More Desirable than Gold

Sermon

Psalm 19 part 3

More Desirable than Gold

 

Today we continue with our series in Psalm 19. As a reminder, many conservative theologians divide this psalm into three sections. The first section –verses 1-6 – speak of God’s general revelation of Himself to humanity through creation itself. His existence is clearly evident to all who choose to not ignore it; Therefore, all who reject the obvious remain guilty before God and will be without excuse at the Judgment of Christ.

 

The second section – verses 7-11 – speak of God’s special revelation through which He communicates with humanity through the Bible about everything necessary to receive eternal life.  

 

The third section – verses 12-14 (which we will look at next week) – tell what the godly and appropriate response ought to be to His general and special revelations.

 

We’ve seen, though only briefly, what are the inevitable and tragic spiritual COSTS of refusing to hear what God says to us through His general and special revelations. One cost is that our refusal stabs at God’s heart, even as He lavishes His love on them. The other cost is that we harden our own hearts to the point of permanent spiritual blindness and we become incapable of ever hearing God’s voice calling us to Himself.

 

Today we move further into Psalm 19; But before we do that, let’s look once again at the entire psalm in context:  “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament [e.g. the skies] shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words 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. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring 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 judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.

 

“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. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

 

Last week we looked at verse seven: The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  Today we turn to verses 8-11: “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 judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

 

Reading quickly through verses 7-11, the psalmist seems to use synonyms for God’s Word: The LAW, the TESTIMONY, the PRECEPTS, the COMMANDMENT – all of which is a common literary device in Hebrew poetry. In the case of this psalm, each noun emphasizes a different aspect of Scripture’s character and purpose.

 

So, what’s the purpose of God’s law? James points us in the right direction: “In humility receive the word implanted [i.e. by God in your hearts], which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)

 

The apostle Paul also answers the question: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29a)

 

Throughout the breadth and length of Scripture, God reveals His heart, His passion, and His delight for you and me for one purpose: To save us from the totality of the effects and the consequences of our sins by conforming us to the image of His Son, Jesus.

 

That’s what God’s special revelation within Psalm 19 is all about – His law converts our soul, His testimony makes us wise, His precepts rejoice our heart, His commandments open our eyes to truth – ALL of which rejoices God’s heart for those who seek Him.  Listen to the prophet Zephaniah: The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

 

Did you get that? Almighty God sings over you who seek Him! I do not doubt what He sings is a love song – a love song to you.

 

Which brings us now to verses 9-11 which are a culmination of sorts to His message in the preceding two verses about His law, testimony, commandments and so forth. “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

 

Let’s pause at the ‘fear of the Lord.”  The Hebrew word for ‘fear’ can be translated as fear, terror, dread, respect, or deep reverence. The same is true in the Greek – although, in fact, we get the word ‘phobia’ from the Greek ‘phobos. In any case, the context of the verse in which the Hebrew or Greek words appear dictate the correct meaning of the word.

 

I believe the correct meaning of the word in verse 9 of this psalm is ‘fear’ – as in, ‘be afraid.’ I believe this because of what David writes next in this verse which speaks of the judgments of the Lord – as in the decrees, or the verdicts of a Judge. And if THAT doesn’t strike fear or even terror into the hearts of the listeners, then nothing will.

 

There will be no appeals to a higher Authority at the Final Judgment Seat of Christ. There will be no excuses for those who will stand accused of their rebellions and their persistent rejection of God’s offer for forgiveness through Christ Jesus. There will be no acceptable justifications for their lives or lifestyles. The judgments of the Lord are forever true and righteous because His judgments are rooted in His Holy Character.

 

Yes, let every Christian warn others along with the Psalmist: “He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.” Psalm 96:13b; And again, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” Psalm 89:14 

 

Fear – whether reverential fear or a terrified fear – fear of the Almighty holy God is a great reason to obey His laws because they trumpet His WARNING of great danger to those who refuse to listen to Him.

