God Is Speaking
Psalm 19:1-14 ·November 13, 2022· Joel Passmore
Part of: Psalms
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This is the Word of God for us today. It's completely reliable because God's reliable, and let us treat it and respond to it as God's speaking to us today. So Psalm 19.
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 there are 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.
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 with me. Lord God, we are grateful for your word.
We need your spirit to be living and active, to be helping the word land in our hearts, for our hearts to be fertile and soft soil, to receive it. We want to be changed by you, God. We want to encounter you today. Please do that. Lord, by your grace and your mercy. Use me, Lord, a clay vessel, to do holy work, Lord, among the people that are here. Jesus, we pray this in your name.
Here's the main point today. God is speaking. God is speaking. We're learning about how to respond to his word in faith. Responding to his word in faith. Here's the first section. God's work gets our attention. That's verses one through six. Now this is a little dangerous today, because you have a guy who used to be an engineer talking about poetry. Poetry's not my forte. I have written a couple of songs, songs that have lyrics to them. Writing lyrics is hard.
Writing a poem is hard. What you have here is one of the finest poems in the whole Bible. Kids, you may not know that the Bible has poems in it. This is a man pouring out his heart. Writing verse. Beautiful poetry. Let's find out what he's writing about. Now nearly everyone here has seen something in nature that is really breathtaking, that's just spectacular, that's beautiful. A sunset or a mountain view or a waterfall. Creation, it's inspired a lot of poems in many, many people.
It's inspired many songs, many works of art. This psalm is a fine example of poetry, and David begins talking about the things that he's seeing, the space and sky, the cycles of the seasons, of day and night, of the sun itself. But did you notice exactly what David said? He isn't describing how beautiful these things are. You might expect him to. He could have, but he didn't. He's focused on something else. He's focused on God. He's focused on the one that made those things.
Look at verse one. The heavens declare the glory of God. The sky above proclaims his handiwork. He looks around and says, all of these things are telling us, are telling me, about the beauty and the majesty of God. That's what they're saying. They're speaking. God's work is speaking, and it's speaking about him. He made it that way. Look at verses two and three. It pours out speech. It reveals knowledge. It has a voice. This voice is spreading knowledge about the creator.
Sun, moon, stars, the motion of the earth, they're all making an ongoing, loud announcement. God is real. God made all of this. The order that you see, the magnitude of it, the size and the scope, the beauty, all of these things tell us that the creator is real, he's powerful, he's wise. It's saying these things to us all the time. And who hears this voice? Well, David says that everyone hears this voice. David, the inspired author of scripture, is telling us, everyone on earth hears this voice.
Verse four, their voice goes out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. All people hear it and understand it regardless of their human language. This is called, sometimes by theologians, it's called general revelation. Everyone on the earth hears this testimony, that the creation itself is sending out. Something about God that is made known through his creation and it reaches everyone. It's called general revelation. Paul says this in Romans 1.20, for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made, so they are without excuse.
God's work is meant to get our attention and it does. It gets our attention. But sadly, I think that we're getting kind of used to screening out all kinds of messages that reach us. Especially now. Kids, you may, this may blow your minds, but at one time, the phone would ring and you would walk over to where the phone was tethered to the wall and you would pick it up and you'd say hello because you didn't know who it was. You would answer every phone call that would come in and say hello and you would find out who it was.
You didn't know who was calling. Now our phones literally tell us scam likely. At least mine does. One time a few years ago, I kept getting a call from an unknown number and I had by that point learned you just don't answer an unknown number. I kept getting calls, kept getting calls. About the third or fourth time, I got really frustrated. I answered it and I immediately said, stop calling me and I hung up and about three seconds later, I realized, oh, there was somebody applying to do an internship at our church who was going to call me to talk to me and I went in my email and I looked at what number I was supposed to be expecting and that was the number.
So I called him back and I was like, I'm really sorry. Here's the situation. And actually, that young man, he's a pastor now, he's going to come preach for us in a couple weeks. So come back and hear him. His name is Isaiah Thomas so you can ask him about that story about how I brutally hung up on him. He's going to be our first guest preacher. So I made a big mistake. I was screening out a call that I should have gotten, right? Friends, let me ask you, are you screening out God's call?
