You may be seated. This morning we're looking at Psalm 19. Psalm 19, as we continue in our
series through the Psalms this fall, looking at these ancient songs and prayers of the people
of Israel that have helped the people of Israel and the church for centuries, for millennia,
to pray. I'm going to read Psalm 19. Let me read these words to us.
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. Is there a God? And if so, how can we know God? For centuries,
human beings have looked around and asked this question, whether it's farmers in rural areas,
hikers in the wilderness, or remote tribes gazing up at the night sky in wonder, or college students
hashing out the meaning of life until 4 a.m. in their dorm rooms, or scientists marveling at the
vastness of the universe and the complexity of microscopic life, or philosophers crafting
treatises about the epistemology of religion, how can we know things, or children who ask as they grow up,
how did I get here? How did this whole world get here? Throughout human history, across all different
times and cultures and places, human beings have continued to ask this question, is there a God?
And if so, how can we know? Now, by definition, if God is really out there, we can only know God if God
chooses to show himself to us. It's like a game of hide and seek. If God is infinite and we are finite,
he can always find somewhere to hide that we would never find him on our own. He could leave us in the
dark and we would be wandering and uncertain forever. We'll only find an infinite God if that God has
chosen to show himself to us in one way or another. And the good news of the Bible is that the one true
and living God has chosen to do just that. And that's what this psalm celebrates, that God has revealed
himself and that we can know him. Now, this psalm is not a philosophical argument attempting to prove
the existence of God. There's a place for philosophical arguments, but that's not what we're dealing with
here. We're looking at a poem, a song, celebrating how the one true and living God has revealed himself
to the world. Now, the first way that this psalm tells us that God has revealed himself is in
verses 1 through 6, is through the heavens. The heavens declare the glory of God. The sky above
proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. This is grand,
majestic, exuberant language. Notice the verbs in verses 1 and 2. Declare, proclaim, pour out,
reveal these powerful communicative verbs. It's saying the heavens bear witness to God continually,
abundantly, and everywhere. Continually, day to day, night to night. Even the verb tenses express
a sort of ongoing, never-ending action. Abundantly pouring forth like a stream of water and everywhere.
Verse 4 talks about it going into all the earth, to the ends of the world.
Romans chapter 1 verse 20, which we read earlier, says that God's eternal power and his divine nature
have been clearly seen in what has been made. John Calvin wrote that the universe is a theater
of the glory of God. In other words, an ongoing display of his power and wisdom and beauty and
vastness. Immanuel Kant wrote, two things fill the mind with ever-increasing admiration and awe.
The starry heavens above and the moral law within. Have you felt that sense of ever-increasing
admiration and awe? Perhaps looking up at the stars on a clear night away from the city lights or
watching the sun as it rises or sets, bathing the sky and the earth in brilliant color.
David poetically describes the sun in verses 5 and 6. He compares it to a bridegroom leaving his
chamber, emerging from his tent. You know, both then and now, Jewish weddings traditionally took
place under a tent where the bride and groom would make their vows to one another, and they would come
forth, sort of like a married couple would process out down the center aisle of a church or of the
wedding venue, beaming with pride and joy. Either way, this is an image of youthful energy and joyful
anticipation. The sun is also compared to a strong man, to a valiant soldier, fearlessly rushing into
battle, triumphantly sweeping from one end of the heavens to the other, burning away fog and clouds
and shining upon the world. It says there's nothing hidden from its heat. Especially those who lived in
the desert would have felt that unrelenting heat of the sun. One commentator says the sun is penetrating,
warming, warming, and life-giving to the world while also searching, testing, and purifying.
Now, some of you might say, well, that's a nice poem from the ancient world, but, you know, I'm a modern
person, and I believe in science. You know, back in the day, ancient people didn't really understand how
the world worked, and so they were inclined to attribute everything they didn't understand to a god
or gods. But today we know a lot more than they did. I mean, sure, the sun is beautiful, it keeps us alive,
you know, it's nice to sit in the sun on a cool day like today, but we know now that the sun is
basically a ball of fire that formed billions of years ago when a cloud of dust and gas collapsed in
on itself as the universe continued expanding. I mean, that's really what it is, after all.
