like driving, flying in an airplane boring, you began to complain about the lack of leg room, expensive snacks and food, and how long the flight took. ‘Familiarilty is the enemy of wonder’ (Trevin Wax)
But it isn’t only in everyday life that we grow tired of things that should cause us to wonder, if we are honest we grow tired with the ultimate wonder-the God of the universe has spoken .
The God who speaks. How does he speak?
For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 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. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
David, ancient Israelite marvelled that God had spoken. He worshipped God for not leaving his creation without a message.
David=no athiest, no panthiest, no deist
He didn’t attribute the wonders of creation to mere chance. Nor did he survey the land of Israel and think like a panthiest that the creation was God. And he didn’t look at the creation and say yes God created it all but left it to run on its own like a clock being wound up. He saw that God was the sovereign good, creator, and intimate sustainer of the creation
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Through creation-vs 1-6
God is speaks and is still speaking!
language of ‘speaking’-proclaim, declare, pour forth speech, reveal,
The heavens, skies, sun, moon, stars are all preaching to us!
b. David-an outdoor cat. spent a lot of time outside looking and studying the creation. He saw the goodness of God in it. In a polytheistic world that had different gods for different purposes, (crops, fertility, war)-David saw that Israel’s God was the one true Lord of ALL creation
in contrasting himself with the idols of the nations, God says this in Isaiah 40:25-26
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
For grown up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon.”-Chesterton quote-’do it again (orthodoxy)’
Paul Tripp
I like to say it this way, “You can’t get up in the morning without bumping into God.” All the glorious things in creation have been intentionally designed by God to reveal the glory of the One who created them. And so, that sunset, the lumbering gait of an elephant, the inexhaustible wings of a hummingbird, the power of a storm, the beautiful fragrance of a flower, the unbelievably beautiful coat of a tiger - all of those things were meant to remind us that there is One who sits on the throne of the universe who created and controls all that is. Psalm 19: General and Special Revelation - Paul Tripp's The Gospel One Psalm at a Time Bible Study
God has and is speaking through the creation-we call this general revelation. this revelation is enough for all people to know that there is a God. we see this in this text and Paul says the same in Romans 1:18-20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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.
because of the Fall, the entrance of sin into the fabric of the entire world, this general revealtion defined as the way: God communicates His existence, His power, and His glory, such that men are left without excuse. Keith Mathison-General and Special Revelation
doesn’t point you to the redemption found in Christ. for that, we need more. and that is why secondly we see that God speaks:
2. Through His Word vs 7-11
through Creation God is in fact speaking, but through His Word he reveals himself even more and shows us the way of redemption or salvation. look with me to vs 7-11 to see this:
David saw the wonder and goodness of God’s speaking through the creation but he went further and praised God for speaking through the Law-or the Torah, called the instruction. The instructions, commands, warnings, revelations that came through the Law weren’t stuffy or boring to David but invigorating! let’s look at the words he uses. He says the Law is: refreshing to the soul, trustworthy, giving wisdom, bringing joy, light to the eyes, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey, rewarding, protective
the story of creation, the stories of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, to God delivering His people out of Egypt, providing for them for the 40 years they wandered the desert, hearing of the rebellious nature of his ancestors, the 10 commandments, the case laws that the people of God would use to regulate their day to day lives, to the sacrifices-yes even the sacrifices. for David and his fellow Israelites, the sacrifices outlined in the Law were not boring appendices but the way that God graciously condescnded (ie, came down to our human level) so that our sins and offences could be removed and we could hvae precious fellowship with God Almighty!
the people learned who God was-his righteousness, holiness, purity, goodness, love. they learned that they were sinners desperate for the mercy of God, they saw God’s wonderful loving mercy and grace displayed to them, and they saw what God longed for them to live and look like. God outlined it all. (illustration of husband and wife fighting but withholding the reason for the rift-poor communication. God doesn’t do that, instead he outlines who he is and who we as his creation are meant to be! rather than commandments being burdensome, they were meant to bring delight and clarity and worship to the God who speaks)
Psalm 1 in contasting the two paths of life-the rightoues (ie, those who follow God and those who don’t) echoes this sentiment: Psalm 1:2
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
then you have Psalm 119-the longest chapter in the bible all devoted to worshipping God for speaking through His Word. imagine that? the longest chapter in the bible being devoted to praise that God has revealed Himself by speaking and giving us His Word
in speaking through the Law to Israel, God was revealing who He was in greater depth, who they were, how he had saved them, and how they were to live out their call as his chosen ones in the world. one author puts it this way:
Yes, the law is regulatory. But its goal is life. It serves to remove the threats to life and loving relationship. Its discipline and reuglation tells us that God loves his creation and his people. Michael D. Williams- Michael D. Williams, Far as the Curse is Found, (P & R Publishing: Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 2005), 168.
The God of cosmos was speaking to His people directly. they were blessed and fortunate
in contrast to general, we call this special revelation defined as that which tells us: of the way of salvation. Keith Mathison-Special revelation is the revelation of the way of salvation.
with just the creation, we would stand condemned with no hope of being saved from God’s righteous judgement for our sin. for salvation God must reveal himself even more and he has chosen to do this through his word
But we would stop short if we didn’t move on to see that God has given His final Word in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus-the fullest and clearest expression of Gods Word-the second person of the Trinity, truly God and co-equal in glory with the Father, took on flesh and came as the FINAL WORD OF GOD. Jesus was and is the surest and most explicit speech God has given us.
Not merely a O.T thing-the early church didn’t do away with the OT because Jesus came-instead they continued to read and listen and medidate to see how it all pointed to its fulfillment in Jesus. And what’s more, God, through the apostles, inspired the New Testament (2 Peter 3:16)
The Response vs 12-14
What is the right response to the God who speaks?
Humility and Repentance-vs 12-13
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Worship-vs 14
Tyndale (Derek Kidner):
And God is addressed not as the sinner’s accuser or judge but as his refuge (my rock; see on 18:2) and champion (my redeemer, as in, e.g., Lev. 25:25; Job 19:25). This sinner can call himself ‘thy servant’ (11, 13): he belongs to him by the covenant which the law itself presupposes Psalms 19:14
Calvin:
Certainly, if we separate the law from the hope of pardon, and from the Spirit of Christ, so far from tasting it to be sweet as honey, we will rather find in it a bitterness which kills our wretched souls. Psalms 19:10
Tyndale (Tremper Longman III):
Even today, with all of modern science’s descriptions and explanations, it is not rare for us to have our minds stunned by God’s incredible creation. Psalms 19:1
Most importantly, the Christian understands that the most perfect proclamation of God to humans is Jesus Christ himself. As the author of Hebrews puts it, ‘In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe’ (Heb. 1:1–2).
