Apr 21
11
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New Testament Reading: James 1:19-26
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (James 1:19–26, ESV)
Old Testament Reading: 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 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.” (Psalm 19, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
God has spoken.
Let us think about that statement for a moment, for it is in fact the starting point of our faith and our religion. We believe that God has spoken.
By “God” we mean the one true God, the Triune God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
And when we say that he “has spoken”, we mean that he has revealed himself to us. He has told us something about who he is, who we are, and what he requires of us.
God has spoken. He has revealed himself to us. And he has made us in such a way that we are able to hear his voice. This too is a marvelous truth to consider. God has spoken and we have the ability to perceive and receive his revelation. This is a part of what it means to be made in the image of God. God has spoken, and we can hear his voice.
It should be clear to all that if God had not spoken — that is, if he had withheld all forms of revelation, then we could not know him, for he is above us and beyond us. We would be left to wander in the dark concerning our knowledge of God and our knowledge of self. But because God has spoken, then he may be truly known.
And how has God spoken to us? Well, in two ways. One, he has revealed something of himself to us in the world that he has made. God created the world in such a way that the creation testifies concerning him. And two, he has revealed himself to us by giving us his word — he has spoken through the prophets, through Christ who was and is the eternal Word of God come in the flesh, and through the scriptures. So God has provided us with two books, then. We have the world-book, and we have the word-book. These two books — the book of creation, and the book of scripture — are not at war with one another. No, both proclaim the truth concerning our Maker. And the Christian is to happily read both books — the world-book, and the word-book.
Psalm 19 is about this. It is a celebration of, and response to, God’s revelation in nature and in scripture. In this Psalm David rightly handles both the book of nature, and the book of scripture, and then he rightly responds, saying, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, ESV)
Perhaps you noticed that Psalm 19 feels like two Psalms squished together into one. Verse 1-6 are about the creation. In particular, they are about the sky. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”, says verse 1. And then all of a sudden in verse 7 the focus shifts to the scriptures, saying, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple, etc.” (Psalm 19:7, ESV).
The transition from the sky to the scriptures is very abrupt. So what is the theme that holds Psalm 19 together? The theme is revelation. The Psalmist is contemplating God’s revelation, first in creation, and secondly in the scriptures. And then he responds to God’s revelation in verses 12-14.
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God Speaks To Us Through The Sky
First of all, let us consider verses 1-6 that God speaks to us through the sky. He reveals something of himself to us through the world that he has made. The sun, moon, and stars — indeed, all of creation — speak continuously to us concerning our Maker.
The physical creation may be divided into three worlds. We may speak of the world of the oceans, the world of the land, and the world of the heavens. And the heavens themselves are varied. There is the heaven where the birds fly and the clouds reside. And there is the heaven of the sun, moon, and stars. When the scriptures speak of the third heaven they speak of God’s heavenly temple, that realm where the glory of God is particularly manifest, where the angels of God worship and serve him night and day. That heaven — the third heaven — is invisible to us. And we can only imagine what the glory of that realm is like. But the glory of the second heaven — the heaven of the sun, moon, and stars — may be of some help to us. Of all of God’s visible creation, the heaven of the sun, moon, and stars is most glorious. And it is the heaven of the sun, moon, and stars that provides us with the light by which we may contemplate the rest of God’s visible creation — the oceans, the land, and the first heaven. This, I think, is why the Psalmist gives particular attention to the starry sky. The heavens — the second heaven where the sun, moon, and stars reside — are most glorious. And they do illuminate the eye of man so that we might consider the glory of God in all of creation.
God speaks to us through the sky. And what does the sky have to say?
Verse 1 tells us. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1, ESV)
There are two statements here. They mirror one another, but they are not exactly the same.
First, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” “The heavens” — and soon it will become clear that David has the sun, moon and stars in mind — “declare” — this word means to recount or to communicate — “the glory of God”.
God is glorious. He is infinite in being and perfection. He is a most pure spirit. He is invisible, immortal, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, and almighty. His wisdom and power are infinite. He is most holy, most pure. Though we may try, human language cannot describe the glory of the infinite One. Our words strain under the weight of the pressure. And so it is with the heavens of the visible creation. They “declare the glory of God”, but they do not tell the whole story. Even the sun, moon, and stars, as glorious as they are, only “declare” God’s glory. They do not display it for what it really is.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” “Handiwork” — what an interesting word that is. God does not have hands. And yet the creation is called his handiwork. This illustrates what I have just said about the inadequacy of our language. When it comes to God and the works of God we must use language that we are familiar with. Sometimes this involves attributing human characteristics to the Divine. We have hands. God does not have hands. And yet his creation is called his “handiwork”, for he made this world. He spoke it into existence out of nothing, and then he, like a skilled craftsman, formed and fashioned it into this orderly world in which we now live.
