Speak O Lord
Psalms 19
December 9, 2018
Many of you will remember our study of this Psalm
From when we studied the 500 years of Reformation,
But covering a psalm again is certainly not a burden.
There is tremendous value in familiarity,
So tonight we want to look at it again.
For this Psalm reminds of the absolutely beauty of Revelation.
I would remind you again that God dwells beyond us in every way.
• It is beyond our ability to get to know Him if He does not first determine to let Himself be known.
• If God doesn’t reveal Himself, you can’t know Him.
• And that is why His revelation; His decision to speak to us is such a wonderful reality.
We know God because God has chosen to speak.
That reality alone puts God’s word at a premium for us.
Tonight we study as Psalm that celebrates that wonderful reality.
Now before we get into it,
I want to make sure you understand the DESIRE OF THE PSALMIST.
Once you understand the desire of the Psalmist
Then you can better understand why he loves God’s word so much.
That desire is articulated in the last verse of the Psalm.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”
It’s a verse you’ve probably quoted many times.
It is one of the great statements of Scripture.
And it reflects the all-encompassing desire of the Psalmist
To be “acceptable” to God.
Isn’t that the goal?
That I may be accepted by God.
We do all this talking today about asking people if they will accept Christ.
That’s a horrible way to put it.
The real question is what must be done that God would accept me?
Well, that’s the desire of the Psalmist.
I want to be acceptable, how does that happen?
Well the purpose of the Psalm is to reveal how that takes place,
And the answer is through the revelation of the very word of God.
AND WE MARVEL THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO SPEAK TO US
AND THIS WORD DOES A TREMENDOUS WORK IN US.
It is God’s word which works in us to make us acceptable to God.
As you will see, it does so by:
• Converting the Soul
• Giving Wisdom to the Foolish
• Revealing the standards which satisfy the Conscience
• Giving Discernment to the eyes
• Creating a Fear of the LORD
• Warning against Dangerous Temptations
• Revealing Hidden Faults
• Guarding against Presumptuous Sins
All of these are the work of the word.
Paul said to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
That is what we are talking about.
The word which the word accomplishes in our lives.
The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
It is the word of God which does the work to make us acceptable.
And tonight I want to show you how reliable it is to do just that.
If you want to divide the Psalm into points, we can make two.
#1 THE MORE SEEN REVELATION
Psalms 19:1-6
But what we have here in the Psalm is an acknowledgment of
GENERAL REVELATION.
We talked about “General Revelation” back in our Reformation study.
It is that revelation which the whole world is privy to,
And that which is binding enough to condemn all men to hell.
Let’s look at General Revelation and some of the things we learn from it.
(1) “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
Here David is looking to the heavens and while different men may gain different knowledge by looking at the stars, David learned one main thing.
“the glory of God”
There is little doubt that whoever created the universe
Must have in fact been a majestic being.
We have no trouble giving credit to a painter who paints a masterpiece.
We have no trouble giving credit to a craftsman who builds a great item.
Then certainly we should have no trouble giving glory to a God
Who could create such a tremendous display as the heavens.
There is more we learn from general revelation.
(2) “Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.”
David says that there is a message being proclaimed by creation
And that is seen in the phrase “Day to day” and “night to night”
And if you’ve examined creation for any time at all,
You must be amazed by the CONSISTENCY which it exhibits.
This ball we call earth has been running like clockwork.
We learn something of the CONSISTENCY of God.
He is not fickle, nor is He unreliable.
This consistency is clearly portrayed.
(3-6) “There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
We could also say we learn of the tremendous POWER of God,
Since it is He who created the sun which “rejoices as a strong man”
We could talk about the OMNIPRESENCE of God
Since “there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
And that is really just the Tip Of The Iceberg,
If we wanted to do a study on all the things we learn of God from creation.
HOWEVER, THERE IS AN AREA IN WHICH
GENERAL REVELATION IS TOTALLY SILENT.
