Psalms 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world... The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple... Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19)

God is not silent—He has revealed Himself in creation, in His Word, and in His Son, leaving every person without excuse.

Two Men, One Creation, Two Conclusions

Bertrand Russell, one of the most outspoken and influential minds of the 20th century, was once asked during a question-and-answer time following a lecture defending his atheism: "Mr. Russell, suppose when you die you find out your position has been wrong and you end up standing before God on judgment day. What will you say to Him?" Russell answered, "I will tell Him I'm terribly sorry, but you did not give us enough evidence." His words have been echoed by atheists ever since, who speak of the hiddenness of God: "If there is a God, He has done a very good job of hiding Himself."

Three thousand years ago, a young shepherd who would one day be king sat watching his sheep in Judea. With a harp in his hand, he sang, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth shows forth His handiwork." Two mindsets, observing the same data, reach opposite conclusions. One stands before creation and says God is glorified; the other says there is not enough evidence. Which is right? We live in a time when people dislike speaking of right and wrong, but one of these observations is true and the other is false.

Without Excuse

Was David overly influenced by his Jewish theistic worldview? Was Russell overly influenced by the culture of 20th-century Western Europe? About a thousand years after David and two thousand years before Russell, the apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter one:

Since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes have been clearly observed, being understood by the things that are made, even God's eternal power, so that man is without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give Him thanks, but became foolish in their thinking, and their minds became dark, and they began to glorify the creation instead of the One who made it.

Perhaps David and Paul were right, and Bertrand Russell was merely professing a rudimentary, earthly wisdom.

Science Points Back to God

In a Wall Street Journal article from Christmas Day, 2014, Eric Metaxas described how in 1966 Time magazine ran the famous cover story "Is God dead?" Many accepted the narrative that as science progresses there is less need for God. Yet the rumors of God's death were premature, and the case for His existence comes increasingly from science itself.

That same year, astronomer Carl Sagan announced two criteria for a planet to support life: the right kind of star, and the right distance from it. Given the octillion planets in the universe, Sagan expected a septillion capable of supporting life. The SETI project launched to listen for coded intelligence from the cosmos, sure to turn up something soon. But the silence was deafening. As our knowledge increased, Sagan's two parameters grew to ten, twenty, fifty—today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life, every one of which must be perfectly met. The odds against life in the universe are simply astounding.

God Is Not Silent

Point one: God is not silent. David, a mere shepherd sitting outside, looked at the night sky in Psalm 8 and said, "When I consider the heavens, the moon and the stars, what is man that You are mindful of him?" Here in Psalm 19 he says the heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows forth His handiwork. Day unto day they utter speech; night unto night they reveal knowledge. They do not speak with actual words or in any language, but simply by existing day and night, creation declares the praise and glory of God.

As David continues, "Their message has gone out throughout the whole earth, and their words to all the world." As Francis Schaeffer once said, He is there and He is not silent. Aristotle, in the fourth century BC, wrote that a man raised underground who conversed only with works of art and mechanism, brought up at last to see the glories of heaven and earth, would immediately pronounce them the works of such a being as we define to be God. Any thinking person looking at the heavens, the earth, humanity, and every creature must conclude that these things require intelligent design.

The Heavens Preach Without Ceasing

John Boyce, dean of Canterbury in the 17th century, wrote that the preaching of the heavens is wonderful in three respects. First, it preaches all night and all day without intermission—creation is the greatest preacher around, sounding forth "God is" for thousands of years. Second, it preaches in every kind of language. I am an American, fluent in only one language, limited in my capacity to sound forth the glory of God. But the heavens and the earth speak of the Creator without needing any language at all. Third, it preaches in every part of the world; no place is beyond its reach.

So point two: man is without excuse. Bertrand Russell was inexcusable. The deep complexity of creation, from the subatomic to the astronomical, cries out for an intelligent designer. We must engineer huge networks of radio telescopes at unbelievable cost to reach into the cosmos, or build enormous particle colliders to study the subatomic level—and then look at all that intricacy and say it just happened, with no engineering whatsoever. The heavens declare the glory of God so much that man is without excuse.

Creation Proclaims His Existence and Glory

Point three: creation proclaims God's existence and glory. David continues, "In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun." I can see David in a field near Bethlehem, watching the sun rise every morning, cross the circuit of the sky, and set, doing the same thing day in and day out. God set this massive, burning star in its place and on its course. Aren't you glad it doesn't erratically move? Speaking metaphorically, David says the sun is "like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber"—nothing stands in its way—and "rejoices like a strong man to run its race." There is nothing hidden from its heat. God said, "Let there be light," and that light reveals the creation that cries out, "He is."

This is what theologians call general revelation, and Psalm 19 is the psalm of revelation. General revelation never stops and reaches everywhere, but it is limited. It reveals three simple truths: first, that God exists; second, that this God is intelligent, for He engineered everything to work perfectly from the astronomical to the subatomic; and third, that He is powerful, possessing the resources to put all of it together—what scientists call the big bang, phenomenal power.

The Lowest Level of Faith and the Default to Idolatry

Through general revelation, humanity can take the first step toward what I call the lowest level of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." General revelation leads us to that first belief: that He is.

