This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Misc. OT Sermons” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, November 27, 1994.

We begin our reading this morning with Psalm 19. I give you attention now to the reading of God’s holy words. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strongman to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

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.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me, then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” I’m turning over to Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 10. This is Romans chapter 10, and we are beginning at verse 13. Romans 10, verse 13, “‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent, as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things?’ that they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard?

Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the Dear God, if we ask ourselves the question, why have we come here this morning? We pray to you that we might be able to give a proper response. May that response, O God, be in light of your command that we have in fact been commanded to gather for the purpose of worshiping you. But also, Lord, in that worship, it is well that we hear your word and receive instruction in that word. Therefore, O God, we acknowledge that we have come in order to hear you. We pray, our Father, that we might do that today, that we might be benefited by what your word has to say to us, and that we might live as those who belong to you and are sealed with the Holy Spirit. This we ask through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

It was my hope and my expectation that we would be continuing our messages this morning on 1 Timothy 2, particularly looking at verses 9-15. As I thought about whether to continue that series of messages at the beginning of the week, I concluded that yes, we would forge ahead, even though this was a holiday weekend and there would be a lot of people absent from Church this morning who would, in fact, want to hear those messages. But I am unable to continue that series this morning for a number of reasons, not the least of which is as I gave my attention to the text I found that my message, as it was taking shape, resisted every effort at proper organization. I was in deep frustration as the week came to a conclusion, and I did remember Pastor Al Martin and something that he did one morning, one Sunday morning when he entered the pulpit. told his congregation that he didn’t have anything to give them that morning, therefore they would have a hymn sung. Well, we’re not going to have a hymn sung.

I do have a message for you, and it pertains to an Old Testament hymn, specifically Psalm 19, a very familiar psalm indeed. And it is my hope that as we look at this psalm, we will be carried into its depth and we will behold its beauty once more, and that particularly in light of the Thanksgiving season that we have been enjoying.

There is a mindset abroad at times like these in which it seems that the public is generally given over to a rather nondescript theism, a religious frame of reference, but a frame of reference religiously that isn’t too definite. There are many public statements at seasons like this, from all sorts of public figures, from politicians and others. But maybe you are like me, when you hear these statements, you are somewhat taken aback, because they lack specific biblical content. They seem to have a piety about them, a religious phraseology, but they lack specific biblical content. It is in the interest of that specific biblical content that we take one more look at this familiar psalm, Psalm 19. my hope that we might be surprised by what we find there, discovering even new things.”

Now, this psalm is divided into three parts. Appropriate outline for three-point sermon. Of course, you know I don’t give three-point sermons. We won’t be getting one of those this morning. But at any rate, the psalm is divided into three parts, and the first part is verses 1 through 6, then 7 through 11, and finally the last part of the psalm, 12 through 14.

Each of these parts remarkable in themselves and memorable, serving up quotable quotes for us. as we move through the psalm. My interest this morning is with respect to the inner logic of the psalm, an inner logic that may not be all that evident to us, even as familiar as we are with this glorious psalm. Now, you might be surprised by that statement. may be thinking that at least this psalm, Psalm 19, this familiar psalm, is transparent to us. What problem could there be with regard to the logic and the development of this psalm? It seems plain enough. It seems self-evident. So why should we be taking up time delving into that matter this morning? The logic of it is simply that heavens and the earth are God’s workmanship, and by their very existence they declare the fact that they are made by him.

That’s the ordinary reading of the psalm. Days and nights in their common and regular cycle testify to their Creator. as does the sun, specifically mentioned in this psalm, in its journeys across the heavens. The description of the sun here is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in all of literature. Here, then, in verses 1-6, the opening section of the psalm, we are given, as theologians would have it, the perfect proof text for what we call a natural revelation, a revelation that rises from nature. Nature itself, the created order, all that we observe, nature itself is declaring the worth and glory of its creator.

That’s simple enough. As with regard to the logic that seems to be on the surface of things, the psalm goes on very conveniently, verses 7-11, to speak about the law of the Lord. As grand a statement about natural revelation as appears in the Bible, is found in Psalm 19, 1-6. That is what we are told. But this is matched, you see, with an equally grand statement about God’s supernatural revelation in verses 7-11.

