Three Ways To Know God (2)

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

In this most eloquent, triumphant, and reflective psalm, David rejoiced that God has made Himself knowable. In what darkness we would grope and stumble—how like blind cattle we would be—if God had not revealed Himself in three forms of light! [Explain outline.]

Know God through the light of the skies. (vv.1-6)

When you look at creation, can you hear its voice? Do you hear what it has to say? According to this psalm of David, there’s much to hear. What do the heavens (the clouds, sun, moon, and stars) declare? God’s glory! What does the sky proclaim? “This is God’s work!” The days don’t whisper or stutter; they pour out speech. The nights are no closed book; they are a teacher, eager to reveal knowledge.

Charles Spurgeon once reflected, “It is not merely glory that the heavens declare, but the ‘glory of God,’ for they deliver to us such unanswerable arguments for a conscious, intelligent, planning, controlling, and presiding Creator, that no unpredjudiced person can remain unconvinced by them.”

The poetry-lover in me cannot resist sharing with you a few lines from a hymn by Joseph Addison penned in 1712, lines that celebrate the message of the countless orbs in space:

In reason’s ear they all rejoice,

And utter forth a glorious voice,

For ever singing as they shine,

‘The hand that made us is divine.’

The things that we can learn about God from creation are not unique to us in America, nor are they unique to the world of modern science. Creation communicates to all people of all times in all the earth. This is what Paul wrote about in Romans 1:18–20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Paul makes it easy for us by telling us what we should be learning about God through the created world: His eternal power and His divine nature. Any man or woman who has spent a day holding a shovel should have awe at God’s eternal power. If you pour out every drop of sweat in your body to move as much earth as you can in a day and then you go to a high hill to survey your work, you can see that you don’t have the power to make much of a difference. In contrast, whoever made the whole earth has some significant power. And when night falls so that you can see the other heavenly bodies, you get the idea that you are small, and your Creator is big.

Anyone could see this, even before we knew that light travels more than 670 million miles per hour and even before we knew that a lightyear is 6 trillion miles and even before we knew that the very nearest star to our sun is more than 4 lightyears away and even before we knew that our galaxy contains something like 200 billion stars and even before we knew that our galaxy is one of about 2 trillion galaxies, as far as we can tell. We are small, and we have a very big God. We also have a very wise God, a God who is able to order countless tiny unseen details to bring about grand cosmic results. He is a God of eternal power and divine nature.

When Missionary John Williams arrived in Tahiti in 1817, having been sent by the London Missionary Society, he landed on an island of people who took their religion very seriously.      

Having learned from nature that there are forces beyond nature, these people set their wisest citizens to determine how they should worship. The result was a religion dominated by fear and heartache. Terrified of the wrath of their gods, these islanders expressed their faithfulness by burning themselves, eating their enemies, and sacrificing their children.      

Nature does a great job of communicating to us that we are not all that is. Scientists are now in general agreement that the universe had a beginning. This beginning included the origin of time, which means that either nothing created everything or something outside of time (something eternal) created everything. What we can learn about God from creation is meaningful. It is powerful. It is insightful. But it is insufficient. It left the natives of Tahiti and countless other people groups around the globe engaged in terribly destructive and hateful religious practices, mostly springing from a fear of higher power.   

 And that is why humanity needed more. God didn't just say, "Let there be light" and leave the light to do the rest of the speaking. He spoke so much more. He provided the Law.

Know God through the light of the Law. (vv.7-11)

The transition between v.6 and v.7 is so abrupt that if you are just reading straight through this psalm, you might feel jolted. In fact, some scholars have suggested that Psalm 19 is not one psalm but two unrelated psalms spliced together. But you can see the continuity, can’t you? This is a prayer and a song that rejoices in the fact that God reveals Himself to us. And in David’s time, God had revealed Himself in two significant ways: through nature and through the law.

Each of those ways held an advantage over the other. The advantage of creation is that its message is shared automatically to all the earth. But the advantage of the law is that God’s word could let us know specific details about our creator.

In 1853 archeologist Hormuzd Rassam and his team were digging at the site of ancient Nineveh when they discovered a palace. Now by looking at the palace layout and the pottery fragments they found, Rassam could make a few general conclusions about the king who lived in the palace, he couldn’t know details. It wasn’t until writing was uncovered that archeologists and historians could learn specifics about this king, such as his name and his tastes and his achievements. It turned out to be the palace of Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (ASH-ur-BON-uh-pol), who is likely the very same king called Osnappar (OS-nuh-par) in the book of Ezra.

Waking up in a God-created world is quite like discovering the ruins of an ancient palace. We can draw conclusions about God from his creation, but it isn’t until He speaks that we can know specific details about Him, such as His name and how He wants us to behave and how He wants to be worshipped.

