When Sally saw the title to this message, she wondered why I was preaching about myself…..
Pure honey is considered the standard of sweetness by which all other sweetness is measured… What is more perfectly sweet? The word of God, the hope of Christ.
I am thankful on this Sunday before Thanksgiving for the revelation of Jesus Christ who has revealed Himself to those who have eyes to see. The message is shouted in the skies, deposited in our hearts, written in God’s Word. As we look at Psalm 19, may the Revelation of God cause you to see with greater clarity the Glory of God.
Ps. 19 can be divided into four parts:
Pure honey is considered the standard of sweetness by which all other sweetness is measured… What is more perfectly sweet? The word of God, the hope of Christ.
I am thankful on this Sunday before Thanksgiving for the revelation of Jesus Christ who has revealed Himself to those who have eyes to see. The message is shouted in the skies, deposited in our hearts, written in God’s Word. As we look at Psalm 19, may the Revelation of God cause you to see with greater clarity the Glory of God.
Ps. 19 can be divided into four parts:
- The wordless revelation of God
- The written revelation of God
- The benefit of the revelation of God
- and Living the revelation of God when our hearts are sinful
Revelation means awareness. When Sally and I moved from Lynnwood to Pasadena in the mid-80s, we packed everything we owned in a small u-haul trailer. I was nervous about driving the distance. As I accelerated to get up to speed on the freeway, suddenly the trailer fishtailed, so I slowed down. To make a long story and a long journey short, Sally and I drove all 1153 miles at a top speed of 45 mph. 15 years later, as I told that story to my father-in-law, he said, “It fishtailed because you packed it wrong. You should have put the heavy items over the axle.” It took 15 years for that revelation to hit me. Instantly I knew he was right! We had a lot of heavy boxes of books packed in all the wrong places!
How much greater the impact of a revelation of God. Psalm 19 is about lifting up your eyes to see God in greater and greater glory, to go from an awareness, to go from an occasional reliance, to see Him with even a bit more amazement. This Psalm is about our emotions becoming captivated by God’s presence, a aha moment.
God had given us a Wordless Revelation! Ps. 19:1 the heavens declare the Glory of God! I get tired of nature shows that assume evolution, and the narrator will muse on the purpose of the development of a flower, or a plant, or a particular shape… the fullest true answer is more simple and profound: Why is the sky blue? because God made it beautiful…nature is a testimony of God! Only God! Listen to Ps. 19:1-3 in the LNT version:
A wordless testimony. How precious those amazing God moments where your words fall short… Try to describe holding a newborn baby… the exhilaration of standing on top of Mt. Baker… the nuances of a delicate flower…. I once saw an owl at dusk with wings widespread silently hovering over the tall grass in our backyard waiting to pounce…. The heavens tell of the glory of God. There is a sacred canopy over the whole of life.
The great modern myth is that there is a secular and sacred world, that we can compartmentalize our lives, sometime being spiritual and other times being of the world... All life is sacred, the heavens are a wordless testimony and continuous reminder of God’s glory, day after day, night after night they make him known…. Let creation itself speak to you, pointing to God. God has provided a never ending message of his glory so that we can reminder of our amazing God.
The written revelation of God! Something happened to God from Ps. 19:1 to Ps. 19:7-9. In v. 1 God is God. The amazing God but only God. In vs. 7-9 David, the author of the Psalm, uses the personal name of God. The convention in the majority of English translations is to use the word LORD in all capital letters, which translates YHWH, God’s personal name.
The glory of God is revealed in the heavens, but if that is where you stop, you’ll only have a general concept of God. You’ve heard people say they worship God in nature... I believe them. Ps. 19:1 tells me so! I cannot fathom looking upon Mt. Baker and concluding there is no god. However, if all I have is Mt. Baker to silently testify to the glory of God, how will I know Jesus Christ, the cross, salvation. Mt. Baker doesn’t even communicate love!
6 X’s in Ps. 19:7-9, the personal name of God is used… One reason I do not enjoy officiating at weddings of people I don’t know is I am seen as a role, “the preacher,” “the officiant.” I don’t enjoy being an interchangeable component not that much different from the pot of flowers! I enjoy much more being seen as Carl, with my quirks and oddities and hopefully a few qualities people appreciate.
