David begins the 19th Psalm with
a declaration of the incontrovertible and unmistakable record of the
creation, which continually and faithfully testifies with absolute
certainty the glory of Him who formed it all out of nothing.
when he says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
showeth his handiwork. Paul records the same truth to
the Romans, saying, Because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them, for God hath 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,
even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Men cannot escape from this testimony
and witness, regardless of the darkness which is in their hearts
by nature. It is this very darkness which
causes them to rebel against the One who has done all things
according to the good pleasure of His will. It is this shameless
insurgence which moves them to desire to rob God of His glory,
which is a futile and self-destructive quest, as they would exalt the
creature above the Creator. So it comes as no surprise that
men and their rebellion against the sovereign right of the Lord
to do with that which He has made as He wills, that they would
turn even the redemptive work which He has conceived and performed
into a cooperative effort which would exalt the free will of
men as they opine that men can overturn His eternal purpose
by their own choice. Such men maintain that they can
gain the favor of God by bringing gifts to Him rather than, as
the scripture reveals, He brings His favor to them by giving them
gifts. It is this very juxtaposition
of the order which comes from God that men would seek their
own glory and make in their feeble minds God to wait upon men rather
than, as the scriptures indicate, men must wait upon God. Men would
characterize the mercy of God as being bestowed based upon
what men would bring to Him, rather than bowing before His
sovereign purpose. For He saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."
Where is the will of man in that decree? Men cannot deny what
is so plainly revealed in the creation, choosing rather to
worship the things of their own desire. While they will not see
that which is plainly revealed due to their rebellion, they
most certainly cannot see those things which are hidden from
them due to the hardness of their heart and blindness to things
spiritual. Thus David segues in Psalm 19
from the display of creation which men cannot deny to the
beauties of the law of God which they cannot behold. There is
not one of those who are born again by his Spirit who does
not find his greatest delight in the word of God. This word
is used by the Lord in converting the soul. The word converting
literally means turning back. It is therefore much akin to
that which is spoken of in the scripture as repentance. The
evidence of this birth from above is a change of the mind and heart.
Repentance is not an activity which men bring to God, but rather
the action of God upon men, wherein they are humbled before Him,
confessing their sin and worshiping Christ. To be without repentance
or conversion is to surely perish. Some often depict God as doing
right because He meets their criteria of what is right and
good. The truth is that whatever God
does is right because He does it, not because men judge it
to be so. There is no standard by which
puny men can measure the rightness of God's statutes, much less
of God Himself. He answers to none. The commandment
of the Lord is pure. This word literally means beloved
without defect or blemish. Thus, the sons of God are seen
by Him who pronounces them as clean and without sin in Jesus
Christ. He remembers their sin no more.
And if He is for them, who can be against them? Where is your
righteousness found?