The Heavens Declare: Creation, Scripture, and God's Glory

Because the light of God's glory does not merely show us who God is. Again, light exposes darkness. God's holiness, his righteousness, exposes unrighteousness, unholiness. It exposes who we are. And who are we? We're in trouble. That's who. We're all. Kevin. So blind and lost in the darkness of our own sin, we cannot even discern our errors, David writes. That's what David comes to understand by the revealing of God's word in his second stanza. When we read the word, the word reads us. It doesn't flatter us. It doesn't leave us comfortable in the darkness. [01:08:07] (42 seconds)  #LightExposesDarkness

It searches us, exposes us, cuts us open, dividing joints from marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And when that happens, the honest response is not, oh, look how great and united humanity is. We're all in this together. No. The honest response is, Lord, have mercy. I am not clean. I am not righteous in myself. I am not safe apart from your grace. That's what true biblical love does. It warns. It does not accept you as you are. It demands a turning away from what you are to become a new creation. [01:08:52] (37 seconds)  #RepentAndBeRenewed

David perceives the glory of God in creation, then David witnesses the perfection of God's word, then David begins to behold the depth of his own sinful imperfections. So what does David do next? He prays. He does not pretend. He does not excuse himself. He does not condone the sins of others. He doesn't say, Well, everyone makes mistakes. What can you do? He says in verses twelve and thirteen, Declare me innocent. Declare me innocent. Keep me back. Do not let sin have dominion over me. And that's interesting because he begins Psalm 19 by saying, the heavens declare God's glory, but he ends it with a plea for God to declare him innocent. [01:11:08] (42 seconds)  #DeclareMeInnocent

So do you see the movement David is making in this psalm? Creation declares God's glory. It declares there is a God in stanza one, but it is the word that reveals the Lord in stanza two. The breadcrumbs of creation have led David beyond the physical realm and deeper into the spirit. Creation tells us there is a God, a mighty one, leaving us without excuse, but scripture tells us his name, leaving us with hope and so much more. [00:56:23] (32 seconds)  #CreationLeadsToScripture

But with the one true God, that is not possible. There is none like him. There is nothing above him. There is nothing before him. There is nothing in the highest heaven. Nothing on the earth or beneath it. So when God reveals his name, he does not point to something outside of himself. He says, I am who I am. I am. I exist. I have always existed because I am self existent. I depend on no one. Everything depends on me, and that is not merely merely a name. That is a revelation of his being. [00:59:06] (32 seconds)  #GodIsSelfExistent

The one true God, Yahweh, does not borrow authority. He is authority. Yahweh does not appeal to something higher. He is most high. He does not depend on anything outside of himself. He simply is. This is what we mean when we say God is self existent. He has no cause. He has no beginning. He does not need creation. He does not need angels. Acts 17. He does not need temples nor does he need human hands. He does not even need us. And yet he gives life to us. Quote, Since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. [01:01:29] (38 seconds)  #YahwehIsSovereign

But true biblical love follows the bad with the good. The Old Testament is followed by the New. The Law of Moses is followed by the Law of Christ. Biblical love does warn, but then it uses the momentum of that fear to encourage sinners to accept the only solution, capital S. The only Redeemer who can save them. And that is exactly how the Holy Spirit led David in this psalm, Psalm 19. Same with Paul in Romans, because that's the pattern of the whole counsel of God. [01:10:39] (29 seconds)  #LawToGrace

Creation is constantly bearing witness, it's constantly pointing, constantly announcing, constantly It won't shut up. It pours out speech, David says. The universe, you could say, gushes God. That's fun to say. Do that on your own time. The universe gushes God. Notice David says, night to night reveals knowledge in verse two. Now that matters. Want you to think about this. This is interesting. If there were no night, we would not see the stars. [00:39:56] (31 seconds)  #UniverseGushesGod