According to C. S. Lewis, Psalm 19 is the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world." This psalm is perhaps the most concise summary of the self-revelation of God in scripture, namely that God has revealed himself in his creation as well as in the scriptures.

In both cases God reveals himself through his word. How did God create the heavens and the earth? Through his Word. "And God said..." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God... Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

And of course, we recognize the scriptures as being uniquely the Word of God. So whether we are talking about the creation or the scriptures, in either case God is speaking and revealing himself to us.

We can learn a lot about God from his creation. The creation is the result of God speaking, and in this speaking God reveals something about himself. Sometimes we call this God’s general revelation.

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In a previous psalm we have seen evidence of David’s fascination with the heavens. As a shepherd boy, David no doubt spent a lot of time at night looking up into the heavens and marveling at the vast expanse there. In this text David affirms that the heavens which were created by the Almighty Word of God are in themselves a message and a declaration from God, a daily speech from God. As Paul put it, "He has not left himself without testimony." (Acts 14:17)

The witness to God in the heavens has a threefold quality about it. First, it is continuous: "Day after day ... night after night..." Second, it is abundant: "...they pour forth speech..." And third, it is universal: "There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world."

What do these heavens say to us about God? That God is, that he has a magnetic glory about him that rivets one’s attention which glory is reflected in the heavens, that he has a knowledge of which our greatest scientists have only begun to understand.

Dr. Arno Penzias is credited with discovering in 1964 the first major evidence of the Big Bang. This is what he said about the significance of his discovery: "The best data we have are exactly what I would have predicted, had I had nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole... The creation of the universe is supported by all the observable data astronomy has produced so far." (as quoted in Breakpoint with Charles Colson, Commentary #010830 - 8/30/01)

Sir Fred Hoyle, a world recognized astro-physicist, even as an atheist recognized an amazing complexity and precision in the universe. In his words, "A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are not blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question." (ibid)

"And science historian Frederic Burnham observed that scientists consider the idea God created the universe, ‘a more respectable hypothesis today than at any time in the last hundred years.’ Dr. Geoffrey Burbridge, of the University of California at San Diego, complains that many astronomers are rushing off to join what he calls the ‘First Church of Christ of the Big Bang.’That’s the cynic’s way of acknowledging that many astronomers are being forced by their data, to recognized the existence of a Creator-God." (ibid)

Truly, the heavens do declare the glory of God and the skies show his handiwork - so universally and so clearly that Paul explains in Romans 1 that no person can claim any excuse for his sin or disbelief "since what may be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

But there is a second revelation, a second message from God, a second Word from God, a higher and more direct and complete revelation from God, sometimes called the special revelation of God. This revelation consists of the scriptures which help complete for us the picture of God. There are many things we can know from God just by virtue of the creation - like his existence, eternal nature, power, wisdom, knowledge... This is a great revelation. But there are many others things we can know (about God) only through the scriptures - like maybe the perfection of God’s justice, the fullness of his love and mercy, his providential workings in history, his plan of salvation from sin etc. David speaks about this second revelation from God in verses

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In the law (scriptures) we have a perfect word, statutes we can trust to make us wise even if we are simple, precepts that are right and which give joy to the heart, commands that are radiant giving light to the eyes, the pure fear of the Lord which endures forever, ordinances from God on which we can depend to be altogether righteous and more precious than gold and more sweet than honey, which ordinances protect us from destruction and ruin and in which there is great reward in keeping!

This law, these scriptures are what reveals to us the holy character of God and all sinful behaviors that are at variance with that character and which will destroy both body and soul. This was the purpose of the giving of the law, to show and define for us what is good and evil and to reveal the awful consequences of sin (Rom. 7:7; 3:19-21). If God had not spoken by giving us the scriptures, then we would not know what sin is or what righteousness is. There would be absolutely no basis for morals in the universe. But in the scriptures, he has spoken and told us what his character is which character is the basis for the law of the universe. God’s character becomes our moral law, our moral standard. Otherwise, there really is no absolute moral law. And whatever is opposite that character is sin.

So David concludes with a prayer that God will keep and deliver him from the sin revealed to him in the law, especially willful sin.

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Note: The scriptures also speak to us about God’s greatest revelation of himself that came through Jesus who said, "The scriptures ... testify about me." Jesus himself is the great revealer of God. He himself was the Word of God who created all things in the beginning and which "Word became flesh and dwelled among us..." (John 1:14) He was involved in the original revelation. He was also bound up in the revelation of the scriptures since he says, "The scriptures testify about me..." And when he as the Word became flesh, he revealed God to us in the most complete fashion. "No one has ever seen God, but God the Only Begotten, who is at the Father’s side, he has revealed him." (John 1:18)

God is a God who is there, and He is not silent. We are not alone in this universe. That extraterrestrial life some scientists keep frantically searching for is out there - his name is God. And he is not silent. Day after day he speaks through his creation, through the scriptures and through his only begotten Son Jesus. The God who made us language communicators has communicated to us. This is exactly what we would have expected him to do, and this is exactly what he has done. Today God is speaking. Let’s be sure we are listening. It would be the greatest mistake in the world to fail to listen.