The Cry Of Creation
Psalm 19
This sermon was given outside at Golden Lake Park and therefore was not recorded. The transcript for this sermon was as follows:
One thing to know about me .. and this makes sense to say since we’re currently in a park … but one of my favorite TV shows is Parks and Recreation
And one of my favorite characters on that show is Ron Swanson who is a staunch libertarian and he’s sort of the definition of a “man’s man”
For example, in one episode, he’s talking about how crying is only acceptable in two different places: Funerals and the Grand Canyon.
And as much as the TV show writers are just making a joke with that statement, it begs the question: Why would someone cry at the Grand Canyon?
Cause people do cry there, it just makes no sense.
It’s a bunch of rocks and then (of course) a big canyon formed out of water erosion.
It’s not a war memorial or anything… it’s not Gettysburg.
But a lot of people do cry at the Grand Canyon and at other beautiful places in the world or at art museums.
And I’m here this morning to ask you: Isn’t that kinda weird?
Like how do you explain that sort of crying? You’re not crying cause you’re sad — you’re looking at or experiencing something you like. But you’re not necessarily crying out of happiness either because (after all) it’s just an image coming through your eyes and into your brain.
Why do we get so emotional about beauty?
And my contention to you is that unless God is real, our emotional responses to these magnificent scenes truly make no sense.
How in the world is crying at beauty some sort of evolutionary, scientific thing?
I actually researched that question … and there was no scientific reason for why we cry at beautiful things…
The only thing I found was: “A study reviewed reports from more than 13,000 people and found… People who live in Western societies or in societies that focus on the individual were more likely to cry tears [about] beauty.”
So are we crying at the Grand Canyon cause we’re individualistic? I don’t think so.
No, we cry at the beautiful and grand and the majestic because we were made as human beings to behold beauty.
And in those moments of overwhelming beauty that you find in creation, you are experiencing what God created you for.
One of the great questions, assuming you believe in God, is to ask: Why did God create us?
And it couldn’t be that the eternal God created us cause He needed us — He was doing just fine in eternity past without us.
No, God created us in love so that he might share and we might see and behold His beauty and glory.
God says in Isaiah, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory” (Isa. 43:6-7).
The Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, describes the good news of God as, “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God… 6 For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’
(There’s a callback there to creation…)
“has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6).
You were created by God to see His beauty and glory.
And so when you go to the Grand Canyon and weep you are getting a taste of what you were made for.
You were made to behold God in His glory.
So I want to look at three things in this Psalm 19 today as we dwell here amidst God’s creation:
1. The Glory of Divine Creation
2. The Glory of Divine Revelation
3. The Glory of Undivine-Human Beings
But again, my goal this morning is to get you to see that you were made to behold God’s glory.
Verse 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
So, clear as crystal from the jump, God created the heavens/the sky to declare His glory, His handiwork.
That sky is available for you to look at everyday that you might see the glory of God.
Now, this isn’t pantheism, this Psalm is not arguing the Sky is God, but rather that the sky tells us something about God.
That sounds sort of confusing, but here’s what I mean:
ILLThink about how you interact with artistic work in general — the painting, the drawing, the song, the sculpture — it tells you something about the artist.
There’s a difference between a guitarist who plays electric and one who plays acoustic
There’s a difference between Picasso’s Blue period and Picasso’s Rose Period
It’s different songs, different characteristics – it tells us something of the person who made it.
And this is why if a child makes something weird or violent during art class, the school will notify the parent or guardian or even the police.
Because art is not just art — art tells us something about the person who made it.
And there’s something to be said about the fact that God made the sky (mainly) blue rather than white or yellow or orange.
There’s something to be said that most of the vegetation we find on earth is the color green — it tells us something about the one who made it.
There’s something to be learned about gentle breezes, and warm sands, white versus dark clouds, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, snow flakes … it all tells us something about God.
As verse 2 puts it: 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
So there is no audible speech: “God is good, God is relaxing, or God is wrathful…” but there is never ending communication in the world from creation around us about God.
As one commentator poetically put it: “It is… mysterious and marvelous. The visible becomes vocal. Seeing is experienced as hearing. The imagination is in the midst of an unending concert sung by the universe to the glory of God.” James Luther Mays
And the question for you, Christian or not, is do you hear the music?
