Archives for October 2019

I have been working on this post for several days.  I have rewritten it over and over again and the only thing that has stayed constant has been Psalm 19.  This morning yet another turn in this thought came.  It was in an email.  The verse was from James.

James 1:5 (ESV Strong’s)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

As I thought about this verse all that went through my mind was God and His Glory, grace and faithfulness.   This wisdom He will give so freely brings understanding to cope with whatever may come.

This past week, my wife Pat and I listened to a sermon by John MacArthur discussing Psalm 19.  It started to be a very powerful discussion about the glory of God, but we were both so tired and we ended up falling asleep just a few minutes into the sermon.  But that did not stop me from finding this Psalm and reading it more than a few times.  I loved the opening line.

Psalms 19:1 (ESV Strong’s)

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

The Heavens Declare His Glory

I read the Psalm again this morning, and that first verse gives me pause.  As I mulled it over, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes by A.W. Tozer.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

― A.W. Tozer

When I read that first verse of this Psalm, I am awestruck.  How can you not look out on this creation and be thoroughly convinced that there is a God? At the same time, knowing this, what could be more important than how we think of God.  Tozer is correct; what comes to mind when I think of God is critically important.

If I see him as a safety net only to call on when all else fails, how can I believe that he spoke this universe into existence?

How can this God that spoke the universe into existence and breathed life into a pile of dirt to make a man; how can he be relegated to the place like those fire alarms you see in buildings – “Break glass only in case of emergency.”

My God is a mighty God, and He cannot be contained, nor do I want him to be.

 Psalms 19:1 (ESV Strong’s)

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

He spoke the universe into existence and breathed life into me.  NOTHING can contain Him.  What is there to see… what is there to know of my God.

Mighty God

Every day my Mighty God reveals Himself through His creation.  Like a voice, it pours out for all to hear.  If we had nothing else but the beauty of his creation, it would still be impossible to ignore His existence.  The knowledge is made available for all to glean.  David shows us in these six simple verses.

Psalms 19:2-6 (ESV Strong’s)

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

³ There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

I look up in the sky and the world around me, and I see him everywhere that I look.  He does not have to say a word to speak volumes.  All around me, creation speaks for Him, and all I need to do is look and listen.

This morning the sky is a beautiful blue with lite clouds, and the sun is shining brightly.  This afternoon it may be raining, but in either circumstance, I know that God is in control.  He made all of this.

What greater majesty exist on this earth but that of God’s creation.  Nothing made by man compares to even a small tree in the fall colors or the blooms of spring.  No machine can demonstrate the power of the wind or the ocean.

Reflections

As I read verses 1-6 in this Psalm, I am filled with an overwhelming joy that comes only from my loving God.  As I ponder these things one thing becomes clear to me. In this description, God is the one in control, and He is revealed through His creation.

The universe was created by God.  He did it all simply with His words.  It amazes me how so many people, including believers, can look at this creation and look past God.  I have no words to describe that attitude, but as I ponder these things this morning I am reminded of the book of Job.

Job went through so much and had some pretty unhelpful friends.  He suffered immeasurable loss and calamity.  Near his end, In the back half of the book of Job, he became vocal about his plight, as did his friends. That continued until chapter thirty-eight.  At the beginning of chapter thirty-eight is when God ended His silence and replied to Job.  He took Job to task and went through listing things from creation.

Now God presented these in the form of a question to Job, but as he listed all these Items as I read them myself, I got smaller and smaller.  I cannot fathom how it must have crushed Job, but we get a bit of an idea in chapter forty. The final question is found in Job 40:1-2.

God Questions Job

After completing the last question about creation, the Lord asked a very direct question of Job at the beginning of chapter forty.

Job 40:1-2 (ESV Strong’s)

​¹ And the Lord said to Job:

² “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Now I do not know about you, but every time I read this passage, I swallow hard, and for some reason my mouth gets a bit dry.  If all previous verses did not humble me, this one surely does — me, a speck of dust, finding fault with God. But I think Job’s reply was accurate.

Job 40:3-5 (ESV Strong’s)

³ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴ “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?

I lay my hand on my mouth.

⁵ I have spoken once, and I will not answer;

twice, but I will proceed no further.”

