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[0:00] So the first thing I want to point out from this psalm is, depending on how your Bible is broken up, it should be broken into three stanzas. And so the first stanza, David is marveling at the natural revelation of God in creation. He's looking at the sky or the heavens, and he's looking at the sun, and he marvels at the glory of God revealed in these things. And then in the second stanza, he proceeds to marvel at the glory of God revealed through his word. So in David's time, he would have had at least the books of Moses to read and learn of God's character from, and he was marveling at God's glory revealed in his word. And then in the final stanza, he's moved after reflecting on these two revelations of God to pray. He's convicted of his sin, and he realizes that he needs to be cleaned to stand in the presence of God. And so he's moved to pray that God would cleanse him of sins both known and unknown, and that God would make the meditations of his heart and the words of his mouth acceptable before God. And he prays to him, his rock and his redeemer. So if you were here with us two weeks ago, Brad preached on Psalm 8, which reflects on the sunset as the moon and stars come out. And this psalm really reflects on the sunrise as it moves across the sky and then sets, and then we see the moon take the same course.

[1:36] And so Psalm 8 and 19 are actually connected in that way in that they both reflect on the movement of the heavenly bodies. And in both cases, David is marveling at God's glory revealed in these two revelations. And also this psalm is a mingle of prayer and praise, similar to what Brent taught on last week in Psalm 9. So the main point that I found as I studied through this psalm was that there's a natural and a specific revelation of God's character that is revealed first through nature as we look on glory of God revealed in the natural creation. And there's also a revelation, a more specific revelation of God revealed through his word to us. And these two revelations allow us to better perceive the glory of God, but also they reveal the separation between our sinful hearts and God. And so that evidence reveals our need for a savior. And so that is what was in my thoughts going through David's mind as he reflected on these revelations and wrote this psalm.

[2:49] So being that I'm an engineer and I like science and technology, as I was preparing, I got a little bit sidetracked here. This week on YouTube I watched a really cool video about the Hubble Space Telescope.

[3:04] And so I was looking at some of the deep pictures that the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to look into the heavens and ultra deep pictures that are used to look even further. And from these pictures, which have only been possible in the last 29 years since the Hubble Space Telescope was put into space, we've been able to increase our view of the sky. So in David's time, the sky was very clear, there wasn't a lot of light to interfere, and he could see perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of stars, heavenly bodies, when he looked up at the sky. And later on, when commentators were writing about the Bible in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century, they had telescopes, and they could see millions of stars, and they could even identify that some of what they saw were actually planets. But in our time, we can look up and see that not only are there billions of stars in our galaxy, there are hundreds of billions of galaxies. And so multiplying those two numbers, we realize there are perhaps one billion trillion stars in our observable universe. That number is kind of ridiculous if we think about it, right? A billion trillion. We can't even fathom that. And the cool thing that came to my mind as I was studying this is, you know, God spoke those billion trillion stars into existence in a moment by the breath of his word, right? And so that should give us kind of a modern perspective of who God really is and what he's capable of. And so as I was studying this, I realized, as David did, that the creation is one of the greatest miracles of all of history, all of revealed history. In six days, God created everything from nothing by the breath of his word. And so that, as we reflect back, is one of the greatest mysteries and also one of the greatest miracles. And then his word written to us is perhaps the greatest physical miracle, right? When we grabbed the Bible, this was written by the word of God over 1,500 years by 35 to 40 authors. God preserved it and protected it as he promised to do. And so we get to hold perhaps the second greatest miracle in history every day, at least in our country where we have the freedom to do so, right? And then just thinking about those two things, which both point to the greatest miracle we'll ever know, which is Christ. And so that's kind of how this psalm is written. First, David reflects on God's glorious creation. He reflects on God's glorious word. And then he reflects on the need for a savior, which in his time, he was believing on that promise.

[5:59] And in our time, we've seen that promise fulfilled. So as I was preparing this, I looked at a few different commentaries. And one of them that I really liked was, of course, Spurgeon's commentary.