 

When Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, the Scripture tells us: “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance . . . Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” Exodus 20:18-20

 

The Lord Jesus did not soft-pedal this warning about fearing God. Listen to Him in Luke’s gospel: “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! (Luke 12:4-5)

 

Listen, please. This is important. God loves sinners. We have GOT to get that into our souls. God LOVES to forgive sinners. But He is not one to be mocked. Again, hear the Psalmist in the second psalm: “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 2:10-12)

 

Yes, how blessed are ALL who take refuge in Him. How blessed are all who find eternal safety from His wrath under the sacrificial blood of Calvary’s cross. No wonder, again, that the Holy Spirit moved the author of Hebrews to write: “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven . . . for our God is a consuming fire.”  Hebrews 12:25, 29

 

So, back to our text in this 19th psalm. David speaks of God’s Judgments, saying: “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

 

It is by those judgments that everyone with ears to hear is MERCIFULLY WARNED of the terrible consequences of rebellion against God and His word.

 

What consequences are those? You don’t need a degree in theology or philosophy to recognize them. The consequences of rejecting God’s love result in broken lives, broken families, broken communities, and broken nations. Behind the smiles and the laughter there remains in those whose hearts are not yet hardened a sense of hopelessness that disturbs sleep and casts shadows on their day.

 

I mentioned last time Mark Twain’s snide remark that it’s not what he didn't understand about the Bible that troubled him, but it’s what he DID understand about the Bible that troubled him.

 

But like so many people who have no use for Christ, Twain was not satisfied with his own rejection of God’s mercy and love, but through his never-ending criticism of Christianity, he destroyed the faith of his beloved wife, Olivia. Not long after their marriage she stopped attending church. Many years later, when their cherished 24-year-old daughter died of spinal meningitis, he tried to console her, saying: “If it comforts you to lean on your faith, do so.” But by then Twain’s cynicism had done its work. A despondent Olivia replied, “I cannot. I do not have any faith left.”

 

Several years later, after Olivia died, Twain sadly admitted: “I took Livy’s religion away from her and gave her nothing—worse than nothing—in return.”

 

Oh, if only Mark Twain had bowed his knee to God before he lost so much – and before he TOOK so much from the woman he loved. God’s word warns all who turn a stubborn shoulder to God – he warns them, He pleads with them – repent.

 

I must pause here for this important clarification: Scripture ASSURES us there is a divine, love-driven REASON God brings brokenness and hopelessness into a life. Listen to the Psalmist: (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75) “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word . . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes . . . I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.”

 

And now Hebrews: (Hebrews 12:5-11) “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; ⁶ For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” ⁷ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons . . . but [God] disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

 

In whatever way we may choose to understand it, God brings sorrow and affliction  or He allows sorrow and affliction for only one purpose: To restore the lost into His Family. That’s the entire message of the gospels. It’s the entire message of those three parables in Luke chapter 15 – the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son. If it’s been a while since you’ve read them, I hope you will do so before the day is over.

 

But it is not only the warnings that Psalm 19 alludes to. The psalmist ALSO speaks of God’s REWARDS to all who by faith keep His law, precepts, testimony, and commandments.

 

Those rewards? For one, there is the incomprehensible promise of eternal life to those who deserve nothing short of an eternity in hell. We do ourselves great disservice to gloss over that promise which is the summit of all promises. But there are rewards in this life as well.

 

For example – and I must be brief now for the sake of time – Because we are adopted children of God through our faith in Christ, we have God’s assurance that He hears our prayers. This does not necessarily mean, of course, that He always answers those prayers according to OUR desires; But the mature Christian knows God answers our prayers according to what He knows to be our NEEDS.

 

The faithful follower of Christ also has the assurance of eternal life, the reward of being able to face death without any fear. This also is not anything to gloss over. If you’ve sat with people on their deathbed, you know the peace that can settle over a believer as he or she faces eternity.

 

I’ll never forget what my friend and mentor, Dr Daniel Taub, told me as he lay in a hospital bed some 30 years ago. I asked him what it felt like to know he was dying. He said to me: “I go from life to life. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.”

