A Lesson From Psalm 19

 

 

A Lesson From Psalm 19
Psalms 19

INTRO:
Good morning. This morning I’m going to continue our look at the Psalms. Our text is Psalm 19. This is a magnificent psalm and has two natural divisions. Verses 1-6 describe the glory of God as seen in the heavenly bodies. And verses 7-14 are about the excellence of the revelation of God in the Law. Charles Spurgeon said of this psalm it is, "The World Book and the Word Book".

I want to encourage you to take out your Bibles and look at the scriptures I mention. If you have any questions about anything I say, I’ll be glad to talk to you about it.

I. Let’s start with verses 1 through 6. Psalms 19:1-6 – “1. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. 2. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. 3. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. 4. Their message has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5. Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” [para] The text tells us how the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows His handiwork. It talks about how it is speaking to us. It reveals knowledge and speaks to all languages. That is, it doesn't matter where you are in history, or what country you come from. It doesn't matter what language you speak. Creation speaks your language.
A. It is speaking to all mankind and it is telling us something about the creator. It is telling us and declaring to us the glory of God. The firmament is showing His handy work with the understanding that God made it.
1. If you are one of the lucky people who have been in the country far, far away from cities and lights, and on a clear night looking up at the night sky, you can better appreciate what the psalmist is saying. In my time in North Dakota going to remote missile sites I experienced this many times. Pictures of stars are wonderful, amazing even, but seeing the real thing yourself is so much more. On a clear night you can see the Milky Way with its hundreds of billions of stars. In Psalm 147:4-5 it says; “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”
2. We see in the firmament His handiwork. Whenever we look at our solar system, our galaxy and the universe beyond, what we need to understand is there is an intelligent being that created it all. Then when we understand how many stars are actually out there, and see the text tells us here He knows every single star, not just in our galaxy but in the universe, knows every single star and He has given every single star a name that He calls it by, it is overwhelming.
3. These days many of us live in cities and towns where the impact of the immensity of the universe is not seen. However with telescopes we can see the expanse above us in greater detail and this too gives us an appreciation of our creator. Our galaxy is the Milky Way but there are other galaxies out there. There are some beautiful pictures of these other galaxies, photographs taken by the Hubble telescope and others.
4. In modern times we've come to realize how many galaxies there are actually out there. Astronomers estimated a few years ago there are around 100 billion galaxies. We're in a galaxy with between one hundred and fifty and two hundred fifty billion stars and there are a hundred billion galaxies out there. God created every single one of them and every single star. He knows every single star and gives it a name. What kind of being has the power to create the universe? Let that sink in. That is God. The heavens declare His glory. The firmament shows His handiwork.
B. The day speaks to us, and night reveals knowledge. There is no place and no language where their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. There is a phrase repeated in Genesis “... and God saw that it was good” In Genesis 1:10 the phrase is used in reference to the dry land and the sea. In verse 12 it is in reference to the plants, in verse 18 in reference to the sunlight and the moonlight, in verse 21 in reference to the sea creatures and birds, and in verse 25 in reference to the animal life.
1. God appreciates beauty and has given us that appreciation. The day and the night reveal it to us. Psalm 50:1-2 “1. The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. 2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.” God shows us a beauty which in many cases is unnecessary. What God has selected for us tells us He knows about beauty on all levels. The sound of a waterfall, the soft colors of a rainbow, these all speak to us of God.
2. Proverbs 8:1 “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” In verse 5 wisdom continues; “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.” [KJV] Verse 22 tells us that wisdom was involved before the beginning, before the earth ever was. Verse 35, wisdom still speaking says; “For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord;”
3. Who created the sun? Who created this earth? Who made us the right distance from the sun? Who gave us the moon and everything we have in our solar system, our galaxy and our universe? God!
4. He created it all and is speaking to us if we will just open our eyes and our ears. Yes, unfortunately there are people around us who say, “I don't see any reason to believe in God.” They say I've don’t have enough information to believe or even know there's a God. They have their eyes closed and their ears stopped. They are not facing the reality of what they’re seeing in front of them.
C. Romans 1:20 – “ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” Think of the tremendous variations there are in plants. Plants that do so many things for us, provide food, shelter, medicine, they release oxygen, provide beauty, inspiration, they show us life. Consider the seeds, all the information, and the sequencing of it to grow a new plant is stored right there. Seeds have been found that were thousands of years old and when they were provided the right conditions they germinate and produced plants.
1. In the plants around us God has given us beauty for the senses. The eye delights in the riot of colors in flowers, the nostrils take in the heady fragrances of perfumes and the ear receives the gentle sound of the breeze in the leaves.
2. Perhaps you have experienced seeing some wonder of nature, a roaring waterfall perhaps, or mountain covered with flowers. God knows beauty and He has blessed us with it in abundance. The wonder of the natural world that God has provided us is something each one of us should take the opportunity at some point our life to experience and explore.
D. God has given us a wonderful creation full of beauty in sight, sound, smell and touch. But He has given us more. He has given us a creation to discover. A creation to stimulate the mind. Things that are too small to see with the naked eye are now being explored and new wonders are found. Things we can never actually see but their presence is evident by their effects, sub-atomic particles, black holes. Things in the deepest oceans, the deepest caverns, the deepest space.