[6:10] And he identified these two revelations of God as volumes, the two volumes or sacred tomes of God's revelation. The first he called the natural revelation, and the second he called scripture or the word of God.

[6:27] And so David is in awe of God's authorship through both of these, through the word of God and creation, which he spoke into existence. So my first point that I want to make looking at verses one through six is the heavens declare the glory of God. So let's first look at verses one through three and focus on the glory of God revealed by the heavens. So verses one through three, the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaim his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard. And so the creation declare declares first the existence and the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of God. As we reflect on nature, we can see some vision of God's existence, first and foremost, of his power, of his awesome wisdom, and also his goodness. And these are displayed through all of space and time. And then the sky also proclaims the glorious handiwork of God, right? As we look at the sky, as we look at the heavens, we can see that there is an amazing God out there who's capable of creating these things. And so we should be in awe of him. And as the psalm continues, each day and night continue this never-ending cycle of declaring God's wisdom, his power, and his existence, right? The sun rises every day, it sets every night, and the night continues its cycle. And those pass the torch from one to the next like a never-ending relay race, right? And so their voice that they speak, as this psalm says, as they pour out speech, it's not bound by language, by understanding. Everyone who is able to see is able to see the evidence of this natural revelation of God. And so we are without excuse for believing that there is a God of creation, right? The Bible goes on to say this, as Paul says in Romans 1, 19 through 20, and he explains that God has revealed this for all the world to see, his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power, divine nature, which have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, and the things that have been made, so they are without excuse, right? And so Paul here is saying that no matter where you live in God's creation, you're without excuse for not believing that there is a God who created, right? If we try to use our insights from science to determine how this world came into existence, we're without excuse. God has told us that his creation clearly displays his existence for us. However, Paul in Acts 17 also observed an altar to unknown gods in the Greek city of Aeropagius. Don't know how to pronounce that, sorry, but the Greeks knew of this God of creation who is declared in the heavens. And if we read part of Acts 17, we can see, starting in verse 23,

[9:50] Paul says, So this perhaps is a limitation of the natural revelation of God, right? Although we are without excuse for not knowing that a God exists in creation, the Greeks had not rightly identified, obeyed, or worshipped this God because they lacked a specific revelation, right? They could see in creation that there is a God, but they didn't know who this God was. And so this is kind of a paradox that David is highlighting in this psalm when he says that the heavens pour out speech every day and night. But the problem is they can't actually speak. They can't actually reveal the written word or the spoken word of God to our hearts. And so here we draw a distinction between the natural revelation and the specific revelation. One is found in nature and the other is found in the law of the Lord or the word of God.

[11:40] So as we move on to verses 4 through 6, let's look at the glory of God revealed first by the sun, the most glorious heavenly body in our sky. So in verse 4 we read, Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom, leaving his chamber, and like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

[12:05] Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. So this voice that it's speaking about in verse 4 is exerted or implied, and it is an unspoken display of God's perfection.

[12:23] The sun can't actually speak to us, the sky can't actually speak to us, but it is evidence of God's existence. And it is the most apparent evidence, the sun, right? It's the largest heavenly being from our perspective.

[12:36] It fills the sky, it provides heat, it rises every day with strength, covers the entire earth with its revitalizing heat and light, right?

[12:47] Today we get to experience its heat and also its light as it's almost 100 degrees out there. But there's nowhere we can go to hide from the sun, right? We can try to go underground, but that probably is not a good option.

[13:00] So God has also made a tent or place in the heavens or the sky for the sun, right? As the sun sets, we know that, you know, it's really the earth rotating, but there's a place for the sun to go, and the course is from the beginning of the sky to the end of the sky.

[13:19] And so the sun is likened in this psalm by David as a bridegroom, a bridegroom who is happy and excited on his wedding day and rises early to begin his day, and also to a strong man who happily arises to run his race.

