For Sermon Central researchers: I have posted a series of 15 sermons on the Psalms. In recent personal studies I have found the psalms to be richer and more thought-provoking than I had fully appreciated. I had too often swept swiftly through psalms without slowing down to inquire as thoroughly as I might have into the depths of meaning and feeling that are expressed by the psalmists. Upon deeper examination and reflection, I find the psalms to be highly relevant to Christians in every age. My most recent foray into the psalms led me to present a series of studies of selected psalms in a class environment.
In my classes I did not examine every psalm, or every verse of the ones I did. Rather, I presented selected psalms that I believe to be representative of the collection in the book of Psalms. The studies were held in a class environment suitable for pauses for questions and discussion, and to pose “thought questions” where the meanings are not readily apparent, as is often the case in poetry. My notes include suggested points for such pauses, and I have not removed them in Sermon Central posts.
I developed the material with the view in mind that the series may be well used as sermons. There is an introductory sermon that describes what psalms are (whether they are in the 150-chapter book or elsewhere) and explains my approach to the series. The psalms I selected were presented in no particular order in the classes; however, I suggest that anyone using this material as a series begin with the introductory sermon and follow it with Psalms 1 and 2 in that order, as the first two psalms function as a pair. Beyond that, the selected psalms may be presented in any order.
To get as much enjoyment as we could from our study, I did some of the reading from the KJV, which I believe is the most beautiful of the English bible translations. For clarity we also used other versions, mainly ESV, which I have used for several years and the one I have come to prefer.
Psalm 19 – God Speaks to Man
Read Psalm 19
The ancient Maya Indians in Tulum, Mexico had no bibles. They knew nothing of the creation story, the nation of Israel, or God’s plan to save people from their sins. They had only the vaguest idea of what sin was, regulated only by the native sense of right and wrong.
Notwithstanding their ignorance of all that has been revealed to us, the Mayas, who believed in the existence of many gods, believed in an “upper God,”they called Itzamna. The believed him to be the creator of the universe and within it, human beings. Itzamna was believed to reside in the sky and uphold the corners of the world. They believed that when times were bad, it meant that God was displeased. At times, the Mayas went as far as to offer human sacrifices to try to please God.
Despite the harshness of their imaginings as to what God requires, God is depicted in the apex of the gabled fronts of their temples as the upside down God.
Today, he is called “the Descending God.”
As to why they so perceived the God of their imaginings, the conquest of the area by the Spanish left us with nothing but conjecture to go on.
But a plausible theory is:
The Mayas believed that God, who they little understood, nevertheless reached down to the people with loving care.
The Mayas didn’t have Psalm 19.
But they had the testimony of the heavens, giving them a flawed and fragmentary but remarkably similar idea of God to that which comes through firm knowledge of the scriptures, even to the point of seeing God upside down, reaching down to people.
We are blessed to have Psalm 19 and a lot more.
And the “lot more” that we have gives us a clearer grasp of what is meant by the utterances of the daytime and nighttime sky.
The primary doctrine I want to realize today is:
Unlike gods of stone, metal, and wood, our God has spoken, and speaks yet to man in many ways.
The psalm begins: “The heavens declare…”
There is a plurality of heavens.
The three heavens:
1. The earth’s atmosphere. It extends about 20 miles above the earth, getting thinner and colder as it goes toward its outer extent.
There are multiple layers within the atmosphere, each with its characteristics, but for our purposes, we will notice two, the troposphere and the stratosphere.
The stratosphere-still within the atmosphere-is the outermost part of the earth’s atmosphere.
The troposphere is the air we breathe, the place we live, where birds and airplanes fly, and clouds appear.
The word for “air” is ouranos, which is also translated “heaven.”
The beauty we see in the daytime sky resides within the atmosphere - more specifically the troposphere. We cannot see beyond it when the sun is out.
The earth’s atmosphere is the first heaven.
2. The second heaven is the celestial realm beyond the earth’s atmosphere. It is outer space—or interstellar space – the space where the moon, planets, our sun, and all stars in
the Milky Way and other galaxies are. The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System, with its name describing the galaxy's appearance from the earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars too numerous and distant to be distinguished individually by the naked eye.
Charlotte Bronte, the author of the classic, Jane Eyre, made this observation about the second heaven, particularly as seen at night: We know that God is everywhere, but certainly we feel his presence most when his works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night sky, where his worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest his infinitude, his omnipotence, and his omnipresence.
So grand is the appearance of the sky that God knew man would take notice of it and feel inclined to worship it. He forbade such worship:
Deu 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
3. The third heaven is the dwelling of God, or his throne-room.
Its location in reference to the earth, its atmosphere and outer space is not given, suggesting it exists in a different dimension.
It is described in Revelation, in what is likely figurative language.
When Paul was taken up to it he couldn’t tell whether he was in the body or out of the body – he didn’t know so neither do we. But Paul was not allowed to tell all that he saw there (2 Cor 12:1-4).
John, it seems, was taken to it and – unlike Paul – was told to write what he saw (Revelation 1:19). We have the benefit of reading what John saw in Revelation 4, and the things he saw happen there in the following chapters in Revelation.
Solomon recognized multiple heavens in his prayer of dedication when the construction of the temple was finished.
1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
Jesus “passed through the heavens” - all of them.
Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
The writer of Hebrews speaks of Christ – our high priest - being in that heaven which is God’s heavenly “tent,” or dwelling place.
Hebrews 8:1-2 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.
Speaking of the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice over animals, the writer to the Hebrews explained:
Hebrews 9:23-24 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
Stephen saw the very dwelling place of God as he died from stoning:
Acts 7:55-56 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
1. Universal utterance
Now that we’ve seen what the heavens are in biblical expression, let’s consider what David said:
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
The following verses say the heavens pour out speech from day to day, and night to night reveal knowledge.
