I love songs that tell me clear and profound things about life. I hate music that is nothing but unintelligible and repetitious rants against everything the musician can see. If you are going to complain and try to influence me, I would hope that as a songwriter, you’d at least be clear and profound about what you are doing.
Take, if you will, one of my favorite songwriters – that noted theologian Alfred Yankovic, better known as Weird Al. If you’ll indulge me, I want to give you just a taste of what he thinks of most songs out there:
If you know any of his music, you know that Weird Al cares about the words of the songs we play to ourselves, and he mocks them mercilessly when they are stupid. By the same token, when he was a disc jockey – he highlighted those songs that had something to say.
Well, this morning, I want to give some air time to the song we have before us. Like Weird Al’s song, Psalm 19:7 – 14 is really just six words long. It tells us that the Word of God is perfect, sure, just, clear, clean, and true. But this morning, in the interest of time this morning, I want to look at just three of the concepts: Clarity, Wisdom, and Life. You see, the Word of God is the most Clear and Profound song about your real life.
Clear
Let me start with Ps 19:8. It is very plain when it says that the Word of the Lord is clear – it gives light to the eyes. It is as plain and simple as the plain and simple Truth can be.
But I know that people have objections to that. I’ve had people tell me that the Bible is too hard to understand. The kinds of people who say that fall into two groups – there are a few who have a hard time understanding the words, but more people have a hard time understanding the truth.
Let me just say a few brief words if you are having a hard time actually understanding the actual vocabulary of Scripture.
Some people think of the Bible like Shakespeare, and most of the time it’s because they are reading a Bible that was translated at the time of Shakespeare. If your only Bible is a King Jimmy and you are having a hard time understanding words than just pick up a modern translation like the NIV, the ESV, or even a New Living Translation. It’s not that the words of the Bible have changed – it’s that the English language has changed. Five years ago, if you talked to someone about a Facebook, they probably would have thought you had been down to the police station. Back in the 1600’s, if you called someone an idiot, you would have just been saying that they stayed to themselves. Nowadays, I tend to be one of those idiots socializing on Facebook – which is a sentence that just wouldn’t have made sense way back when.
The Bible itself is really written at about a 6th grade level. Peter and John - who are responsible for 8 books of the New Testament – were uneducated fisherman. If you have passed elementary school, you probably have more book knowledge than most of the apostles. When I was an Undergraduate Econ major, I had to learn words like ‘heteroskedasticity’ and ‘multicolinearity.’ But when I did my Masters in Seminary, I had to learn words like “Love,” “Joy,” “Peace,” and “Self-Control.”
The truth is - most people have a working definition for words like that. As Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me – it’s the part that I do understand.” You see, most people object to the idea that the Bible is clear not because they don’t know the words – it’s because their minds aren’t able to grasp the truth.
Our epistle picks up on that so clearly. Paul says in 1 Corinthians that the Gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. In fact, Paul says that natural, sinful men think that the Gospel is foolishness. When they hear things like, “Love your neighbor,” they understand the concept – they just think it’s insane.
You see, the problem is that we live in an upside down world. But when you are upside down long enough, you brain thinks that’s normal. Scientists tell us that our eyes actually pick up the world upside down, but we translate it as right side up. If you stand on your head long enough, the brain will readapt. And that’s the problem with understanding clear Scripture – our brains are so accustomed to a broken world that clear words don’t make sense.
A lie repeated often enough is accepted at face value. I told you earlier that I loved Weird Al’s song. But did you catch this: He kept saying “This song is just six words long.” (Show 7 fingers) Do you know how many times I heard that song before I figured that out?
This world is a lie controlled by its father the devil who is the Father of Lies. Of course you will have difficulty seeing this as Truth until you throw yourself on the one who is Truth. That is why Paul has to remind us of the obvious fact that God’s wisdom really is higher than ours. Trust me, right now, we see as through a glass dimly – but the hope that this Word points us to is the hope that one day we will know even as we are known.
Just to state it one more way – you know how hard it can be to see the stars at night. Even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the most powerful telescopes on the entire planet are obscured simply by our atmosphere. But have you ever seen any images from the Hubble telescope? Freed from the distortion of this world, we have had the honor and privilege of witnessing images that truly declare the handiwork of God. There is no language in which that beauty cannot be beheld. Day to day pours forth speech of the majesty that is the heavens that God has created – and yet it is shrouded and clouded by dim street lights and worn out neon signs. This Word points back to that beauty – it truly gives us light. It reminds us of the simple majesty that is God.
Profound
And that brings me to the second word to which I would draw your attention. Verse 7 says that the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent. Yes, I know I just dissed the KJV, but I can’t give up the translation that says, “It makes wise the simple.” The word I like to use for that is “Profound.” Profound words are short but deep. They are the plain and simple truth that is rarely plain and never simple.
Let me suggest to you the 10 Commandments, for instance. It’s really easy to grasp the content of a bunch of “Thou Shalt Nots.” Don’t lie, Don’t steal, Don’t fool around on the one you love. Those are simple truths that make a simple life a lot more enjoyable. But those simple words “Thou shalt not,” are profoundly liberating. They are profoundly wise because they are profoundly freeing.