[13:40] And so this was another place where I got a little bit distracted thinking about running, because I try every day to get up and go for a run around sunset, but I'm not that consistent.

[13:51] I may go a couple days a week, six days a week, rarely seven days a week. But the sun, right, it reveals the perfection of God because it hasn't failed to rise yet since the beginning of creation.

[14:05] And it won't fail until God tells it to stop, right? So that is part of what David is reflecting on in this portion of the psalm, is that the sun's rise and setting reveals the perfection of God to hold the creation in the order that he set it in.

[14:24] And at this point, I also think it's important to realize that the glory of God in creation can be a little bit confusing, right? As David was reflecting on the heavens, as he was reflecting on the sunrise and sunset, he sees the glory of God revealed in these ways, but we also see the glory of God in the Grand Canyon or the oceans.

[14:46] Those reveal his glory and his wonder. And we also see the glory of God in thunderstorms or earthquakes or hurricanes, right? And those also reveal the glory of God.

[14:57] But perhaps they can be confusing to us. Is God angry? Is God out to get us? And so again, this is another place where the natural revelation of God, although it's perfect, is not enough on its own for us to figure out who this God is.

[15:15] And so although Paul makes clear there is no excuse for not believing that God exists and created the world, those who do not believe will be judged and condemned. Without a specific revelation through the law of the Lord, and also by the power of his Holy Spirit, we cannot fully know the God of creation.

[15:32] We cannot know his character, his plan, or his purpose. And in many cases throughout the world, we end up worshiping the creation in place of the creator, right?

[15:43] And so fortunately, God revealed his law to man, first through the law of Moses and also through the rest of scripture. So now I want to read a quote from Spurgeon as he was reflecting on this first point of the psalm.

[15:58] He said, He said, The testimony given by heaven is no mere hint, but a plain, unmistakable declaration. And it is a declaration of the most constant and abiding kind.

[16:11] Yet for all this, to what avail is the loudest declaration to a deaf man, or the clearest showing to one who is spiritually blind? God, the Holy Spirit, must illuminate us, or all the sons in the Milky Way never will.

[16:24] Right? So now, David moves on in the second stanza to the law of the Lord and its perfection. And so that's the second point that I want to make.

[16:37] So let's look at the law of the Lord as revealed to David through his version of the scripture or the writings of Moses. And he says, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

[16:50] The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eye.

[17:01] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rule of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.

[17:12] Sweeter also than honey and the dripping of the honeycomb. And that was verses 7 through 10. And so, as David is reflecting here, we realize that God went on and revealed his character to us and his glory to us through his law.

[17:33] And so, David, he gives six different names for the law, but really all of them are just different ways of describing this law of the Lord that he's reflecting on.

[17:44] And so, first, he calls it the law, which we can think of as a direct instruction or the will of God for human conduct. It's the doctrines of God. He also calls it the testimony or statutes, which are the rules of the Lord revealed to Israel that were meant to bring about their health and safety.

[18:03] He also calls it the precepts, which we can think of as the applications to small details of life. His commandments for our unquestioned obedience.

[18:15] He also refers to it as fear or the fear of the Lord. And in that, God's word is worthy of our awe-inspiring reverence, right?

[18:26] And then rules, ordinances, these are the degrees, decrees, or authoritative decisions that God passes for us. And after reflecting on these, David also, for each one, gives one or more qualities or attributes of the law of the Lord.

[18:44] He says it's perfect, in verse 7, able to revive our soul. It is sure, making wise the simple or the humble, teachable minds, right?

[18:54] It's able to make us wise for salvation. That's how powerful his word is. It's right, which brings rejoicing in our heart. It's pure, enlightening our eyes, opening our eyes to see it's clean, in that it's able to cleanse sin and sanctify the heart.

[19:11] It's enduring. It will last forever. It will never pass away. It's true, altogether righteous and holy. It's desirable, right? David declares it as precious and rightly desirable, above gold, above honey.