The scripture further states that none of the speech of the heavens is unheard.
Rather, the voice of the heavens goes out through all the earth, and to the end of the world.
The heavens declare his glory far more fully than the best the earth below it offers – though that is much:
• A beautiful beach
• A great canyon
• A mighty river
• The oceans
• The mountains
Perhaps some have not seen the oceans, or mountains, or the Grand Canyon.
But there is no one who has sight, who hasn’t seen the sky.
And God paints the sky with a lovely new design every few minutes!
The heavens testified to:
• The ancient Mayans in what would one day be Mexico
• The aboriginal people in the Australian outback
• The remotest tribes of South America – far removed from civilization
• Eskimos, and the original inhabitants of North America
• Adam, Eve, Noah, Abram, Moses
• Pharaoh saw what we see
• The prophets gazed on skies as beautiful as what we see
• The inhabitants of Canaan before some of them were driven out – and after
• The ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
• The Romans
• The scribes and Pharisees
• Christ, the apostles, and the earliest Christians
What we see, they saw!
None of them didn’t see the sky.
But some of them gave audience to its testimony, and some did not.
Some considered it informative, and some misinterpreted its message, or disregarded it.
What is the testimony of the heavens about God’s glory?
Discuss
The glory of God is vaster that any earthly language is capable of describing.
Even our local galaxy contains features at distances so great from one another that our minds are at a loss to register the scale of it.
Try to describe to a blind person the dazzling beauty of the night sky as seen from a place where earthly lights do not compete against heavenly light.
Or the fiery beauty of a golden sunset.
It reveals – not fully, but in some measure – the glory of its creator.
2. God spoke to man in many ways in the past
In the Old Testament, the expression, “The word of the Lord came to…” appears 101 times in ESV:
Abram, Nathan, Elijah, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, other prophets and other people. Fifty of the 101 time the phrase appears are in Ezekiel.
• God spoke to Adam – Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
• To Abram – “leave your country”
Genesis 12:1-2 - Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
• The angel of the Lord spoke to destitute and despondent Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant
Genesis 21:17-20 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.
• Blessings were pronounced by patriarchs revealing future developments within their families. (Possibly most notable was the switch of Jacob and Esau by their mother Rebekah, resetting the course of Israelite history.
• God spoke through dreams:
o Joseph
o Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker
o Pharaoh had a dream that revealed a coming famine. Joseph interpreted its meaning and changed the course of Egyptian history
o Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a dream that Daniel interpreted.
• God spoke to Moses from a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-22)
• The law was given in words spoken through angels (Acts 7:53 cf. Hebrews 2:2, Galatians 3:19)
• Balaam – The elders of Moab and Midian tried to get Balaam to curse God’s people.
Numbers 22:38 …the words that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.
cf Numbers 23:5, Joshua 13:22
• God even spoke through Balaam’s donkey Numbers 22:22-35 (esp v28)
• An angel spoke to Cornelius in a vision (Acts 10:3-6)
• Peter saw a vision of a sheet with animals in it, leading to the conversion of Cornelius and his household, and ultimately gentiles everywhere. (Acts 10:9-16)
• An angel spoke the words that give hope of immortality to the human race:
“He is not here. He is risen.” (Matthew 28:6)
• The Holy Spirit spoke to the apostles, teaching them “all things.”
John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
3. How does God speak now?
These considerations open onto the nearby subject of if and how God speaks to man today.
• Through the God-breathed scriptures, of course. No one would deny it.
The scriptures – root and branch – are the fount of the knowledge we possess about God, his nature, his desire, and plan.
Furthermore, once we acquire familiarity with the scriptures, one or more scriptures pop into our minds that are immediately relevant to some immediate personal situation.
• But does that dispose of the question? Is it true that God speaks to the heart of man only through the written text?
• For example, if the heavens once declared the glory of God through the sky, did the sky at some point cease to declare the glory of God?
No, the heavens still declare the glory of their creator in the grandest of all displays seen by human eyes.
• For another example, the Hebrew writer opens by imparting this knowledge:
Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Bear in mind that when the letter to the Hebrews was written, at least part of the scriptures were not yet written, or at least were likely not as widely disseminated as they are today.
How else, then (if any other way)? Put out the fleece?
Gideon asked God to confirm that it was by Gideon’s hand that God would save Israel. (Judges 6:36-40)
Is “putting out the fleece” an effective means of inducing God to speak to us? How can we do it without compromising the results with our own preferences in setting up the fleece test, or imagining that we have had a response from God on the basis of the barest evidence?
• What about people who say, “The Lord told me to do this or that thing?” (Sometimes “this or that thing” doesn’t work out so well.)
As you can tell, I am skeptical of any invitation God to speak to us in ways that we ourselves control, or may conveniently interpret to our own convenience.
In what way, other than the scriptures does God speak?
• Through preachers and evangelists who speak the word of God to those who would not hear it by any other means than a preacher being sent. Before the New Testament had been fully written and disseminated, those emissaries were the only conduit for many to hear the gospel:
Romans 10:14-18 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (…the last verse being a quote from Psalm 19)
• I further suggest that Christians are channels through which God speaks to man – both to non-Christians and to Christians.
My own conclusion from my studies is twofold:
• God speaks through the scriptures to make his will known broadly in universally. For example, the scriptures tell us a universally applicable truth, “
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
• The scriptures also speak to us on a personal level. If God has something to say to us pertinent to a personal need or immediate situation, he speaks however he chooses, but never in contradiction to the scriptures, and never in the way that amounts to new scripture.
God paints a new masterpiece in the heavens every few minutes, each providing fresh testimony to his glory, but the witness in the heavens never contradicts or adds to the body of knowledge contained in the scriptures.
