An Exposition of Psalm 19 (Part 1 of 4)

There's a lot we don't know about God but the Bible tells us that his eternal power and divine nature, are continually being revealed throughout the earth, even to those who've never read the Bible. So how is it that some people failed to see today on Truth for Life. Alastair beg takes us through an exposition of Psalm 19 to the choirmaster Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God in 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, his voice is not her. 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 the sun which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, like a strong man runs its course with joy it's 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, Brian by them as 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 oh Lord my rock and my Redeemer. Amen. Well this year as I think we should all by now. No, we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and various celebrations are already afoot and have taken place and will take place throughout the year and at each of these there will be the reminder that is expressed of how Martin Luther in coming to an understanding of the truth of the gospel asserted that his conscience was captive to the word that the phraseology he used.

He said my conscience is captive to the word and I have been accompanied by my own little Martin Luther for some months now. This was given to me as a gift and I appreciate it very much indeed. And I have brought him down here this the first time is been out for my study and I have them with me. He sits beside me on my desk is holding the Scriptures and is an and his pen in his right hand and as he looks on as I study the Bible, I say to myself, Lord Jesus Christ. Help me. Like Luther, to become captive to your work. Help me to teach the Bible in such a way that as we listen together to the written word of God, that by the Holy Spirit, our minds and our hearts may be captivated transformed because we meet the living word of God. Luther, I was prolific in his preaching and in his writing, nowhere more so than in the work that he did on the book of Psalms itself is introduction to the Psalms is worth reading in its entirety and in part of that.

This is what he says there is no book of the Bible, which I have devoted as much labor as to the Psalms and yet I must openly admit that I do not know whether I have the accurate interpretation of the Psalms are not the spirit reserves much for himself so that we may always remain his pupils.

There is much that he reveals only to lure eyes on much that he gives only two*Isa.

I know that a person would be guilty of the most shameless boldness if he dared claim that he had understood even one book of the Scriptures in all its parts.

In fact, who would even dare to assert that anyone has completely understood. One single song and then he proceeds to begin with someone quite salutary of I find it actually a little bit encouraging because as I was studying the sounds I've said myself again. Again, I'm not sure I really get this.

And Luther is acknowledging the fact that the. The spirit is at work to lure eyes on distillers up reserving still to himself that which will always keep us as pupils.

I think part of the inference is that your to be very very careful of somebody in your home Bible study group, who is the person who always tells you that he understands this perfectly. The fidelity says that is probably an indication that he or she clearly doesn't remember that the main things are the plain things in the plan things are the main things the Bible doesn't tell us everything about everything but it tells us how we can view everything anyway. With that said, I like the disciples from Luke 24 we are in the position whereby our need is as was theirs for our minds to be opened so that we might understand the scriptures that's what Luke records. He says that as the thought together as the will reflected on the law and the prophets, and the Psalms, then their minds were opened so that they could understand the scriptures. That's why every so often we sing that little him break thou the bread of life. Dear Lord to me were singing to the Lord of the world to open up the word by the spirit and the verse which reads will send thy spirit. Lord now unto me, that he may touch my eyes and make me see. Show me the truth concealed within thy word, and in thy book revealed. I see the Lord. So as we look at the Psalms together we begin with the 19th Psalm to the choirmaster Psalm of David.

Therefore this point was to be sung. We know nothing of the express immediate context other than the fact that it is penned by the king of Israel. David himself and it was to be sung by the assembled congregation when they came together for worship. We might also ponder the fact that Jesus growing up in a Jewish household would've sung the sounds and would have been present on an occasion when as a very creative himself. He saying of the work of God's creation. CS Lewis in his reflections on the Psalms refers to the 19th as the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world as heavy duty coming from the professor of English literature at Uxbridge is not so, let's turn to the text, it it breaks.

I think quite straightforwardly either in two parts. Revelation all the way through to the end of verse 11 and then responds versus 12 to 14 or if you like into three. First of all, the revelation of God in his world versus 1 to 6 then the revelation of God in his word versus 7 to 11 and then the revelation of God in his worshiper.

When my friends this week as we were talking about this he said you know I think what what were given here in the sun is a threefold invitation.

I said tell me what you mean he said while invitation is number one.

Look up look to the skies number two look down, look to the Scriptures and number three look in look to yourself so I might use that and he said well you better give me credit.

So I just it right revelation. Then, first of all, versus 126 God reveals himself in creation or if you like the Majesty of God's works the Majesty of God's works straightforward as it first one the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Now this is not a unique expression it runs throughout the work of the psalmist.

Indeed, it comes again and again in the prophets words as well. Those of you who read through the Truth for Life program and Bible reading will be reading as I have Isaiah in the mornings and so in the last while you will of been in Isaiah chapter 40 and there in Isaiah 40, God encourages those who are reading, lift up your eyes on high and see. Okay. All right. Lift up your eyes and see that he says let me ask you a question. Who created these and then he said let me tell you it was he who brings out their host by number calling them all by name and by the greatness of his mind and expression is there in verse two.

Whether it's daytime or nighttime the Majesty of God's works, declare his creative power and fight day-to-day pores out speech like a fountain that never stops like a river that runs to the sea every day, day by day as man looks up into the vastness of the created order.