Is he trying to speak to you and you're screening it out? You're looking at your phone, no thanks. And I'll get to that later. God's trying to speak to you. He's trying to communicate with you and tell you, pay attention. I'm here. I'm worthy of worship. Maybe you look around at the world and you marvel at its sunsets and its seasons, but then you chalk it up to naturalistic causes. You think, you know what? This is all just a combination of matter, emotion, and time and chance.
But can something so orderly come out of disorder? How is that possible? Can something so beautiful develop by accident? Just ask yourself, what if maybe a creator was responsible for it all? What if that were true? If you've never thought about that, just consider it a possibility. What if a creator was responsible for all this? Wouldn't that explain not just what you see, but also how you feel about it? That a personal God made this? Sometimes people say, God, if you're out there, give me a sign.
But they're saying it literally while surrounded on all sides, on all times, by a big neon sign. A voice, a megaphone, making an announcement to them. God is real. He's worthy of worship. God is speaking to us and we should listen. And if we start listening, we start having questions, don't we? This creator of all things, what is he like? How can I relate to him? Is it possible for me to have a relationship with him? Is there any way to know him more intimately?
What happens next? That's where the next form of God's speech comes in. Okay, there's another form of speech that David talks about. Verses 7 through 9, David makes a shift, starting in verse 7. And this section I'm calling God's Word Changes Our Direction. So his work gets our attention and his word changes our direction. Look at verse 7. Let me sum it up. He's saying, look, if you think that's great about how awesome creation is and how much it's speaking about God, let me tell you about something even better.
Let me tell you about another way that God has revealed himself through his word. Now David, in verses 7 through 9, he uses a bunch of synonyms here. All of the synonyms are before the phrase of the Lord. Things like law, testimony, commandment. These are all referring to the same thing. God's revealed word, his word to us. After opening with verses about the testimony of the sky and the sun and the heavens, David sharpens his pencil, so to speak.
He didn't really have a pencil. And he writes even more beautifully. He brings out his best work to describe the excellencies of scripture. He says it's perfect. It contains no mistakes, no errors. It's sure. It's reliable. It's trustworthy. He says it's right and it's pure.
He says it's clean. It's holy. It's true. There's no falsehood. There's no deception in God's word. Nothing that you have to filter out. No mixed messages. Nothing that you have to, well, let's just leave that alone. I don't really believe that part. It's righteous altogether. It reflects God's holy character. David uses none of these descriptions about the heavens and the sky. Did you see that? None of them he applies to the world. He applies them only to God's revealed word.
He reserved them and applied them to that. Now, you might be surprised by this. David, you're waxing poetic about rules and laws. Seems kind of strange. What's so compelling about commandments? Why does that inspire poetry from you? Music from you? Well, here's why. First, these are not just laws. David is not enamored with a law textbook. He recognizes the relationship behind the words. These laws, these rules, these commandments, they come to him from a personal God who loves him personally.
Now, kids who are third through fifth grade who would have gone out today for the Explorers class, but it's not meeting. Let me ask you a question. Third through fifth grade, are you paying attention? Name one of the Ten Commandments. Just out loud. Go ahead, Sam. Don't steal. Obey your mother and father. That's great. Anyone else have another one? Another Ten Commandment? Clean your room. That may be one for your house, Avery, but Isabel? What's that?
Honor. Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Tessa? It's okay. If you think of it later, say something. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. You're older than fifth grade, but okay.
I know. Kids, do you know this question? You're probably not going to know the answer, and that's okay. I'm going to tell you what the answer is. Do you know the sentence that comes before the Ten Commandments? Anybody? Any adults know the sentence before the Ten Commandments? Joe?
Let's put that up there. This is very important. Before God gives the Ten Commandments, he says this sentence. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Do you see how important that is? Before giving them the law, God reminds them, we are in a relationship because I delivered you. Before giving the law, God says, remember, we are in a relationship because I delivered you. This is what David is thinking about.
This is why he rejoices in the word. Not because it's a bunch of rules and he just loves rules, but because it reflects the relationship that he is in with the God that delivered him. To him, God's word means a more deeper knowledge of his faithful God, the one that brought him through every adversity, every suffering, the God who loves him. Now, there's another reason why David finds God's word so compelling, and that's because he has experienced change in his life through God's word.