But, you know, it's not just ancient people, pre-scientific people, who have expressed awe
and wonder at the heavens above. You know, in the early 20th century, and actually for some time
before that, the prevailing theory of the universe was called the steady state theory. And basically
what that theory said is that the universe, the physical universe that we live in, has been around
forever, pretty much as it is today. Maybe fluctuating a little bit here and there. But basically the
universe is here, and it's always been here, and so it doesn't really need any further explanation.
And so non-religious scientists were very comfortable with that theory. But then in the mid-20th century,
that theory began to be seriously questioned by scientists. Astrophysicists began measuring cosmic
background radiation and found that the universe was gradually expanding and concluded that the
universe that we live in today has not been around forever, just like it is now, but rather it had a
definite beginning long ago. And that finding deeply troubled many scientists who are convinced
atheists. And some of them desperately tried to rescue the steady state theory and find sort of
workarounds and ways to compensate for this new evidence that was coming forward. But those attempts
have been soundly rejected. You see, what troubled them is if this universe of ours had a definite
beginning, then it doesn't just explain itself so easily. If it all started with a big bang, well,
who or what caused that beginning? And why is there something rather than nothing if the something
that is here can't justify itself and hasn't always been here the way it is now?
Another question that you could ask is, why are we able to do scientific research at all?
Why are we able to study the world that we live in and identify meaningful patterns and how it operates?
I mean, the whole of modern science assumes three things. It assumes that the universe is orderly
and not completely chaotic. It assumes that the universe is intelligible to human beings, that we
can understand something about how it works. It's not complete gibberish to us and that it's contingent.
That means it doesn't have to be the way that it is. It could be some other way. That's why we have to do
experiments rather than just reason it out from deductive principles. You see, if the world wasn't this way,
if the world was completely chaotic or unintelligible to humans, or if it had to be the way it is, then scientific
experiments wouldn't make any sense. We wouldn't be able to discern any patterns or regularities.
Or, which, but here's the thing. Without a creator God, there is no reason that we should expect the
physical universe to be orderly, intelligible, and contingent.
And yet, that's exactly how the Bible describes the physical universe that we live in.
That it's orderly because God made it. That it's intelligible to human beings, partly because God has
made us in his image and made the universe so that we can explore and understand it better.
And that it's contingent rather than necessary because God could have made it a different way.
So the biblical worldview makes sense, or science makes sense within the biblical worldview.
The 17th century chemist Robert Boyle said,
God would not have made the universe as it is unless he intended for us to understand it.
You see, faith and science are not enemies. They are friends.
In other words, standing in awe of the works of God, looking at the heavens,
and saying they declare the glory of God goes hand in hand with exploring and understanding
how it all works.
The pioneering astronomer Nicholas Copernicus wrote about 500 years ago, he wrote this,
to know the mighty works of God.
To comprehend his wisdom and majesty and power, to appreciate in degree the wonderful workings of his laws.
Surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship.
The contemporary biologist Francis Collins wrote,
the God of the Bible is also the God of the genome.
He can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory.
So that's the first way that God has revealed himself to the world,
is through his creation, through the heavens.
But the psalm goes on to speak of another way that God has revealed himself in verses 7 through 11.
And that is through the scriptures.
Ever since the early church, theologians have talked about God's revelation coming to us
in two volumes, or two books.
The book of nature, which is described in verses 1 through 6,
and the book of scripture, described in verses 7 through 11.
So Tertullian put it this way,
we conclude that God is known first by nature in his works,
but then he says more particularly,
God is known by the teaching of his revealed word.
Now what we see in verses 7 through 11,
is that while God's revelation in nature is broadcast widely
to the ends of the world, right?
Everybody can see it, whether or not they've ever had access to the Bible.
God's revelation in scripture penetrates more deeply.
It penetrates to the depths of the human soul.
The word for God, in verse 1,
is the general word for the divine being
that was used not only among the people of Israel,
but also by the surrounding nations.
It's a word that sort of means
the creator of everything,
or the high God.
But the word in verses 7 through 9,
that's repeated six times,
is the Lord.
And in most Bibles,
it's written in small capitals.
And that means it's the word Yahweh.
It's the personal name
by which God revealed himself
specifically to Moses
and to the people of Israel
and said,
I am your Lord.
I'm not just the God way out there,
way out there.
I'm your God,
your Lord.