And here the Psalmist says that the “sky above proclaims [that is, reports or makes known] his handiwork.” The heavens are themselves God’s handiwork. But the heavens — the sun, moon, and stars — do also illuminate the rest of God’s creation so that we might perceive it. We do not dwell in utter darkness, do we? Even on the darkest of nights, the stars are still there to illuminate the created world. And each day the sun rises in the east to illuminate the earth so that we might clearly perceive the world that God has made. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1, ESV)
We should remember that David, who is the author of this Psalm, was a shepherd before he was a king. He was very familiar with the sun, moon, and stars, therefore. He spent many nights out in the field gazing up at the stars. He observed the same constellations that you and I observe. And though he lacked the scientific insights into the expansiveness of the cosmos, he could perceive that space was very deep and full. He noticed the orderliness of the stars in the heavens and the consistency of the planets as they moved across the sky night after night and from season to season. Undoubtedly David felt the same sense of awe as we feel when we look up at the stars on a clear and dark night. And he felt the same sense of relief that we feel when the warmth and light of the sun rose upon him in the morning.
You and I have a better sense of what these heavenly bodies are than David did, physically speaking. Thanks to technological advancements we know what these heavenly bodies are made of. We know that they are very, very far away. We know that they are very large. But I would guess that David understood the spiritual significance of the heavenly bodies more than most modern men do. I’m afraid that the advancements made in science have caused us to look upon the heavenly hosts in a merely scientific and natural way. We may marvel at the expanse. We may marvel at the size and the power. But many in our modern age have forgotten that these heavenly bodies are preachers. They are messengers or angels who constantly proclaim the glory of the God who made the heavens and the earth and everything within. The heavenly bodies are not divine. No, they are created things. But they were created to testify to the glory of God. It is very good for us to scientifically consider the natural world. But the natural world must also be considered theologically, for it was created for this purpose: to declare the glory of our Maker.
So what do the preachers in the heavenly realm have to say? Day and night they say, there is a God, and he is glorious. He is the creator. He is powerful and mighty. He is a God of order. He is faithful. He is to be worshipped.
And what language do these heavenly preachers speak?
Verses 2 and 3 tell us: “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.
“Day to day pours out speech”. When the sun rises it illuminates the earth so that we may hear what all of creation has to say concerning the glory of the Creator God.
But the creation does not only speak to us during the day. No, “night to night reveals knowledge” too. The stars of the second heaven are always there. But during the day they are hidden from our sight, being concealed from our eyes by the light of day. When the darkness of night descends, they appear. And we are able to hear once again the declaration of the glory of God through the stars of heaven. “Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” So, the glory of God is revealed in the light of day, and the glory of God is also revealed in the darkness of night. I suppose there is a profound metaphor built into creation here concerning the glory of God revealed in darkness and light, good and evil, judgment and grace.
But to answer the question, what language do these heavenly preachers speak?, the Psalmist says, “There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.” In other words, these heavenly preachers do not preach to the ear of man, but to the eye. They do not preach with words. Their message is not heard, therefore. No, their testimony is seen. They engage the mind and the heart of man, not with words, but with images. Their language is universal, therefore. The confusion of the languages at Babel is no problem for the preachers of heaven, for they do not speak to the soul of man through the ear, but the eye. And though the peoples of this earth speak and understand different languages, all perceive the same world with their eyes.
Who hears these preachers of heaven, then? Everyone does.
Verse 4: “Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Everyone hears this preaching. Everyone has access to the book of creation. Everyone is exposed to this general and natural revelation concerning the glory of God, for all live in God’s world.
Everything that is said here concerning God’s natural and general revelation is brought to a grand conclusion from the end of verse 4 through verse 6, with all attention being given to the sun. From our perspective, the sun is the most magnificent of the heavenly bodies. The sun is radiant. Its light is so glorious that the eye of man cannot gaze upon it, and yet its heat is a comfort, and its light gives life.