[19:25] And it's sweet, in that it's full of true enjoyment. So each of these verses makes a declaration, a declaration about the law of the Lord. The first one is that it's perfect, which is able to revive our soul.

[19:39] And if we look at Psalm 23, David says, he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake, leading him through his written law or the word that he has spoken.

[19:53] Second, his testimonies are sure, able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, as we find in 2 Timothy 3.15. The unfolding of his words gives light.

[20:06] It imparts understanding to the simple, as David reflects in Psalm 119. And then in Christ's own words, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to the little children.

[20:23] So it is God through his word that reveals this truth to those who have a humble, teachable mind, right? And so the third thing, as we move into verse 8, we realize that his precepts are right and trustworthy and give us reason to rejoice and to open our eyes.

[20:41] If we look at Psalms 111, the works of his hands are faithful and just. All his precepts are trustworthy, right? We can trust every single word that he has spoken. He will fail in nothing.

[20:53] Or in Timothy 3, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. And then we find joy as we meditate on his words.

[21:06] Make me understand the ways of your precepts and I will meditate on your wondrous works, as David says in Psalms 119. So fourth, we move into the fear of the Lord in that the fear of the Lord is clean.

[21:22] It's pure from imperfection. The words of the Lord are pure words like silver refined in a firmness on the ground, purified seven times, right?

[21:32] This is what David said in Psalms 12, purified seven times. If we purify silver one time, the imperfections rise to the top and we scrape them off. If we continue that process, there's going to be no imperfection left.

[21:46] That silver is going to be as pure as possible, right? And that is what David sees in the word of God. This cleanliness endures forever as God is able to protect from corruption those who have a reverent fear of him.

[22:04] His rules, decrees, that is the entirety of Scripture, are true and altogether righteous without any blemish, mistake, or imperfection. So as we look at this, the law of the Lord should produce a reverent fear of God for those who believe him, right?

[22:21] And this is a reverent fear, meaning that we should revere, we should be in awe of him. We shouldn't be running in fear of him, but we should have a reverence for his holy perfection, his perfect standard.

[22:33] And to those who refuse to obey the law, judgment, punishment, or even eternal separation from God are promised, right? For those who refuse this law that he has set, that is the promise.

[22:46] For those who break the law of the Lord, an atonement sacrifice was necessary, right? If we read the first books of Moses, we realize that every time someone stumbled in following the law, an animal sacrifice was required to atone for that.

[23:02] And although atonement was provided through this sacrifice, in the scripture we realize that none is righteous, no, not one. There is none who does good. So although the law of the Lord is perfect, right?

[23:15] It's absolutely perfect from God's own word. Man is far from perfect. And so something more was necessary. Christ was necessary to fulfill this law because man could not.

[23:28] And Christ was necessary to provide a final atonement for sin and to extend or impute his righteousness, his perfect righteousness, to those who believe in him.

[23:40] So David, in verse 10, although he was far from perfect, he found the law of the Lord to be sweeter than honey. And he found that his law was not a burden, right?

[23:52] So knowing this truth and having this reverent fear, he still found that the law was precious and sweet. And he said, The law of his mouth is better than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

[24:08] How sweet are his words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. In Psalm 119, therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.

[24:18] So all the Lord's rules and laws are righteous and we should have a desire to know and to obey them more than fine gold, right? It should be the most desirable thing we can think of to know and to obey the word of God.

[24:36] I need some more coffee. No, I've got plenty. Just don't want to drink it too fast. So the next point I want to make is we, as with David, need to be made pure so that we can stand before the perfect holiness of God.

[24:57] And so after reflecting on God's revelation in nature and in his word, David is convicted that he is not worthy to stand before this God.

[25:07] And so he's moved from this praise to prayer as we should too, right? As we move from verse 11 to 13, we realize it's only through this specific revelation of the perfect law of the Lord that the deepest character and attributes of God are revealed.

[25:25] These include his holiness, his righteousness, and his love. We also discover that the law reveals and makes clear our own depravity, our sinfulness, and our need for repentance and salvation, right?