That is me as well.

Back to Psalms

I know that Job may seem like an extreme stretch when speaking of the Glory of God’s creation in verses 1-6, and I did not want to cover it in this writing.  I planned something different.  But the more I thought about it, the more I had to include it.  Just think about verse Psalm 19:1 for a moment.

   Psalms 19:1 (ESV Strong’s)

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

The more I consider this, the more my heart aches for those that do not see it.  The more I ache for those that cannot see past their circumstances.  They do not even know what they are missing.  Job lost everything and was very angry at points in that process, but never really lost sight of God.  He was reminded with force who truly made the heavens and the earth.  It is clear for all to see.

Paul also reminds us in Romans 1.

Romans 1:19-20 (ESV Strong’s)

¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

But not everyone sees it.  Instead the some chose to ignore it or define it by their own methods, and that is heartbreaking.  But there is a way to end that sadness.  It is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel and God’s Word

The glory of God’s creation is beyond description, as is his Word.  We have this good news that the Son of God died that we might live.  I like the way John speaks of it in chapter one of the Gospel of John and again of how Jesus explains it to Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John’s gospel. These passages bring me great comfort because I am certain that the Bible is the one source of absolute truth and the inspired Word of God.  Look at what David says in verses 7-11

Psalms 19:7-11 (ESV Strong’s)

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

David proclaims the beauty of God’s Word.  He proclaims that it is more desired than gold, and keeping it is its own reward.  It is as vital as the air that we breathe.  But he does go on to state some realities on about a fallen man.

Help Me Lord

Following this praising of God’s low, in verses twelve and thirteen, I love how David proclaims his weaknesses and shortcomings.  He knows that he is fallible. He knows that without God, he is lost.  He knows that there are things in his character that he will not recognize as sin.  He also knows there are purposeful and arrogant sins.

He asks for forgiveness of the hidden faults, and he also asks God to keep him back for the arrogant presumptuous sin.

Psalms 19:12-13 (ESV Strong’s)

¹² Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

¹³ Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

David closes the Psalm with this wonderful passage that I think of often.

Psalms 19:14 (ESV Strong’s)

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Verse fourteen is one of those verses that will come to mind often.  It is not always exactly as it appears; in fact, it rarely is, but the intent of those words is with me always.

Closing

This Psalm is one that I never really took time to ponder.  It was one of the Psalms that I read every time I made my way through Psalms.  But looking at it today, it is far too important a prayer to pass over.  I know David’s Psalms are often songs.  This one was written to the Choirmaster.  For me, these songs are also prayers.   They open my heart to God.  They humble me and remind me of who He is and who I am, and in that relationship.

I mentioned that I did not want to use Job in this writing today.  That is true.  I wanted just to speak of the joy and glory that this Psalm filled me with, but I could not stop at the mountain top.  I was compelled to include the valleys. I started with Romans 1 and deleted it and tried to write only of those mountain tops and I was rolling along just fine. I was staying all positive in my much shorter rewrite… but then I was reminded of Job and his buddies.

Like everything we face there is always the adversary.  He is always persuading. Throwing up doubt and trying as best he can to introduce fear, especially when we are in the valley.   I look at Job and all his trials and pray and give thanks to God for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, His Word, and the gift of grace and repentance and salvation promised through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, who paid my debt and forgave my sins.  I thank him all His provisions and I pray that I do not fall short.  I pray that I might stand strong in my faith.

I pray the variation of Luke 21:36, but when I looked it up to make sure I got it right I went a bit further back and realized I should be sharing from verse 34.

Luke 21:34-36 (ESV Strong’s)

³⁴ “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

We need to remember the Holy Spirit is with us on the mountain tops, flat lands and deep valleys, and praise Him in all situations!

Prayer

Father God, thank you for all that you have and continue to share with us.  Father, your creation is beyond my ability to grasp, and all I can say is thank you.  Father, help me use all that you have given me to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those that are lost or struggle seeing past their circumstances.  Help me find the courage in all circumstances and to speak boldly and not shrink back, holding fast to your Word.  Help me not to forget of proof that is clearly visible in all creation.  Praise be to you Lord, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Quote

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”

― A.W. Tozer