Hey, it’s another sermon!

I really need to start posting here again.  Blame Twitter for my absence.

Anyway, I preached at my church again this morning, this time from Psalm 19.  I’d post the audio again, but the recording ended up being very echo-y and practically inaudible.  So, I’m posting the manuscript that I worked from.  Feel free to read, comment, critique, etc.

——————-

Psalm 19

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 l 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.

Consider these scenarios.

• A teenage girl — jaded by years in a legalistic church, she has proclaimed herself an atheist, but still feels the pull some of ultimate reality.
• A criminal serving a long sentence — he flips through a Bible sent to him by his sister, but fails to understand what he’s reading, though he wants to.
• A presbyterian elder — he knows Scripture well and gives his people wise counsel, but still feels far from God himself.

These diverse folks all share something in common: they feel a longing for God, but sense nothing from him but distance. Absence.

Often, even if we’re believers in Christ, there are times that God seems far off. Unknown and unknowable. As we come to the 19th Psalm, I want us to see that because God graciously reveals himself to humankind, we can know and worship him.

Here’s David, worshiping God in song, praising him for his self-disclosure. This man, who once asked God “how long will you hide your face from me”, is here not only worshiping, but leading God’s people in praise for his presence and nearness. Like us, David’s congregation (Israel) gathered weekly for the worship of God, and like us, there were certainly those among their number who sensed nothing of God but absence. Yet they lifted their voices and sang these words, despite their heartache, and I want us to be encouraged to do the same. The three ways God has revealed himself that we’re going to look at this morning are creation, Scripture, and Christ.

Creation

First, because God graciously reveals himself to humankind in creation, we can know and worship him.

Take a look at verses 1-6. David is painting a vivid picture for us of the created order itself declaring the works of God. In verse 2, he writes “day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge”. Now, to the original audience, the language of creation’s speech being “poured out” day to day would have evoked images of the continual bubbling up of a spring. It’s saying that creation, by its very existence, is constantly and continually testifying of the greatness of its Creator. Then, in verse 3, he says that “there is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard”. What’s he saying? He’s saying that nature speaks of God in such a way that everyone “hears” it.

This is also seen in the New Testament. Turn with me to Romans 1, verses 18-20.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For 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. So they are without excuse.

Well, that’s a downer, isn’t it? Here we are, talking about God’s glory revealed in creation, and suddenly all this talk of wrath and ungodliness and unrighteousness rears its ugly head. But what does it say? Here we have not the glory of God being revealed from heaven, as it is in Psalm 19, but the wrath of God. Why? Because, as our earlier text says, creation constantly testifies of God’s goodness and power, and though everyone “hears” it, not all “listen”.

We all know the difference between “hearing” and “listening”, don’t we? I’m certain that all of you parents can testify to this. I have a daughter. Her name is Zoë. She has (in the past) been a perfect example of how one can “hear” without “listening”. On more than one occasion, she’s been wrapped up in some enthralling activity . . . usually watching SpongeBob Squarepants, when Amy or I have told her to do something.

“Pick up your toys, please, Zoë”
“Z, it’s time for bed. You need to change into your night clothes.”

No reaction.

A little louder, we say “Zoë! Pick up, please!”

Nothing.

“ZOË!”

At that point, she turns to us and says (with a little annoyance in her voice), “I heard you!” Yeah, she heard our voices, but didn’t listen and obey. Though her ears were open, her heart was hard . . . and soon the wrath of her parents was upon her. Had she listened to our voices in the first place and obeyed, things would’ve gone much better.

It’s the same with how God has revealed himself to us through creation.

Now, what are we supposed to do with that? Honestly, I struggled a little bit with this part. God has revealed himself to us through creation. Good. Now what? How can we apply that to our lives? Well, now we reflect on his goodness in providing this world for us. Now we appreciate and worship God for giving us the sun, the skies, the rain, and all that he’s created. 1 Timothy 6:17 says that God has “richly provide[d] us with everything to enjoy”, and that includes all of creation. Read the other creation Psalms (8, 29, 33, 65, 104). See how God’s people have praised him for creation for thousands of years, and join your voices with theirs. Creation is one of God’s self-revelations to us.

Scripture

God also has graciously revealed himself to us in Scripture, and because of that, we can know and worship him.

Let’s go back to Psalm 19 and look at verses 7-11.

David continues this song by moving from God’s general revelation to all of humanity through creation, to his specific revelation to his people through his Word. The language here is beautifully parallel:

“The law of the LORD…”
“The testimony of the LORD…”
“The precepts of the LORD…”
“The commandment of the LORD…”

Together, these terms refer to one thing: God’s Word as he has revealed it to his people, and David is extolling its virtues. For all of its splendor and beauty, not even creation has the effect that God’s Word has on us.