[25:40] So if we look at verse 11, David says, Moreover, by them, referring to the law of the Lord, is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward.

[25:52] So David is reflecting that there are both consequences for disobeying the law, but also much more a reward for following. David has tasted the reward of keeping God's statutes and has taken seriously with reverent fear the warnings.

[26:07] And he says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night, as we learned when we studied Psalms 1, verses 1 through 2.

[26:29] David believes what Moses said to Joshua. The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

[26:47] Right? And so, in reflecting back on these things written to Moses and others, David realizes that God has kept these promises to them and is able to keep them to himself.

[26:59] So the law of the Lord, it's not a burden to those of us who believe and want to please him. It is a promise for, in our case, an eternal reward to those who believe.

[27:11] Right? The reward that David is speaking of is not some earthly reward, not lots of fine silver and gold, not lots of honey and honeycomb, right? He's talking about eternal life, the reward of spending eternity in God's presence.

[27:27] And so, reflecting on these things, it should bring about a conviction of our sins as it did with David. And these are sins in David's mind which are both seen and hidden, right?

[27:40] And so, if we look in verse 12, David asks a rhetorical question. Who can discern his errors, his own faults or sins?

[27:51] And then he prays that God would make him innocent from hidden faults. He prays a prayer of both repentance and a prayer of atonement. If we read verse 12, he says, who can discern his errors, declare me innocent from hidden faults.

[28:07] So, after reflecting on God revealed in nature and in his law and at looking at his perfect holiness, he sees that the holiness of God and the law of the Lord reveal the sinfulness of his own flesh.

[28:24] And if we look at Moses' writing in Psalm 90, verse 8, he says, God has set our iniquities before himself, our secret sins in the light of his presence.

[28:37] Or as Paul says in Romans, for the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, there is no transgression in Romans 4.15. So, God is able to see our hidden sins, to bring them to light, to reveal them to us.

[28:54] without the law, those sins are not evident. If we don't know the standard, how can we know when we are failing that standard?

[29:05] So, the law is meant to reveal the perfect standard of God and also to reveal when we err, right? He continues to pray in verse 13 that God would also keep or protect him from presumptuous sins.

[29:20] When I first read this word presumptuous, I kind of had an idea of what it meant, but what is a presumptuous sin? And so, a presumptuous is a brazen sin or in some translations a sin committed with a high hand, meaning a sin that we knowingly commit.

[29:40] And so, David is praying that the Lord would protect him from these sins. And we too are commanded to pray this as with the Lord's prayer, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil because the Lord is able and he's willing to protect us from sin.

[30:01] If we look at verse 13, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

[30:14] So, David is moved to pray that God would keep him from these sins. And as Spurgeon points out in his wisdom, secret sin or these hidden sins, they're a stepping stone to presumptuous sin.

[30:28] So, if we live in these hidden sins, they will grow to become presumptuous sins. And so, that is what David is praying for here, that first, God would cleanse him of these hidden sins so that they would not grow fester and become a heart that would commit presumptuous or brazen sins before God.

[30:48] And David, he had a real fear of these presumptuous sins because he knew Numbers 15, which says in the King James Version, because it uses the word presumptuous, but the soul that doth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

[31:14] And so, for those that were under the law before Christ, there was no atonement for this presumptuous sin, but rather, they were separated from God's people and from God.

[31:25] So David, he feared these sins and he had a reverence to ask God that he himself would protect him from these sins. David also asked, keep steady my steps according to your promise.

[31:41] Let no iniquity get dominion over me in Psalm 119. He prays the Lord would steady his steps according to his promise. David, he has a heart, he longs to be blameless and innocent of great transgression before the Lord.

[31:55] Right? We should have that same inclination to be blameless and innocent. So looking at these verses, this prayer, we realize God knows the intentions of the heart and is able through his spirit to keep us from sin.

