HOOK: I’d like to share with you this morning some actual headlines from real newspapers.
1. Grandmother of eight makes hole in one.
2. Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers
3. Two convicts evade noose, jury hung
4. Milk drinkers are turning to powder
5. Safety experts say children on school bus should be belted
6. Iraqi head seeks arms
7. Queen Mary having bottom scraped
8. Two sisters reunite after eighteen years at checkout counter.
Sometimes things just don’t come out the way we intend. That can result in something funny, or it can result in tragedy if someone misunderstands an instruction about a life or death situation.
Unlike the newspaper headlines we just saw, God has not given us confusion as he has communicated with us. As a matter of fact, he has been very clear in more than one way. And as he has revealed himself to humanity we can see how wonderful he truly is-- how praiseworthy our Creator is.
(Announce Text)
BACKGROUND:
Psalms contains five divisions called books: Book I = Psalms 1-41; Book II = Psalms 42-72; Book III = Psalms 73-89; Book IV = Psalms 90-106; and Book V = Psalms 107-150. Dr. Thomas Rodgers of Trinity Theological Seminary states that of the 150 Psalms “we know that at least seventy-three psalms were written by David.”
Psalm 19 is one of those seventy-three and, along with Psalms 1 and 119, seems to celebrate the importance of the Law in Israel’s everyday life. These three Psalms also portray how obeying the Law will bring joy to God’s people. In our text we find David talking about two types of revelation: general and special. General revelation is seen in God’s creation-- the heavens and the earth. Special revelation is seen in God’s covenants with humanity through such men as Adam, Abraham, Moses, and ultimately Jesus Christ. The Bible has recorded God’s special revelation to humanity. C. S. Lewis described Psalm 19 as “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”
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BIBLICAL PROBLEM: God has revealed himself to the Israelites through his majestic creation and the Law of Moses.
BIBLICAL SOLUTION: The chosen nation of God was to respond in worship and respect.
CONTEMPORARY PROBLEM: God continues to reveal himself to us through the heavens and the earth and his written word, but he reveals himself most fully through his Son Jesus Christ.
THESIS: Because of God’s revelation, we need to respond in worship and respect.
TRANSITIONAL STATEMENT: We find three divisions listed in Psalm 19 that show us why we should worship and respect God.
I. THE FIRST DIVISION IS GOD’S FINGERPRINTS.
Verses 1-6 tell us that God’s glory is revealed through his creation. His fingerprints are everywhere we look.
I like the way the New Living Translation has worded verses 1-4: “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it.”
The Psalmist is emphasizing that there is no excuse for not believing in Yahweh-- the God of Israel.
Two Old Testament scholars have said that “David, as a shepherd, had experienced many nights under the open sky, in a land where a [multitude] of stars are visible and especially brilliant. It would never have entered his thinking that such could have existed by chance, but that all of nature bears testimony to the divine.”
“All creation is viewed as his handiwork, testifying to his greatness, showing forth his glory, inspiring his creature to sing his praise.”
“Look around you!” David is saying. “God’s fingerprints are everywhere!”
The beginning of Psalm 19 reminds me of something about the creation account in Genesis. Genesis 1:14-18: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
The traditional author of Genesis is Moses. He apparently received the creation account from God during his time with him on Sinai. Following this special revelation on God’s general revelation Moses put it down in writing.
Now, did you notice the order in which the writer of Genesis lays out the creation of the heavenly bodies?
1. Sun
2. Moon
3. Stars
The order is important.
Who is the big enemy of Israel following the Exodus and during their preparation to go into the Promised Land? The answer is found in Exodus 33:2: “God said, ‘I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.”
Leviticus 25:38: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.”
Who is the big enemy of Israel? The answer is the Canaanites. So, what does that have to do with how the sun, moon and stars are presented in the creation account in Genesis? The Canaanites, as well as the Babylonians and many other ancient peoples, worshipped the sun, moon, and stars as gods.
The way the writer of Genesis presents the creation of these heavenly bodies is a strong statement of Yahweh’s superiority. He is basically saying, “Yahweh God created the sun and the moon. And, oh yeah, I almost forgot-- he created those piddly little stars too.” Moses is emphasizing that the heavenly bodies are not gods in any real sense-- they are a creation of the one true Living God Yahweh.
They are a testimony to his artistry, his Being, his power, his authority. That is also what David is saying in Psalm 19-- the stars, as well as the rest of the heavenly realms, are a testimony to God’s glory. This is a reminder to the Israelites to not give in to the pagan religions around them. They were to remain faithful to the true God who created the heavens. This is a reminder to us to not give in to the false religions around us. We are to remain faithful to the true living God through his Son Jesus Christ.