In verse 4c we read, “In them [that is, in the heavens] he [that is, God] 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, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
Many idolaters have worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. But the scriptures tell us that they are not gods. They are created things. They are not to be confused with the Creator of all things. And here David portrays the sun as an obedient creature. Day after day the sun runs the course that God has established for it as a minister of God. The sun is here compared to a groom who rises with joy to go and take his bride. The sun is like a strong man who “ runs its course with joy”. Day after day the sun is faithful to run the course that God has established for it to give light and life to the world that God has made. “There is nothing hidden from its heat.” All may see and feel the testimony of the sun regarding the glory of God.
All have access to God’s revelation in creation. All hear the voice of the sun, moon, and stars. All may perceive that God is glorious and that God is to be worshipped. In fact, Paul draws upon this truth in Romans 1 where he teaches that all will stand guilty before God for rejecting the testimony of creation, saying, “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” (Romans 1:18–20, ESV). All have access to God’s world-book. All hear the voice of God’s preachers as they proclaim the glory of God from the second heaven. But all suppress this truth in unrighteousness. All will stand guilty before God on the last day, therefore.
The message of general revelation cannot save, friends. The sun, moon, and stars declare the glory of God, but they do not declare the gospel of salvation. Yes, God may use his world-book to drive men and women to his word-book where salvation through faith in the Messiah is revealed. Yes, God’s world-book does agree with God’s word-book so that the faith of those in Christ may be strengthened as they see that the testimony of scripture does agree with the testimony of creation. But salvation through faith in the Messiah is not revealed in the stars, friends. No, the “heavens declare the glory of God.” And while it is true that those who are right with God rejoice in and seek the glory of God, for the one who stands guilty and in their sins, the glory of God is a terror. And this is why men and women suppress the truth of creation in unrighteousness. Some very smart people come to some very foolish conclusions after considering the creation, and this due to the sin in their hearts. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1, ESV).
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God Speaks To Us Through The Scriptures
In verse 7 the focus shifts from the revelation we receive through creation to the revelation we receive through scripture. Yes, it is true, God speaks to us through the sky — “The heavens declare the glory of the Lord.” But God speaks to us ever more thoroughly and clearly through the Holy Scriptures. The scriptures reveal God most fully. The scriptures teach us the way we should go. The scriptures show us our sin and misery. And the scriptures reveal that the LORD is our rock and redeemer.
You will notice that in verses 7 through 9 many terms are piled up all of which refer to the Holy Scriptures — “law”, “testimony”, “precepts”, “commandment”, “fear”, and “rules”. Each of these six nouns refer to the scriptures in all of their variety. The scriptures are even called the “fear of the LORD”, for this is what the scriptures are to produce within the heart of man — reverential fear. And each of these nouns are said to be “of the LORD”. They come from God. The law that David is rejoicing in is not just any law, but “the law of the LORD”. He is celebrating “the testimony of the LORD”, etc.
Each of the six nouns are paired with an adjective. “The law of the LORD is perfect”, or blameless. “The testimony of the LORD is sure”, or verified. “The precepts of the LORD are right”, that is, morally upright or just. “The commandment of the LORD is pure”, or radiant. “The fear of the LORD is clean”, or genuine. And “the rules of the LORD are true” — they are true and dependable.
And you will also notice that each of the six nouns are paired with a verb, which describe what the word of God does for man, or is within itself. The scriptures revive the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes, endure forever, and are altogether righteous.
It should be clear to all that David has placed a much higher value on the scriptures than on the sky as it pertains to the benefit they bring to man’s soul. The book of creation is to be read. The book of creation is to be appreciated. Indeed, the people of God must learn to see the glory of God in creation. But the scriptures are of surpassing worth. The scriptures are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true. And the scriptures are able to revive the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes. Indeed, they will endure forever as altogether righteous. And this is why David says, “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:10, ESV)
Should the Christian read God’s world-book? Yes! But not without his word-book. For while the heavens declare the glory of the LORD, the scriptures reveal him much more thoroughly and clearly. It is through the scriptures, and not the stars, that we learn that God is Triune. It is through the scriptures, and not the stars, that we learn he is the one and only. It is the scriptures that tell us of all his perfections. And it is the scriptures that reveal how it is that we are to relate to him, worship, and serve him. And that is what David says in verse 11: “Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:11, ESV)
The word of God is to be believed, and it is to be kept, friends. To quote James again, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” And “the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” And “if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” The word of God is to be believed, and it is to be kept. Listen again to verse 11: “Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:11, ESV)
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Those Who Are Faithful Will Contemplate The Scriptures And Seek To Obey Them From The Heart
Friends, those who are faithful will contemplate the scriptures and seek to obey them from the heart.
