God's threefold revelation of himself

Psalm 19 Gods threefold revelation of himself C.S. Lewis once stated that psalm 19 is, "the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world." It is a poem which is all about God's revelation of himself to his creation, and that on three different levels ... his self-revelation to humanity as a whole, to his peculiar people, and to you and me. Not surprisingly then the whole psalm can be split into three: Verses 1-6, verses 7-10 and verses 11-14 each of which addresses one of these three types of revelation, such that we have Gods general revelation, his special revelation, and then his personal revelation. In this way the psalm acts rather like a telescopic lens on a camera or on a powerful microscope as it gradually narrows the field from the broader picture to the more detailed and specific. The first section then, verses 1-6, looks at God's general revelation beginning with the words: "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 display knowledge." These verses are a tremendous declaration of God's glory, given by a man, David, who spent his early years as a shepherd. We can imagine him working night after night, watchful, gazing up at the starlit sky whilst the sheep slept; and then during those many long days, under the hot sun and blue skies, guiding his charges to their fresh pasture ... all the while being conscious of the vastness of the heavens around him stretching from one horizon to the other. And as he considers all this grandeur, which is God's created order, so David reflects on its wonder and, at the same time, his own insignificance in comparison. He feels that he's unable get away from this awesome majesty because the very heavens he sees are declaring, they're shouting out, the skies are proclaiming, they're announcing publicly and openly, the fact and reality of the greatness of the God who's made them all. And what's more this isn't just something that comes into his mind from time to time when he chances to look up and notice; no, day after day after day, without ever ceasing, pressing themselves upon his thinking, the heavens are pouring forth their speech to him. Much like a great fountain that's continually gushing out water, drenching all that's under it so, during the brightness and busyness of each day, the very heavens tell out in one continuous, never ending flow, the truth about their creator. And then during the quietness of each night, when all is still, like a giant neon display, all the knowledge about the glory of God is writ up large ... and all that is beneath cannot help but be touched by it. Says David: "There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard". In other words he realises that he's not the only one to whom the heavens speak. Because the voice that he's talking about isn't audible. It speaks to senses other than that of physical hearing. It speaks to the emotions, to the soul, so that speech and language differences are no barrier to its reception. And, as a result, "Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." There's no one on the face of the earth to whom God's creation does not speak of Him, he realises. And then, in order to demonstrate this truth more clearly, David turns to the example of the sun. Perhaps not something that we find it so natural to relate to here in Britain when for much of the time it seems to be blotted out from us. However James Elder Cumming, the 19th century Scottish minister and Bible scholar, speaks of the sun as David would have seen it when he says: "though I had seen the beauty of sunrise in these northern climes, I never felt the truth of David's, till over the hills of Moab I saw thrice in one week, the sun rise, bursting up into view with a giants strength and eagerness, from my window to the North of Jerusalem." The sun to David is like the "Lord of the sky"; the sky itself forming almost a tent for it to live in, out of which it comes each morning, "like a bridegroom coming forth from its pavilion" (verse 6) ... like the bridegroom about to be married, full of enthusiasm, full of joy. He compares it too to "a champion rejoicing to run his course". Like an athlete who's fully prepared, fit and strong and straining at the leash to start the race, confident that they will win that race. And nothing, says David, can resist its warming heat as it makes its circuit from one end of the heavens to the other. This then, through his creation, through nature, is how God reveals himself generally, but nevertheless so clearly, to mankind ... and someone has said that if, after looking on these things, a man calls himself an atheist then he is either a liar or a fool. However the truth is that the heavens and nature don't speak out loud, and because of this fact we as individuals are left to interpret them, which of course is where the problems begin. Because there are those who get it completely wrong, being more interested in worshipping the creation rather than the creator. For example those who look to the stars for their direction in life ... pagans and others who see their god in the things around them. But it's also true that the message of nature can be confusing, the created order both tells and doesn't tell. We can understand that there is a glorious God who created these marvels, but then the message we receive is limited - it tells us of him but it can't tell us fully about him. What's more the message can seem contradictory ... the beauty of the fields and pastures around us tells us one truth whilst the storm and the volcano tell us another one. And so verse 7 begins to tell us of a better, more complete, revelation of himself given by God. Which is His Special revelation. The revelation of God's Will in words that are unambiguous, in a language that's plain, simple and intelligible such that these words can then can be understood by all. And here David's talking about God's Word. And in verses 7 to 10 he lays out that Word almost like a menu of delightful food that's spread out before us, as he gives six different titles each relating to a different characteristic of his Word. First there's the "Law", God's instructions given to his people to enable them to live holy lives. Then there are the "statutes of the Lord", which God declares to be valid and true. Next David gives us God's word as the "precepts", likening it to instructions or principles that guide someone's behaviour even in the smallest everyday details of life. Then fourthly he speaks of God's word as "Commands", as instructions that are to be obeyed; then