You’re not crying at the Grand Canyon because of rocks or the depth of the valley, you’re crying because of God.
And this isn’t me saying to ignore scientific realities…
But when thunder (caused by rapidly heated air from lightning) happens, do you understand that thunder is telling us something about the God who made the lightning?
And this is critical for us to understand because God tells us there is enough information in the world around to know we ought to believe in Him and there is enough information about God in creation to condemn us for not doing so.
We see this in Romans 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
What truth?
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Prominent Atheist Richard Dawkins has said his game plan for when he comes face-to-face with God is to ask: Why did you take great pains to conceal yourself from us?
And God’s gonna say: “Rick, take a look around… ”
There is enough here in Golden Lake Park to prove to us God’s reality … and to condemn us for not believing in Him.
You have this whole, beautiful world around you, silently shouting to you about God’s reality and yet we say, “I don’t care.”
Or, “I can explain it away” … Or “I like what God made rather than God…”
So we readily reject God.
And yet the sun … that big ball of fire in the sky that’s 10000 degrees and is 100 times the size of the Earth, that Sun readily answers to God.
[God] has set a tent [a dwelling] for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 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 the created sun gleefully obeys God, but we tiny humans say no.
And in the same way none of us are hidden from the heat of the sun … no one is hidden from ongoing testimony of creation
And therefore we are without excuse for not believing…
And all these NON-VERBAL words of creation make the Psalmist think about the VERBAL words of divine revelation (or special revelation)
God, in his goodness, does not leave us in the dark about specific things, He also gives us divine revelation, His revealed word.
Now, we could do a whole sermon series or Sunday school class about how the Bible came to be, why we should trust it and can trust it, oral tradition, inspiration, etc. etc. … (example here)
…but since I’d really like to see Ruthie get baptized today, let’s just presuppose the Bible is God’s inspired, truthful revelation about who He is and how He has dealt with His people in the past.
But, if you want one apologetic (or proof) about the truthfulness of the Bible, Psalm 19 brings up this idea of the Bible’s self-authentication.
Admittedly, I don’t love this argument for the truthfulness of the Bible — the idea that the Bible authenticates itself as you’re reading it … that sounds subjective and is liable to the logical fallacy of circular reasoning. But I do think that’s part of the Glory of Divine Revelation.
But what do I mean by self-authenticating?
Well, as the Psalmist puts it: 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
As in: As the Psalmist (or whoever is reading the Bible) is reading the Law of God, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, there is a reviving that is taking place in the soul of the Psalmist.
You might have been listening to me speak about the goodness of creation and been going, “There’s a lot of death in decay in creation, too,” and you’re absolutely right, which is where the word of God comes in as a means of soul revival.
Where instead of the lies of the World … the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
Instead of the sorrows of life … 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
Instead of the darkness of the human experience … the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
And the Psalmist is telling us that all things are taking place as we read and ponder and meditate on the word of God.
But this is also a somewhat accusatory section of the Psalm:
Think about it like this: Psalm 19 is saying that apart from the word of God: We are simple, dumb individuals.
Apart from the word of God: Our hearts are sorrowful and our eyes see nothing but darkness.
Moreover, looking at verse 9, everything else is impure, transient, fraudulent, and unrighteous.
So compared with what we find in the world: the words of God are 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
And so amidst this world of impurity, hypocrisy, darkness, sorrow, and death, The Bible offers itself as a respite and an oasis.
BUT, someone might say, there’s plenty of darkness, pain, suffering, and hypocrisy in the Bible!
… And I’d agree with you (to a certain extent depending on what you mean), which is why, and maybe this will sound controversial, but this is why it’s important to realize, like creation, the Bible is not meant to be an end in and of itself.
Jesus explains this to the Pharisees: 39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life…” (John 5:39-40)
Jesus says: You think it’s your meticulous, detailed study of the Torah that makes you righteous and gives you life in this fallen world…
But you’ve missed the point … Jesus says, “It is [the Scriptures] that bear witness about ME, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
So, similarly to creation and the natural world, the Bible is POINTING to something, to someone.
