Three Voices
Notes
Transcript
Intro
One fundamental aspect of relationships is communication. When we communicate we draw near to another.
The God of the Bible wants us to know Him in a relationship. He is not a God who is distant and waits for us to get our act together before He will draw near.
He is a God who speaks - who draws near - and who wants us to know Him.
Psalm 19 is a well known Psalm of David where we encounter 3 voices.
And we are going to see how these 3 voices are used to draw us near to our creator who wants us to know Him.
The Voice of Creation
The Voice of the LORD
The Voice of Man
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 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, which 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. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 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. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
PRAY
The Voice of Creation
The Voice of Creation
The world we live in speaks to us without words.
The heavens declare the glory of God!
They tell us something about the God who made them!
Paul picks up on this theme in Romans 1 when he wrote:
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. ~ Romans 1:20
In verses 1-6 we can see at least 3 characteristics of creation’s voice.
It’s ON GOING or Continuous
The message of creation is no flash in the pan - blink and you’ll miss it revelation. It’s on going.
It’s “day to day” and “night to night”!
There as not been a single moment since the creation of time where the message of creation has ceased.
It’s also ABUNDANT
Verse 2 says that voice of creation POURS OUT.
Think of a gushing, overflowing stream! Its message overflows the brim and spills over! It’s abundant.
In this way the ongoing nature of declaration of the heavens is not a persistent drip but a gushing, overflowing stream of knowledge that points to the glory of the creator!
Because the voice of creation is ongoing and abundant it is also clear.
Think of the wow factor you experience on a clear summer night when you look up at the stars.
Or if you’ve ever stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon with your mouth hanging open.
Or you reach the summit of a tall mountain and pause to drink in with your eyes the breath-taking vista.
This is what Paul says in Romans 1
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them…his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. ~ Romans 1:19-20
Some think that because of the advancements in science we no longer need God.
Friedrich Nietzsche famously said that “God is dead” to explain that the enlightenment had eliminated the possibility of God’s existence.
But in reality it’s a defect in the modern scientific mind not an achievement if we miss the ON GOING and ABUNDANTLY CLEAR voice of creation that declares God’s glory!
In fact nearly all the founders of modern science were driven by their believe in the God of the Bible.
They believed that if a rational and intelligent God created everything then it is possible for us to use our reason and intellect to explore and discover truths in His creation.
Another way that creation’s voice is abundant is when the awe factor causes you to scratch that curiosity itch through science, the voice of creation only get’s louder!
Just think of the order and beauty that exists in the basic structure of a cell. What scientists initially thought of as a very basic structure has been discovered through scientific advancements to be vast factory of systems.
Not to mention the fact that human cells contain DNA which contain multiple libraries worth of information and instructions.
Consider this...
Kids when you come to the table for cereal in the morning for breakfast and you find a box of Alpha-bits cereal spilled out on the table. The letters were perfectly arranged to spell out the words “Please clean your room. Love Mom”. Would your first instinct be to assume the letter randomly spilled from the box to generate that information? NO! It is most reasonable to assume that that message was created by an intelligent mind - in this case, your mom.
So, then why do some scientists look at DNA, with it’s millions of pages worth of intelligent information and assume that it’s all the result of random chance over time?
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1, that because of human sinfulness, people suppress the truth.
He even says that, claiming to be wise, they became fools.
One more example...
After it was discovered that nearby galaxies were moving away from us at high speeds, an astronomer named Edwin Hubble formulated laws for an expanding universe.
By measuring their speed and distance from us, Hubble was able to “rewind” our expanding universe and pinpoint a moment in space and time where all the matter in the universe came into existence.
The problem with this for many scientists was that the accepted theory of the day was that the universe had no beginning. It was believed to be eternal.
Now secular scientists had to deal with the fact that our universe (all space, time, and matter) was created and if it was created then it’s cause must be...
Timeless
Spaceless
Imaterial
Extremely powerful
And Intelligent
Sounds a lot like God!
As you could imagine this rocked the scientific world. Many scientists did not want to accept it because of these implications.
Albert Einstein himself said that this conclusion irritated him but could not deny Hubble’s work and was convinced.
Robert Jastrow, the founder of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was amused by the reactions of his fellow scientists and wrote a book called God and the Astronomers. In his book he writes,...
For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.
So the voice of creation is ON GOING, ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, and the last thing I’ll say about it is that it’s UNIVERSAL.
Their voice goes out through all the earth!
There is no language, no culture, no time period, or point on the map that it has not reached.
David contrasts this with the son...
Like nothing is hidden from the heat of the son so too nothing escapes the voice of creation declaring the glory of God!
This why Paul can say in Romans 1, that there is no excuse for not seeking after God.
The voice of creation is what theologians call God’s general revelation.
Our 2nd point today will examine what theologians refer to as God’s special revelation.
The voice of God in His written word!
The Voice of God
The Voice of God
Just as the light and heat of the sun gives live to our bodies, God’s special revelation of his Word is life giving to our souls.
It’s worth pointing out that in verses 1-6 God is only mentioned 1 time and using the Hebrew word “El”, which is the most generic term for God that could be used.
But in verses 7-14 God is mentioned 7 times and with his personal name that he gave to Moses - Yahweh.
Where the voice of creation is a general revelation of God, God’s special written word brings profound clarity.