 

The unbeliever cannot ever be assured that God even hears their prayers; And worse, the unbeliever has absolutely no assurance whatsoever of eternal life. Quite the opposite. The unbeliever is only assured of eternal agony in hell and the Lake of Fire.

 

I’ve shared the last words of some famous atheists before, and I do so again because of the point I hope it makes regarding the warnings inherent in Psalm 19:

 

Thomas Payne was a popular atheistic writer in the American colonies, prior to the Revolutionary War. As he lay on his deathbed, he cried to those around him: "Stay with me, for God's sake; I cannot bear to be left alone . . . I am on the edge of hell here alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one."

 

Sir Francis Newport was the head of the English Atheist Club. As he lay on his deathbed, he said to those gathered around him: "You need not tell me there is no God, for I know there is one, and that I am in his presence! You need not tell me there is no hell. I feel myself already slipping. Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever! Oh, that fire! Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell!”

 

I close with these words: “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

 

The scriptures from Genesis through Revelation are God’s Special revelation to a world which He loves so deeply, so passionately, that He gave His only Son as an atoning sacrifice to pay for our sins. It really is the fool, the one who is to be most pitied, who scoffs at such love and mercy.

 

So, let us not stop praying for those who we know who are still looking for loopholes in God’s warning.

The Manufacturer's Manual

Sermon

August 2, 2026

God’s Special Revelation:

The Manufacturer’s Manual

 

Today we continue our series in Psalm 19. Last week we looked briefly at the first four verses which speak of God’s general revelation of Himself to humanity. I mentioned also last week that verses 7-11 speak of God’s special revelation in Scripture, in which He communicates with us through the Scriptures about sin, judgement, redemption, and eternal life.

 

We saw last time how the science of astronomy, human anatomy, and biology clearly demonstrate the existence of God to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. We also saw, but only briefly, the spiritual COSTS of refusing to hear what God says to us. Those costs have a terrible price tag. First, our refusal hurts God’s heart, He who has lavished and continues to lavish His love on each person on this planet.

 

The other cost is that we harden our own hearts, even to the point of permanent spiritual blindness. The apostle Paul after having spent considerable time declaring to the Jewish community of Rome the clear evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, said to those who continued to scoff at God’s truth: “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.”’ (Acts 28:26-27)

 

So, while “The heavens declare the glory of God,” His full revelation of Himself is not complete without His SPECIAL revelation – specifically, His revelation about Christ Jesus as He unveiled it throughout His holy Scriptures.

 

For the sake of time, we turn our attention today only to verse 7. We will leave the remainder of this section for the weeks to come. Here is the entire 19th Psalm for context:

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament [e.g. the skies] shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words 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. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring 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 judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.

 

“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. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

 

God repeatedly tells us through His Word that no one can come to know Him without His first awakening in our heart the desire to know Him. St Paul tells us in that second chapter of his letter to the church at Ephesus that all humanity is dead in their trespasses and sins. And as we all know, dead people can’t do anything but lie there and slowly decompose. 

 

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He continues: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:1-5)

 

For us to know God, He must come to us. Unless He does, we can only grope our way in spiritual darkness. As He tells us through Isaiah: “[Our] iniquities have made a separation between” us and God and our “sins have hidden His face from” us that He does not hear . . . We grope along the wall like blind men, we grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight.” (Isaiah 59:2, 10)

But the Lord Jesus, whose mission was – and is – to save anyone who wants to be saved, He tells us: “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

 

I think it’s noteworthy that David uses the phrase “of the Lord” six times in this section of God’s special revelation. He writes: The law of the Lord . . . The testimony of the Lord . . . The precepts of the Lord . . .The commandment of the Lord . . The fear of the Lord . . .The judgments of the Lord.”

 

There is good reason for this repetition, and we are all well advised to pay close attention to that reason. Paul tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

 

All Scripture, from Genesis through Revelation, is inspired by God. The word ‘inspired’ means that God directed – not dictated – God directed the human authors to write what they did under His full and infallible guidance. Listen to St Peter tell us: “No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (New English Translation)

 

So, back to our text in verse 7, the first part which tells us: “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.” Other translations render ‘restoring the soul’ as ‘converting the soul’ – which I think is a better rendering because that’s the idea of the Hebrew word, a turning of the heart to God.