General revelation tells us quite a bit about our great God,
But there is one thing general revelation doesn’t tell us about
US
• General revelation doesn’t tell me what the Creator wants from me.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me what to do about the mistakes I’ve made.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me how I should go forward.
In short, General Revelation does not tell me how to make “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart…acceptable” to God.
WHERE DO I FIND THAT?
The More Seen Revelation
#2 THE MORE SURE REVELATION
Psalms 19:7-14
What is the more sure revelation?
It is the revealed word of God of course.
• More sure because it contains the answers for life and godliness.
• More sure because it contains the answer of how to made acceptable to God.
This is what we refer to as SPECIAL REVELATION
And it is this special revelation that David wants you to see.
Let’s look at what David has to say about God’s word.
(7a) “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;”
Now when talking about “the law of the LORD” here,
We are not just referring to the Mosaic Law.
Rather we are talking about God’s revealed commands and laws.
Granted David didn’t have all of the Scriptures that we possess when he wrote this,
But he did have more than just the Mosaic Law
And he did have enough to understand its work and value.
And he said “The law of the LORD is perfect”
“perfect” there the Hebrew word TAMIYM (tie-meem)
And it means “without blemish”
Genesis 6:9 “These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”
Genesis 17:1 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.”
It was the standard God expected for the sacrifice.
Exodus 12:5 “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”
So we would say that God’s word is literally “without blemish”.
That is to say that it is everything God intends for it to be.
Sometimes we might write a letter or a post online,
And after we send it we realize we didn’t really say what we meant to say.
That is NOT the way God looks upon His word.
His word is without blemish. It is precisely what He meant to say,
And precisely what He wanted to reveal.
And because that is the case, His word is used for “restoring the soul”
Many read this in a sort of “encouraging sense”,
That God can use His word to encourage or “lift up” the depressed heart.
That is not what is meant here.
The word “restoring” is a Hebrew word
That means “to turn back”
We are talking about “restoring”
Like one might do to an old piece of furniture.
It is to restore what is ruined back to its originally intended state.
This is what God’s word does in the life of the sinner.
It points out what is broken and out of place
And begins to put the pieces back in order.
The King James translates it “converting the soul”
Which is a more telling translation.
God’s word has within it the power to turn back a sinner from his sin and restore him to the condition which God originally intended.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone, “the soul” is moved and renewed. The great means of the conversion of sinners is the Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely are we to be successful. It is God’s Word rather than man’s comment on God’s Word which is made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action is different but the end is one, for by God’s Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, “Turn me, and I shall be turned.” Try men’s depraved nature with philosophy and reason, and it laughs your efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 272)
It is everything God wanted it to be to accomplish that task.
2 Peter 1:3-4 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
While general revelation can show you God is glorious,
It cannot show you how to please Him.
But God’s more sure revelation of His word most certainly does.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
(7b) “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
Here is another interesting word.
“Sure” translates AMAN (a-man)
It means “stands firm”
It might surprise you some of the places it shows up.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed (AMAN) in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Numbers 12:7 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful (AMAN) in all My household;”
2 Chronicles 20:20 uses it three times.
2 Chronicles 20:20 “They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust (AMAN) in the LORD your God and you will be established (AMAN). Put your trust (AMAN) in His prophets and succeed.”
So when we say that God’s word is “sure” what are saying?
That it is resolute, faithful, established.
And as such David says it “makes wise the simple”
How is that?
Have you ever made a decision based upon unreliable information?
• It can make you look foolish can’t it?
God’s word will never do that.
God’s word is always “sure” and reliable.
You can tie your boat to this dock, it will not let you down.
If you don’t know what to do, or how to do it,
Then simply put your trust in God’s word, and do what He says,
You won’t be a fool for doing it.
This statement could be the entire theme of the book of Ecclesiastes.
• In that book the old preacher is writing to the young man to take off his rose
colored glasses, because there are many things in this life that won’t add up.
• There are many things you will be confronted with that won’t make sense.
But wisdom is not measured in understanding.
Wisdom is found in doing obeying God.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Let’s face it, in this life we are all fools.
None of us knows how to live or what to do.
But God’s word guides us, and if we simply obey, it makes us wise.
For Example:
• “Husbands love your wives”
• “Wives submit to your husbands”
• “Forgive your enemies”
• “Pray for those who persecute you”
• “abstain from immorality”
Those are commands which can at times seem unpractical, outdated,
And may not even make much sense.
However, if you will trust them, and stand upon them
At the end of the day you’ll be found wise
Because God’s word is “sure, making wise the simple”
David goes on.
(8a) “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.”
“right” is the Hebrew word YASHAR (ya-shar)
And it means “straight” or “right” or “correct” or “pleasing”
Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Deuteronomy 6:18 “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers,”
It is the type of idea which we confess when someone says,
“It’s just the right thing to do”
Or on the flip side
“That’s just wrong”
And what people are referring to with a statement like that is that
A specific action either soothed or offended their conscience.
They were just doing what seemed right to them,
And then as a result they felt better about themselves.
Well here David makes the promise that
• If you want peace,
• If you want joy,
• If you want to be able to lay your head on your pillow and rest without guilt,
Then obey God’s word because it is always “right”,
It is always “correct” it is always “pleasing”.
I’ve had plenty of guilt in my life for poor decisions I’ve made, but I can’t tell you a single time I ever felt guilty for obeying God’s word.
Now, do you see what David is doing?
He is revealing how God’s word leads a sinner
Who doesn’t know how to be acceptable to God
Into that very acceptance.
(8b) “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
“pure” is fairly obvious
Psalms 73:1 “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!”
It carries the idea of no ulterior motives.
It is sincere.
And that is why David says it is “enlightening the eyes”
That is to say, “it gives light to the eyes”
It is pure. It is the “more sure word”
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
God’s word is reliable because it is never deceptive.
God’s word always gives good information,
True information, enlightening information.
IN FACT, that’s one reason people can have disdain for God’s word; Sometimes it gives to much information, and people prefer the darkness.
But if a person desires to please God it is obvious where they should go. Go to God’s word it is totally “pure” and sincere,
It will give light to the eyes.
(9) “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.”
In this one David actually lists an EFFECT of God’s word,
Rather than God’s word itself.
He refers to “the fear of the LORD”,
It is that fear which is produced through a study of God’s word.
As God’s word reveals Him, the more we see His glory and our sinfulness. This leads to an undoubted awe and fear of the LORD.
But David says that this “fear” is “clean”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Ever read Leviticus about all the things that are either considered “clean” or “unclean” (same word)
That which is clean may draw near to God,
That which is unclean must dwell outside the camp.
Here we have a Psalmist who wants to know how to be acceptable to God
And he has learned that God’s word has the ability to produce in him
A “fear of the LORD” which is in fact acceptable to God.
Remember what Jesus said?
John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
David knows that it is God’s word which produces fear of the LORD
And it is this fear of the LORD which makes a person clean.
And this, by the way, “endures forever”
It is not short-lived or ineffective.
And then David closes this descriptive section by saying
(9b) “The judgments of the LORD are true, they are righteous altogether.”
“true” is EMETH
And it doesn’t just mean true, it means “reliable”
Or “truth that has been tested and found true”
Genesis 42:16 “Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”
We are talking about that which has been proven true.
And David says that is certainly the case with God’s word,
It is battle-tested and time honored.
It can be rested upon and leaned upon, it will never lead astray.
Now, that is just David’s assessment of God’s word.
• It Converts sinners
• It gives Wisdom to fools
• It gives Peace and Joy to the guilty
• It gives Discernment to the blind
• It produces Fear and Reverence which God accepts
• And it is battle tested and proven to do all of these things
And this is the pathway to learning how to be acceptable to God.
It all starts with the word of God.
It contains everything we need to take a selfish, sinful, foolish, guilty, blind, and unclean human being
And convert him, make him wise, discerning, clean and obedient.
If you have a desire for your entire being to be acceptable to God
Then it all begins with the word of God.
THIS SCRIPTURE HAS SUCH VALUE.
And that is what David continues focusing on here in the 19th Psalm.
Speaking of the Lord’s judgments, David says:
(10) “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”
To David there was no possession as valuable as the Scripture.
We certainly don’t have time to cover it, but consider that 119th Psalm where David outlines his love of God’s word.
Psalms 119:72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
Psalms 119:27 “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.”
But my favorite stanza is: MEM
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
David knew the value of God’s word to make him wise
And to guide him in truth and thus he proclaimed it sweeter than honey.
And again we could chase a massive rabbit here
And seek to expose all the ways in which God’s word is valuable,
But if you’ll notice there is one reason David mentions here
As to why God’s word is so sweet to him.
(11) “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”
David understood that God’s word was more than just wisdom to the foolish, but it was literally guidance to the lost.
It was like Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
David saw God’s word as a great warning sign
Of potential threats and dangers.
And to fully appreciate this, all one has to do is think for a moment
Where you might be had God not given this revelation to us?
BUT LET’S GET EVEN MORE SPECIFIC.
What specifically did God’s word warn him about?
David here is not talking about some sort of mystic experience
Where God’s word warned him of a lion around the bend
Or of a Philistine hiding in the bushes.
There was an even greater danger
Which David would have never been able to see
Or defend against had God not warned him.
(12-13) “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”
What a great question.
“Who can discern his errors?”
How do you know if the things you do are right or wrong?
(Because they seem right to you)
Your own heart is not a reliable witness of what is good.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”
So how in the world are you ever going to discern what is right or wrong according to God in your life?
You’re just going to do what seems right to you?
(Like the period of the Judges)
That might be fine if pleasing yourself was the only objective.
David loves God’s word because it helps him see “his errors”. That is those things which God sees as “errors”.
And discerning his errors was what led David to repentance
That he might be acquitted of these “hidden faults.”
If he had never been exposed, he would have never repented
And then never would have been acquitted.
Paul said essentially the same thing.
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”
• It was God’s word that showed him his sin and ultimately led him to
repentance.
• Paul wouldn’t have even known that coveting was wrong had God’s word not
exposed it.
Ever had God’s word do that to you?
You’re just reading along and all of a sudden – BAM! –
God confronts something in your life?
Only God’s word can do that.
It can expose what is hidden.
And you couldn’t know it otherwise.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree was passed that every true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once in a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this declaration, that there is no hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their sins as easily as they can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have committed in one hour there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the sins that are known to us and that we be able to confess, there are a vast mass of sins, which are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are secret, and come not beneath our eyes. If we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 274)
Only God’s word has the ability to expose your sin to you.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
When David spoke of God’s word warning him,
He wasn’t talking about dangers on the outside.
He was talking about dangers within his own evil heart.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
David also valued God’s word because of the way IT SUBDUED HIS STUBBORN WILL.
(13) “Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”
“presumptuous sins” are those which
Most greatly reflect our stubborn human will.
It is when we know better, but defiantly choose to do it anyway.
And David saw God’s word as a check against such defiance.
I chalk this up to the relentless nature of God’s word.
• Ever notice how when you are walking in sin, God seems to address that sin on every page of the Bible?
• God’s word pulls no punches, it confronts and it confronts relentlessly.
David knew that the flesh is far too powerful a foe to conquer on our own.
If given the opportunity we will rebel every time.
However, God’s word is a powerful agent
Able to subdue the will and break the bondage of the flesh.
In short, God’s word was the only thing able to take a sinful man like David and mold him into a man who acceptable in the sight of God.
And again, this was David’s cry.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”
• That is the desire…
• That is the goal…
• To be “acceptable” to God.
And when David wanted to know what this was,
There was only ONE PLACE TO TURN; the Scripture.
“They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”
And this is a song David has prescribed for the church to sing.
We sing to God of the glory of His revelation!
We sing to God of the glory of His word!
We sing:
“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.
Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.”
— Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music(PRS) adm worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com exclusing Europe which is adm by Integritymusic.com