Take a minute with me if you will to reflect on the freedoms that each commandment gives us:
1. No Other Gods – Gives us the Freedom from thinking that every force in the Universe must be worshipped.
2. No Graven Images – Gives us the Freedom to keep our understanding of who God is from being stuck in a single childish frame of mind – It lets us see God as a grown-up God who is in our grown-up situations.
3. Not using the Lord’s Name in Vain – Gives us the Freedom to avoid claiming we have the power and thus responsibility for what God does.
4. Not working on the Sabbath – Gives us a day of Freedom from being the same old person and gives us a chance to re-create each week.
5. Honoring our Parents – Gives us the freedom to know to that as we grow old, our children will honor us.
6. Not Killing – Gives us freedom from having to choose between life and death. That’s too a great responsibility for any one of us.
7. Not Cheating on our Spouse – Gives us the freedom to cherish the wife of our youth secure in the knowledge that there is no competing affection.
8. Not Stealing – Gives us freedom to realize that God has already supplied our needs, and that the need to take from others indicates that we are trapped into not believing that.
9. Not Bearing False Witness – Gives us the freedom from having to remember our own lies
10. Not Coveting – Gives us the freedom to be content with what God has given us and frees us from the need to be constantly “window shopping.”
It is a profound set of clear rules that gives us Freedom.
I should tell you how that list came about. One morning, I was reading through this lesson, and I asked myself, “Why would a Creator God limit us so much?” But then I remembered that constraint is the spark of creativity – in the same way that sports are really only fun when you stay in the bounds of the rules. Once I realized that, it literally took just five minutes to dwell on the profound freedoms that the 10 commandments entail. You can do this with any part of the Bible – just look for the deeper level in the clear words of God.
Admittedly, one of the reasons I love teaching downstairs is this: it forces me to go for that deeper understanding on a regular basis. Before I can make anything clear to anyone else, I have to see the wisdom behind it. When you volunteer downstairs, you may think you’re just repeating stories, but you’re not. You are setting the stage on which our children will be learning the profound things of God. It is probably the most important ministry of the Word that happens in this or any other church – and it is profoundly fun! When you sign up to teach, you are literally shaping how my son and daughter are going to understand the world. You’re understanding of the simple things of God will make our family wise. It’s a cool thought, isn’t it?
Revitalizing
And that brings me to the last word – Revitalizing. It comes from Vitalis – life. This Word is the substance of Life itself. When Jesus says, “Man does not live by Bread alone,” he follows it with “bt by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” The Word gives life again, just like the Psalmist says in verse 7. The law of Lord is Perfect – it revives the soul.
You see, if we insist on viewing the Bible as nothing but a dead set of ancient rules, than yes, it would be sapping. Galatians says it explicitly: The letter of the Law kills – but goes on to say that it is the Spirit gives life.
When we trust God’s wisdom enough to know that he loves and this is his gift to us, then the Word will give us life.
And that’s why we can understand why Jesus got so angry at the moneychangers and the sacrifice sellers in the Temple. They weren’t worshipping – they simply saw an opportunity to make a little money off the misery that comes from mindless repetitions of the same old sacrifices.
These people were intent on turning faith into ritual, the life-giving nature of God’s relationship to human beings into the letter-killing of the law.
The people who sold the stuff had forgotten that to obey was better than sacrifice. They had had no interest in bringing people closer to the Lord. Heck – they even blocked the outer courts of the Temple serving as a barrier to the faithful who dare to enter! Is it any wonder that a loving Jesus would lash out in full fury against those who keep people from him?
The question for us is this: Do we want to be a money changer or a life changer? Are we willing to stand at the gates enticing others to come in, or are we mere gatekeepers demanding adherence to dead ritual?
Incorporating it into your life
You have completely control over the when and how of what you will let this love song do in your life. Personally, I find ways of bringing this Word in.
I listen to podcasts on my iPod on the way to work every morning so that I can skip over the repeats of the news. But I’ll tell you that I purposely mix in daily bible readings from RadioBible.org so as to keep the news in perspective. You know, when you hear about the state of your 401k and war in Sudan, it makes “Peace. I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the World gives it” really take on meaning.
In short, I want to have as more of this love song in my life as I do all the other music I listen to. If you have an iPod, I would challenge you to figure out what proportion of Bible to sappy love song you listen to. The background music of your life is the air you breathe – why not get something that clears the air?
By the same token, I know how much time I spend on Facebook writing about the stupid details of my life. Those of you who follow me are probably sick of hearing about my chickens! I wonder what would happen if I spent as much time writing about this beautiful Word as I do writing about them.
Some day, I want to get into the habit of blogging the Word on regular basis – because when I make opportunities to teach the Word, it always makes me see how profound and life giving the Word is.
The point is simple – if you want life, make more time for this Bible in your life. You do it naturally with TV and Music and the Internet – Why not fill your life with the clear, profound, revitalizing Word?
The Word of God is clear – you can read it. The Word of God is profound – it can change you. The Word of God can give you Life. The only question is: will you let it? Please pray with me.
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One morning before I work, I decided to think about why God would show us love by telling us what not to do. I want to read you something that literally only took me 5 minutes to write when I simply asked the question: What is the simple, profound freedom in each commandment. Here’s what I got:
Simple rules – profound freedom in each and every commandment – if only we will see that God really does love us.
Get to the application: Listen to the Word (RadioBible.org) Blog about the Word, Just ponder its purity and profundity.