Ps. 19:1 speaks of God. Ps. 19:7 transitions to the Lord. The wordless revelation of the skies/creation tells us there is a God, an incredibly amazing God, but not detail. How much sweeter to know Yaweh, the LORD. The Written Revelation of God fills in details, this amazing God has a personality, a God that loves you, he is the Lord, He has purpose for us. It’s one thing to know there is a God. It’s quite another to know God!
I want to play a game with Ps. 19:7-9. There are six statements in three sections each with a noun that is described and how that noun impacts us. READ. Here is my game. Six sentences. Three sections each: a noun, an adjective and a verb. I want to see the parts can be mixed and matched and all make good sense…(see diagram with poster of Categories…. [explain].
Here is my game: (use the words of each section and have people draw randomly to show the combination…) I came up with 216 combinations of truth (6 X 6 X 6). God reveals himself to you in at least 216 specific ways shedding light on who he is so you can know him! I’m only using the number in a clever way, I don’t mean it to be legalistic, but rather simply to show how much he wants to touch our hearts. To know God in a general way through creation, through being amazed is a great start, but then he reveals Himself through his word, laws, statutes….and everything they are and what they do for us….
The revelation of God is sweet: Let these words speak to your heart: READ Ps. 19:10-11. David is describing all the amazing ways God speaks to us through his revealed word and purposes, transforming us. Be greedy for the things of God. More precious than gold, sweeter than honey… Desire God, want God, crave the Lord Jesus Christ. His love is unending… be greedy for Jesus Christ. Honey is the standard of sweetness… the Lord is sweeter, more satisfying.
Ps. 19:11 is David’s way of saying today is the day to follow the Lord. You know the truth. You know accepting God into your heart is vital. READ. Call me arrogant, but I honestly cannot fathom why the entire world does not seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ with a whole heart. When I look at the alternative of not following God with the world’s dead end living, I cannot fathom rejecting God. Jesus Christ is the ONLY answer! God speaks to us in creation. We know Him through His commands, His laws, His words… He speaks through a wordless revelation and a specific written revelation. The Bible is a primary expression of God’s word, but an innate fear of God, an innate knowledge of God is just as real, I love the verse from Ecc. 3: “God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.” God has made Himself known through creation in a general way, and through His written word in a specific way. To know God is sweeter than honey. Now you know, now is the time to give your heart to Jesus Christ!
The problem: we are sinners. Living the revelation of God when our hearts are sinful. READ Ps. 19:12-14. The answer to the first question is that nobody can. The answer is to ask for forgiveness.
On half a dozen occasions the last few months I have talked with people whose sins are obvious. I’m not saying they are worse than me, I’m just sometimes better at hiding my sins. If you want to know the truth, sometimes it is refreshing to talk to people who hide nothing. It can be frustrating too, but I have a deal with God, I have promised Him that no matter how frustrated I get at people’s bad behavior I will never kill anyone that He is trying to save for Himself.
I have come across half a dozen people I’ve known for a long time, just coming off a series of one more crazy making life choices that get them nowhere. They say to me, “I’m now done.” Boom. Just like that. Done. One woman was just adamant: from this day forward, no more alcohol, and I’m changing my ways she said, and I’m going to church every Sunday and I’m going to drive a whole car full of people every Sunday to Sumas. Wouldn’t it be great if bad choices were on a light switch? On ~ off. As I listen I’m thinking that’s not going to happen, the desire is right but something is missing in the equation. In order to change and become a different person, a God fearing man or woman of God, it does not work to dig in your heals and be strong. The pull of Satan is too great, the lure of the past is a drag. The key is forgiveness. The key is to admit you are a sinner and you cannot do it on your own.
Psalm 19 is an amazing revelation of God. A revelation of God written in the skies, a specific knowledge of the Lord through the written word… but the problem is bridging the gap between a Holy God and sinful man. The lofty words of Psalm 19:1-11 are incredibly desirable. Who would not want/need refreshment, wisdom, joy, light, endurance, rightness? Knowing the purity of God is sweeter than honey.
But there is a gap: God is perfect and I am imperfect. How to bridge the gap? One word: Forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process. Forgiveness is a way of life. Jesus dies once to forgive our sins, but we need to keep going back to Him to refresh us, to make us wise, renew our joy, open our eyes, find the endurance, to find rightness. Once you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins you enter into a relationship of salvation in which you then journey with him to discover the refreshing nature of his Word. Psalm 19 describes a journey towards God: Everyday he will remind you of His glory through the heavens, day and night his glory is revealed, and the word of God, written on your heart, written in the Bible, that innate sense of His truth, will hold you in His hands as you come to know Him.