There is something about this psalm that is particularly beautiful. It is a powerful tool to communicate the song’s message, and I don’t want you to miss it. [Explain El in vv.1-6; YHWH in vv.7-14.]

And this is the beauty and the blessing of the Law: By it, we learn the particulars of who God is, of what He likes, of what He has done.

Oh, how David loved the law! He actually used 6 different words for it here in the psalm. He called it the law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and rules of Yahweh. For the sake of clarity, I will refer to these collectively as the Law for the remainder of this sermon, and by that I mean the written revelation of God that was available to David as he wrote this psalm.

Just look at the benefits David saw in the Law. Can you relate to these, as you read the Bible?

1. The Law revives the soul. Your soul has been wounded. Like a bone out of its socket, your soul has been jolted from its center. The Hebrew word translated reviving in v.7 of the ESV is shoob, and it means “returning again.” The law can reset you soul like a doctor who resets a bone. Find healing in God’s law. For example, if you have come to think that you are quite insignificant, apply the ointment of Genesis 1: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

or perhaps you have come to think about yourself too much, forgetting to consider the importance of those around you. Apply the ointment of Leviticus 19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” What a powerful ointment that is, a reminder that you have Lord, and you are one of billions who matter to him as much as you do. Love them as yourself.

2. The Law turns simpletons into wise sages. Perhaps you have made too many foolish decisions in your life, and you are sick of dealing with the consequences. Look to Genesis 41:38–39: And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.” Conclude correctly that wisdom is a gift of God. Beg him for it, and after you have asked, seek it in His word like a miner following a vein of gold through a mountain.

3. The Law rejoices the heart. Perhaps your heart is downcast. This life is certainly full of troubles. Again, consider Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers, condemned to prison for refusing to commit a crime, and forgotten in prison for two years by a fellow prisoner. Yet Joseph remained strong because he still had one thing, something which no thing and no one could ever take from him: a relationship with God. And eventually God raised Joseph from the dungeon depths to the palace balcony. Don’t you know that God will raise your head from its downcast state? He will wipe away every tear, and you will see that what the world meant for evil, God meant for good.

4. The Law enlightens the eyes. Perhaps your eyes have grown dull from the monotony of life. It’s the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month. What’s the point of it all? Do you remember Abram? He left everything he knew based on God’s command, and God promised him a son, though he was 75 years old, and his wife was barren. Abram, later renamed Abraham, lived on the joy of that promise day after day, week after week, month after month for 25 years, and then Sarah delivered Isaac. Abram found purpose in his faithfulness to God, and that purpose gave birth to a nation that would later bless the entire world. Just as God’s spoken word made a light for the sky, His written word can provide a light to your weary eyes, as you find purpose in Him.

With the value that David placed on God’s special revelation, you can see that David had no use for legalism, no use for external restraints on behavior that leave people living as whitewashed tombs. This psalm values the law of Yahweh for its power to reveal the very heart of God. That is what makes the law sweeter than honey and more valuable than gold: It shows us our Creator’s righteousness and beauty.

But, of course, as soon as it does that, the Law leaves us realizing how far we fall short of the glory of God. The Law does what the Law does: It shows us our weakness. The Law leads us to understand right living, but understanding right living is not enough to please God. What happens when we understand how God wants us to live, but we realize that we don’t live that way?

This realization led David to see his need for a revelation of God even greater than the Law. Look with me at vv. 12-4.

Know God through the Light of the world. (vv.12-4)

In v.12 David expressed the sad truth that we don’t even realize how much we mess up. The law shows us what sin is, but sins are often hidden, even from those who commit them. Sometimes they are hidden because of their inward residence, as when we do a good thing out of a bad motivation, such as unconscious pride. But sometimes our faults may be outward and obvious to others, while we remain totally oblivious to them because they are so engrained in us. David realized that He needed God to pronounce him innocent.

In v.13 David acknowledged his need for God to deliver him from evil, to guard him from the temptation to commit blatant sins. He admitted that he could not be blameless or maintain innocence without God’s intervention. Likewise, may we all pray, lest we enter into temptation.

In our time, we are privileged to know that intervention is exactly what God provided. We have seen the light of the skies, and we have rejoiced in the light of the Law. Now we turn to the Light of the world. God introduced Himself to us a human being named Jesus of Nazareth, who said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Paul wrote eloquently of Jesus as more beneficial to us than the law of Moses alone. Romans 8:3–4 “...God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Could the Law condemn sin? No, it could only reveal sin and condemn us. Could the Law make us righteous? No, it could only show us that we are not righteous. But in Jesus, God did condemn sin. In Jesus, God can make us righteous.

Nature taught us that we have a powerful God.

The law taught us that we have a righteous God, that we are slaves to sin, and that we need to be set free from our slavery.

Jesus came to purchase our redemption from slavery.

In v.14, David called God his redeemer, and we see in Jesus what a great price God had to pay to redeem us.