Therefore, we move from the creation as the revelation of God to the law as recorded in Scripture as that revelation from God. Together these verses are said then to present to us compactly and succinctly the range of God’s revelation of himself, the entire range of God’s revelation of himself. Here in a single passage In this psalm, it is said, we find the two-fold character of God’s revelation to us. First, the revelation mediated through the creation, and then secondly, the revelation mediated to us through the scriptures. God, therefore, we conclude, makes himself known in his creation and by his word.

What could What need we say further? The logic, the inherent logic of the psalm, is transparent and clear. It is open to us, and it provides tremendous ammunition for preachers and theologians, especially when they are giving exams to licentiates and candidates for the ministry. Well, to be sure, this approach to the psalm has much going for it, has much to commend it.

We would affirm, would we not, that there is this distinction between the natural and the supernatural when it comes to God’s revelation of himself, and we insist upon this twofold approach to God’s revelation of himself. While that is true, there is something of an unfortunate glitch that intrudes upon the traditional interpretation of Psalm 19. You see, there is something about the direction and tone that this interpretation takes. division not simply between natural and supernatural when it comes to revelation, when it comes to creation and scripture, but tends in the direction of a suggestion with respect to a division within God himself. Admittedly, that is a perversion and an abuse of the word of God. But I am suggesting to you this morning that there is something of a glitch in the ordinary and traditional interpretation of this psalm. Along the traditional line, there is then the possibility of the intrusion of an alien an alien element that has the power to suggest that there is a division within God himself, a partitioning within God himself.

I might suggest to you at this point the direction in which I am going. It is particularly this traditional interpretation of this psalm that has proved very useful to evidentialist apologetics. But the point, the point, this glitch tends in the direction of suggesting to us the vision within God himself. What could I possibly mean by that? How does this traditional interpretation, this usual exposition of the 19th Psalm, suggest to us, possibly, in this glitch quality, a division within God himself. You see, it is as if God could be parceled out piecemeal through a twofold process.

First, the creation tells us about certain aspects of God, his wisdom and power. Now, we know that the creation does in fact communicate the truth about our God and the truth concerning his wisdom and power. But the glitch quality of the traditional interpretation of this psalm is going to take this in a direction that is unfortunate and, in the end, unhelpful. First, creation tells us about certain aspects of God and concentrates upon certain attributes of God, focusing upon His wisdom and power. And then, Scripture tells us about the remaining parts.

You move through the psalm then, verses 1 through 6, the creation telling us about certain aspects of God’s being, certain attributes of God, his wisdom and power. Then you come to verse 7, and there scripture is introduced, and it tells us about the remaining parts, specifically about God’s righteousness and justice as revealed in his law.

But there is a tendency, you see, to allow that first stage, as it concerns creation, to allow that first stage of the process to function independently. so that the knowledge of God and his general attributes of wisdom and power turn into mere knowledge of a general deity in the conclusion of the matter, a God generically considered without a great deal of specifics to define him. Therefore, in our apologetical pursuits and in our evangelistic use of Psalm 19, we believe we are being faithful to this text when we first, on the basis of verses 1-6, try to convince the unbeliever that there is a God, a God. Look around you, there is a God. But then we move on to confront the unbeliever on the basis of verses 7 through 11, and even the latter verses, 12 through 14, with the specific God of the law, the specific God of scripture and of personal fellowship. You see, the process that is invoked, the use of the text that is made, first a general, rather nondescript deity. I might suggest to you that this God identified as a God is a convenient deity for civic policy and political religion.

You don’t want to get too definite when you enter into the public arena. How many preachers have you heard who, when they are called upon to officiate in a public function, suddenly become deists? No mention of Jesus Christ, no specific mention of redemption, no reference to regeneration. They invoke a general deity. a God, not the God.

So on this approach to Psalm 19, as it is used apologetically or in evangelistic interests First of all, on the basis of verses 1 through 6, we try to convince the unbeliever that there is a God before we move on to confront him on the basis of the latter verses with the specific God of the law, of the revelation of Scripture, and of personal fellowship.

