I would like for you to open
your Bibles with me to Psalm 19. Psalm 19. I plan to speak this morning
from the first ten verses of Psalm 19. The subject, the world book and the word book. Let's begin with verse one, Psalm
19. The heavens declare the glory
of God, and 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,
their voice 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
rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. And his goings forth
is from the end of heaven, and his circuit under the ends of
it. And there is nothing hid from
the heat thereof. The law of the Lord, the word
of the Lord, is perfect. Converting the soul, the testimony
of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the
Lord are right, rejoicing the 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. And more to be desired are they
than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey. and the honeycomb. This is a
psalm of David. And David, of whom the Lord said,
I have found him, David, the son of Jesse, a man after my
own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. I want to ask you
five questions about this particular psalm of David. It's a very special
psalm. And the five questions are these.
Who would know better about the heart of God than the man who
writes here called the man after God's own heart? Who would know
more about the redemptive will of God than the man of whom God
said, he shall fulfill all my will. Who could tell us better
about the mercy of God than the man who was raised on high? And who could lead us in the
praise of the Lord better than the sweet psalmist of Israel? Would we not listen to the words
of this kind of man? The man of whom God said, listen
to this, the Lord has sworn in truth to David, of the fruit
of your body will I sit upon thy throne. Oh, I want to listen. I want to incline my ear. I want
to listen to what this man has to say about my God. I do know
this, from the earliest days, while David was keeping his father's
sheep on the hillside, from that earliest time until the end of
his life as the king of Israel, David had two books, two books
that he loved, two books which he studied. two books which revealed
to him the glory of God Almighty. And the author of those two books
was his heavenly Father. And you know what they are? It's
the world book, the book of creation, called by some the outer court. And the second book is the word
book, The word of the Lord is perfect. The word book. The doctrine of God. The scriptures. The inner court. That's what
David studied. He studied the outer court. Creation. And he studied the
inner book. The word of God. And he found
in those two books, the will of God the wisdom of God, the
majesty of God, and the glory of God. Look at these two verses. Verse one. The heavens declare
the glory of God. The heavens, creation, declares
the glory of God. And His firmament, the firmament,
firmament, showeth His handiwork. Look at verse seven. The Word
of The law of God is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony
of God is sure, making wise the simple. Solomon wrote, this is
so true, of the making of many books, there is no end. And much study is a weariness
of the flesh. But I'll tell you, like David,
the seeker of the Lord, the person to whom God was pleased for him
to lay hold of eternal life, to the children of God. These two books we cherish, we
study, and we never find a weariness in those two books. And we never
find them to be tiresome. Read that first verse again.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
his handiwork. And I know this, if every preacher
in the world would be quiet and be still, and every music instrument
be laid aside, and every choir stop singing, and no human voice
would ever be heard, the heavens would loudly and clearly declare
the name of God. The trees would wave their arms
and their branches. The birds would chirp. His praises. The wind and the waves and all
the angels of glory would shout, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The heavens declare the glory
of God. The sun, the moon, the stars
declare the glory of God. They speak loud and clear of
His glory before man was ever created. During the French Revolution,
there was a pagan general whose name was Jean Bon André. And he declined during the course
of that revolution. We'll pull down all the churches.
We'll pull down all the steeples and all the temples and all the
places of worship. And then people will have no
object to remind them of their religious superstition. But a
simple believer made this observation. How will you pull down the stars?
How will you pull down the moon? How will you pull down the sun?
They all declare His glory. The heavens declare the glory
of God. And the firmament, His handiwork. Listen to verse two. David said,
day unto day, utter his speech. Day unto day, each day praises
God. Where one day leaves off, the
next day takes up the message. Day unto day, utter his speech.