 

Anyone with an open mind and who knows the history of America’s Christian origins recognize that one of the reasons our nation’s morals are swimming in a demonic sewer is because so many of us have forsaken God’s word or reinterpreted it to fit into our own desires.

 

Case in point: Seven of the eight Ivy League schools, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, were each founded for one purpose – to train pastors to bring the word of God to their congregations and to the world. But as authors Peter Greer and Chris Horst report in their book, Mission Drift, many one-time evangelical institutions have “slowly, silently, and with little fanfare, [drifted] from their original purpose, and most will never return to their original intent.” (Decision Magazine, July-August 2026, p. 10)

What happens when pastors imbibe training in seminaries that reject the full inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of the Bible? They lead whole congregations down a very wide road to perdition. They become the blind leading the blind into the pit. Watch the filth on television for five minutes and tell me I’m wrong. Listen to the pastors who preach under the Rainbow flag and tell me I’m wrong. Take note of the multitude of pastors who remain silent about the demonic cult of abortion which slaughters more than 2,000 babies in the womb each and every day in America and tell me I’m wrong.

 

And what happens to individual men and women who reject the Bible as God’s infallible word? You’ll find many of them practicing a lifestyle closely following what Paul warned about. They become “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5) 

 

We must not minimize this truth inherent in verse 7 of psalm 19: The restoration or the conversion of the soul is not a one-time event done at an altar or in a baptismal. If we are not daily being restored and converted to the godly lifestyle He created us for, then we will find ourselves drifting from Truth.

 

Listen to the psalmist implore God – as should we all: “Do not let me wander from Your commandments;” (Psalm 119:9) and the hymn writer who humbly acknowledged: ‘Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” 

 

I must also say this once again: Anyone who is able to read, study, and memorize God’s word and remains lazy about doing those things is at ever-increasing risk of drifting from the Christ of the Bible. Those who ignore the history of those in the Church who slowly abandoned their faith are doomed to repeat that history for themselves.

 

Mark Twain is a tragic example of that point. Raised by devout Christian parents, in later life turned away from what he once knew to be true. It should be no surprise that he remarked: “It’s not what I don’t understand in the Bible that troubles me, It's what I do understand that troubles me.'

 

God created you and me; And the Bible His manufacturer’s manual for life. His Word works through the supernatural influence of God the Holy Spirit to convert the soul to be ‘born again’, to turn from godlessness to godliness. It is the Holy Spirit who, through our knowledge and obedience to the Word, delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His dear Son. (See Colossians 1:13)

 

It’s impossible – impossible – to be born again, to be transferred from Satan’s domain to God’s without paying heed to God’s voice. THAT’S why Satan works so relentlessly to impugn the full authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures. From the time he seduced Eve into doubting God’s instructions to this very day in seminaries and churches throughout the world, Satan continues to whisper: “Has God REALLY said?” And “Did God REALLY mean what He said?”

 

So, back to verse 7 of Psalm 19: The second part of that verse continues, “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” God’s testimony – His statement about Himself as found only between the pages of Scripture – tells us of His character, His faithfulness, His mighty works, His judgments, and His will for humanity – all of which is 100% reliable, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. It is the Creator’s testimony alone that imparts wisdom even to those who lack experience or discernment.

 

James tells us in his short epistle: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5). And the psalmist reminds us: “Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” (Psalm 119:98-100)

 

Many of you have probably received Christmas cards which portray the Three Wise Men bringing their gifts to Baby Jesus in the Bethlehem manger. (Yes, I am aware that there were likely many more than three men who traveled from the East. I also know that when they arrived to give their gifts to Jesus, the Holy Family were living in a house – likely a year or perhaps two since Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:11)).