Yet Romans one and other passages give us the regrettable truth that fallen man, when presented with this evidence, defaults toward idolatry—worshiping and serving the creation more than the Creator. Why? First, God hardwired us to worship; we are unique in all creation. Monkeys do not worship; your dog does not worship. Even atheists worship—they worship and serve themselves or the cosmos. Second, fallen man does not want to retain God in his knowledge. Third, man does not want to surrender to God. If there is a God who created everything, He has the authority to command according to His will.

Any honest atheist knows that emphatically declaring "there is no God" is a self-defeating argument, for no being has the ability to know everything. When you truly talk with atheists—and I've talked with many—it comes down to this: most of them are mad at God and do not want to submit to Him. We see this even when people witness the miraculous. In Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas healed a lame man, the people, instead of worshiping God, dragged them to a temple to worship them as gods. In our fallen state, we default toward idolatry. No one comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through general revelation alone—which is why we need special revelation.

Special Revelation: The Word of God

In verse 7, David moves from the general to the special:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes 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 judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

As we saw last week in Psalm 1, Hebrew poetry uses parallelism, and here David employs synonymous parallelism—saying the same thing in multiple ways. He gives six descriptive titles for God's revelation: the law of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, and the judgments of the Lord. These are not different things but one—God speaking to humanity through holy men inspired by His Spirit. He gives six qualities: it is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true and righteous, desirable and sweet.

The Effects of the Word

Then David gives the divine effects of the Scriptures. First, it converts the soul. Atheists like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens say the only good of religion is that it sometimes changes behavior or imposes morality. But David says it goes much deeper: it converts you at the deepest level, the soul—something science cannot explain. Every believer has a testimony. When someone says, "I don't know if I believe in God," you simply say, "Let me tell you what God did in my life," and describe how He transformed everything about you from the inside out.

Second, it makes wise the simple. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in the fruit salad. God's Word gives us wisdom—knowing what to do with what we know. It rejoices the heart, bringing joy to those suffering the greatest pain. It enlightens the eyes, as Jesus, the Word of God, gave sight to the blind man in John 9 who said, "I was blind, and now I see." It endures forever, and it brings warning and reward—warning us of our duty and dangers, and in keeping it there is great reward.

God Has Gone to Great Lengths

Point four: God has gone to great lengths to make Himself known. To Bertrand Russell I would say, "I am terribly sorry, sir, but God has gone to great lengths to make Himself known." He is there, and He is not silent. This is why we as a church are so committed to giving forth the Scriptures, why the New Testament commands, "Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, and exhort." For 2,000 years the church has gone into all the world preaching the Word, because it is perfect and sure and right, and it converts the soul and makes wise the simple.

David then writes in verses 12 through 14:

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Personal Revelation: The Redeemer

In these last three verses, David subtly and prophetically moves from general revelation to special revelation and now to a third, essential form: personal revelation. This came through the incarnation, where God became a man. Notice that the last word, Redeemer, is capitalized—it speaks not of a thing but of a Person. Who helps us understand our errors, cleanses us from secret faults, keeps us back from presumptuous sins, releases us from bondage, and makes us blameless? The Redeemer—Jesus.

Point five: we must endeavor to make His greatness known. As the people of God, we must work to make the greatness of Jesus known to our community and to the uttermost parts of the world. One way is through communion. As 1 Corinthians 11 tells us, by this simple act of eating the bread and drinking the cup in remembrance of Jesus, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes—that the Redeemer who died on the cross is no longer dead and will return one day.

Sending Out Laborers

Another way we make His greatness known is what we are doing together as a family today—sending out George and Janelle Lim, who have helped lead us in worship, to plant a church thousands of miles away in Glastonbury, Connecticut. I met George five years ago at Calvary Chapel Bible College, where he was the best student in my Isaiah class and again in Jeremiah. He and Janelle, both born and raised in Southern California, have carried for five years a desire to plant a church in Connecticut. They came to be part of this family so that we could prayerfully send them out, and now they leave next Sunday to drive across country and begin that work.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for this couple and their three kids—for Georgie, Cade, and Noel. I lift George and Janelle into Your hands, and I thank You that Your Word has converted their souls, made wise their hearts and minds, and flows in them as they meditate upon it day and night. You've given George a gift to lead in worship and to share Your Word. We pray You would use this family to see a church established and planted in Glastonbury. Your Word says they labor in vain who try to build without recognizing that You build the house, so establish through their lives the work You are doing. You promised to build Your church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Pour out Your blessing and Your Spirit upon them. Use them mightily to be a light in a dark place. Guard their hearts from discouragement, give them faith and joy when sorrow comes, and provide for every need. We thank You for the financial provision and the job already given to George. Where there is an open door, obstacles come against it; give them faith to walk through them, and let none of those obstacles harm them as they drive 3,000 miles across country. Bless their trip, help them meet new friends and family in Connecticut, and use their three young evangelists to draw people to Yourself. We pray for Connecticut, Lord—it's interesting that "Connect" is in its name. Use them in a great way as an extension of this church. We commit them into Your hands, in Jesus' name. Amen.