1. Enjoy it, seek it out, wonder at it, and let the wonder of the creation reveal to you the power of the creator.
2. Slow down and see the beauty, see the design, see the wonder and understand the power behind it all is God. Hear what it’s saying to you. It is declaring to you the power, the majesty, and the strength of the creator.
3. I remember from school learning about germs, bacteria and viruses and then I remember there was a chapter that was called the simple cell. That is a lie. No cell is simple. When we start going down into it, studying the depths of biology, getting down to the DNA and the different parts of a cell we find the deeper we go the more it becomes complex. The design is everywhere you're looking, it surrounds you.
4. One of the things I have learned in my life is it doesn't matter what level you go to in the study of things, whenever we think we've reached the bottom it's not the bottom. We find more information underneath. As we study and learn it shows design over and over and over and over and over again at a level we can't comprehend.
E. Going back to Romans “even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse”
1. There is no excuse for atheists. There is no excuse for agnosticism, absolutely zero, none. They have their eyes closed to reality and yes closed to common sense. Every house was built by someone.
2. Look at this building. Common sense. Somebody made it. You are a far more complex creation than anything any human beings ever thought about making.
3. Yet people will say there's no God, there's no designer out there, it just looks like design but there's really no design. Don't listen to their foolishness. The number one reality is that God exists. The creator of the universe is real.
F. Yet there are those that deny God unless... Let me illustrate. The world watched in horror as the Allies revealed the atrocities the Nazis had committed in the camps. The world decided things like this ought not to be done.
1. But under what law could the Nazis be tried? They were obeying German law. They were not under the law of any allied power.
2. In the prosecution of the Nuremburg trials, Robert H. Jackson, a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and one of the Nuremburg prosecutors, argued that the Nazis were being tried by a “higher law” which “transcends the provincial and transient” (Warren and Flew 41). A higher law which transcends the “provincial” means it is not merely the law of any geographical area (i.e. America, Russia, Germany, etc.) To say it is a law which transcends “the transient” means it is above any law that has been passed by human beings during a certain period of time. In other words, the Nuremburg prosecutors affirmed that the Nazis were judged by a law which was (is) beyond any geographical area of the Earth and beyond any period in human history.
3. We have heard our President, and others, speak of the evil acts perpetrated against civilization on September 11, 2001, and that those who did such are evildoers. If such acts really are evil (and they are), and if those who did them can rightly be called evildoers (and they can), then there must be an objective reference by which human behavior is evaluated. Justice Jackson stated, “. . . a higher law.” What is this “higher law”? It is the Ultimate Good who is God. Therefore, God exists. If such is not the case, then the horrific acts of September 11 were not acts of evil, and those who did them were not evildoers. Surely no right-thinking person believes such! “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).
II. Now let’s look at verses 7 thru 14 of Psalm 19; Psalm 19:7-14 – “7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8. The statutes 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 judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover by them your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. 12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. 13. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be 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 strength and my redeemer.”
A. In verse 7 scripture says The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. An amazing thing can be done by the word of God. It can change you—it can change you dramatically. Romans 10:17 says “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
1. We can deduce a creator's existence from the creation. We can deduce a designer's existence from the design. But what is the creator like? What is the designer like? What is God like?
i. We cannot deduce that there is one God from the creation. Left to ourselves mankind is quick to ascribe a god responsible for each of the facets that is observed.
ii. We cannot deduce that God is holy from a rose. The rose shows us something but not everything.
iii. I cannot deduce that God loves me by seeing a sunset.
iv. What we can deduce is there is a powerful force at work, but we do not know its character or its relationship with us.
2. The only way we can truly understand and know God, is for God who has created everything, to reveal Himself to us. He has done this in His word.
i. One of the amazing things about the Word is when we read it, it has the power to change us, to convert our soul and to bring us to the point of faith.
ii. What we're talking about here is faith of who Jesus is, that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God.
3. Every person in the world who has that faith has come to that faith through the Word of God.
i. John 17:17 says; “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.
ii. We are set apart from the world, sanctified, and the way in which this separation takes place—is by the power of the Word of God.
4. As we come to understand God through His word there is a conversion, a converting of the soul which changes us.
i. That's what repentance is all about. I've often mentioned that repentance is linear. It is the continual process of the transformation that is taking place in our life as a Christian.
ii. What is guiding that repentance is our faith in the Word of God. The Word of God is the truth about how to live our life.
iii. It is the Word of God that produces the faith and provides the force to do the changing and the repenting.
B. Next the text says; “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” In Psalm 119:104 we read; “Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.” In what way do we understand reality?
1. Someone suggested there are five Big Questions that we consider when trying to understand reality. They are;
i. What am I?
ii. Where did I come from?
iii. What is death?
iv. What is beyond death?
v. How should I live my life to get the most out of it?
2. Without the word of God, we would find it quite difficult to discover any answers that would truly satisfy us. It is through the Word of God that we can come to have understanding that there is a God who created everything.