The inside cover of many of those cards reads: “Wise men still seek Him.” And that’s the whole point I want to make about this seventh verse in Psalm 19.

 

If you were here last week, you may remember I quoted from the 14th Psalm: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

And what is the remedy for being a fool? Psalm 19:7 “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

 

In other words, when people believe what God says and they obey what God says, He converts even fools into wise men and women. Listen to pastor and author R. A. Torrey: “The one who studies the Bible, if he does not study any other book, will know more of real wisdom - wisdom that counts for eternity as well as time, wisdom that this perishing world needs to know, wisdom for which hungry hearts are starving today – [will have such wisdom more] than the man who reads every other book and neglects his Bible.”

 

God’s testimony is sure, meaning it is without error. Therefore, we can be certain that the Holy Scriptures we read every day is incapable of being wrong. It is not and cannot be wrong about history, morality, or anything else it speaks of. It is without error regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is completely trustworthy when it promises an eternity in heaven for those who follow Christ, and of an eternity in torment for those who reject Christ.

 

The totality of God’s word is simple enough for a child to understand, yet it is so deep that the most brilliant minds can never plumb its depth. As one of Job’s so-called ‘friends’ recognized: Job 11:7-9 “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.”

 

There is an important reason why Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “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.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 

 

What’s so important about that? Look again at that last clause: God’s word “performs its work in you who believe.” Faith in the Bible’s inerrancy and infallibility is the prerequisite for conversion. God’s word will not change the one who does not believe it to be always true about all things, but it DOES change and continues to change the one who DOES believe it.

 

Well, I must bring today’s message to a close, and so I will do it in this way: Just as we cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us, neither can we love God or His word unless He enables us to do so.

 

The psalmist recognized this truth. Listen to part of his prayer in Psalm 119: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law . . . Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes . . . Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law . . . Make me walk in the path of Your commandments . . . Incline my heart to Your testimonies.” (Psalm 119:18, 33-36).

 

It’s all about what GOD does in us and for us, and not at all about our ability to love Him or to even seek Him. A genuine love for God’s Word is ultimately a supernatural work of God’s grace. And although we are commanded to read, meditate on, and obey Scripture, those same Scriptures encourage us to ask God for a supernatural longing and appetite for His Word.

 

It would be good for us to imitate the apostle Paul’s cry for God to work in his heart: “[Oh!] That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Philippians 3:10

 

I quoted earlier from the epistle of James: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5). Don’t think for a moment that God is not well pleased to do the same for us when we ask Him to increase our love for Him and His word. “Call to me,” God invites us through Jeremiah, “and I will answer you.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

 

The heavens declare God’s general revelation of Himself to humanity. The section of Psalm 19 we began to look at today declares God’s special revelation of Himself through the book best known as the Holy Bible.

We will delve further into this psalm next Sunday. 

God is not Silent

Our text today comes from the first four verse of the19th Psalm, but for context, here is the entire short psalm: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament [e.g. the skies] shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words 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. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring 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 judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. 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. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

 

So, to those first four verses: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

 

Not very often in my life have I been far enough away from the light pollution of nearby cities to stand amazed by the countless stars glittering across the blackness of space. But when I DO get to see them, I usually stare in amazement. It’s only because I’ve read cosmological trivia that I even know not only of the majesty of the heavens but ALSO the unfathomable precision with which the heavens function.

For example, according to Scienceabc.com, “If Earth’s orbit changed, the climate consequences would be enormous. Moving closer to the Sun would push surface temperatures past survivable limits . . . moving farther would freeze the planet. A drastic enough change in Earth’s orbital speed could even slow it into the Sun or fling it out of the solar system altogether. Earth stays in its current orbit because its orbital velocity is precisely balanced against the Sun’s gravity.”

 

I could share with you other fascinating trivia about the intricacies and inter-relatedness of God’s heavens, but in the time we have today, I want to draw our attention from God’s handiwork on the macro level and focus on God’s miraculous creation on the micro-level – the ‘universe’ we call the human body.