God speaks, he speaks continually and when the nighttime comes and when the moon rises in the sky and when the stars shine. Then David realizes that there are more things in heaven on a narrow, declare God's glory is under simple terms of you imagine David, the king, he has an opportunity just to rest and as he sits back in the sunshine of the day he takes out his pen and he writes the heavens declare the glory of God before he goes to bed at night as he looks out and he sees the moon and the stars. Incidentally, without the benefit is that we have in the 21st century. It would take the darkness of the night to reveal the complexity of the solar system. Otherwise he might assume that he was alone in the universe that it was nothing else so it takes the nighttime to introduce that guy mentioned to the writer of the poison. When I consider the moon and the stars in the work of your hands, what your finger seven day again, and so on and then striking the says there is no speech, no words, no voice, and any says, but the cry goes out to all the air. This of course is a paradox is that the use of paradoxes in order to make us think and the point is enhanced by that this is not written in such a way that it just is a logical progression, but is written in a poetic form in order that, just as we study poetry at school so we might think of this. What is it that he's doing here is telling us that the creation speaks but not in an audible way that the testimony of God comes by way of the glory of his world and there is a voice that goes out to all the earth, and there are words that go to the ends of the world, but are not audible.

So whether you are in northern India, whether you're in the southern hemisphere where you are today. If you lift up your eyes and look to the skies, the evidence, the testimony is there it transcends geographical boundaries.

It transcends ethnicity it transcends everything no matter where you are on this globe you're able to look up and the cry goes out and magnificently so he says in relationship to the sun to the sun. In this context is set at 10 for the sun. Or you might actually translated. He is a structure for the sun at a track for the sun so here we are new sensible 21st-century people who were all filled with all of our background in science and so on and return to our Bibles on a morning like this. And the poetry clarifies all of our thinking. Now he's actually set attend for the sun here comes the sun here comes the sun positioned as per the creators plan. Why is the sun where the sun is wising out a few degrees to one side or the other of the scientists, well I don't really know the person who reads the Bible says well I think we do know we don't we don't understand is not given to us as a scientific explanation. What is telling us is that the movement in the position of the sun serve as a glorious reminder of how God's creation declares his glory and uses to measure verse he says is like a bridegroom like a strong man running with joy the picture of a bridegroom leaving his chamber the picture again would be in the context of the time. Where in the coming together in marriage, there would be a group of friends who would go to the home of the bridegroom. They would then bring the bridegroom out of the house and bring him to the context in which he would be introduced to his bride. You don't expect the bridegroom is going to be coming out of the house like you know, morose, or whatever, and always coming out of the house that he is ease coming out like a bridegroom he's coming out with a great sense of anticipation is almost as if he brings his own life force, whether it's almost as if his splendor is so magnificent that people get caught up in it. That's the picture we suggest the sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber voted like a man on the starting blocks. I am about to begin a race that is about the fire off with immense power is that's a picture arrayed in splendor, magnificent in glory, and he says this rising is from the end of the heavens, its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. Nothing hidden from its heat life on our planet demands the existence of the sun without the sun would not not right in my own points.

That is good mentally run short.

Despite in my research, discovering a few folks who believe that we we we can actually survive on planet Eric without the sun and want to go into it.

You can find them. I hope you're not one of them, but they believe that will build to live in some cave very close to the arts. In all essence and so will be okay and I'm I have not signed up for the program and I don't suggest you do either because contemporary understanding of things is that without the sun.

The existence of some kind of microorganism for a wee while near to the core of the earth is understandable.

But in actual fact, nothing other than that would survive without the sun all the plants die.

There's no photosynthesis plants die the animals that eat the plants die and the Homo sapiens who keep the animals in their yard who eat the plants will die as well. Without the sun. It eventually proves to be impossible to maintain life on earth and the psalmist here says that the sun as it moves across the sky is a picture of the life-giving power of the works of God. This is why incidentally, in that little him where we we sing that heaven above is softer blue and earth around the sweeter green and something lives in every hue. The Chrysler size of never see and birds with bladder songs were flowing there with deeper beauty shine.

Since I know is now I know that I am his and he is mine that the perspective of the believer in terms of the planets in terms of science in terms of the nature of the world in which we live is actually understood within the context of God's revelation of himself. It is the foolish man not intellectually impoverished but morally deficient is the foolish man who old woman who says there is no God, because the evidence is there for all to see. God has not left himself without a witness. Hence the song that we just saying creation sayings the father song he calls the sun to wake the dawn and run the course of day. This is biblical theology.

This is an understanding of the doctrine of creation.

Why then is it that since the evidence is incontrovertibly there in the sky.

Why is it that men and women do not see it. Well, don't you think that probably these opening verses of Psalm 19 are in the mind of the apostle Paul when he addresses that issue in writing the first chapter of his magnificent letter to Rome. If you turn there for a moment, I'll just remind you of it.

It's not unfamiliar territory but it is timely for us to look at it once again. Romans chapter 1 and verse 18.

And Paul writes the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, the inevitable response of holiness to sinfulness, because in their unrighteousness.

The notice suppress the truth for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. If we had the opportunity say what he will you thinking about here Paul what what what you have in mind. I think he would've said Psalm 19. He said that you know damn today after speech tonight on Tonight Show's knowledge there. There's no voices, no sound of the cry is going out to the earth. Really yeah because verse 20, his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world how in the things that have been made so they are without excuse.

It is so clearly there.

He says the power of God's invisible attributes, but in their unrighteousness suppress the truth. They've exchange the glory of God for that which is simply idolatry. All of creation bears witness to God's power and his majesty listing the Truth for Life with Alastair Bragg in recent days you've heard us talking about a book called mere evangelism and insights from CS Lewis to help you share your faith. This is a book that looks carefully at the persuasive strategies. Lewis used, to lead others to explore the claims of Christ and by God's grace. Many came to faith, you can request your copy of the book mere evangelism. When you give a donation to support the Bible teaching you hear on this program. Just click the image you see in the mobile app or visit us online at truthforlife.org/donate can also call us at 888-588-7884. Our desire here Truth for Life is to make clear relevant Bible teaching available to everyone.

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