1 The God Who Speaks Psalm 19 (#2 in a series through selected Psalms) THE INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 19 THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION THE READING OF PSALM 19 THE ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE John T. Mabray, Pastor Covenant Presbyterian Church Monroe, Louisiana June 17, 2012 Not too long ago, I was driving back from Tensas Parish, traveling north on highway 65, late in the afternoon, and as I glanced to the west I saw something which moved me to pull over onto the shoulder of the highway just so I could stop and look at it and try to take it in. It was a fluorescent sunset underneath a billowing roll of blue and pink and rose and firey gold cotton candy, which unfurled from the treetops on the horizon expanding up into the heavens. And I sat their in my truck and said out loud to myself, Look at that! Just look at that! Thousands of people go to the Grand Canyon or to Sedona, Arizona every summer to see sunsets like that, and there I sat in my truck just north of the Tensas-Madison Parish line. Catherine and I have a good friend who is a very fine artist who paints grand natural landscape scenes And I told him, That sunset looked like one of your paintings. He is a Christian, and he responded very thoughtfully, Well, it s really the other way around; I want people
2 to look at my paintings and be reminded of who the True Artist really is. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). That silent sunset was declaring, proclaiming, Look! Look at the glorious handiwork of God! And contemplate the glory of such a Being who would for the sheer joy and pleasure of it (yes, for the sheer joy and pleasure of it!), splash these colors on the sky, in order to declare and proclaim his glory! I m sure that you have had similar experiences. It might have been this morning, when you looked out and saw not a spectacular sunset but simply a bright blue canopy with the apparent depth and breadth of infinity and eternity. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Or you might have this experience when, on a hot afternoon, you see those mountains of cumulus clouds rolling in and building up and rising to the heights of the heavens, later changing from pure snow white to that ominous bluish-yellowishgrayish boiling black, out of which silver bolts of lightning shoot and rumbling peals of thunder roar. Then, it s like the old hymn says, O tell of his might, O sing of his grace, whose robe is the light, whose canopy space. His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form, And dark is his path on the wings of the storm. (O Worship the King, v.2; based on Ps.104, Robert Grant)
3 Or what about a starry, starry night, far from the city lights? Every child, and everyone who wants to maintain childlike wonder, ought to have the experience (more frequently than most of us do) of trying to count the stars in a clear night sky. It ll take a while, especially if you lose count and have to start over, because there are about one-hundred billion stars in our galaxy (that s a 1 followed by eleven zeros). And what does the Bible say about all these stars? Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing (Isaiah 40:26). Yes, The heavens declare the glory of God, including his greatness and his power. And when we look up at the heavens, we can get a real sense of the majesty of God and our own smallness. As Psalm 8 says, O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Ps. 8:1, 3-4). The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19 is all about the God who speaks. The Creator is not silent. The creation itself speaks on his behalf, declaring his glory, his greatness, his wisdom, his power. It is an
4 amazing reality, which we ought not to take for granted. Every day, the creation bears witness to, tells us about, the glory of the Creator. It is there right before our eyes every morning we wake up. It is a silent witness, but it speaks to us (loudly and clearly) at every moment. This reality which is built into the universe and built into human consciousness the fact that the creation tells us that there is a Creator who is great and glorious is what theologians call general revelation. That means that God reveals himself in general, in a general way, to humanity in general, through the creation. God created the world and God made you, such that the creation can speak to you, and you can perceive what the creation is saying, about the glory of God. Every day the creation tells us clearly that there is a Creator who declares his glory and proclaims his handiwork by displaying his wisdom and power in his work of creation. Psalm 19 continues, Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In other words, the silent testimony of creation speaks throughout all the earth, declaring the glory of God, and all humanity hears it. In fact, all human beings, throughout history, throughout the world, in
5 every culture have had and continue to have some innate (practically instinctive) in-born knowledge of a universal Power greater than themselves (in other words, some of a god). No one is born an atheist. Humans are, by nature, religious creatures. That is one of the distinct human characteristics which come from having been created in the image of God. God s stamp is upon every human soul; and the human soul knows that innately. You and I were created with the capacity and for the purpose of living in a personal relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth. And that s one of the reasons that when we see that magnificent sunrise or spectacular sunset, there s something within us that is captivated by and marvels at the beauty of it. No other creature on earth looks up at the sky and says, Wow! Look at that! I don t know about you, but sometimes when I see a multi-colored, fiery sunset, I wonder if it would be possible to get into a jet and zoom over there, to wherever that glorious light is, and just stand in it and bathe in the pink and red and orange glow. But I think it would be like chasing the rainbow; you can t really get there: not in this world. But have you ever had that kind of experience, in which the beauty of this world seems to be speaking to you about the glory of another world, and seems to be calling you there? How do you account for that? The heavens declare the glory of God. So think about this (this is really important): the next time you see that spectacular sunset, or that ominous thunderstorm, or that starry,
6 starry night sky, the truly amazing or most important thing is not that God made something so beautiful and awesome; the most amazing and most important thing is that he made you with the capacity to perceive beauty and to respond with wonder and awe. The most spectacular thing is not what s going on out there in nature; the most important thing is what s going on in you, as that spontaneous response of amazement and pleasure and wonder and awe wells up inside you, as you feel yourself being called out of yourself toward the transcendent glory. But there is a problem. And it s a big problem. Stay with me. To say (as I said a moment ago) that no one is born an atheist; and to say (as I did), that all human beings are born with an innate knowledge of a universal Power greater than themselves; and that humans are by nature religious creatures, and that God s stamp is upon every human soul: does not mean that everyone worships the living and true God or that everyone knows who the Creator of heaven and earth is: Quite the contrary. And this is really bad news. No one is born an atheist; but everyone is born an idolater. We innately know that we were born to worship; but in our fallen nature, in our sin-corrupted nature in which we are born, we will inevitably, instinctively worship something other than the true and living God. This is the bad news of Original Sin our fallenness, the ruination of the humanity.
