Sermon Tone Analysis

! The Sufficiency of Scripture – Psalm 19:7-8

Preached by Pastor Phil Layton on 12~/3~/2006 at Gold Country Baptist Church

www.goldcountrybaptist.org

 

READ PSALM 19:1-8

 

Psalm 19 has been called by C.S. Lewis “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world”—C.

S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1958), 63.

It has inspired other poems, such as Joseph Addison’s “The Spacious Firmament on high.”

You have a copy of this in your bulletin, on the back of your notes insert.

Addison prefaced his work with the words: “The Supreme Being has made the best arguments for His own existence in the formation of the heavens and earth.”

Addison’s poem first appeared in /The Spectator/ newspaper in 1712.

The Spacious Firmament on high, With all the blue Ethereal Sky,

And spangled Heav'ns, a Shining Frame,Their great Original proclaim:

Th' unwearied Sun, from day to day, Does his Creator's Pow'r display,

And publishes to every Land The Work of an Almighty Hand.

Soon as the Evening Shades prevail, The Moon takes up the wondrous Tale,

And nightly to the list'ning Earth Repeats the Story of her Birth:

Whilst all the Stars that round her burn, And all the Planets, in their turn,

Confirm the Tidings as they rowl, And spread the Truth from Pole to Pole.

… 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.

*Overall Division:*

 

! Verses 1-6                                                       Verses 7-11

/The Skies                                                         The Scripture/

/Supremacy of God’s glory                              Sufficiency of God’s Word/

Natural revelation                                           Supernatural revelation

General revelation in creation                         Special revelation for re-creation

God’s Glory in the world                               God’s Glory in His Word

 

Uses generic name for “God” (/El/)                  Uses covenant name for “LORD” 6x (Yahweh) – eternal, personal LORD

 

Helps us know there is a God                         Helps us know God relationally

 

This brings up some questions, which I introduced last week:

-          Is this natural or general revelation enough?

-          What about those who have never received special revelation in a Bible?

REVIEW ROMANS 1:18-25

 

Boice says in this connection with Rom 1, “this is the meaning of /glory /in Psalm 19 – a revelation of God’s existence and power so great that it should lead every human being on the face of the earth to seek God out, to thank him for bringing him or her into existence and to worship him.

But that is not what we do.

What Paul says in Romans is that, apart from God’s special intervention in our lives to save us, all human beings actually suppress the truth of God’s general revelation, either denying his existence altogether or else erecting a lesser god, an idol, in the true God’s place.

As a result of this, the wrath of God has been revealed against us and our truth-suppressing cultures.”

(p.

162)

 

Natural revelation conveys actual propositions:

* God exists.

* God is eternal.

* God is all-powerful

* God will judge those who reject Him.

READ ROMANS 10:13-18

 

General revelation in nature does not make anyone saved, it makes us responsible, responsible to respond to what /has /been revealed to us 

 

Sometimes people ask, “well what about some of the remote tribes in the world, who have never heard of Jesus, can they still be saved without him?”

The answer of Romans 10 is a clear no, that’s the whole point of missions, how will they hear without a preacher, and how will a preacher go unless he is sent?

To put it another way, they may not be consciously rejecting the Son of God by name because they’ve never heard of Him, but they are rejecting God the Father, and rather than truly seeking Him, they make up their own gods in their own image who they come to on their own terms that they’ve come up with.

R.C.

Sproul has talked about when his students used to ask “what about the innocent person in deep Africa who dies without ever hearing about Jesus or a Bible, can he go to heaven?”

And R.C. Sproul would say “yes”

His students would be shocked and surprised, and he would then explain “you said ‘innocent’ person – any person who’s innocent and perfect can go to heaven, but the problem is the Bible says there is no one who is truly /innocent./”

TURN TO ROMANS 2:14-16 – both creation and conscience convict all

 

The scriptures do say God rewards those who earnestly seek Him, and if there are hearts God wants to elect and call and save in the remotest part of the world, He can certainly enable those who are truly seeking God to be rewarded by sending them a missionary.

And this is not just hypothetical, but God has done this with the Taliabo people in Indonesia, or the Waodani, formerly called the Auca Indians in Ecuador.

Missionaries like Don Richardson /(Eternity in Their Hearts) /have documented many tribal groups who have awaited the arrival of evangelists bringing a book telling of a Savior.

By general revelation they have already known of the Creator and the Fall.

Thus God has prepared the way through His continual speech, and the door is wide open for evangelism.

(/Preacher’s Commentary, /Vol.

13, p. 159)

 

You will hear me share from time to time about different missionaries, because I think it’s important as we study theology that we also be reminded of the world out there who needs the Lord.

God’s glory and the splendor of heaven should motivate us to share it with others.

One of the healthiest things for us as a church is to have prayers and passion for unreached people in the world.

QUESTION: Is a display of glory or supernatural power better than written Scripture?

"/We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

//For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

//We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

//And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts/."

(2 Peter 1:16-19, NIV)

 

In Psalm 19:7-8, we are going to see that the Bible and Bible alone in its entirety, is the more certain word, greater than any visual display, greater than any experience and more beneficial than even miracles.

Miracles and emotions don’t save, God’s Word does.

It is the Bible and the Bible alone in its entirety, that is:

-          inspired by God (verbal-plenary, every single word, every jot and tittle)

-          infallible (never fails, never needs to be updated)

-          inerrant in all matters, including history and science

-          infinitely sufficient for all of life and godliness

John MacArthur puts it well: “Is the Bible so insufficient that it can't show us these things that we have to depend on worldly wisdom?

Do we have to go to men to ask them to explain what's happening?

Do we need further revelation?

Do we need psychoanalysis for spiritual problems from sources that long have rejected Scripture as even a source of truth?

Is the Bible so incomplete that we have to turn to science to explain origin, philosophy to explain life and sociology to explain sin?

No, all the light of life is in the Word of God.” (GTY, 80-19)

 

Psalm 19 says in every possible way, using every possible word in their vocabulary, that God’s Word is absolutely sufficient.

In Hebrew poetry, it doesn’t get any more perfect or parallel or powerful than the way verses 7-8 are structured.

C.S. Lewis isn’t the only one who has been amazed at I put a little grid in your bulletin that shows this, also on the back sheet of your notes page.

!!! Parallelism Structure of verses 7-8

 

| *Verse* | *Title* | *Source* | *Quality* | *Action* | *Object* |

| 7a | Law | Of the LORD | Perfect | Restoring | The soul |

| 7b | Testimony | !

Of the LORD

| Sure | Making wise | The simple |

| 8a | Precepts | Of the LORD | Right | Rejoicing | The heart |

| 8b | Commandment | Of the LORD | Pure | Enlightening | The eyes |

 

! AUTHORSHIP OF PSALM 19

 

David (below is adapted from GTY 80-19)

-          understood the extremities and struggles and trials and troubles and tribulations of life to the degree that few people have endured them.

-          He knew what it was to have his life threatened continually.

-          He knew what it was to be overlooked or underestimated and even belittled as a young man among his bigger brothers

-          He knew what it was to have fallen into deep sin, even adultery and murder

-          He knew what it was to lose a baby as well as a grown son in tragic death