God's work in creation, it's like a phone ringing. Pay attention because someone's calling, someone's reaching out. The real impact happens when you pick up the phone and you get into a conversation. That's what has happened with David. That's what happens through God's word. Scripture is an example of what theologians call special revelation. Nature is general revelation. Scripture is special revelation. This is God revealing more of himself in a particular way, in a detailed way, in a direct way.
God's word is a living and active means of blessing us, of changing us, of doing what nature and creation cannot do for us. Let's look at what David says. He says it revives the soul and it gives us life. Through scripture alone, we learn what God has done to redeem us. We learn how we can be restored to him. God's word, God nourishes and strengthens our new life through his word. With the spirit now in us, we can read the word of God and draw near to the one that delivered us.
It's a means of fellowshipping with God. David also says it gives wisdom. Anybody here need wisdom? I know I do. God's word gives us understanding. It helps us understand ourselves, him, others, the world that we live in. It gives us a point of view that we cannot get from just looking at the sky and the sun and the heavens. Even the simple become wise through his word.
You don't have to be a genius to become wise. You need God's word. It rejoices the heart. Through the word alone, that's how we know how we can be forgiven. And then we know from that point forward that we are forgiven. That our conscience is clean and it gives us peace.
God uses his word to redirect what we love. We're no longer setting our hearts on idols that never ever return love to us, never do anything for us. Now our love is redirected on a person that actually loves us back. It rejoices the heart and it enlightens the eyes. It reveals God's promises for us so we can face our lives and our future with hope, without fear. we have a clear vision of everything in our lives. We begin to evaluate and see things from his point of view.
It's informed by his commandment and by his character. Church, none of these things happens apart from his word. Nature just does not do it. It doesn't happen. These are the benefits that only come from drawing near to God through his word. Now how should we respond to this? What is the response of faith? David helps us on this too. He talks about it in verses 10 through 14. Here's the response of faith that we should have to God speaking to us. God speaking to us, getting our attention in nature, but then coming closer to us, giving us more specific revelation about himself and changing us through his word.
This is the first one. Cherish and keep God's word. Cherish and keep it. Verses 10 through 11 say this, 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. These two verses in a nutshell are why we're calling the Bible our delightful God as part of our core values. It's both of those things. Now listen, being saved by grace doesn't mean that we should be content to just coast to the finish line.
Okay? That's not why God saved us. There are rewards and benefits, the things that we've already talked about that come from keeping God's word, from drawing near to him in his word. Don't hesitate to do what God commands to do. Don't wait on it. Don't wait to pursue holiness in the fruit of the spirit. Put it into practice and be blessed. You won't do it perfectly but that's okay. That's okay. Thanks to Jesus you don't have to do it perfectly. He did it perfectly but he wants you to trust him and to keep at it.
James 1.22 says, Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1.22. But David doesn't just tell us what to do about God's word. He tells us how to feel about God's word. This is something that we might miss. This might surprise you. Our heart and our will are intertwined. God knows this about us. He wants to redirect them both. He wants us to not just keep his word but cherish his word. What is there to cherish about it?
Because God has revealed himself. Do you just stop and think about how miraculous that is. How gracious that is. That the God of the universe would tell us about himself. He didn't have to do that but he reveals himself to us. He's spoken and he continues to speak in his word. This is how we're shaped by him and restored when we despair in our strength. This is why it enriches us more than gold and why it's sweeter than honey.
Now, cherishing the Bible and following the Bible it's a tough sell if we view it as a dusty book with a bunch of rules and some crazy stories. And probably a lot of us feel that way sometimes. The Bible is a little antiquated. It's got some good stuff in it. Got a bunch of rules. Don't know really what to make about all those rules. Some crazy stories. I like to read those.
If the Bible is that to you then it is going to be pretty tough to cherish and follow it. But let me give you a different way to look at it. I've got a card here. This card is over 20 years old. It came from my brother. He's 8.5 years older than me and the wide gap in our age meant that we were often in just different life stages with each other. I always looked up to him even after I got a little bit taller than him. I still looked up to him and still do.
When I was in 7th grade I had just moved up here. Just moved up to this state. Our parents had split up and my brother Roger now my brother is a pretty quiet and soft spoken guy so imagine my surprise when I got this card in the mail when I was in 7th grade. He gave me some advice. I'm going to read little portions of it for you. One thing I've learned in my years of school is not to be overly concerned with grades. I just prepare to the best of my ability and go into the test prepared.