You see, when we look at nature,
we can see a God of glory,
terrifying power,
matchless beauty,
inscrutable wisdom,
all those things you can see
in the created order.
But you know,
if you just look at nature,
it doesn't tell you
whether that God
is a personal being
who would want to interact
with his creation.
And it doesn't give you
clear moral guidance for living.
I mean, you look at nature,
there's some pretty terrifying things.
It doesn't give you a clear sense
of what's right and wrong
or if there is a God
who cares about right and wrong.
But the scripture does
clearly show us that.
When God revealed himself to Moses,
he said,
the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love
and faithfulness,
forgiving iniquity
and transgression
and sin,
but who will by no means
clear the guilty.
In other words,
God is saying,
I am the Lord of mercy
and justice.
Not only the God of glory,
but the Lord of mercy
and justice.
You see,
looking at beautiful sunsets,
going for long walks
in the woods,
gazing up at the night sky,
studying astronomy
and biology
and physics and chemistry,
you may see the glory of God.
You may be filled
with admiration and awe,
but those things alone
will not save your soul.
Those things alone
will not transform you
personally from the inside out.
They will not bring you
into personal communion
with the living God
and they will not give you
clear moral guidance
for living in a deeply broken world.
But the word of God
can do all of those things.
Look at what the word of God does
in verses 7 and 8.
First it says,
the word of God
can revive the soul.
In other words,
God's word brings us to life.
That verb revive
can also be translated return
or bring back.
In other words,
God's word brings us back
from our wandering
and disobedience
to a place of repentance
and to the path of life.
And you know,
every follower of Jesus Christ
has experienced
this reviving power
of God's word.
You know,
it happens in various ways.
Maybe it was through
hearing a sermon.
Maybe it was through
reading the Bible for yourself.
Maybe it was through
a friend or a parent
who told you about Jesus.
But one way or another,
if you are a follower
of Christ today,
you have encountered
God's word
and your heart
has been brought to life.
That's one reason
why we love to
invite people
to share some of their stories,
some of their testimony,
as Jeff and Nicole did earlier,
of how God has brought them to life
through his word,
through the word
of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But God's word
doesn't stop there.
It brings us to life,
but it also helps us grow up.
It says it makes wise
the simple.
Now,
a simple person
in the Bible,
the word simple means
somebody who is immature
or naive
or gullible.
Occasionally,
the word's used
in a positive sense
for someone who's sincere
or teachable
or open-minded.
But either way,
God's word helps
simple people
grow up into mature people,
people with spiritual
understanding
and discernment
who can navigate
the temptations
and distractions
of a fallen world
and keep their focus.
John Bunyan
wrote,
speaking of the Bible,
this book
will keep you
from sin
or sin
will keep you
from this book.
In other words,
God's word
makes wise
the simple.
But God's word
doesn't stop there.
It brings us to life,
it helps us grow up,
and it also sustains
and energizes us
throughout
our life.
It gives joy
to our heart,
rejoicing the heart
and enlightening the eyes.
In that way,
God's word
is like the sun,
penetrating,
warming,
and life-giving,
but also searching,
testing,
and purifying.
And while the sun
does that
to our physical bodies
and to the earth,
God's word
penetrates it
to our hearts,
it illuminates
our minds,
it renews
our perspective,
it energizes
our whole being.
Hebrews 4 says,
the word of God
is living
and active,
sharper than any
two-edged sword,
discerning the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart,
and nothing is hidden
from God's sight.
God's word
penetrates
into the depths
of our soul,
bringing us to life,
helping us grow up,
sustaining
and energizing us,
and it can do
all those things
because of what it is
by its very nature.
Look at the nouns
at the beginning
of the sentences
in verses 7-9.
There are several terms
used.
God's law,
that is his teaching
or instruction,
God's testimonies,
that is his statements
or reminders,
God's precepts,
that is his orders
or his commandment,
his rules
or verdicts.
These are all words
that carry a sense
of authority.
They're not just referring
to the laws in the Bible
like the Ten Commandments,
but they're indicating
that all of Scripture
carries God's authority.
It is God's authoritative
message to us.
And it's not just authoritative,
it's also reliable.
Look at the adjectives
at the end
of the phrases,
again,
in verses 7-9.
There are these
symmetrical phrases,
right,
with a noun,
an adjective,
and then an action,
right?