Forgiveness is the key to bridging the gap and walking on a godly path of knowing Him more and more. “Cleanse me from hidden faults, keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sins” (Ps. 19:12b-13 NLT).
Desire more and more of God. Greediness for God is good because God’s love is unending. You can see His glory in the heavens, day and night. But that is not enough to know Him personally. He has given us his written word, declaring his purposes, his perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, firm purposes that bring refreshment, wisdom, joy, light, endurance and rightness. But the problem is that there is gap between sinful man and a Holy God. May forgiveness become a way of life, so that you will discover God. To know Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart is sweeter than honey. Amen.
How much greater the impact of a revelation of God. Psalm 19 is about lifting up your eyes to see God in greater and greater glory, to go from an awareness, to go from an occasional reliance, to see Him with even a bit more amazement. This Psalm is about our emotions becoming captivated by God’s presence, a aha moment.
God had given us a Wordless Revelation! Ps. 19:1 the heavens declare the Glory of God! I get tired of nature shows that assume evolution, and the narrator will muse on the purpose of the development of a flower, or a plant, or a particular shape… the fullest true answer is more simple and profound: Why is the sky blue? because God made it beautiful…nature is a testimony of God! Only God! Listen to Ps. 19:1-3 in the LNT version:
A wordless testimony. How precious those amazing God moments where your words fall short… Try to describe holding a newborn baby… the exhilaration of standing on top of Mt. Baker… the nuances of a delicate flower…. I once saw an owl at dusk with wings widespread silently hovering over the tall grass in our backyard waiting to pounce…. The heavens tell of the glory of God. There is a sacred canopy over the whole of life.
The great modern myth is that there is a secular and sacred world, that we can compartmentalize our lives, sometime being spiritual and other times being of the world... All life is sacred, the heavens are a wordless testimony and continuous reminder of God’s glory, day after day, night after night they make him known…. Let creation itself speak to you, pointing to God. God has provided a never ending message of his glory so that we can reminder of our amazing God.
The written revelation of God! Something happened to God from Ps. 19:1 to Ps. 19:7-9. In v. 1 God is God. The amazing God but only God. In vs. 7-9 David, the author of the Psalm, uses the personal name of God. The convention in the majority of English translations is to use the word LORD in all capital letters, which translates YHWH, God’s personal name.
The glory of God is revealed in the heavens, but if that is where you stop, you’ll only have a general concept of God. You’ve heard people say they worship God in nature... I believe them. Ps. 19:1 tells me so! I cannot fathom looking upon Mt. Baker and concluding there is no god. However, if all I have is Mt. Baker to silently testify to the glory of God, how will I know Jesus Christ, the cross, salvation. Mt. Baker doesn’t even communicate love!
6 X’s in Ps. 19:7-9, the personal name of God is used… One reason I do not enjoy officiating at weddings of people I don’t know is I am seen as a role, “the preacher,” “the officiant.” I don’t enjoy being an interchangeable component not that much different from the pot of flowers! I enjoy much more being seen as Carl, with my quirks and oddities and hopefully a few qualities people appreciate.
Ps. 19:1 speaks of God. Ps. 19:7 transitions to the Lord. The wordless revelation of the skies/creation tells us there is a God, an incredibly amazing God, but not detail. How much sweeter to know Yaweh, the LORD. The Written Revelation of God fills in details, this amazing God has a personality, a God that loves you, he is the Lord, He has purpose for us. It’s one thing to know there is a God. It’s quite another to know God!
I want to play a game with Ps. 19:7-9. There are six statements in three sections each with a noun that is described and how that noun impacts us. READ. Here is my game. Six sentences. Three sections each: a noun, an adjective and a verb. I want to see the parts can be mixed and matched and all make good sense…(see diagram with poster of Categories…. [explain].
Here is my game: (use the words of each section and have people draw randomly to show the combination…) I came up with 216 combinations of truth (6 X 6 X 6). God reveals himself to you in at least 216 specific ways shedding light on who he is so you can know him! I’m only using the number in a clever way, I don’t mean it to be legalistic, but rather simply to show how much he wants to touch our hearts. To know God in a general way through creation, through being amazed is a great start, but then he reveals Himself through his word, laws, statutes….and everything they are and what they do for us….