7 Romans 1 gives us the divine diagnosis of the fallen, sin-corrupted condition of humanity, and it provides a very important parallel to Psalm 19. Listen: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 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. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (Romans 1:18-23). Let me repeat Romans 1:19-20, what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 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. That takes us back to Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky above proclaims his handiwork but sinful humanity, in its fallen state, in ungodliness and unrighteousness, suppresses the truth. And instead of worshipping the Creator, sinful humanity worships the creature. In primitive cultures, it may be animals, birds, or unknown
8 spirits. In our culture, it is more likely the work of our own hands or some aspect of ourselves that we worship; or political power; or personal success; or some other person, such as a lover or our own child, whom we worship and adore as though he or she were the Creator of the universe (or, at least, the creator of our universe). And, with regard to the beauty and wonder of nature, it is true that the worship of nature itself is on the rise in our culture. Modern pagan spirituality is very much influenced by nature religion, and many people today will tell you that their spirituality is a matter of being in touch with nature. But the problem is that while the creation can tell us that there is a God of glory and power, it cannot tell us who he really is, and what he is really like, or how we are to live in relation to him. General revelation the general knowledge that there is a Creator is not sufficient to bring us into a personal, saving relationship with him. Simply put, it is not enough it is not sufficient merely to believe that there is a God. The mere acknowledgment of a Creator, the acknowledgement or belief in a general Higher Power will not bring you into a redeemed relationship or personal fellowship with the living and true God. And not even all of those responses of wonder and awe not even pulling over onto the shoulder of the highway and saying Wow! Look at that! means that we are people of true faith in the true God. How could a sunset tell us everything we need to know about the Creator? So, how can we know the Creator and live in relationship with him?
9 Psalm 19 answers that question as well, in verses 7-9, which speak of God s special revelation in the Scriptures. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The words used in these verses law, statutes, precepts, commandment all refer to the fact that the Creator of heaven and earth speaks not only through his works in nature but also, more importantly, in human language! The Creator of heaven and earth, who created us, including our brains with the capacity for language, can and does speak his word and will to us in human language, human speech, so that we can know who he really is and what he desires of us and how we are to live in relationship with him. These verses of Psalm 19 are referring to what theologians call special revelation the word of God written in Scripture. The heavens declare the glory of God. But how do we know this God whose glory is declared by the heavens? He speaks his word to us in human language in the Scriptures. How do we know how to worship the Creator in a way that pleases him? Through his revealed
10 word written in Scripture? How do we know what the Creator desires of us and requires of us? How do we know how we can be sure that we are in a good and right relationship with the Creator? Through the special revelation of his word written in Scripture. As Psalm 19 says, about the words of the LORD in Scripture: More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. The revealed word of God gives instruction as to how we are to live, how to avoid sin, how to live a life pleasing to God. But now, we ve got to take it to the next level. The Scripture of the Old Testament speaks also about the need for atonement, the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins. It speaks to us about the One who was promised to come to bring salvation. It speaks about the One who would suffer and die for the sins of his people. And in the New Testament, we read about that very One, about the Son of God born of woman, the Word made flesh: the Word of God the powerful, creative, life-generating Word of God, in human flesh and blood: Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures point to Jesus, and the New Testament Scriptures speak of Jesus as God with us, the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), and the radiance of God s glory and the exact
11 representation of his being the One who sustains the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3); and the One by whom, through whom, and for whom all things were created. In other words, when the heavens declare the glory of God, they are declaring the glory of the One who has come to us as One of us, to live for us, to die for us, and to rise again from death for us, so that we might live forever and in the eternal fellowship of his glory. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork but he is not an unknown God, he is not merely a higher power, he is not only the Creator; he is the Creator who has come into the creation for the redemption of fallen sinners. The hands which fashioned the heavens and hung the stars in the sky, the hands which paint the sunrise and sunset on the horizon, the hands which form the thunderclouds and throw the lightning bolts: are the hands which were pierced by nails on a cross. Every beautiful sunrise, every spectacular sunset, every awesome thunderstorm, every magnificent starry night declares the glory of God which has been finally and fully revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. So, the next time you look up and say, Wow! Look at that! Remember: look to him, Jesus Christ, and offer yourself to him anew in wonder, awe, worship, and praise; to the glory of his name. Amen.