as "fear", it is "the fear of the Lord" who must be treated with great respect and reverence, and finally it is the "ordinances of the Lord" (verse 9), something that has authority behind it, that has to be meticulously followed if it is going to achieve its end. That's prescribed, rather like the medicine which we're given by our doctor whose instructions we have to follow to the letter if it's to bring us the healing for which it was made. This then is the completeness of God's word in revealing his will to his creature, to the one who verse 7 tells us is simple, the one who recognises their own weakness and who simply trusts in God, the one who, Jesus tells us, accepts his word like a little child. And this word, we read in our psalm, has many different qualities: it's perfect in all its parts. It's trustworthy. It can be depended upon. It's right, there's nothing underhand or sinister about it. It's radiant lighting up the darkness of ignorance, uncontaminated. Also God's word is pure, enduring, sure and precious. And finally it's sweeter, more appetising, than that most desirable of foods, pure honey, as it drips from the comb. His word then is just crammed full of true enjoyment. And it's a word that, because of its completeness, because of its tremendous qualities, results in great blessings for those who listen to it, who seek to obey it. Because it "revives the soul", in other words it restores true life to those whose lives have been threatened or disrupted by danger or diminished by days of sorrow. It "makes wise the simple"; those who are childlike, who're prepared to listen and to be taught, who have an eagerness to learn more, who are "the teachers ideal". These, says David, are made wise by the word of God. And then we find, too, (verse 8) that God's word "gives joy to the heart". Those who are guided by it are enthusiastic, they're given a clear goal, a smile in their hearts. And this isn't dependant on circumstances. Something which James recognises as he writes (James chapter 1 verses 2 and 3): "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." This then is the case of the simple one, the one who's being taught wisdom, recognising the innate truth and rightness of God's instructions and responding to them in the only natural way. Then, lastly, God's revealed word "gives light to the eyes". On a number of occasions Jesus referred to the Pharisees and teachers of the law as "blind guides", those who taught falsehood regarding God's will for his people. The end result of this, he said, would be that both they and the people they led would fall into a pit. But not so for the one for whom the word of God is their guide, no their eyes will be opened by it, they'll be given light to see by. Just as the writer of Psalm 119 notes, when they say in verse 105 of that psalm: "your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." This then is how God reveals his will to the one who is simple, revealing much more of himself than through his creation. And notice that he reveals himself as "the Lord", which in itself tells us that we're given a far clearer knowledge of God through his word. Since "The Lord" or "I am" is that greater insight into his character that God first gave to Moses at the burning bush. Notice too that this Word of God that David speaks of would have been very much limited in comparison with our modern day Bible ... and yet, I wonder, do we value our fuller far more God revealing bibles as much as he did his? Finally David moves on to introduce us to the Lord's fullest degree of self-revelation when he begins in verse 11 to talk about himself for the first time. He's described how all the earth may see God's glory in nature around, how the simple may obtain wisdom from God's law, but now he speaks of God's revelation to the individual, as redeemer ... telling of his own personal spiritual aspirations as God's servant. Because the fact is that God's Word has had an impact upon him and upon his life. He's discovered that they are words that warn him, that set boundaries for him, and in keeping them he receives so much blessing. What David is saying is that he's actually found the two purposes of the law of God ... which are to reveal sin, as Paul says to the Romans in chapter 3 verse 20 of that letter: "Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin;" and also to promote holiness. David realises, under the search light of God's word, that there's so much about him that prevents him from keeping God's law, that there's so much about him that prevents him from receiving God's full blessings. In other words he's been made aware of the nature of sin, of its extent and depth, and he feels overwhelmed by it, that he can't deal with it. And so he cries out to the Lord, realising that only he can help, "Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me" (verses 12 and 13). David's desire for the Lord to change him, to make him innocent of great transgression, to make him pleasing to Himself, is so strong that he begs, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." A last thought ... In chapter 10 verses 16 to 18 of the book of Romans Paul applies verse 4 of our psalm to the proclamation of the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ when he says: "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: 'Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world'." And surely this application of Psalm 19 to the Messiah makes so much sense. Because, as we've seen, the psalm reaches a crescendo with the revelation of God to the individual and the yearning of that individual, David, for even more. Well Jesus Christ is that "even more". He's the one to whom, by faith, David was actually looking. He's the one in whom "all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" as Paul tells the Church at Colosse (Colossians chapter 2 verse 9). And now we, if we know him as Lord and saviour, have received that revelation which David so earnestly sought because, as Paul goes on to tell the Colossians, we have "been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." How wonderful is the Almighty God who in his love and mercy reveals himself to humanity through his Creation, by his Word and by speaking directly to individuals, ultimately through the word incarnate, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus, who says to the weary: "Come unto me". What reason for us then, once we have come to him, to rejoice. But also to continue to strain to know the Lord more and more fully, since this is his will for each of us! Amen