The revelation of God is sweet: Let these words speak to your heart: READ Ps. 19:10-11. David is describing all the amazing ways God speaks to us through his revealed word and purposes, transforming us. Be greedy for the things of God. More precious than gold, sweeter than honey… Desire God, want God, crave the Lord Jesus Christ. His love is unending… be greedy for Jesus Christ. Honey is the standard of sweetness… the Lord is sweeter, more satisfying.
Ps. 19:11 is David’s way of saying today is the day to follow the Lord. You know the truth. You know accepting God into your heart is vital. READ. Call me arrogant, but I honestly cannot fathom why the entire world does not seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ with a whole heart. When I look at the alternative of not following God with the world’s dead end living, I cannot fathom rejecting God. Jesus Christ is the ONLY answer! God speaks to us in creation. We know Him through His commands, His laws, His words… He speaks through a wordless revelation and a specific written revelation. The Bible is a primary expression of God’s word, but an innate fear of God, an innate knowledge of God is just as real, I love the verse from Ecc. 3: “God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.” God has made Himself known through creation in a general way, and through His written word in a specific way. To know God is sweeter than honey. Now you know, now is the time to give your heart to Jesus Christ!
The problem: we are sinners. Living the revelation of God when our hearts are sinful. READ Ps. 19:12-14. The answer to the first question is that nobody can. The answer is to ask for forgiveness.
On half a dozen occasions the last few months I have talked with people whose sins are obvious. I’m not saying they are worse than me, I’m just sometimes better at hiding my sins. If you want to know the truth, sometimes it is refreshing to talk to people who hide nothing. It can be frustrating too, but I have a deal with God, I have promised Him that no matter how frustrated I get at people’s bad behavior I will never kill anyone that He is trying to save for Himself.
I have come across half a dozen people I’ve known for a long time, just coming off a series of one more crazy making life choices that get them nowhere. They say to me, “I’m now done.” Boom. Just like that. Done. One woman was just adamant: from this day forward, no more alcohol, and I’m changing my ways she said, and I’m going to church every Sunday and I’m going to drive a whole car full of people every Sunday to Sumas. Wouldn’t it be great if bad choices were on a light switch? On ~ off. As I listen I’m thinking that’s not going to happen, the desire is right but something is missing in the equation. In order to change and become a different person, a God fearing man or woman of God, it does not work to dig in your heals and be strong. The pull of Satan is too great, the lure of the past is a drag. The key is forgiveness. The key is to admit you are a sinner and you cannot do it on your own.
Psalm 19 is an amazing revelation of God. A revelation of God written in the skies, a specific knowledge of the Lord through the written word… but the problem is bridging the gap between a Holy God and sinful man. The lofty words of Psalm 19:1-11 are incredibly desirable. Who would not want/need refreshment, wisdom, joy, light, endurance, rightness? Knowing the purity of God is sweeter than honey.
But there is a gap: God is perfect and I am imperfect. How to bridge the gap? One word: Forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process. Forgiveness is a way of life. Jesus dies once to forgive our sins, but we need to keep going back to Him to refresh us, to make us wise, renew our joy, open our eyes, find the endurance, to find rightness. Once you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins you enter into a relationship of salvation in which you then journey with him to discover the refreshing nature of his Word. Psalm 19 describes a journey towards God: Everyday he will remind you of His glory through the heavens, day and night his glory is revealed, and the word of God, written on your heart, written in the Bible, that innate sense of His truth, will hold you in His hands as you come to know Him.
Forgiveness is the key to bridging the gap and walking on a godly path of knowing Him more and more. “Cleanse me from hidden faults, keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sins” (Ps. 19:12b-13 NLT).
Desire more and more of God. Greediness for God is good because God’s love is unending. You can see His glory in the heavens, day and night. But that is not enough to know Him personally. He has given us his written word, declaring his purposes, his perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, firm purposes that bring refreshment, wisdom, joy, light, endurance and rightness. But the problem is that there is gap between sinful man and a Holy God. May forgiveness become a way of life, so that you will discover God. To know Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart is sweeter than honey. Amen.
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