Night unto night, show his knowledge. Psalm 118 says, this is the day
that the Lord hath made. and we'll rejoice and be glad
therein. Colossians 1 says, for by him
were all things created that are in heaven, that are in the
earth, visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions,
principalities or powers, all things were created by him and
for him, and he's before all things, and by him They all consist. Day unto day, day unto day, utter
speech praising God. And night unto night, showeth
the knowledge of God. The day says, I am the light
of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness. But the night also says, even
the night shall be light about thee. The day says, I must work
to worship Him that sent me while it's day. The night comes when
no man can work. But the night says, the darkness
hideth not from Thee. The darkness and the light are
both alike to Thee. Same message, whether it be by
day or by night. It's the glory of God. It's the
praise of God. Charles Spurgeon. Charles Spurgeon was engaged
to speak at a certain place one evening, and he happened to be
late getting there. And so his grandfather, I've
told you about his grandfather in another message yet, his grandfather,
realizing that Charles had not arrived yet, he stood up called
the people to order and began to preach. He began to preach
from Romans chapter three. After a while, Mr. Spurgeon arrived,
came in and sat down. And the old man turned to the
young man. He said, son, I'm preaching today
from Romans 3.19. Now would you please stand and
come up here and take up the message where I left off in verse
twenty? Spurgeon got up and prayed. Same
message, different messenger. And that's what this book is
declaring. Whether it be by day or by night, it's the praise
of the Lord. Watch this verse three. There
is no speech, there is no language, There is no dialect where the
voice of God is not heard by day and by night. There is no
speech, there is no language. Tell me there's thousands of
languages and thousands of dialects, but there's not one where the
voice of God is not heard. The voice of creation, the voice
of God, the voice with His message, with his majesty, with his truth,
is not just directed to the ear. The voice of God is directed
to the eye and to the heart. Creation and conscience have
the same message. Remarkable. There is no speech,
there's no language, there's no dialect, for the voice of
God is not heard. Every preacher has heard the
voice of God. Creation and conscience render
all without excuse. Not just the ear, but the eye
and the conscience. Let me show you that. Turn to
Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. Let's read
verses 18, 19, and 20. Romans 1. Romans 1. Verse 18. Listen now. What am I saying? I'm saying
that the voice of God is heard by every creature, not just with
the ear, but with the conscience, the creation of the heart. And what's this? Romans 1, verse
18. 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, to them, for God has showed it to
them." How did God show it to them? "'For the invisible things
of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
undisturbed by the things that are made, even his eternal power,
his eternal Godhead. So, they're without excuse. They're without excuse. Men are
not to be pitied, they're to be blamed. That's what he says
here. That which may be known of God
is manifested in conscience heart by creation. Let me show you
another scripture. Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter
2 verse 14. Romans chapter 2 verse 14. For when the Gentiles, the pagans,
the heathens, which have not the law, they don't have, I shall
not kill, I shall not steal, I shall not bear false witness,
the laws of Moses, the ceremonies, the rituals, they have not the
law, do by nature. The things contained in the law,
these having not the law, are law in themselves, to themselves. which show the work of the law
written in their hearts." Who wrote it? God wrote it. Their
conscience also bear witness, their thoughts, the meanwhile,
accusing or else excusing one another. In the day God shall
judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. It's not a speech. It's not a
language. There's not a dialect where the
voice of God is not heard by the heart, by the conscience,
by the person. Fine. Look at verse four. Their land, that is their direction,
their way, their voice. What are we talking about here?
We're talking about the outer court preachers. We're talking
about creation. We're talking about the the things
of God that are manifested to all of them. Their voice is gone
out through the whole earth, and their words to the end of
the world. Their words to the end of the
world. Prophets, apostles, and preachers have preached to many
people. By God's grace, I've preached
to many people. But there is not a creature on
this earth who has not heard the voice of creation and conscience. They haven't heard my voice,
but they've heard the outer court preacher's creation, conscience. Everybody's heard the voice. Their line, their voice has gone
through the whole earth to the end of the earth. Well, where's
their sanctuary? The universe. God's creation. These outer court preachers preach
to the universe. Where's their congregation? Every
creature. Always assembled in His presence.
Where's their pulpit? The hills and the mountains and
the valleys. What's their subject? Always
the greater glory of God. That's what they declare. I flub up and slip up and fall
out so much trying to preach. He always preaches the truth.
Glory of God. What's the result? That at the
name of Jesus, everything's going to bow. And every tongue is going
to confess that He's Lord. Every preacher, every knee shall
bow in heaven, earth, and under the earth. And every tongue is
going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I'll be glad to see
that day, won't you? Oh, Jesus Christ is Lord. The outer court preaches. The
outer court preaches. Verse four, listen. Sit still
now, real still, and listen to me. Brother Mews, I met Brother Mews, he pastored
in Louisville, Kentucky for a long time. Died in 1954, but dear
friend of mine, and when he was An older man, that's when I met
him, and he'd always say, now, you listen to Brother News. And
he meant by the tune in. And you listen to Brother News.
Now, I'm old enough to say that. You listen to Brother Mayhem.
You listen to me now. I'll tell you something. I'm going to tell you something.
Read that verse four again. There are boys, these outer court
preachers, Their voice is gone out through the whole, through
all the earth and their words to the end of the world. Now
watch this, in him, in them, in them, in this universe, in
this creation, God has set a tabernacle for the Son, which is as a bridegroom coming
out of the chamber and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race.
And his going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit
unto the ends of the earth. And there's nothing hidden from
the heat thereof." What's that talking about, Preacher? Well,
number one, the sun, S-U-N. The sun is the center point of
all creation. The sun is the central figure
of all creation. The sun, S-U-N, is the great
one. The sun is the fountain of life.
Without the sun, there is no life. This is a picture of Christ. That's Christ here. What is the
central figure of the universe? Christ Jesus. What is the center
point of all that God Almighty has purposed, planned, and promised
and altered? This One is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of Righteousness, S-O-E-N, Righteousness. Unto you that
hear My Name shall the Son of Righteousness be revealed and
shall arise with healing in His wings. All things that God Almighty
has made He has made a tabernacle for the sun. In them hath he
set a tabernacle for the sun. S-O-N. The sun is a true tabernacle.