It’s the not necessarily the Bible itself where we find revival of the soul, enlightening of the eyes and rejoicing of the heart.
It’s in the Bible, the word of God, made FLESH… It’s in Christ Himself. It is Christ who revives the soul, Christ who enlightens the eyes, Christ who makes us wise — us simple folks who don’t know our left hand from our right.
And again, don’t hear this as me somehow denigrating the Bible, I’m just saying being able to pass a Bible quiz is not the point and theology will leave your soul just as parched if you do not get to the end goal of theology: Jesus Christ Himself.
And here’s an example of this happening: Abbie’s grandmother died last week and Abbie’s family went down to Nebraska for the funeral.
And a poem was shared amongst the family group chat called: “For the Days I stop wanting a body,” the poet’s name is Andrea Gibson.
And, I don’t know Andrea, I don’t think she’s a Christian, but on its face, it’s a rather beautiful poem about our soul’s connection with our body and how the soul will miss even the pains that our body experiences.
But, of course, as a pastor, this section stuck out to me:
“The soul misses how the mind told the body… ‘You have fallen from grace.; And the body said, “Erase every scripture that doesn’t have a pulse. There isn’t a single page in the Bible that can wince, That can clumsy, That can freckle, That can hunger.”
Again, I don’t where Andrea’s at spiritually, but if I could chat with her or any one of you, I’d say:
“Actually the Bible did hunger, the Bible did freckle, the Bible did clumsy and wince and we call His name Jesus — the word of God made flesh who dwelt among us.”
And it’s His glory we pursue in divine revelation.
And the moment you try to separate — practicing Christian or hardened atheist — the moment you separate Jesus from the Bible — you lose the glory of divine revelation and the word revealed to us.
Lastly, point three: What is the Glory of Undivine Human Beings?
Because both creation, Paul says, and the word of God, Jesus says, demand a response from us — Paul says creation should lead to praise God, Jesus says the word of God should lead to love for the Son.
And so the application for us is clear: Has it?
When you go outside, do you recognize creation proclaiming the glory of God?
When you read or hear the word of God, is it more precious than gold and sweeter to you than honey?
And I think, if we’re honest — Christian or not — the answer to both is often no.
We often allow our hearts to worship creation. And oh how often do we wanna boast about our Bible reading time and Bible reading plan and how much theology we know.
Which is why the glory of undivine human beings, the most glorious thing we can do is to repent.
Which is how the Psalm ends: 11 Moreover, by [Your word] is your servant warned; in keeping [Your word] there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 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.
I love the transition from verse 11 to 12, which is why I read those together.
IN KEEPING GOD’S WORD IS GREAT REWARD … YET I wouldn’t even be able to tell you how often I don’t keep it… Who can discern his or her errors?
Or as it’s put in Psalm 130: 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand [before you]?
And so David, in his failure, does the only thing we fallen humans can do, which is repent and turn back to God.
And so David prays, “Lord, declare me innocent … forgive me for all the ways I fail that I can’t even see … and keep me from the presumptuous sins I run to like a complete idiot. I’m so weak, don’t let them over take me.”
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.
And if there is a word to end this sermon on: It’s that word “redeemer.”
Not a single person here, Christian or not, can claim we have rightly understood and responded to this created world around us nor responded rightly to the word of God given to us.
But God is a God of redemption … we see this in every rainbow that comes after a wicked thunderstorm … and we see this in God’s word’s to Moses: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
And we see this most fully and completely and truly in Christ — Divine Revelation made flesh who died on a tree HE HIMSELF CREATED — that he might redeem a people for himself: A people who see the beauty of God in the created world and in the gospel.
And there is nothing more joy inducing, tear-inducing than being overcome with beauty.
And the proper response, Psalm 19 verse 14 and the New Testament tell us, is with our mouths and our hearts: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” … 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)
So, if you’re here this morning, and you want a life to the full with Jesus, I invite you to do just that.
And we’re outside here this morning, because one of our own — Ruthie — has done just that and the Bible tells us those who believe ought to be baptized as a public declaration and symbol of our identification with Jesus in his life and in his death.
Plunged into the water of death and risen to new life.
But before we get to that wonderful time, let’s turn our attention to the communion table.