3. We can take the light of the Bible and shine it all the way back to Genesis and the creation itself.
4. Then we can take the Word of God and come to understand that there is sin in the world and it is sin where death comes from.
5. We learn from the Word of God there is an existence beyond death. There is heaven and there is hell. If we do not deal with sin, we will spend eternity in hell. If we do not come to God through Jesus Christ, we just don’t go to heaven.
6. As we study, we will find the word of God will show us not only where we came from, He will tell us what we are and show us where we are in our relationship with God. God’s word will show us how to get to heaven itself.
7. It gives us understanding about how to live our life. It gives us commandments and instruction on how to live and how to get the most out of this life. How to avoid hell and how to make it to heaven. That’s understanding.
C. It is through the Word of God that we get wisdom and understanding. Going back to Psalm 19 he said; “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” In First Corinthians 13:4-6 you may recall this, in talking of love it says; “4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;”
1. We just partook of the Lord's Supper a little while ago. I regret that it took the crucifixion of Christ because of my sin, but I certainly am grateful God did it for me.
2. The hope I have of being able to go to heaven and realizing heaven is real, the resurrection is real, eternal life with God is real, and that I can have this through faith in Christ and obedience to God's word by that faith; - folks, that is why we rejoice.
3. The rejoicing in our life is a result of our hope of being with our loved ones again in heaven, of being together with Jesus and in the presence of God the Creator—for all eternity.
4. From the Word of God, we find joy and we are rejoicing because of the hope we have in Christ.
D. Let’s go into the next phrase. “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”. If you turn to Psalm 119:105 we read these familiar words; “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God’s word illuminates our path as we walk in this journey through life. It shows me where I am, it shows the destinations, and it shows how to get to where I want to be. If you can not see where you are walking you will follow the crowd in the broad way, listening to all the guidance of the world. If you study the word of God you will see where you are, be able to find the right way and follow it instead.
E. Next our text says; “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever”. First Peter 1:22-23 says; “22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23. having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,” The Word of God is eternal. You see, the Word of God is like a seed and if we plant that seed in our heart until we leave this world, we will rise to eternal life. Within that seed are all the instructions we need to live and grow to where we will be with God. Our relationship with God is right there in the Bible. This seed of the Word of God will produce the faith; produce the knowledge of the will of God. It endures forever and because it endures forever you will endure forever.
F. In Psalm 19 again – “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” In Second Timothy 3:16-17, again very familiar words; “16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
1. If our concern is about the truth and we want to know the way of righteousness, the way to live our life so that we are pleasing to God, the information is right here in the Bible. The scripture will give you everything we need to know to be instructed in righteousness. No wonder it is to be desired more then the riches of the world.
2. The text continues; “Moreover by them (i.e. God’s words) your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.” We’ve talked about heaven, the great reward, now let's talk about the warning, let's talk about hell.
3. Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” Folks, we are all going to die. That is reality. We are going to be judged by God and we're going to be judged according to what is written in the book.
4. I strongly suspect we probably want to know what's in the book. The books are going to be opened and we're going to be judged by what's written. Study and find out what is in the Word of God and prepare yourself for Judgment Day according to what's written in the book. Next in Revelation 20:15 – “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” We're talking about how rejoicing in the heart has to do with the hope of heaven, and we're warned about hell. I believe it's real, and I don't want to go there.
5. If hell does not bother you, you don't have faith, you don't believe the truth. Come into reality. The Bible is reality. God exists. He created everything. Death is in the world because of Sin. Sin separates you from God and sin must to be dealt with.
III. When we look at Psalm 19, the beginning of it talks about the creation, the middle of it talks about the revelation of God's word. Now let’s look at the last part. 12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. 13. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be 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 strength and my redeemer.” We read earlier that keeping God’s word has great reward. In James 1:21-22 James says; “21. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
A. We understand that God is holy and that we have sinned and sin is separating us from God. We need to have our sins dealt with. Do we know all our sins? The text asks Who can understand their errors?[para] We have secret sins, faults, and we need to be, as he says in the text, cleansed of those sins. The sins have got to be removed.
B. The only way that can be done, look at the very last part of this, Oh Lord my strength and my what? Redeemer
1. The only way we're going to be cleansed of our sins is through the redeemer. Who is the redeemer?
2. God’s word says in Revelation 5:9 – “And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,”
3. The only way we're going to be cleansed of our sins, have any hope of the reward in heaven, and avoid what we're being warned of in hell; is through the Redeemer himself, Jesus the Christ and His blood that was shed at Calvary.
4. We took the Lord's Supper earlier remembering it was about the blood that was shed on Calvary so that our sins could be forgiven. The only way we're going to have any hope of being with God in heaven is through the blood of the redeemer Jesus Christ.
5. In Acts 2:38 - “then Peter said to them repent and let everyone be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”[para] So many times we have heard that verse. Never let it wash over your brain, please, like water over a rock. Like water over a thirsty ground—let it sink in. We can have our sins forgiven. Those sins that separate us from God can be washed away by the power of the blood of the Christ