Back in the Law of Moses, back in Genesis 15, we read of a very strange thing that God did for Abram. He told Abram to kill 3 animals, cut each one of them in half, and line up the halves in two rows. He was also to add a whole bird carcass to each row. Abram likely knew what this was about because it was the way to set up a blood covenant. The idea was that someone of low rank would make a promise to someone of higher rank by walking between the pieces to say, “May I be torn to pieces if I fail to keep my promise.” Sometimes two equal parties would pass between the pieces together to say, “May the one of us who breaks his promise be torn to pieces.”

Abram probably had a clear expectation. God would have him promise to be faithful by walking between the pieces. But that’s not what happened. Instead, darkness fell, and God passed through the pieces in a declaration that He would not fail to fulfill His promise to give Abram an heir who would bless the whole world. Now, it was strange enough that God, of higher rank than Abram, passed through the pieces. But even more shocking was this: God never asked Abram to pass through. It was as if God were saying, “If I prove unfaithful, may I be torn to pieces. And if you prove unfaithful, may I be torn to pieces.”

And that’s exactly what happened on the cross. Jesus, God in flesh, was torn to pieces—not because He was a slave to sin, but because Abram was, and David was, and I was, and you were. And at the price of His precious flesh and His priceless blood, he bought our freedom.

Now, what is required of you to obtain that freedom?

David wrote, “Let the words of my mouth...” and Paul wrote, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord...”

David continued, “and the meditation of my heart...” and Paul continued, “and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you, like David, want to be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, and if you want to know Him as your Rock and your Redeemer, let the words of you mouth be: “Jesus is Lord.” and let your heart meditate on Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Back in the 1800s, John Williams delivered the word of God and introduced the person of God to the natives of Tahiti and its surrounding islands. On February 26, 1830, one island chief who followed Christ said this to a crowd of his fellow believers at a worship service: “We were dwelling formerly in a dark house, among centipedes and lizards, spiders and rats; nor did we know what evil and despicable things were around us. The lamp of light, the Word of God, has been brought, and now we behold with dismay and disgust these abominable things. But stop. Some are killing each other this very day while we are rejoicing; some are destroying their children while we are saving ours; some are burning themselves in the fire while we are bathing in the cool waters of the gospel. What shall we do? We have been told this day by our missionary that God works by sending His Word and His servants. To effect this, property must be given. We have it; we can give it. Prayer to God is another means: Let us pray fervently. But our prayer will condemn us if we cry, “Send forth Thy word and make it grow” and do not use the means.”

Brothers and sisters, isn’t this our story? It was good of God to reveal Himself by providing the light of the sun, but left to that revelation alone, we merely wallow in sin, blind to God’s ways. Eventually He provided the light of His law, but left to that revelation, we try vainly to avoid sin and discover our slavery to it. And in the fulness of time, He sent us His Son to set us free. Now that we have this freedom, what will we do with it? Will we keep it to ourselves while our neighbors and people in distant lands remain slaves, or will we share the key that will unlock their shackles as well as it did ours? God has revealed Himself. Are we content to let him be ignorable? Heaven forbid. When Jesus appealed to His authority and commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations, He set us on the work to make the Light of the world as far-reaching as the light of the skies. God works by sending His Word and His servants. To effect this, property must be given. We have it; we can give it. Prayer to God is another means: Let us pray fervently. But our prayer will condemn us if we cry, “Send forth Your word and make it grow” and do not use the means.

Be a doer of this word, and not a hearer only.

Pay attention to nature’s messages about God.

Invest your time and energy in to mining the riches of the word of God.

Delight in your personal relationship with Jesus.

Share God’s revelation with those who need to know.

Pastor Mike & I would love to have the honor of talking with you about how God is working in your life, perhaps even through today’s message.

Lord’s Supper

By taking the Lord’s Supper together, we remind one another of the price God paid to unite us to Him, and we celebrate our union with one another as brothers and sisters in the family of God. By approaching this table to take bread and cup, you testify that you confess Jesus as Lord and you believe that God raised Him from the dead.

Come.

Before we take the bread and the cup together, let’s pray together the end of Psalm 19. I will speak a line of the psalm and then give you a moment to meditate on it and lift it to God before I say the next line.

12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

[Pray.]

When Jesus told His followers to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation, He was commanding them to make the message of the gospel known in all places that see the light of the sun. I am going to read some of Psalm 19, the part that described the sun, and I want you to hear it as if it is describing the gospel. Can you see this as a vision for sending out an army of missionaries: “[The gospel] comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

This is our vision. This is our task. If we take it seriously, we could possibly see the gospel reach every people group in our lifetime, but as of now, it remains an unfinished task. Let’s dedicate ourselves anew to praying for missions, giving to missions, and going on mission as we stand and sing, “Facing A Task Unfinished.”