October 12, 2008
Psalm 19
Imagine if the Bible began this way: “In the beginning it was nine o’clock, so God had to go to work.
He considered making stars to beautify the galaxies, and planets to fill our solar system, but thought it sounded like too much work; and besides, God thought, ‘That’s not my job.’ So he decided to knock off early and call it a day. And he looked at what he’d done and said, ‘It’ll have to do.’
“On the second day God separated the waters from the dry land on this earth. And he made all the dry land flat, plain, and functional, so that – behold – the whole earth looked like Kansas. He thought about making mountains and valleys and glaciers and jungles and forests, but he decided it wouldn’t be worth the effort. And God looked at what he had done that day and said, ‘It’ll have to do.’
And God made a pigeon to fly in the air, and a carp to swim in the waters, and a cat to creep on dry ground. God thought about making millions of other species of all sizes and shapes and colors, but he couldn’t drum up the enthusiasm – in fact, he wasn’t too crazy about the cat. Besides, it was almost time for the Late Show. So God looked at all he’d done, and God said, “It’ll have to do.’
At the end of the week, God was seriously burned out. So he breathed a big sigh of relief and said, ‘Thanks Me, it’s Friday.’ (from the book our men’s breakfast group is reading, The Life You Always Wanted by John Ortberg). Aren’t you glad that Genesis 1 and the world we live in are much, much more creative than that?
And aren’t you glad that John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world”) doesn’t say, “For God so really doesn’t care much about the world of us human beings. It’s up to us to figure out things like life and death. Here today, gone tomorrow.”
Instead, the almighty and ever-loving God has given us two great books that deserve our attention and study, two revelations that cry out, even yell at the top of their lungs to get our attention. Two books – nature and Scripture, the cosmos and the Bible. Psalm 19 is a delightful poem, song, psalm that magnifies the excellency of the Author of both. “The heavens declare the glory of God” and “The law of the Lord, the Word of God is perfect, refreshing the soul.” Notice how the Psalm telescopes and microscopes from all of Creation, God’s general revelation to his Word, God’s specific revelation to the very heart of the believer. “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” I. The Works of God in Nature (vs. 1-6)
This morning we begin a series of messages on stewardship. FOUNDATIONS: for stewardship and church life together. Over the next few weeks, sermons, letters to the congregation, and dessert fellowship times in several members’ homes will promote and encourage giving for our church’s mission and ministry in 2009. I believe Christian stewardship begins with the awareness of God. It’s that simple. If we’re aware of God, we realize that there’s a higher priority in life than even life itself, let alone ourselves. We also acknowledge that finally everything belongs to God. It’s interesting that when a society becomes more and more materialistic, it also becomes increasingly distant in its awareness of God and God’s ownership of all life. When we push God to the fringes of life we become more possessive about money and material goods. We human beings tend to want to take center stage, acting as though we own the world and that the creation is here to serve us. Just maybe the present economic crisis will wake us up to this fact. But when God is a present reality in our lives, we are appropriately humbled. The Lord is truly higher and holier than you and me. Praise God that we are here this morning to worship and glorify this God. You and I can become more and more aware of life as a gift and ourselves as stewards or responsible managers of the gift of life. The apostle Paul reflects on Genesis 1 and Psalm 19 in Romans 1. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” How can anyone take in a beautiful sunset or gaze over the vast Pacific Ocean or enjoy the mountaintop experience and not hear God’s voice? The psalm says, “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” William Wordsworth worded it this way: “How beautiful this dome of sky/ And the vast hills in fluctuation fixed At thy command, how awful!/ Shall the soul, Human and rational, report of thee Even less than these?/ Be mute who will, who can, Yet I praise thee with impassioned voice/ My lips, that they may forget thee in the crowd, Cannot forget thee here/ where thou hast built For thine own glory, in the wilderness.” And John Milton: “These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, Almighty! Thine this universal frame, Thus wondrous fair, Thyself how wondrous, then Unspeakable, who sitt’st above the heavens To us invisible, or dimly seen In these thy lowest works; yet these declare Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine.” Our deepest hunger for science and knowledge for nature, the world, the universe comes from God’s creative word shouting to us for attention to know him. “The heavens declare the glory of God.”
II. The Word of God in the Bible (vs. 7-11)
The Lord not only reveals himself in a general way through nature, but then reveals himself in a specific or special way in Scripture, in the Bible. Just look at what the psalm says about God’s Word! “The law of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the commands of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the ordinances of the Lord are perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, sure, righteous; refreshing the soul, making wise the simple, giving joy to the heart, giving light to the eyes, enduring forever. They are more precious than gold; they are sweeter than honey.”
Nature offers us a vast, broad, overarching awareness of God. The Bible offers us a deep, intricate, personal awareness of God. In the Bible you will find the very thoughts of God, the meaning of being human, the way of salvation as well as the doom of convinced unbeliever. Someone likened it to the traveler’s map. An accurate map tells you how to get to a certain destination. But it doesn’t actually get you there. You still have to make the effort, pay the cost, spend the time, stay at it until you arrive. If the Bible is like God’s map, we need to let it fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide our travel through life. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. Finally, the Bible will lead you to the cross of Calvary, the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ, and God’s glory in eternity. Martin Luther said, “I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, then each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb – study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings.
When one makes Bible reading and Bible study a regular discipline in life, one’s awareness of and relationship with God grows. Luther also wrote, “In truth you cannot read the scriptures too much; and what you read, you can’t read too well; and what you read, you can’t too well understand; and what you understand well, you can’t too well teach; and what you teach, you can’t too well live.” Conclusion
As we begin this series on stewardship (the right responsibility and use of all God has given us), again I say that I believe Christian stewardship begins with the awareness of God. If we’re aware of God, we realize that there’s a higher priority in life. We acknowledge that finally everything belongs to God.
So, go out today, this week. Enjoy the awesome beauty of God’s good creation. And grow in your understanding of the Word of God. And, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Let us pray together. |