[32:10] And we can see this as well in Romans 6, 12 through 14. where we see further God's ability to protect us. Paul says, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

[32:24] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Your members to God as instruments for righteousness, for sin will not have dominion over you since you are not under the law but under grace.

[32:42] And here, not under the law but under grace, it doesn't mean we've escaped the law. It no longer applies to us. Instead, it means we're no longer under the condemnation of the law but we're under the grace of Christ.

[32:59] Right? The law is not imperfect. It's not untrue. It's not unrighteous. It's still the perfect law. It has just been fulfilled. Christ said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

[33:13] I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota, not one dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

[33:30] But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

[33:42] And so we realize imperfect man could not fulfill the requirements of a perfect law. And therefore, Christ was necessary to fulfill the law. Not one iota has been removed.

[33:53] The law is perfect. Paul is saying those in Christ are no longer under judgment of the law, under judgment of grace because we are covered by the righteousness of Christ and free from the condemnation under the law.

[34:08] So, as we reflect on David's prayer here and think about the gift those of us who believe in Christ have, right? For those of us who have faith in Christ, all he claimed to be, or rather, for those of us that have faith, Christ is all he claimed to be.

[34:25] We have what David so longed for when he prayed, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Through justification by faith in Christ, we are blameless, as David prayed for, and innocent of great transgression.

[34:42] Through sanctification, we have promised that sin will no longer have dominion over you since you are not under the law but under grace. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification, as we see in Romans 6.19.

[35:09] Now let's think a little bit more about David and his faith, right? How was David justified if he didn't have Christ, right? We have Christ, so we can be justified and sanctified, but how was David?

[35:22] David, as with Abraham, his forefather, was also justified through faith, right? He was sanctified. His faith was counted to him as righteousness.

[35:33] If we look at Romans 4.16, that is why it depends on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, right?

[35:45] This included David, not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all. If we skip down to verse 20, no unbelief made him, Abraham, waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised, that it was by, that, sorry, that is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness.

[36:15] But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It was counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

[36:31] So even David, Abraham, and the forefathers before Christ, they too were justified by believing in God's promises written in his word.

[36:43] So to summarize in one of my favorite passages, God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit in Romans 8, verses 3 through 4.

[37:09] And so Christ fulfilled this requirement of the law that David so longed to see fulfilled in his own heart. So point four, the last thing David says here, let my words and meditation be acceptable to the Lord.

[37:27] Right? In this final verse, David concludes his prayer with a petition that God would make his words and the meditation of his heart acceptable to the Lord.

[37:38] If we read 14, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. So David prays that his words would be acceptable to the Lord.

[37:51] Right? God is known by the words he has spoken. He has spoken creation. He has spoken the scripture and that is how God is known to us. And we also should be known by the words that we speak.

[38:05] Right? Our words should bring glory to God. If we look at the scripture, the words of our mouth are mockery to God if our heart does not first meditate.

[38:17] And so that is what David is praying here. Our words are an overflow of what is in our heart. He's praying that the meditation of his heart would be on the words of God so that what overflows would bring glory to him.

[38:32] So David is reliant on the Lord, his rock and his redeemer to graciously make him righteous and to make the words of his mouth acceptable to him. As David remembers the promise made to Joshua, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.

[38:58] We must also remember the words written to us without faith. Sorry. It is impossible to please him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

[39:20] So in conclusion, sorry, the law of the Lord is able to reveal the truest nature of God and also the heart of man. Although the law is perfect, man is not and it is only through Christ that the law is made complete.

[39:36] Let's pray. Father, thank you for this time to reflect on the truth of your word in creation and in scripture. Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on your goodness and mercy that you poured out that we can know you.

[39:53] Lord, that we can have salvation, that we can have these promises and Lord, that we can trust in every promise that you have made. Lord, I pray that if there's anyone here who doesn't know the truth of your word and doesn't know the grace of your love.

[40:09] Lord, that you would open their eyes that they too could hear and believe and see that you are good. I pray this in your name. Amen.