God Almighty, listen to this, God Almighty has made a stage.
God Almighty has created a theater of glory. God Almighty has created
a show place. to manifest His Son. This is
My Beloved Son. Hear Him. Don't forget that. That's what
He said, This is My Beloved Son. This is the Son of My Lord. Hear
Him. Hear Him. For He says in verse
five, He is a bright world coming A bridegroom coming out of his
chamber. You know, nowadays we focus on
this bride. Not there. It's the bridegroom. The bridegroom. He comes forth
as a bridegroom to take his church, his bride, for the marriage of
the Lamb. That's what it's all coming down
to. Turn to Revelation chapter 19. Listen to this. Chapter 19, verse 7, verse 6. Revelation 19, verse 6. And I
heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as a voice
of many waters, as a voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah,
the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honor to him. For the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was
granted that she should be arranged in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness
of the saints. And he said to me, Write, Blessed
are they which are called under the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he said to me, these are the true savings of God. This
is it. This is it. As a bridegroom,
verse five, look at that verse again, Psalm 19, verse five,
which is, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoicing
as a strong A mighty man. He walks. And we have everyone
rejoices in this strong warrior who finished the course. Glorify
thy son, that thy son may glorify thee. Thou hast given me power
over all flesh. I have finished the work. He's
come forth as a strong man who completed the race. Look at verse
six. And His goings forth is from
the end of the heaven, and He circuits unto the end of it.
His goings forth is forever. He declares the end from the
beginning. And watch this now. And there's
nothing hidden from the heat thereof. What's that saying,
preacher? It's summing up this whole thing.
There's none who believe. on Christ that shall be denied
the warmth of the sun. There's nothing, none who believe
on the sun, who love his name, love his word, that will be denied
the comfort of his love and compassion. Nothing's hid from the heat thereof,
from the warmth of his love and his grace. There's none who do not believe
on Him, who do not love the Son, who do not rest in the Son. There's
none of them who do not believe on Him that shall escape the
heat of it, the wrath of the Lamb. Isaac Watts says, The heavens
declare thy glory, Lord. In every star thy wisdom shines. But when I behold your precious
word, I read your name in every line. The rolling sun, the changing
light, day and night, thou power confess. But oh, the blessed
word thou hast writ reveals thy justice and thy grace. Start
with verse seven. Here's the word book. I'm talking
about the world book. creation, all that God has made. None can be excused. They're without excuse. Now,
what's the word? The law of the Lord, the word
of the Lord is perfect. It'll convert my soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise, simple. The statutes of the Lord are
right. And they rejoiced my heart. Don't
they, you? The commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. And the judgments of the Lord
are true and righteous, not altogether. Oh, how we love His Word. And
how we do not fully understand, but we love His judgments. We
thank God for His Word, precious and wonderful, but we also thank
God for His good providence. He does all things well. My mother
taught me a lesson one day when I was a teenager. My mother took me to the doctor. I had some stomach problems and
she took me to the doctor and he prescribed A big pill, I call
it a horse pill, a big pill for me. So we took it home and my
mother got the pill out and she handed it to me and she said,
swallow this. Well, instead of swallowing it,
I rolled it around on my tongue for a little while. And then
I began to chew it. I'll never forget that. at Wesson
Black Draw for castor oil. My, my, my, how bitter. I spit
it out. And she said, I told you to swallow
it, not chew it. You understand that? I do now. And I say this to you and to
me. The ways of His judgments are mysterious. They're right, they're true,
and they're good. With whatever you do, don't question his judgments. Don't question his right designs and problems. Don't debate them. Don't start
asking questions about them. Don't doubt them. Now you can cheer on his promises
all day. You can cheer on the promises
of God and the mercies of God and the grace of God. Let me
tell you something. His judgments, no man can understand. He doesn't reveal those things
unto us. So a wise man knows when to swallow
and when to chew. Romans 8, 28, we know. that all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose, for whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate
to be conformed in the image of His Son, and whom He did predestinate,
He called, whom He called, He justified, and whom He justified,
He glorified. What do we say of these things?
I've got nothing to say, except, if God be quiet with me, who
can be against me? I just swore it. Believe it. Someday, He'll reveal all these
things to me. All these things I don't understand,
so mysterious and so wonderful, but so mysterious, so God-like. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense. Just trust Him for His grace. Behind the frowning Providence,
he hides his smiling face. So ye fearful saints, fresh-couraged
turds, that cloud you so much dread, are big with mercy and
will break with blessings on your head. I want us to turn in our hymn
books for closing hymn I affirm a foundation, ye saints of the
Lord, laid for your help in His excellent work. That's where
it is. The world book and His book. That's all I need. 268, 268.