First, the general, rather nondescript, deity, a God of creation, which all are to acknowledge, then the specific deity of Scripture, the true God, the God of the commandments, as he has revealed himself in his words. public religion with its feasts and national holidays, even as they absorb to themselves a festival like Thanksgiving, can wreak havoc upon Christian truth along these lines. We can actually gut religion of the triune God of Scripture. We can be so drawn by this whole matter to suspend our own beliefs and the specifics of our own doctrinal commitment in a spirit of generosity and supposed goodwill. We are tempted to reflect upon creation’s provisions and the general attributes of God associated with God in creation, that in our public celebrations we forget the specifics of our great God, the God of our salvation. I am not exaggerating when I say that, left unchecked Such an approach breeds a religious frame of mind wholly content with the generic God of general creational benevolence.

And I can tell you that absolutely no one is challenged by that God. In fact, that God makes no demands on anybody. Have you had enough of civil religion? I have. If we press it far enough, such a religious frame of mind eventually no longer needs the God of the Bible at all. in any specific or definitive fashion.

This is the great mistake that genuine Christians have made in the area of education. In the last century, ground was lost not only because of the monopolizing direction of public that because Christians were willing to bow before a general deity stripped of all biblical specifics, a deity increasingly standing independent from any specific biblical content, in time this general deity itself disappeared, interestingly, from the public education arena and enterprise. Now, I will be bold to suggest to you this morning that the answer in no way is the restoration of prayer to public schools, regardless of the rhetoric that we are hearing presently. Although such a measure could be judged a social advance, since No longer would the federal government be telling local schools that they could not pray. Still, the answer for Christians, for believers, is not some system where some general, nondescript deity is invoked. The answer is schools in which the full range of biblical revelation informs the life of the entire institution and its personnel, and that in a meaningful way. But even such institutions as Christian schools are of limited value if they fail to grasp, yet in the end, the proper intention of Psalm 19. Back to the text.

You see, this psalm does not intend to justify a parceling out of God as if he could be considered as creator independently of his special revelation of himself as lawgiver and judge. In fact, rightly understood, Psalm 19 has a much more integrated view of God’s revelation than is ordinarily thought.

For, you see, this psalm assumes that this God, spoken of in this psalm, is the God who performs mighty deeds. That is the assumption, and this assumption undergoes the entirety of the psalm from beginning to end. The God portrayed here is not a general God of wisdom and power, but the specific God who reveals himself in his mighty deeds, his mighty works. Well, a light might have gone on in your head, and you’re saying to me now, well, of course, in you is God’s mighty act in creation itself. But I challenge your response at that point, for it is not God’s mighty act of creation that undergirds Psalm 19, rather it is his mighty work of salvation and redemption.

This psalm is written and appropriated properly only from the ground floor of salvation. This contention is established by three considerations. First of all, I want you to call to mind the way in which the heavens and the earth are used in Old Testament literature.

If you want a review of that, I can give you a few texts. a number of them from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 4.26, Deuteronomy 30.19, Deuteronomy 31.28 and 32.1.

Those texts in Deuteronomy are Deuteronomy 4.26, 30.19, 31.28, But you will notice that this tandem use of the heavens and the earth appears elsewhere in the Old Testament, beyond Deuteronomy. I have in mind specifically two texts out of the Prophets, one in Isaiah 1-2, another in Micah 6-1-2. In the use of the heavens and the earth in the Old Testament, we will look at one text, and that is Isaiah 1 verse 2. That text reads, Listen, O heavens, hear, O earth, for the Lord speaks. sons I have reared and brought up, but they have reverted against me.” You see what Isaiah’s prophecy is doing with the tandem use of the heavens and the earth?

The heavens and the earth are called as witnesses against the people of God, the people who have been redeemed by him. It’s as if a courtroom scene has been convened, and the witnesses now that come On behalf of God, in his suit against his people, are the heavens and the earth. They’ve seen it all, haven’t they? They’ve witnessed it all. The earth sought, the heavens sought. So when God calls court together, when court is convened, he calls in his witnesses, and his witnesses are the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 19 is speaking about that testimony, that witness character of the heavens and the earth, specifically as that witness character is predicated upon God’s mighty acts. Having saved his people, redemption and salvation is the assumption, not the conclusion, it is the assumption.