Atheists in our day say they haven’t seen evidence of God, therefore he can’t exist. However, the Psalmist contradicts that naïve statement-- indeed we have seen evidence of God’s glory: the sun, the moon, the stars-- as a matter of fact, all of creation gives testimony to God. And the Psalmist uses that general revelation to point to the glory of God; so does the apostle Paul. Paul uses God’s creation as one of the proofs of his authority and glory over everyone and everything. He writes in Romans 1:18-20: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Even though some people “may not have access to special revelation of God’s law, they know enough about God and his law through general revelation to be held accountable” (Jack Cottrell, Romans, Volume 1, The College Press NIV Commentary [Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996], 130).
Once upon a time, an atheist was arguing with a Quaker about the existence of God. “Did you ever see God?” asked the atheist. “No,” said the Quaker. “Did you ever smell God?” asked the atheist again. “No,” said the Quaker. “Well, then,” said the atheist with a smirk on his face, “how can you be so sure there is a God?” "Friend, did thee ever see thy brains,” the Quaker asked the atheist. “No,” was the answer. “And did thee ever smell thy brains?” the Quaker asked again. “No,” answered the atheist. “Dost thou believe that thou hast any brains?” asked the Quaker once more.
As David points out in Psalm 19, when we consider the evidence of creation there we see that there is truly a God.
The apostle Paul also uses verse 4 of Psalm 19 when he talks about the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He writes in Romans 10:18: “But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Whereas the Psalm originally referred to the general revelation of God in creation, the apostle Paul has taken it by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and applied it to the fact that the spread “of the gospel is becoming as world-wide as the light of the heavenly bodies” ( F. F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, The Tyndale New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963], 209).
So Paul shows us that God’s glory is revealed in not only the general revelation of his fingerprints, but also in Psalm 19’s…
II. SECOND DIVISION WE SEE SHOULD WORSHIP AND RESPECT GOD BECAUSE OF GOD’S BLUEPRINTS.
God’s glory is revealed in his instructions for life (vv. 7-10). Verse 8 reads in the New Living Translation as: “The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life.”
Bible scholars point out that “having considered the glory of God as revealed in nature, the psalmist…now fix[es his] heart and mind upon the excellence of God’s [instruction- his blueprints]. [Just] as [creation] revealed God’s wisdom and power, [his instruction] shows his wisdom and concern in providing guidance for his people. As God gave the sun to [light] the earth, he has given [instruction] to enlighten the mind and soul and to [light up humanity’s] path upon the earth. The glory of God revealed in creation is paralleled by the glory revealed in [his instruction]” (S. Edward Tesh and Walter D. Zorn, Psalms, Volume 1, The College Press NIV Commentary [Joplin, MO: College Press, 1999], 190).
The apostle Paul writes to Timothy and tells him about the importance of God’s instructions as revealed in the Bible. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT).
Like Timothy, we need to know God’s instructions. God’s instructions in the Bible can be used for:
1. Teaching-- This is the most general of the four uses Paul gives. The Scripture instruct us in the ways of God. They tell us about Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation. Teaching the correct doctrine of the Scriptures was Timothy’s primary task as he ministered in Ephesus. And if we are going to know the truth, we must study God’s instructions in the Bible in order for it to teach us that truth.
2. Rebuking-- One of the great preachers of the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (the late Jim McKowen) said that we all know what a rebuke is. “And most of us want no part of it. Although if you’ve ever played basketball your coach has done it to you. If you’ve ever written an English theme your English [teacher] has done it to you. If you’ve ever worked a math problem wrong your math [teacher] has done it to you. We all need somebody who can point out where we fall short, where we make mistakes, where we’re wrong; and if we want to improve we listen.” This is what the word of God does. It shows us where we’re wrong so that we can improve.
3. Correcting-- Whereas rebuking tells us what we’ve done wrong, correcting tells us what is right. The Greek word here literally means “restoration to an upright position” or “setting straight.” Once Scripture tell us what we have done wrong it tells us what we can do right. It doesn’t just show us the problem, it also gives us the answer.
4. Training in righteousness-- This final use shows us that the Bible teaches us in showing us what we’ve done wrong, then showing what the right thing to do is, and finally it guides us though the journey. The Bible helps us to grow up in Jesus. It helps us to live the way God wants us to live-- both inwardly and outwardly. The Bible is our instructions for life.
Let’s suppose for just a moment that I bought a horse from a man, and for that horse I had to pay a grand total of six dollars.
When I get home with the horse, everyone’s excited. Reagan and Patrick think I’m a hero for bringing them a horse. Angela thinks I’m a great bargainer for buying the horse for only six dollars. The horse is a definite hit with the family.
But after a while, problems arise. The horse is too big for the townhouse, even though I’ve made sure that Reagan and Patrick know that there is to be “no galloping in the living room.” It’s getting awfully expensive to feed this animal, too. Finally, Angela declares, “That horse has got to go!” I take the horse back to the man who originally sold it to me, and he’s gracious enough to buy the horse back for eight dollars.
But I miss that old horse. A lot of times at night, after Reagan and Patrick go to bed, I can be found on the back deck, staring up at the moon and playing my harmonica, singing cowboy songs. Angela, bless her heart, can’t stand to see me mope over old Calico, so she finally gives in and says, “Oh all right, go back and buy that horse again.” This time I buy the horse from the same man for ten dollars.