David knew this. And he also knew his sin and how prone he was to go in the wrong way. And so he concludes this Psalm with a prayer to the LORD. He prays to the LORD, his rock and his redeemer, to forgive him of his sins and to lead him in the right way.
His prayer to LORD begins in verse 12 with the question, “Who can discern his errors?” In other words, who among us can perceive all of the ways in which we have gone wrong? Sometimes we sin and we know it. But often we sin and know it not.
If God’s law requires us to love the LORD our God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself. And if sin is any lack of conformity unto or violation of the law of God, then it should not surprise us to learn that we sometimes sin and do not even know it. We are often blind to our own sin. And so David prays that the LORD would “declare [him] innocent from hidden faults.” David is not here dismissing the seriousness of hidden or unperceived sin. Instead, he is simply acknowledging that they. We often sin unwittingly, or unknowingly. And David cries out for mercy and grace. “Declare me innocent from hidden faults”, he says.
As David considered God’s law, what was the first thing he was moved to do? He confessed his sin and fled to the LORD for refuge.
And in verse 13 he says, “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Presumptuous sins are arrogant sins. They are not sins committed mistakenly, unwittingly, or unknowingly. No, they are sins committed with a high hand. They are sins committed ni willful defiance against the LORD.
All sin is sin. And all sin is serious. Indeed the wages of sin — all sin — is death. But there is a great difference between sins committed by accident due to some ignorance weakness, and sins committed purposefully and willfully. The law of Moses distinguishes between the two in Numbers 15:27ff. which says, “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Numbers 15:27–30, ESV).
David’s prayer is that sin — presumptuous sin — would not have dominion over him. And this should remind us of what Paul the apostles says in Romans 6:12ff.: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:12–14, ESV).
Those in Christ will continue to struggle with sin. We all come short of God’s holy law in thought, word, and deed. But sin shall not have dominion over God’s people. In other words, the Christian ought not to go on committing sins of presumption — high-handed, arrogant, and intentional sins.
By the way, this is how we are to distinguish between sins deserving of church discipline, and those that are to be simply covered in love. We all sin. We come short of God’s law in many ways. And when we sin we are to turn from it and to Christ. But when one who professes faith in Christ walks in sin knowingly and willingly, they are to be cut off from the people of God. They are to be put out of the congregation, barred from the LORD’s table, and considered a sinner.
All sin is sin. And all sin is serious. But sins of presumption are particularly heinous. “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” (Psalm 19:13, ESV). I take the words, “then I shall be blameless” to correspond to David’s request in verse 12: “Declare me innocent from hidden faults”, and the words, “then I shall be… innocent of great transgression”, to correspond to his request in verse 13: “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!”
Verse 14 concludes this Psalm, not with a prayer for forgiveness, but with a prayer for strength. David wants to have the strength to offer up to God a fitting sacrifice of obedience. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”
Notice just a few things about this concluding prayer.
One, David’s prayer was offered up to the LORD as his rock and redeemer. Though David desired to keep God’s law, he knew that he had not — he needed a redeemer. The LORD was his redeemer. The LORD was his savior. And he called the LORD his rock. This echos back to the gospel of Psalm 2, which said, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12, ESV). The LORD and the LORD’s anointed Son were David’s refuge and rock. Though David loved God’s law, he was no legalist. No, his hope was in the gospel.
Two, David understood that God’s law was to be applied even to the heart. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD.” The Christian is to keep God’s law from the heart. We are to honor the LORD even in the inner man, in the heart and mind. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21–23, ESV)
Three, though David loved God’s law, and though he desired to keep it from the heart, he dared not move forward in his own strength. No, he prayed to the LORD, “Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” And “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:12–14, ESV).
This should be our prayer each and every day. In fact, it will be our prayer if we pray that prayer that Christ taught his disciples: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13, ESV)
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Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, let us read the books that God has given to us. Let us read the book of creation which declares so wonderfully the glory of God. And let us be all the more eager to devour the scriptures, for God is revealed to us there, and so too is his will for us, along with the way of salvation. And having read the book of scripture let us rise up with the intent to obey, trusting always in Christ the Lord, our rock and redeemer.