Remember not to feel afraid of people because you feel there are things about you they wouldn't like. People that are worth calling friends won't make you self-conscious about shortcomings and everyone has shortcomings.
One more thing I want to talk to you about is illegal drugs. If anyone offers you drugs Joel just say no and don't give them an opportunity to ask you again. I've seen two people ruin their lives with drugs and it's a sad sight and he offered me this advice in the context of relationship.
I guess I never realized how much I care about you until you were in Virginia but always remember that I love you and you can always call and talk. This card is invaluable to me.
I went looking for it among a bunch of boxes and fortunately I found it and it's going to go right back there after the sermon. This card is invaluable to me because it's an expression of his care for me his love for me and that love took the form of counsel wisdom that I didn't have. I put that counsel into practice. I did literally say no to drugs because of this card. I was offered it and I thought about this and I said no.
It shaped me. I knew that he loved me and I listened to him. How much more the word of God than this card? How much more? When you think of the Bible don't think about it like a textbook. Don't think about it like an instruction manual or some kind of code of laws. Think of it as a letter written by your creator who loves you and who wants good things for your life. That's what it is. He wants to bless you. He wants to bless you through his word.
I want to close with this. There's another part of responding to God's word that is very very important. This is how David closes his psalm. Verses 12 and 13. We have to rest in God's mercy. We have to rest in God's mercy. David gets honest at the very end of the psalm.
The perfection and the purity of God's word, it's reminded him of his own imperfection, his own impurity. The call to desire it and to follow it has reminded him, I don't desire it like I should. I don't keep it like I should. In response, and kids, I want you to listen to this, David does not just roll up his sleeves and try harder. He doesn't do that. He doesn't just try harder. The first thing he does is he's humble. He asks God to look inside.
Look inside me, Lord. Forgive even the sins that I don't even see. Forgive the sins that I've covered up. He asks God for help. He says, Lord, help me not sin again. Help me, please keep me from presumptuous sins. Keep me from bondage to it, from a pattern in my life. He says, then I shall be blameless and innocent. When he repents and rests in God's mercy, that's when he gets the blamelessness and the innocence that he needs because God has given it to him.
God has given him forgiveness. Church, we have to have the same response to God's law. Before you can cherish it and keep it, you have to rest in God's mercy for you. You have to come to him, not in your own effort, but in his grace. Cast yourselves on the mercy of God in Christ. He fulfilled the law and he died in the place of law breakers like you and me. He fulfilled the entire law and then he went to the cross because law breakers like you and me, we cannot pay the penalty and live.
But he did and he can. Through faith in Christ, now you have a totally new relationship to this book. A totally new relationship. This no longer condemns you. It blesses you in Christ. The condemnation has been taken by Christ. He paid the penalty for your sins. Now you can relate to this in a totally different way than you could before.
Now it gives you delight. Now it gives you wisdom. Now it rejoices your heart and enlightens your eyes. When you belong to Jesus your obedience now it's an offering. Just like David found the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart when you belong to Jesus they're acceptable in in God and so you can run to this over and over and take the light that you're meeting with your Savior. You're meeting with the God who has delivered you. The God that you're in a relationship with because of his mercy towards you.
Friends let's delight and keep God's word. Let's cherish it but let's also first and foremost rest in his mercy. The mercy that we praise you and we thank you for doing what we could not have done. All these commandments and rules all the holy character of yours that we see in scripture these things do nothing but crush us and condemn us Lord were it not for Christ were it not for the salvation that we receive through repentance and faith as we hide ourselves in him the work that he has done on our behalf Lord please if anyone here is listening and is still considering Christ still considering Jesus and wondering is this really the savior could this really be the one that gives me a right relationship with the creator that I know is out there Lord please draw near to them Lord open up their eyes to behold your son and to take hold of them the delight that we take in your word help us to keep it faithfully but help us to do these things by grace alone trusting constantly Jesus in your work not in our own work and Lord all of these things that David talked about where he through your word help this church to be saturated in and directed by your word but as people that are delighting in the one who gave it to us Jesus we pray this in your name