Psalm 19, verse 1, has a parallel text in the Psalms themselves. I call your attention to Psalm 97, verse 6, where almost identical language is used to that which we find in Psalm 19 and its opening. Psalm 97 verse 6 says, the heavens declare his righteousness, that is, declare God’s righteousness, and all the people have seen his glory.

To what is the psalmist referring? Is he merely referring to an observation of the creation? Not at all. The psalmist is referring to the fact that the heavens are declaring the righteousness of God and his glory as that righteousness and glory have been revealed in his mighty works, specifically the mighty work of redeeming for himself a people.

Redemption is the assumption. The reference in Psalm 97 is to God’s great deed of salvation in delivering his people and bringing them to himself. Thus, the righteousness and the glory spoken of are those manifested in his great redemption which he has accomplished for his own. The glory of God spoken of at the opening of Psalm 19 is the glory that shines forth as a result of God’s mighty work of redemption. The heavens are declaring the glory of God in the accomplishment of his redemption for his people.

But finally, along these lines, and this is why I read for you this morning Romans 10, verse 18 specifically, and maybe you picked it up there, maybe you didn’t, since I was reading from the King James and it may have been a little obscure for you at that point, but did you note that in Romans 10.18, Paul quoted Psalm 19, verse 4. But Paul is speaking about the gospel going to the ends of the earth.

He’s talking about the gospel of salvation going to the ends of the earth. when he quotes Psalm 19.4 which says, Their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the end of the world.

It is not then their creation that is in view in Psalm 19.1-6, it is redemption. The foundation of the psalm is salvation, not creation. himself applying a text that is ordinarily thought simply to be referring to the creative work of God, to the gospel, to the gospel of salvation and God’s accomplishment of redemption for his people in that gospel.

Thus we see that the great redemptive act of God that undergirds and informs Psalm 19 is the saving work of our God for his people. When the heavens declare the glory of God, this means that the heavens are declaring the glory of the great redemptive act of God. And when the firmament shows forth his handiwork, this means that indeed we ourselves are his handiwork, evidencing in ourselves that we have been bought by him and redeemed for his purposes. the inner logic of the psalm. The consequence of this great saving work of God, through which the heavens and the earth bear witness, is our love toward God in keeping his commandments. The response from us to this great saving work of God, to which the heavens and the earth bear witness, is our love for God evidenced in our keeping of his commandments.

You know from redemptive act and event to ethical demand and responsibility. And that is the uniform pattern of the scriptures from beginning to end. Salvation first, then I can see. Redemption first, then I can act. Born again, then I can behave like a child of God. of the summit is that the heavens and the earth are bearing testimony to the fact that God has acted for your salvation. Now, what are you going to do?

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing 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.

And I might say that this great redemptive work of which the heavens and the earth are is the foundation for our prayer for strength and grace. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

There is the inner logic of Psalm 19. I have not departed from Calvin. Now, it may be that my specific exegesis of his psalm is not exactly matching up to his, but in the broad range of Calvinism, I am right on target. For Calvin says, it is with the spectacles of the Word and by root of the regeneration of the soul, that we behold the created works of our God, rightly and truly.

So then, friends, the Thanksgiving season is upon us. But I hope that you will train your souls never to be content with a thanksgiving to a general, generic deity, stripped of all of his biblical specifics. May your thanks be to the God who has revealed himself in his mighty deeds, a God to whom now you respond. with loving obedience. Help us, Lord, we ask you Or we might even sit comfortably in age-old interpretations of your Word. Interpretations that are venerated by many we love and respect. But move us, O God, if we are to be moved, that your Word would have its perfect work in our souls.

We then, not in any sense the servants of a general deity, a God without real form or substance, a God without any real description. Rather, Lord, may we be the servants of the true and living God who has revealed himself, yes, by his mighty deeds. who has called heaven and earth as witness to what he has done, and set us upon the path of loving obedience, even inviting us, then, into constant and abiding communion. All of this ultimately and fully in Jesus Christ, our Savior, apart from whom we have no life apart from whom we can see nothing correctly.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.