Southside Baptist Church JC
2025_08_24
  • Jesus How I Love You

      • Isaiah 40:31ESV

  • Greater is He That is In Me

  • Declaring the Glory of God

    Psalm 19 ESV
    To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 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, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 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. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving 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 rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 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. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
    This Psalm starts out by describing the glory of God in nature. The second half of the Psalm describes in detail the importance of the law of God. It seems like such an odd transition that some people do not see the connection, maybe even wondering if it is two different poems. But they are not. This Psalm is not about nature or the law. It is about God and how He speaks to us. The 18th-century Philosopher Immanuel Kant once said, “two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe - the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” We look at the world and see more than that. We see God. We also look within ourselves and see not just how we want to act; we see the law of God telling us how we “should” act. This Psalm combines those two things and shows us what we are supposed to do about it.
    The reason these two things move us so much is that they are ways that God reveals himself to us. Through nature and the law, we hear God calling us. And we have a choice to make in how we respond.
    God Revealed in Nature
    Verse 1- 6
    All creation testifies to us that there is a God. It is a silent testimony to the greatness of God in creation, and the wisdom of God in putting everything where it belongs, and the love of God in assigning to each a task in which He can take joy.
    A Silent Witness – Day and Night “pour forth speech” yet “there is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.” The testimony of the heavens is speech without speaking. It is ideas without words. It might seem contradictory, but the point is that it will not intrude on us. It is not like a person shouting to get our attention. God often speaks in quiet whispers. If you do not pay attention, you will miss it. But if you look, if you take notice, you will see the glory of God. Paul says in Romans 1:20-
    Romans 1:20 ESV
    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.
    If you are looking, you will find proof in nature of the greatness of God.
    Everything Where It Belongs – The focus of the next section is on the sun. There are two things to notice about it. It has a job to do: “Nothing is hidden from its heat.” And also, it takes joy in doing what it was made to do: “it rejoices like a strong man to run his course.” This also reveals God to us. He creates everything for a purpose and puts each part of His creation where it can do the good it was made to do and where it can take joy in being who it was made to be.
    2. God Revealed in his Word
    Verse 7-13
    The one thing that seems unable to find its place and take joy in it is man. That is why the Psalm moves from nature to the word. There is something wrong with man. We are broken and rebellious. We need something more. We need the law of God to heal our brokenness and correct our rebellion. So the Psalms shifts abruptly to discussing the importance of the law of God. Like in Psalm 1, it is worth remembering that “the law of the Lord,” refers to more than just the commandments. It includes them but it is more generally a reference to the [ 13 ] will and guidance of God as contained in scripture. The author proceeds in the next few verses to discuss the transformational potential in studying the Law.
    The Law Restores (Verses 7, 8): Restoring the Soul/Rejoicing the Heart – The law of God is not an arbitrary or external set of rules intended to ruin our lives. It is an owner’s manual written by the maker showing us how to operate the human machine properly. It might seem odd at first, but that is due to our own brokenness and rebellion. The goal of the law is restoration: restoring us to the purpose, fulfillment, and joy we were always made for.
    The Law Illuminates (Verses 7, 8): Making Wise the Simple/Enlightening the Eyes – Because of our sin, we are blind to the truth. The purpose of the law is to wake us up to the true nature of things. Intelligence does not produce wisdom. The law can take anyone and turn them into a wise person. Wisdom comes from hearing and believing the testimony of God about who we are and how we should live. Law does this by enlightening the eyes.
    The Law Protects (Verses 11-13): Through the law, God is able to protect us. When we go off course, it warns us (v11). It keeps us on the right path by rewarding us (v11). It shows us those areas of our lives where we keep messing up but do not see it (v12). It frees us from the domination and slavery to sin.
    3. God Revealed in Me
    Verse 12
    If that’s where the Psalm ended, it would be enough. We have been shown the ways in which God tries to get our attention and guide us down the path we should go. But there is one final verse. It is perhaps the most important – the climax. In this verse, the Psalm asks for his own voice to be added to those things that declare the glory of God. The heavens declare, the law declares, now may my words and my thoughts also declare the glory of God. The Psalmist desires not just what he says, but also what he thinks about to be pleasing to God. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says
    Matthew 12:34 ESV
    ...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
    God cares about what we say because it reveals our heart. God hears our heart even when we hide it from others. The Psalmist desires to be pleasing to God not just in a surface way but deep down into the foundations of his soul. The reason for this is because he views God as his rock and redeemer. He knows that there is no stability or security in life apart from God. He also knows that in spite of how we all wander off and seek wrong things, God is our redeemer. He always seeks to draw us back to Himself and restore us to the place He always had for us.
    APPLICATION POINTS:
    1. See God’s Glory in Nature – The Psalm starts with the greatness of God revealed in nature, but He does not end there. For some people, nature is all of God that they want to know. When the sun is shining and the world is beautiful, it feels good to attribute it to a creator. But people who stop here never hear the whole story. Maybe because we do not want to hear - hearing and seeing the glory of God in nature is not supposed to be an end to itself. It is supposed to awaken in us a desire to seek God more.
    2. Hear God’s Voice in Scripture – The next step in seeking God is to search for His voice revealed through scripture. The consistent message of the Psalms is that those who truly desire to find the God revealed in nature will discover the full revelation of what they are seeking in the pages of scripture. But even the pages of scripture themselves are not the endpoint. Those who think knowing scripture is the goal may become Bible scholars but they will never know true transformation. Thinking the Bible is the end is like studying maps without going on a trip or reading cookbooks but never making a meal. Studying scripture shows us who God is, what He has done, and what He desires us to do. If the truth of God only stays in the pages of scripture or between our ears but never makes it into our hands and feet, we fulfill the words of Paul in Romans 1:22, “claiming to be wise, they became fools.” James 1:23-24 paints a picture of what such people are like: 23 because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face; 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.”
    3. Serve God in your own life – The previous truth of nature and scripture are just dead ends unless it becomes real in our lives. As James 1:25 continues: “ but the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.” We are invited to seek and serve God, to conform our lives to his word, to please Him in all respects, and to trust that in doing so we will have our souls restored and we, like the sun, will find our place in His creation: a place of service and of joy.

      • Psalm 19ESV

      • Romans 1:20ESV

      • Matthew 12:34ESV

  • Just as I Am
Southside Baptist Church JC
2 members