The Word of God revives the soul.
It gives wisdom to the simple.
The Word of God brings joy to the heart and light to the eyes.
God’s Word endures forever.
God’s Word is true, and altogether righteous, and David finishes this section by expressing his heart’s desire for the Word:

“More to be desired than gold! Sweeter than honey! In keeping them there is great reward!”

Do we delight in the Word like that?

Some of you won’t remember these, but there was a piece of technology we used to watch movies before the DVD player. It was called the “VCR”. They usually had digital clocks on them as well, but most that I saw only displayed a blinking “12:00″, meaning that the correct time hadn’t been set.

I remember our first VCR. It was around 1985. I was 6 or 7 years old, and even then, I loved technology. It might’ve been partly due to the fact that my dad was an electrical engineer, but even he couldn’t figure out how to set the clock on that darn VCR. That task fell to me, and I was glad to do it. If it involved pushing buttons, I was all over it. Pretty soon, I was an expert at everything that VCR could do. Not only could I set the time, and thus get rid of the blinking “12:00”, but I could program it to record at certain times. I knew the different recording speeds and the advantages and disadvantages of each. But did I figure it out for myself? No. I read the manual.

Now, the 30-year-old me is more like my dad than the 7-year-old me. Instead of reading manuals, now I’ll give them a cursory glance or refer to them if I “get stuck” with something. Why? It’s probably equal parts arrogance and impatience. Why bother reading a manual when I can probably just figure it out myself, right?

We can often cop the same kind of attitude, though we might not admit it, when it comes to God’s Word.

How many of us only come to the Bible when we need to be reminded of a promise from God, or when we’re facing a crisis? Now, it’s good and right to come to the Bible in those circumstances, but not those only.

Not to overstate the obvious, but this book is the Word of God! He has revealed himself and speaks to us though this book! That’s a big deal! Read it! Study it! Memorize it! Obey it! Believe it! Not only when times get tough, but when times are good. We’re fooling ourselves when we act like the Bible is only useful in difficult times. In bad times, our reaction may be to run to God in our despair, but in good times, we may not even see our need for God in the first place. Which is worse?

Scripture is one of God’s self-revelations to us.

Christ

Finally, God has graciously revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and because of that, we can know and worship him.

Turn to Acts 17 with me. We’ll be looking at verses 16-31.

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Here, we have the Apostle Paul, after Jesus graciously and forcefully converted him, preaching to some Athenians at the Areopagus, which was a place for people to meet and dialogue on various philosophies. He was in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy so they could continue their journey, and along the way, he saw this altar inscribed with the words “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Now I can just imagine Paul, being the Gospel preacher that he was, seeing such a wide open door and saying “oh come on, this is too easy.”

He begins speaking to them, using their belief in this “unknown god” as a starting point to launch into the Gospel of Christ. He even goes as far as quoting their own poets to them, taking a verse that was most likely about Zeus and essentially saying “this is true, but not of Zeus”. He finishes with the demands of the Gospel: in order to know this God you worship as unknown, you must repent and believe in the one God has raised from the dead – Jesus Christ.

The Athenians’ worship of the “Unknown God” was like walking around a somewhat familiar room in pitch black darkness. You know that there’s a couch somewhere, and you’re pretty sure you remember a table and some chairs, but all you can do in the dark is grope around for something to hold onto. Admittedly, this is a better starting point than being in a pitch black room that you think is empty, only to stumble over what’s there, but not as good as having a light turned on.

This is what Paul does for the Athenians here, and it’s what God does for us by ultimately revealing himself to us in the person of Christ. In creation, we’ve been given just enough light to know that there is a God. In scripture, we’re pointed to the light switch. In Jesus, we have light.

So what do we do with this? As verse 30 says, we repent and believe in Christ. We follow him in obedience. Without Jesus, any efforts we can make to know and worship God fall short. We can marvel and appreciate creation all we want. We can read the Bible from cover to cover, but without repentance — turning away from our sin and turning toward Jesus in belief — we only know enough to invoke God’s wrath . . . not receive his forgiveness.

Repent and believe today.

Conclusion

Turn back to Psalm 19 with me one more time. Let’s look at verses 12-14.

Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Only through Jesus can we be declared innocent from all of our faults, hidden and seen.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!

Only through Jesus can we be freed from the dominion of sin.

Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

Only through Jesus can we be blameless and innocent of transgression, great or small.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

And only through Jesus are the words of our mouths and meditations of our hearts acceptable in the sight of God.