 

Listen to the Psalmist speak of that universe: “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

 

Physiologists, biologists, geneticists, embryologists, and all the other disciplines within the sphere of science focused on the human body – they all – if their minds are teachable – will admit there is absolutely no room in evolutionary theory for human development. Our bodies are simply too complex to be explained away by such a provably false theory.

 

For the sake of time, let’s look only at the eye: Our eyes contain a fluid – more like a gel – that gives the eye its shape and holds the retina in place. Without that gel – called the vitreous humor – the eyeball would collapse.

Now, about that vitreous humor – our body continually forms that gel. That means that unless there were some way for the gel to drain, the fluid pressure would build to the point that the person would be blind.   

 

Well, of course, there IS a drain, a specialized tube in the eye through which the vitreous fluid continuously drains, even as it is continually produced by the eye. Which means, if evolution is true, then both the liquid in the eyeball AND the drainage canal had to evolve simultaneously, or our species would each have quickly become blind.

 

And of note, Charles Darwin wrote about the eye this way: “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration,[to suppose that the eye] could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” (Darwin and Evolution of the Eye)

 

Yet, despite his acknowledgment about the eye’s complexity, Darwin held tenaciously to his opinion that the human body was formed by chance.

 

Now, then, this is not the time for a deeper discussion of the eye, or, for that matter, to demonstrate the utter impossibility – statistically or logically – of the eons-long development of the lungs, the kidneys, the liver, the pancreas, the brain, or any other of the body organs. Without the SIMULTANEOUS creation of the various and necessary elements within each organ to enable it to do what it was designed to do – humanity would never have lived 24 hours.

 

As John Heywood noted in the 16^th century: “There is none so blind as those who will not see.” In other words, those who CHOOSE to ignore evidence are more blind than those without physical sight.

 

Nevertheless, it’s a matter of routine in our culture for scoffers to mock Biblical truth. Most people prefer to parrot what they’ve heard from others, instead of bothering to study such things in detail. The prefer to recite without thinking the opinions of atheists who declare that belief in God is irrational foolishness, something believed only old women and children.

 

Irrational foolishness. Oh, really? In the years between 1900 and 2000, 64% of the Nobel prizes in physics, 65% of the prizes in medicine, and 74% of Nobel prizes in Chemistry went to Christians? And the statistics since the year 2000 remain essentially unchanged. And yet, scoffers still say belief in God is only for old women and children.

 

So, why is it that otherwise smart men and women reject belief in God? The answer to that question is not as complex as it might at first seem. The answer is quite simple. Listen to Jesus who is God-made-flesh explain the reason: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” (John 3:19-21, NIV)

 

So, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.”  The Psalmist continues, “Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

 

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. In other words, God speaks. All the time. To anyone and to everyone who cares to listen AND even to those who refuse to listen. He speaks through nature itself – sun, wind, rain, thunder, lightning . . .

 

What? We think because we can explain things of nature – such as the hydrologic cycle, also called the ‘water cycle’ – we think because we can explain such thing through science that we don’t need to believe in God to understand such phenomena?

 

Oh, really? Isn’t it reasonable to believe the Creator of the universe and of all things in it – including earth – isn’t it reasonable to believe the Creator initiated such things as the hydrologic cycle as early as Genesis chapter one? Why else did the Creator God create the various laws of science except to make the earth inhabitable for the plant and animal life that He would create on the third, fifth, and sixth days of creation?

 

“Science” merely explains the processes God established in His laws of science to provide for the needs of the various life-forms He created? No wonder He warns us in His word: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20)

 

And no wonder He warns through the Psalmist: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

 

Listen: It’s a fearful thing when God calls someone a fool. It’s a fearful thing when He directs the words of the second psalm to the fool: “He who sits in the heavens [derisively] laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.” (Psalm 2:4)

 

Yes, God speaks. He speaks through nature. He also speaks through the written word we call the Bible. And He speaks through His servants who faithfully preach and teach the Bible. He even speaks through the wicked as He instructs those with eyes to see and ears to hear what we should NOT do and how we should NOT live.