In verses 7-10 we see a wonderful example of Hebrew parallelism where each preceeding line mirrors one another.
In these 6 statements there is...
6 different terms given for God’s written word
Law which can better be understood as instruction.
Testimony - which is an aspect of truth that God attests to.
Precepts and commands refer to orders and convey the authority of God’s word.
The fear of the LORD in wisdom literature is another way of saying wisdom.
Rules - are his judgments or verdicts - God’s divine evaluation of things.
6 descriptive qualities of His word and notice that these are all ways that God’s character is described.
Perfect -
Sure - or firm
Right - meaning they are words you can depend on!
Pure - Think of the words of Psalm 12:6 here
The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
Clean - or flawless
True & Righteous -
Verse 10 adds two metaphors that convey the value of God’s word...
They are to be more desired and sought after than great riches.
When’s the last time you really desired something and you saved up your money until the day you could afford to go buy it.
Maybe it was an engagement ring.
A new car
A down payment on a home.
It is right for our hearts to yearn for the treasure of God’s word.
His word is sweeter than honey.
When was the last time you had a craving for a certain meal or treat?
It is right and good to crave God’s word more than fine cuisine.
Now look at the list of things that God’s word does...
It revives the soul - His word is good news for the weary.
Have you ever felt like your soul was like a smoldering wick or a fire that is nothing more than dissipating coals.
God’s word revives the soul!
I heard John Piper describe worship one time like this...
A fire needs fuel to burn and a spark to ignite it.
God’s word is the fuel and the Holy Spirit is what ignites the flames and heat of worship from our hearts.
This is why we begin our service by reading scripture and a prayer of invocation inviting the presence of the Spirit into our gathering.
Because that is what our weary souls need to worship.
We don’t start the service with a hype man. That’s like when you don’t know how to start a fire and you decide to throw a bunch of toilet paper on it to get it going. It burns nice and big for about 20 seconds and then your fire is out and cold again.
God’s word is the fuel you need to revive your weary soul.
God’s word makes the simple wise! What great news this is!
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought yourself to be unintelligent or foolish - IF SO, God’s word is good news for you.
Maybe your downcast and life is just really doing a number on you and you can’t remember the last time you experience true joy.
God’s word is for you too! His word rejoices the heart!
It enlightens the eyes.
It endures forever - God’s word is always IN - it’s never out of fashion.
It’s not like the nice new car you bought 15 years ago and today you hope it starts and gets you to work without breaking down.
It’s not like the pair of jeans you fit into when you were 16 and are now just a happy memory of past vitality.
God’s Word endures forever!
Look at the last two things God’s word does in verse 11.
First, it is a warning to God’s servants. It’s a warning to stay away from sin and its destructive effects on our lives.
John Bunyan was right when he said,
This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.
Second, there is great reward in keeping God’s Word.
James Montgomery Boice points out here that this is not saying that we WILL be rewarded for obedience.
It’s saying that in keeping them there is great reward.
Augustine once said that sin is its own punishment.
Here David is saying that virtue is its own reward.
God made us, and knows how life works best. He knows what will lead to flourishing and what will only cause frustration, and pain.
His words are not a shackle on our freedom.
He is a good God and His words...
Revive the soul
Make wise the simple
And rejoice the heart
The Voice of Man
The Voice of Man
To draw near to God, no one can come like the rich young ruler who declared with his voice that he has kept God’s law perfectly.
1 John 1:8 tells us...
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
DL Moody once told a story of his son who was just given a bath by his mother.
After the bath he immediately goes outside to play in the mud. When the boy tried to come back into the house his mother said, “not so fast! You are filthy!”
The boy replied, “No, I’m not — I just had a bath!”
To prove to the boy the reality of his condition, his mom simply held up a mirror — and then the boy understood.
When we come into contact with the perfect treasure of God’s Word we come to a mirror. A mirror that shows our need to be cleansed from our sin.
We must come like the tax collector in Luke 18:13 who cried out, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!
In Verse 12 David declares his need, Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent — he says
This is the only voice of man by which we can draw near to God.
And the only reason that David can ask to be declared innocent is because the LORD is his redeemer in verse 14.
While David didn’t know the specifics of how God would redeem him from his sin, he looked forward and trusted that he would.
On this side of the cross, we look back and trust that he did.
While creation speaks and the written word speaks — God was not done speaking.
Here the words of Hebrews 1:1-3
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus, the word made flesh is the redeemer we need.
To redeem means to buy back and the payment God is owed for our sin is death.
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins it says in Hebrews 9:22.
In order to buy us back, in order to declare us innocent - Jesus had to make purification for our sins with his blood.
The only way to be with our God is to be innocent. And only trusting his blood will declare us innocent.
He doesn’t call down from heaven demanding that we clean ourselves up.
He took the first step - He revealed Himself through his creation.
And he took the last step and every step in between - He came to us. He drew near and died in our place.
He made himself known in the voice of creation.
He made our need know in the voice of his word.
He redeems us through Jesus the living word.
Trusting Jesus, the living word is the only way to be declared innocent and blameless.
Conclusion
Creation declares God’s glory.
God’s word declares our need.
The Living Word declares us innocent.
So that the words of the redeemed are declared acceptable in God’s sight.
Prayer
Benediction
If you don’t know the personal creator God.
Jesus the Living Word calls to you today.
Repent and believe the gospel.
In Christ alone is redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.