But if you look
at the adjectives,
perfect.
It's a word that means
complete or whole,
sure.
It means trustworthy,
right.
It's a word that means
level or straight,
not crooked
or deceptive.
Pure,
clean,
true,
and righteous
altogether.
All those words
are saying God's word
is reliable.
It's not just authoritative,
it's reliable
and trustworthy.
And finally,
verse 10 shows us
it's desirable.
More to be desired
than gold.
It's inherently valuable
and precious.
It's sweeter than honey
and drippings
of the honeycomb.
It's experientially satisfying.
Have you experienced
the word of God
in that way?
Some verse
in the Bible
or story in the Bible
or message from the Bible
that has been sweet
to your soul
that you have found
precious
and that you've held,
that you can hold on to
and that's sustained you
or warned you
or corrected you
or guided you.
Verse 11,
the psalmist says,
begins to talk about
the effect
of the word of God,
that it warns us
and also that it rewards us.
You see,
the invitation
of these verses
is to receive
and treasure
God's revelation
in the scriptures.
Several years ago,
John Lennox,
who is an emeritus professor
from Oxford University
in England,
a mathematician,
he came to speak here
in New Haven
and he came to preach
at our church.
And you can find
his sermon on the,
if you go into
the sermon archive
on our website,
it was a great sermon,
but he gave a specific
challenge to the students
in our congregation.
He said,
think about
how much time
and energy
and money
and brain power
you are investing
or you have invested
in your studies,
studying in your field.
And of course,
he's saying this
as someone who has been
a professor
for probably 30,
40 years,
right?
He's written all these books
and he's an expert
on all kinds of things.
But he says,
think about all the energy
that we've all put into this,
gaining knowledge,
asking questions,
considering implications,
evaluating theories,
writing papers,
reading papers,
conducting experiments,
putting into practice
all that you've learned.
He says,
the Bible is worth
that and much more
of your energy
and ambition
and diligent study.
He said,
think about
all that motivates you
to study
in your field
and apply
that same energy
and diligence
to your study
of God's word.
It will be worth it.
The Apostle Paul said,
let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly.
So, so far,
we've seen God's revelation
through the heavens,
through his creation,
God's revelation
through the scriptures,
through his written word.
And third,
in verses 12 through 14,
we see the response
of God's servant,
an honest and humble prayer.
You see,
until verse 11,
the psalmist has talked
about things outside himself,
the heavens above
and the scriptures.
But then starting
in verse 11
and for the rest
of the psalm,
it gets much more personal.
He begins to speak
in the first person.
He's personally responding
to this God
who has revealed himself.
And that's what
the scriptures
are intended to do.
Not just to fill our,
not just to increase
our knowledge,
not just to fill our mind
with grand ideas
or fill our heart
with grand feelings,
but to lead us to pray
with honesty
and humility.
Look at how David prays
in verses 12 through 14.
Verse 12,
who can discern
his errors?
Declare me innocent
from hidden faults.
David faces his flaws
and prays for forgiveness.
You see,
in the pure light
of God's word,
David sees more clearly
his own propensity
to error.
It's sort of like
if you get dressed
in a dark room
and then you go out
into the light of day
and you see that
your shirt is on backwards
and your pants are stained.
And you think,
ah!
Right?
The verse is saying
we're all prone
to fall short,
to mess up,
to go off track,
to get out of line
even without realizing it,
even without intending to.
Often our own faults
are hidden from us
because they're so deeply
ingrained in our personality
or in the way
we were raised
or in our habitual
ways of thinking.
That's why David says
who can discern
his own errors?
The only way
we can become aware
of our errors
and hidden faults
is by getting
help from the outside.
Now sometimes
we get this help
through other people.
If you're growing up
in a family
and you have parents
or brothers and sisters,
sometimes your parents
or your siblings
can identify
some of your flaws
as well as
some of your strengths
better than you can.
If you're married,
your spouse
can probably identify
some of your flaws
as well as your strengths
better than you can.
Have they ever done that?
It's a good thing.
Proverbs says
that a good friend
will do the same.
Will help us see
both our own flaws
and weaknesses
that we're blind to
as well as our strengths
and gifts
that we might neglect
or be ashamed of.
God has put other people
in our lives
to help us see
our strengths and gifts
as well as our errors
and hidden faults
more clearly.