CONCLUSION:
We must come into reality and recognize from the creation we can deduce God's existence. The Bible really is a revelation from God to let us know about Him, about ourselves and our relationship with Him. It shows us how to deal with sin so we can be reconciled to God and have those sins remitted by the power of the blood of the Christ.

In Luke 18:3 – “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!'” That tax collector understood sin as the Pharisee did not. Obeying the Gospel does not mean you will not sin again. That's not reality. A Christian is a realist, we live in reality. We understand that we will sin even though we have obeyed the Gospel. What do we do about those moments when we mess up and sin as Christians? We take the sin to God confessing it to him, repent of it, turn from it and the blood of the Christ will cleanse us.

The blood that was shed at Calvary cleanses us when we obey the gospel and when we go to God in prayer; we need to pray for forgiveness of every sin. If we do that, we will be forgiven by the power of the blood of Christ Our Redeemer who purchased us from Satan's sin and death. That is reality! Are you a realist?

Go out look at the Creation, slowdown let it speak to you. Hear it. It is speaking to you about the glory of God the power of God, His Majesty, His infinite intellect and power.
Go ahead and be amazed at it because when the Creation amazes you, you’re seeing the Creator behind it.

I'm so thankful He's given us this revelation so we can know the truth about Him, the truth about us, and the truth about the way to have our sins forgiven. Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one will come to the Father except through him.

If you're not right with God get right while you can, come to understand the truth about Jesus. Remember the power of the Word of God. It has the power to convert the soul.
Go into it and read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Read about the virgin birth, the miracles. Read about the resurrection and the crucifixion. Read about it for yourself.
Read it, study it and hopefully you'll come to the conclusion He really is the Christ, the son of God.

Then be willing to confess that faith and motivated by your faith show repentance in your life, putting off the old man putting on the new man. That's the process of conversion, transformation, repentance. If you're willing to make that commitment we'd be glad to assist you and baptize you into the one body for the remission of sins.
If you're in Christ already and there is sin between you and God that needs to be dealt with deal with it and deal with it now. The blood of the Christ is there for you.
We will pray for you. We will pray with you and do the best we can to encourage you and strengthen you. If you are subject to the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the song that has been selected.

Invitation song: 78 (Hark, The Gentle Voice)
Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher