Psalm 19. Today we'll look at
what one preacher of old called God's two great books. God's
two great books. Psalm 19. We'll read the whole
psalm to start off here. Psalm 19, verses 1 to 14. declare the glory of God. In
the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech
nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone
out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world. And them hath he set a tabernacle
for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and
rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is
from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it,
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of
the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul, the testimony
of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statues 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 judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than
gold. yea, than much fine gold, sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant
warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can
understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from
presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over
me. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from
the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD,
my strength and my Redeemer." Now we see in the heading that
this is the Psalm of David. This is the Psalm of David. And
this Psalm brings forth the richness of God's works, the richness
of His creation, and the riches of His Word. the riches of His
Word, and both come from His hand. Both come from His hand. Some have said that these are
God's two great books. One, His creation, the works
of His hands, and the other, His Holy Word, of which He is
the author. Again, David wrote this psalm
and it was committed to the master of the service of song in the
sanctuary for the use of the assembled worshipers. In David's
earliest days, while keeping his flock, his father's flock,
he had devoted himself to the study of God's two great books. To the study of God's two great
books, nature and the scripture. He would have had a lot of time
to look at both. Well, he's out there tending to the sheep. And
here he magnifies the excellency of the author of both. The maker of all things and the
author of the scriptures. The world book of creation or
nature, which is all around us, which we can see as God's handiwork,
is in verses 1 to 6. The heavens declare the glory
of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day utters
speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no
speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line
is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of
the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle
for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and
rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from
the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it,
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. And in the
word book, look at verses seven and eight. The law of the Lord
is perfect, speaking of his word, converting the soul. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The testimony of
the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statues of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart. Do we not get such joy from reading
the scriptures? Oh my. The commandment of the
Lord is pure, enlightened in the eyes. Note, we see that the
words of this wondrous book are to be desired by the believer.
We're to desire this book, aren't we? We're to desire to read it. We're to desire to hear it preached,
and we do, by God's grace. As Brother John brought up, it's
a miracle that we rejoice in the Word of God, because there
was a time when we didn't. The Christ of the Scriptures
are so precious to us. So precious. And His Word is
so precious. And it's desired by the believer
more than gold or the things of this world. The Word of God
is sweet to the redeemed heart. Sweet to those who are born again.
Again, it wasn't sweet before we were saved, but now it's sweet. It's so sweet. More to be desired. Look at verse 10. More to be
desired are they than gold, yea, than much gold, much fine gold.
The word of God is to be desired more than all the gold in the
world. And it's sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb.
And it's sweet to the believer's soul, isn't it? It tells us about
our Savior. It tells us about our Redeemer.
It tells us about our God, who He is. It tells us about what
Christ has done for us. It tells us the problem of our sin. But it also tells us, for the
believer, of the one who paid for all our sin. The one who
I have forgiveness in. The one who's purchased my eternal
soul by His precious blood. Oh, it's so sweet to the believer.
It can give us comfort no matter what we're going through. David
devoted himself to the study of these two great books. Blessed
is the man that is a student of both books. Of both books. Because he can say, my father's
written both these books. The book of nature and the book
of the Word of God. Oh my. And man in his presumption
and his pride is foolish to spend time trying to find discrepancies
and contradictions in these two great books. Instead of accepting
these two great books and desiring to know the author, the believer
boldly proclaims of these two great books, my Father wrote
them both. He wrote them both. And I just
marvel in it. Don't you marvel when you walk
out at night and you see, when it's a clear night, and you see
those stars scattered across the heavens? Don't you marvel? Brother Neil,
you've got those flowers on your property. You go look at those
flowers and they're so beautiful. And they only come up once a
year for a short time and they're so beautiful. And they bring
glory to God. and few people see them. But
when a believer sees them, we see our hand, the hand of our
Maker, the One who created all these things. And oh, what beauty
we see all around us, even in the wintertime. Every time I
see that snow, I think of how the Lord has made me whiter than
snow. Whiter than that. My goodness,
because I'm clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and if you're a believer,
so are you. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. So man, though, tries to find
discrepancies and contradictions in the things of nature and in
the things of this wonderful book. Turn, if you would, to
Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one. And we see that the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against those, against the unrighteousness of
men. Romans chapter 1 verses 18 to
21. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
And we'll see later on in this psalm that there's nowhere that
creation doesn't speak of God's glory. Because that which may be known
of God has manifested in them, for God has showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
having His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse. Because that when they knew God,
they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became
vain in their imaginations and their foolish hearts was darkened.
Turn, if you would, to John chapter 20. John chapter 20. Creation and Scripture have the
same author. The living God. And they both
have one object, beloved. They both have one object. To
glorify God. To glorify God. Creation glorifies
God, and the Word of God glorifies God. Oh my. And Christ is spoken of all through this Word.
It's a book about Him. And what does Christ do? He brings
glory to the Father, doesn't He? He brings glory to the Father. John 20, verses 30-31. And many
other things truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples,
which are not written in this book. But these are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through His name. This
book is written. That you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing you might
have life through His name. Eternal life through Christ and
Christ alone. Now think of the temple of the
Lord in the Old Testament. There was an outer court and
there was an inner court. There was an outer court and
there was an inner court. Creation is the outer court where we admire
and look and adore our great God. Psalm 8 declares this, When
I consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moons and
the stars which thou hast ordained, what is men that thou art mindful
of them? What is men that thou art mindful
of them? When we look at the stars, when we consider the heavens,
when we consider creation, when we consider all that He's spoken.
Now some of you have been all around the world. And you've
seen the different parts of the world and seen beauty in different
places. When we see those things, what is man that thou art mindful
of him? Oh my, in the Son of Man that
thou visited him. So think of the heavens, creation
as the outer court, and the Word of God as the inner court. Turn
if you would to Psalm Psalm 119. The Word of God is the intercourt
where we kneel and worship and praise our great God and King. Psalm 119, verses 9-16. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse
his way by taking heed thereunto according to thy Thy word have
I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. Blessed
art Thou, O Lord. Teach me Thy statutes. Is that
not what we desire as believers? O Lord, teach me. Teach me more
of You. Teach me more of who You are. Oh, what a great God we have.
With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies as much as in
all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts
and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy
statutes. I will not forget thy word. So
the word of God is like the inner court of the temple, where we
kneel and worship and praise our great God. This psalm may
be divided up into three parts. Verses 1 to 6, the creation shows
the glory of God. Verses 7 to 11, the word of God
reveals God's grace. In verse 3, the prayer of the
man who understands both these books. The book of creation and
the book of his word. Now we'll never understand all
this book. I'm not talking that. But the believer has seen eyes
now and hearing ears. We've been given an understanding
of who Christ is. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God, regenerated. So let's consider the first book.
We will see what the theologians like to call the general revelation.
And then we'll look at the word book. And we'll see this is by
special revelation to understand that book, the word of God. as
God's people have revealed to them the truth of the words,
as the Holy Spirit, the author of these words, illuminates them
for us. That's why we always pray, Lord,
illuminate the Scriptures for us, because otherwise we won't
know anything. If the Holy Spirit doesn't illuminate
the Scriptures for us and teach us the things of Christ, we'll
just hear words. We'll just hear words. And we
who are born again have the Word of God illuminated for us by
the Holy Spirit as He teaches us the things of Christ. Now
we will see that the riches of God's glory and creation is wonderful,
but is far surpassed by the greatness and clarity of which God has
revealed in the Scriptures. Our first point I'd like us to
consider is this then, the heavens declare the glory of God. Let's
read verses 1 to 6 again, and we'll go through each verse The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
His handiwork. The heavens declare the glory
of our great God and King. The stars, the sun, the planets,
the clouds, the heavens, all declare His majesty, and they
declare His power. And they are constantly declaring
this. They're constantly declaring this. Day and night. Day and
night. So there's nowhere on this earth
where his glory and his handiwork is not declared. Nowhere. You go out and see, and you look
up in that sky, and oh my. You go out in the desert, you
look up in that sky at night, oh my. Anywhere. Day and night, His
handiwork is always on display. Even if every preacher was silent,
and every tongue was silent, the heavens would not cease to
declare the glory of God. The glory of God. His wisdom,
His power, and His majesty. Verse 2, it says, day unto day
utter His speech. Night unto night showeth knowledge. Where one day leaves off, the
next day takes over. Where one day leaves off, the
next day takes over and takes up the sermon, as one grace preacher
said, proclaiming and declaring the glory of God. The day speaks
of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is the light of the world. The
rising sun declares the son of righteousness arises with healings
in his wings. The night speaks of His rest
and declares the truth of what our Master proclaimed. I must
work the works of Him that sent me. Well, it is day. The night
cometh when no man can work. But beloved, there will be an
eternal day for God's people, and there will be an eternal
night for those who are lost in eternal darkness. In the passing
of day and night, also speaks of the shortness or briefness
of life. As the scriptures tell us this,
teach us to number our days so that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom. Now it says here, day unto day
uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. There's a multiple amount of
languages upon this earth, isn't there? But look at what our next verse
declares. That there is no speech or language where this voice,
the voice of the heavens declaring the glory of God and the handiwork
of the Lord, where it's not heard. Look at verse 3. There is no
speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Jean-Claude
is over in Africa right now, preaching the gospel. And the glory of God is declared.
in the heavens, his handiwork in his glory. Brother
Lance Heller is over in Papua New Guinea and the heavens declare
God's handiwork and declare God's glory. Brother Jacob's over in
the Middle East right now in Qatar and the heavens declare
God's handiwork in his glory. Brother Norm's out in Oregon
and the heavens declare the handiwork of the Lord. God's glory. And here we are in Almonte. Here
we are in Almonte. And day and night, beloved, day
and night, the heavens declare His handiwork and His glory. Day and night. Day and night. The teaching of God's creation
is not to the ear, but to the eye. It declares the wondrous
works of our great God throughout the whole world. Look at our
next two verses. Their line has gone out through
all the earth. and their words to the end of
the earth. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices
as a strong man to run a race. The sun's like a mighty king,
beloved, on his way attended by the moon and the stars. Look
at verse 6. His going forth is from the end
of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it, and there
is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The sun's rays penetrate
everything. Nothing escapes it. Nothing escapes
it. All things, vegetables, birds,
beasts, men, all that lives feel the effects of the warmth of
the sun, and it glorifies God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, like
the sun, is the center. Turn, if you would, to Revelation
21. Revelation 21. The Lord Jesus Christ, like the
sun, is the center. the light of life of God's new
creation, and nothing on earth is hid from the heat thereof."
Nothing is hid from Christ. Revelation 21, verses 2 and 3, And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with man,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. This
speaks of Christ, Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus Christ, like
the Son, dwells in the midst of his people. He tabernacled
among men in all his righteousness, He who made all the stars in
the heavens tabernacled amongst men in all His righteousness. Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 1. And He who holds all things together, and He whom
there is nothing hid, became a man. Fully man and fully
God. Colossians chapter 1, verses
16 to 18. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body,
the church. who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. The Lord Jesus
Christ comes forth as the bridegroom of his people, and the elect
of God, the chosen of God, rejoice. We rejoice. And the Lord Jesus Christ rejoices
as a strong man that wins the battle over his enemies. And
the Lord Jesus Christ has won the victory. I remember a few
weeks ago, I flipped the TV on, and I don't very often do that,
but stopped at one channel where one of those, I don't even want
to say what I think of them, but one of those religious hucksters
on TV trying to, and he said, well, the Lord Jesus will get
the victory at the end. He already got the victory. It's
finished. He got the victory, beloved.
And the believer is victorious in Christ. We are victorious
in Him. In Him alone. He shall not fail,
the scripture says. And He didn't. He didn't. He came to save His people from
their sins. And He went to Calvary's cross.
The scripture says He set His face like a flint. And that's
like a stone. It's immovable. He set His face like a flint
to Jerusalem, and He went, and He accomplished salvation. He
obtained salvation for His people, and we've obtained mercy, haven't
we? It's wonderful. He shall not
fail, nor be discouraged, till He hath set judgment in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His law, Isaiah 42, 4. And Christ
going forth has been from everlasting to everlasting, His circuit of
mercies and He blesses the far ends of the
earth as He gathers His scattered people out from amongst them,
the remotest corners of the earth. And God's people, His elect,
sing a new song. Listen to this. And they sang
a new song. They sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy. Oh,
Lord, You're the only one worthy. You're the only one worthy. Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for
Thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood. out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. None who
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be denied the warmth and
comfort of His love. None. None. And none who do not believe on
Christ will escape the heat of His wrath. Let us now consider our second
point. The Word of God reveals His grace. His grace. Look at verses 7 to 11. Nature can never answer the question,
how can a man be justified before God? It can show the glory of
God. It can reveal the glory of God.
But it can never answer the question, how can a man be just before
God? But the Scriptures do. The Scriptures do. The law of
the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The law of the Lord is
perfect. This is all the scripture. The
whole of it, beloved. From beginning to end. We don't
just cut out what we like and say, I don't really like that
passage, so I'm going to... No. No. No, we don't do that,
do we? The law of the Lord is perfect,
the whole book. All the scripture. Old and new.
From page 1 all the way to the end. It's perfect. And it's a
great means of converting the soul. It says here, the Word
of God. We've seen this in our study
in 1 Peter, haven't we? In Sunday school. 1 Peter 1,
23-25, the scriptures declare this. Being born again not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. That's the Word of God. By the
Word of God which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh
is as grass, and the glory of man is the flower of the grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word
which by the gospel is preached unto you." It's wonderful. So it says here, the law of the
Lord is perfect. Converting the soul. Life-given word. This word is a life-given word.
And it's preached and proclaimed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit takes it and converts the soul. They're born
again by the Holy Spirit of God. James 1.18 says this. Now, if
anyone talks to you about free will, bring up this verse. Of his own will, being God. James
1.18. Of his own will, begot he us.
See, we're born again and we're saved. Because of the will of
God. And because it was His will to
save us. Of His own will begot He us with
what? The word of truth. See, that
ties right in with the law of the Lord is perfect converting
the soul. That we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures,
James 1.18. The testimony of the Lord, the word, and this
word is a report, beloved. I don't argue with people and
I don't debate with people. I proclaim a report. Just remember
that. You don't have to fight with
people and argue with them. You just declare what the Word says. That's what's most important.
It's the Word that penetrates. It's the Word that's a two-edged
sword. So we use the Word of God. We
declare the Word of God. We declare the report. And the
report is declared by faithful men of God. And it makes wise the simple.
And we learn through the Word what God says about Himself,
don't we? We learn through the Word what
God says about His Son. We learn through the Word what
God says about sin. And we learn through the Word
our condition before God before we're saved. And we learn through
the Word our condition after God, before God, after we're
saved. And that just makes us rejoice, doesn't it? It's wonderful. We learn about our blessed Savior. We learn from the Word what God
says about salvation. And this Word is precious, life-giving
Word. And what it proclaims is sure.
People mock it all the time, but they won't be mocking it
in that great day. They won't be mocking the God
of the Bible. And what it says is sure. And it tells us all who trust
Christ shall be saved and all who do not shall be lost. It's
sure. It's infallible. It's perfect. It's unfailing. if you would,
the first John, chapter 5. Do you know that people who say,
well yeah, I don't believe that. I was talking to somebody this
week and I asked them, we got on the topic about God saving
people according to His will. Again, I declare what the Word
said. I opened up Daniel chapter 4 and said, well, He does according
to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth. He does whatever He wills, right? And the person
kept bringing up their free will. And I said, well, according to
what you're saying, you're saying that the Word of God here is
not true. Because you're saying that it's up to your will. But
this says, the Scriptures plainly declare that it's according to
his will, that he does whatever he pleases. So you don't have
to fight with you. You just present the word of
God. That's what the word of God says. And the believer just bows to
it, don't we? And this is what Brother Norman, I were talking
about this week, too, is the believer. We believe what the
word says. The world don't believe what
the word of God says. Now, the only difference between us, remember,
we're hewed from the same quarry as everybody else, right, of
humanity. The only difference in us is the grace of God in
Christ. That's the only difference. And we believe it, and we bow
to the Word of God. Look at 1 John 5, verses 10 to
13. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his son. That's a huge charge there, isn't
it? He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. Why? Because he believeth not
the record that God gave of his son. The gospel preacher gets
up and proclaims a report, a record, of who God says his son is. And we proclaim it because we
believe it. And it's real to us. And it's wonderful. And this is the record that God
hath given to us. Eternal life. And this life is
where? In His Son. Not in your works. Not in anything you can do. Not
in anything I can do. It says here, in His Son. In what He's done. In what He's
done. He that hath the Son, do you
have the Son? Do you have the Son? And having
the Son there is just by looking to Him by faith. Looking to Him. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God, now let you hear, who do not have the Son of God hath
not life. These things have I written unto
you that you believe on the name of the Son of God, all fleet
of Christ, that you may know that you have eternal life. God's
people, we can say, and I've had people say to me, how can
you say you have eternal life? Because the word of God says
so. That's all. That's my hope right here. These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and
that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. That's my
hope. Is it yours? Christ and Christ
alone. Let's look at verse 8 now. Oh, and God's people, we believe
this word. We ask God to give us a humble
mind and a teachable spirit, don't we? To receive the Word.
To receive the Word. Psalm 19, verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes. It says here, the statutes of
the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The statutes of the
Lord are His counsels and decrees, beloved. His mercy and His love, which
is founded in pure righteousness. And God will be just and the
justifier, and He will be righteous and merciful to His people, only
in Christ. Only in Christ. Psalm 85.10 says,
Mercy and truth are meant together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where did they do that? Where
did mercy and truth meet together? Where have righteousness and
peace kissed each other? All beloved, at the cross of
Calvary, when Christ died for the sins of His people, when
He satisfied the justice of God, when He shed His precious blood
to purchase our souls. That, that is where Mercy and
truth are met together. That is where righteousness and
peace have kissed each other. Tell ye, and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
time? Who hath told it from the time?
Have not I the Lord? There is no God else beside Me. That's what the Word of God declares.
There is no other God. No other God. A just God and
a Savior. And there is none beside Me,
Isaiah 45, 21. And the righteous decrees of
God rejoice the heart of those who are taught of God. And they
fill the believer with great joy. The believer has many reasons
to rejoice in God. Many reasons. When we've been taught of God
and understand His Word, we are in awe by how God has redeemed us in
Christ Jesus Christ. and how God has satisfied His
own law and justice by punishing His Son in our place. It just leaves us in awe. Verse
8 continues, The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightened
in the eyes. It enlightens the understanding.
The pure, holy Word of God is revealed to the believer by Christ. through the Holy Spirit of God,
and the believer proclaims that our eyes are opened to who God
is, to His glory. Now we look at creation and just
marvel in His handiwork, don't we? And we read His Word, and
we marvel in His works of redemption. It's incredible. It's absolutely
incredible. But now our eyes are opened to
it. And we realize that salvation is all by His mighty power. and
all according to His mercy and grace, which is given to the
believer in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Turn, if you
would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. As I read this first verse, I
think of myself before the Lord saved me and how the gospel was
once hid, was once hid to me. just as it's hid to them that
are lost, here mentioned. 2 Corinthians 4, we'll read verses
4 to 6. But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost. See, we've had it revealed to
us, beloved we who believe. We've had the gospel revealed
to us by the Holy Spirit of God. in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." When you're
witnessing to someone or talking to someone about Christ, just
remember you were there. Just remember that. "...in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves.
The gospel preacher doesn't preach himself. No. We preach Christ,
Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Look at this. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of the darkness. Now every believer can read that
verse and go, God commanded the light to shine out of the darkness
for me. And what darkness we were in. Isn't that wonderful? God commanded
the light to shine out of darkness. Has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. He's done that through His Word,
hasn't He? Through the preaching of His Word for we who believe.
Let's look at our verses 9 to 11 now. Back in our Psalm, in
Psalm 19. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous. It says the fear of the Lord
is clean, enduring forever. Now this is a reverent fear,
not a slavish fear. This is a reverent fear of God.
And this is still spoken of in the Word of God being spoken
here. The believer has a reverent fear of the Word of God. It leaves
us in awe. It leaves us in awe as it speaks
of the mercy and grace which we have received in Christ. And
the Word of God teaches a reverent fear of God. It leaves again
the believer in Christ in awe of who God is, who He really
is, the fact that He is absolutely sovereign. And then we marvel
in the fact that this absolutely sovereign God has had mercy upon
me in Christ. You know, me who fails continually.
Do you too? Brother Bruce Crabtree and I
were talking about that this week and just how much of a struggle
we have with sin. Constantly. I know I'm not the only one.
Oh, we're all fellas in the ship, aren't we? We're all in this
going together. We struggle and we... Boy, Lord help my unbelief. Help my unbelief. Something comes
up and we get worked up and then Lord just takes care of it for
us. Oh my. Oh. So this word, this wonderful
word of God teaches us to worship our great God and trust in our
great God and rest in our great God, doesn't it? It directs us to look to Christ
and Christ alone. Nowhere else. It directs us to
look away from ourselves. Because that's really what we
do. That's what I do. Something comes up, I look to
myself. I'm a fixer. I like to try to fix things.
I got to constantly remember I can't fix things. I just have
to look to Christ. I have to look to Christ. Look to Him. And once we start looking to
Him, we never stop. We never stop. We look to Him
for salvation. We look to Him for our hope.
We look to Him for our rest. And this precious word directs
the believer to look to His redeeming love, to look to His righteousness,
which we're clothed in, and to love and worship our great God. That's what it does. Set your
mind on things above. In other words, set your mind
on Christ. Set your mind on Christ. It's not always easy for us.
Think of this too, the ceremonial law is done away. The gospel
is forever. The gospel is forever. Our text
continues in verse 9, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether. God's decree, His covenant, His wrath, His justice,
His condemnation of sinners is all founded on truth and righteousness.
all founded on truth and righteousness." Now let's tie that in with verse
10. It says, "...more to be desired are they than gold, yea, much
more fine gold, sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping them there
is great reward." By hearing the Word of God, man is warned. And by obeying the Word of God, man is greatly rewarded. The
last point I'd like us to consider is found in verses 12 to 14.
The prayer of a man who can read both these books, which we've
looked at today. Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse thou me from secret faults. The man who knows God, who's
been taught who Christ is, who's born again of the Holy Spirit
of God, whom God reveals himself to by the power of the Holy Spirit,
is a man who cries out with the psalmist here, Thou me from secret
faults. Cleanse me from sins which I
don't even know that I do. Cleanse me from sins which I
don't see. Psalm 90 verse 8 says this, Thou
hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins, in light
of Thy countenance. Which ties right into verse 13.
Look at verse 13. It says, Keep back thy servant
also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over
me. Then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the
great transgression. David is asking the Lord not to leave
him to himself. Don't leave me to myself, Lord. Keep your people. Restrain us
from presumptuous sins. In the Hebrew that means arrogant
and proud sins. O Lord, let we who believe never
get high-minded. Let us make our headquarters
in the dust, like Brother Scott Richardson used to say, before
our great God and King, as we see our own sinfulness. And let not our flesh or our
sins have dominion over us, Lord, please. And give us grace and
strength to look to Christ. Give us grace and strength to
keep looking to you, Lord. Then shall I be upright and I
shall be innocent from the great transgression. The great transgression
there is apostasy. Apostasy. Let's look at the closing
verse, verse 14. Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,
my strength and my redeemer. These are the words of a believer
as we cry out to God. Let my words praise thee, O Lord.
Oh, let my words praise Thee. Let my words speak of the peace
and the pardon which I have only through Thee and by Thy work, Lord Jesus.
Let my words be free from malice and murmuring. Let the meditations
of my heart be sincere and submissive to Thy will. Keep me, my God and my King. Let me rest and repose in Thee
no matter what comes. You who are my strength and my
redeemer. This is the cry of a believer.
And may we who are redeemed leave here rejoicing that we are acceptable
in God's sight in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We are acceptable in his sight.
What a salvation. What a Savior is Jesus Christ,
my Lord. And truly, God's grace is amazing
grace. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
again for this time that we've had together. Oh, we thank Thee
for Thy wonderful Word. We thank Thee for the two books
spoken of, the Book of Creation and the Book of Thy Word, O Lord,
and how wondrous they are. They both proclaim Thy glory.
Only Thy Word can give us life. Only Thy Word can teach us the
things of Christ. And then as a result of that,
we who are born again by Thy Holy Spirit rejoice and give
glory to Thee. Oh Lord, we pray You use a message
for Your glory and honor and praise. And if it's Your will
to draw on one of Your lost sheep, we'd be quick to give You all
the glory and praise for that. We love You because You first
loved us. In Jesus' name, Amen.