But you know,
more than anyone
or anything else
because you know what,
other people can have
their own opinions
that are influenced
by their own hidden faults.
more than anyone
or anything else,
the pure light
of God's word
brings us face to face
with our errors
and hidden faults
and leads us
to cry out to God
for forgiveness
as the psalmist does.
Declare me
innocent Lord.
Forgive me.
So David faces his flaws
and prays for forgiveness.
But second,
in verse 13,
he faces his temptations
and prays for freedom.
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.
You see,
in verse 12,
David knows
that he needs forgiveness
for unintentional sins,
errors,
hidden faults
that he's blind to.
But he also prays
that God would preserve him
from even greater
spiritual dangers,
what he calls
presumptuous sins
or what we might call
willful sins
or great transgressions,
expressions of hard-hearted
rebellion against God.
You know,
every once in a while
we hear about
a Christian leader
who gets caught
doing something horrible,
something shameful,
something deeply destructive,
blatantly hypocritical.
And you know,
it can be tempting
to look at people
like that
and say,
well,
I would never be like that.
How terrible.
But what this psalm
invites us to do,
rather,
is to pray,
Lord,
keep us.
Lord,
keep me.
Because I'm a sinner too,
and I could get there
even if,
even if it seems like
the temptation
that's far away
at the moment.
Jesus taught us to pray,
lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
And David goes on to say,
then I shall be blameless.
As a forgiven
and free person,
he prays
that he would be blameless.
And that word translated
blameless
in verse 13
is the same word
translated perfect
in verse 7.
It's a word that means
complete and whole,
healthy and sound,
without blemish.
David's prayer
is that by God's grace,
he would become
as pure
and complete
and whole
as the word
of the Lord itself.
Isn't that an amazing prayer?
That our lives
would be
as pure
and complete
and unblemished
as God's very word.
That should be
our prayer too.
The Apostle Paul
prayed
for the Thessalonian Christians,
may your spirit
and soul
and body
be kept blameless
at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus has died
to grant us forgiveness
from our sin
and freedom
from the power of sin.
And so,
and he has called us
to be holy
and blameless
in God's sight.
So David faces
his flaws
and prays
for forgiveness.
He praises
his temptations
and prays
for freedom.
And finally,
verse 14,
he prays
that he might
join in the chorus
of praise.
Let the words
of my mouth
and the meditation
of my heart
be acceptable
in your sight,
O Lord,
my rock
and my redeemer.
You see,
in one sense,
this last section
of the psalm
shows us
the proper human response
to God's revelation
in the heavens
and in the scriptures.
But it's more
than that.
We're not only
responding to God's revelation,
we're also joining in
and giving testimony
to who the real God is.
The heavens are declaring
God's power and glory
and the scriptures testify
to the Lord's mercy
and justice,
but in verse 14,
a third voice
chimes in the chorus
and joins in the song,
the voice of a forgiven sinner
who is now
the Lord's servant
who calls upon
my rock,
my redeemer.
Now our voices
can join
with the proclamation
of the heavens
and with the testimony
of the scriptures
declaring the praises
of God
who has called us
out of darkness
and into his marvelous light.
And we can say
he is our rock,
our unchanging source
of stability.
He's our redeemer
who has come
to rescue us
when we were lost
and helpless
and who has paid the price
to set us free
from our sin
and has taken hold of us
and promised to never leave us
and always love us.
Perhaps you're asking
the question
we started with,
is there a God?
If so,
how can I know him?
This psalm tells you
look to the heavens
where the power
and glory of God
is displayed.
Consider the scriptures
where the mercy
and justice of God
has revealed
and listen to the honest
and humble prayers
of those of us
who have found him
to be our rock,
our redeemer.
This psalm
is an invitation to you
to join in the song.
Let's pray.
God, we praise you
for the witness
of the created order,
the beauty
and power
and wisdom
that we see
reflected
in the skies above.
We praise you
for the clear testimony
of your scriptures
to your mercy
and your justice
and your desire
to have relationship
with us.
Oh, Lord,
we pray that we might
know you
and treasure you
and proclaim
and bear witness
to you
as our rock
and our redeemer.
we thank you,
Jesus,
for all that you
have accomplished
on our behalf.
We pray that
our voices
would join in
to give you praise
in your name.
Amen.