You can guess what happened. No sooner did we get the horse back to the house that we began to face all the old problems again. Reagan and Patrick were still chasing the horse all around up and down the stairs, and that horse was really messing up the carpet. I could see the handwriting on the stall. I was going to have to get rid of old Calico again. So, I took the horse back to the same guy and sold him my horse for twelve dollars.
I no longer have the horse, but I do have a question. After all of my wheeling and dealing on that horse, did I make money or lose money? Not counting feed, or gas back and forth to the farm-- did I come out ahead? Did I go in the hole? Or did I break even? And if I did gain or lose-- how much did I gain or lose?
The answer is I made four dollars. I spent six dollars and ten dollars-- that’s sixteen dollars. I received eight dollars and twelve dollars. So, subtract sixteen from twenty-- that’s four dollars profit.
That problem is actually based on a math problem from a second-grade mathematics book. It should have been easy, but with all of the chaos of the surrounding story it was rather confusing. And that’s the way life can be. Downright confusing.
What’s the point? We face all sorts of problems in life that are far more confusing than a problem from a second-grade math book. How can we know the right answers? We want to make sure we are making the right decision about what is right and wrong, good and bad, true and false.
That’s why it’s important that we know God’s instructions. Although the Bible doesn’t give us the answer to getting out of I-95 rush hour traffic or how to find our way around the District, it does give us the answers we need to cope and deal with the human condition and various problems in life.
We need to read the Bible; to study the revelation of God through his Son Jesus Christ. God’s general revelation in creation certainly points up towards him, but it is through his special revelation in the Scriptures that we actually come to know God.
God has given us his ultimate instruction in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Greek word that is translated as “Word” and the context of the passage convey the meaning that Jesus is the final and definitive message of God. He is the perfect instruction from God.
In addition to God’s creation and instruction revealing his glory there is also a third division.
III. THE THIRD DIVISION IS THAT WE SHOULD WORSHIP AND RESPECT GOD BECAUSE OF GOD’S FOOTPRINTS.
We need to follow the path God has shown us by following his footprints. Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” We need to make sure that we are following the way of God and goodness and not the way of sinfulness and evil. Verses 11-14 of our main text tell how we humans should respond to God’s creation and instructions: “They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them” (Psalm 19:11 NLT).
The Psalmist shows us that God is a God of both wrath and mercy. There is something called the “Two-God Theory” that has been propagated by certain theologians all the way back to the second-century A.D. Marcion, who was a heretic of the second-century church, basically believed that there were two gods: The god of the Old Testament who was wrathful and the god of the New Testament who is a God of mercy and grace.
As Psalm 19 shows us-- that two-god idea is absurd. Yahweh is both wrathful toward wickedness and merciful toward those who turn away from wickedness and follow him-- those who follow the path he has laid before us-- those who walk in his footprints.
The key to God’s mercy is not for us to be perfect. The key is to trust in him and follow him. To follow God doesn’t mean we will not mess up-- even when we follow the way of God, as flawed human beings, we will trip up and not stay on the perfect path God has placed before us. But the good news is that God travels with us in our life’s journey to guide us and get us back on his path-- to follow in his footprints.
When we follow God’s footprints we are relying on his strength to fight for us and get us through the obstacles along the path. In verse 13 David writes, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” When we depend upon God’s strength as we follow him we bring him glory.
So we must ask ourselves: Where do we find our strength? Is it in ourselves? I hope not! Because if it is we’re going to fail. Do we try to find our strength in a spouse, or parent, or friend, or job? Although they can certainly be a means of vital support, I hope that is not where we are finding our strength, because if it is we’re going to fail. Is your strength found in God through his Son Jesus Christ? I hope so. Because he is, in the words of Psalm 19, our “Rock” and our “Redeemer.”
There is a story about a little boy who was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel.
In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With quite a bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. He was a very small boy and the rock was very large. When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.
Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped back and then fell back into the sandbox. The little body grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved-- but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby little fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.
All this time the boy’s father watched from the living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the sandbox and the little boy. It was the boy’s father. Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?”
The little boy, who felt defeated, cried, “O, but I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength I had!”
“No, Son,” corrected the loving father. “you didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.”
With that the little boy’s father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.
CONCLUSION: Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be removed? King David certainly did. Are you finding out that you don’t have what it takes to lift them out of the way? David found that was the case in his life. But he knew where to turn to find the strength.
He knew the one who left his fingerprints all around us.
He knew the one who gave perfect blueprints for life.
He knew the one who set his footprints for us to follow.
This is the one in whom David placed his worship and respect. This is where David found his daily strength and power.
God is always available to us and will give us the strength we need to overcome obstacles and to accomplish great things for him. Just as David writes in Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Yes, indeed, God is glorified in his creation-- his fingerprints; in his instruction-- his blueprints; and leading us as we follow him-- his footprints. It is by our strength in Jesus Christ that we can worship and respect God as we follow him.