 

God uses all means, measures, and manners to speak – including silence. And He speaks also through silence. Listen to Charles Spurgeon: “There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labor in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat but they do not [take time to] grind it . . . From such folly deliver us, O Lord.”

 

And just as we sometimes have difficulty hearing each other downstairs with all the ambient noise, we also have difficulty hearing God with all the ambient noise of our lives. TV, radio, chitchats around game tables, trips to here and there – all of which are fine and good. But when we want to hear specifically from God – we hear best from Him in silence. Why? Because He wants our ATTENTION. He wants us focused on what He is saying to us. We cannot focus while surrounded by noise.

 

“Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while” (Mark 6:30-32) the Lord Jesus said to His disciples. And He says the same thing to us in 2026.

 

I’ve mentioned the 15-minute challenge in the past, and I do so again for emphasis. I urge you to get alone with God every day for 15 minutes – by the clock. The silence might be uncomfortable at first, but as you practice it day after day spending time talking to Him and reading His word – and listen for Him to talk with you – with practice, you WILL find it getting easier and even enjoyable. 

For example, open your Bible to the psalms. Skim the pages until a verse or two or three catch your attention. Then meditate on what God is saying to you at that moment through the text. Pray the verses back to Him. At times, do the same thing with the New Testament. You could also pray the lyrics of hymns you know, or the hymns I hand out each week.

God is intimately involved with the universe, and He longs to be intimate with you and me. He loves you. And me. He loves those whom He has adopted by our faith in Christ. He loves us just as much as He loves Jesus. It can’t get any better than that. Listen to what the Lord prayed in that 17th chapter of John: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23)

I need to bring this message to a close and I will do so with this: Many students of the Bible recognize this 19th psalm is divided into three clear sections. The verses we looked at today speak of God’s general revelation to humanity through creation itself. He tells us creation itself reveals His existence, His power, and His glory. And because His power and glory are accessible to all humanity, they have – as Paul said to those in Rome – no excuse for disbelief.

Next Sunday we will examine verses 7-11 which speak of God’s special revelation which displays God's character as revealed through the Bible and through the life of Jesus the Christ. His special revelation constitutes His redemptive work through Christ for a fallen humanity. Finally, the last section of this psalm – verses 12-14 – reveals what should be our personal RESPONSE to God’s general and special revelations.

I close with this final word: There are serious and significant costs to ignoring God’s revelations. The first cost is what our rejection does to God.

It breaks His heart.

Some of you here have already caught a glimpse of that heartbreak in your own life because your child or children on whom you lavished your love –grew up and now want no part of you.

And your heart aches whenever you think about it. Maybe it aches even now as I bring up the subject. So, yes, some of you can begin to catch a glimpse of God’s broken heart over the estrangement of those whom He brought into this world to lavish on them His own love.

“God so loved the world” means what it says. God passionately loves every man, woman, and child on this planet. Even those who dismiss Him as irrelevant, like many of our families dismiss Him and like many of those downstairs in the dining room dismiss Him.

 When God wept for His wayward nation, He spoke through the prophet Hosea: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? . . . . My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are kindled.” (Hosea 11:8) And speaking through Ezekiel, God mourned: “How I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me.” (Ezekiel 6:9)

I know most people could not care less that their rejection of God so deeply hurts Him. I only bring it up because His heartache is but one of the costs – the cost He Himself endures – when we ignore His revelations.

Another serious and significant cost for ignoring God is what it does to us. There inevitably comes a time when a person consciously and persistently rejects God’s love that the person forms within himself a permanent spiritual hardness; And God them gives them over to their rebellions and lusts and hatreds (see the context of Romans 1:18-32). He hardens their hearts so that they are unable, for the rest of their lives, to turn back to God and receive eternal life (see the context of 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

Yes, there are some terrible and serious consequences of ignoring God’s revelation of Himself – whether His general revelation through nature, or His specific revelation through Scripture and through the life and work or the Lord Jesus Christ.  We will continue this short series through Psalm 19 next week as we look in greater detail at His specific self-revelation to humanity through the Bible.