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The Lord My Rock and Mighty Deliverer (Psalm 18) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we're opening up a source
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  text that, well, many people tend to view as two separate
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  poems. That's right.
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  But our sources really synthesize it brilliantly into a
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  single cohesive statement about how God reveals himself to you.
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  We're going deep into Psalm 19. It's a passage that uses the
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  vastness of the cosmos on one hand and the precision of his
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  statutes on the other to give us a complete spiritual measure.
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  And that's really our central mission for this deep dive, to
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  see Psalm 19 as one continuous argument.
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  It starts by, you know, looking outward at God's glorious work
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  in the universe, the world without, right.
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  And then it just logically pivots inward.
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  It demands his corrective work of grace in the inner self, the
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  within David, the author. He's basically giving us a
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  blueprint for theological study. He's showing us how to read the
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  two sacred volumes he wrote, his creation and his explicit
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  doctrine. I really appreciate that framing
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  because it sets up the central well, the central conflict right
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  away. We're dealing with two volumes,
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  but written by the same divine hand.
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  The same hand exactly. You have the World Book, which
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  is nature, a universal public announcement, and then you have
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  the word book, Scripture. The specific articulated
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  doctrine of grace. So we really need to figure out
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  what kind of knowledge each of these volumes transmits and I
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  think crucially, why that second book, The Word is absolutely
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  vital for attaining conversion, holiness, and, you know, true
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  self knowledge. To get the full power of the
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  Psalm, you really have to picture David when he wrote it.
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  Our source material suggests he composed this delightful poem
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  early in his life. So when he was a shepherd.
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  Exactly. Spending long solitary hours
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  keeping his father's flocks under this vast, clear Judean
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  night sky. And that solitude, it led him to
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  devote himself to studying these two volumes.
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  Nature laid out right there above him and whatever scattered
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  scriptures he had access to at the time.
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  So he's modeling for us the wisest approach then, to read
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  both volumes as if they're two compartments of 1 great fabric.
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  That's a great way to put it. The author is the same for both,
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  and that means we should never be looking for discrepancies
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  between what God has made, you know, science, and what God has
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  said. Scripture.
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  They have to unite. They confirm the glory of the
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  one Creator. They do, and when we look at the
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  structure of nature's tome, this World Book, the source material
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  breaks it down into 3 great physical divisions, or what they
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  call leaves. OK, So what are the leaves?
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  You have heaven, earth and sea. But David, looking up from his
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  flock, he focuses instantly on the celestial realm.
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  He starts with the heaven as the first and most glorious leaf.
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  Why start there? Why the sky?
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  Because the heavens, they function as the keys to the
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  entire volume, the elements found there, the sun, the moon,
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  the stars, they provide the light that illuminates
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  everything else. Oh I see, if you take away that
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  light, the information on the earth and in the sea would be
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  dark and undiscerned. You literally can't read the
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  book of natural revelation without the clarity that comes
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  from the celestial bodies. So the stars are like the
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  introduction. You know, the introductory
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  chapter. That's a powerful visual.
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  It's not just that the sky is there, but that it's necessary
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  for interpreting everything else.
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  Now, what about the message itself?
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  The text says the firmament, this great expanse above us, is
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  full of the Lord's skillful, creating handwork.
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  That feels very specific. Not just work, but handwork.
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  It points to detailed skill. It's a deliberate display.
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  The Firmament is set up as a massive public theater,
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  continuously displaying God's wisdom and power and glory.
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  When you just consider the sheer scale of it, the balancing of
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  the orbs, the, you know, the regularity of the planet's
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  motions, the impossibility of all this being a coincidence.
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  The gravitational pull, everything.
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  Right. It offers an unanswerable
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  argument for an intelligent, conscious creator.
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  It's the creator Express visually.
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  The sources refer to this continued existence, this
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  display of the heavens, as God hanging out his discussion.
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  An escutcheon, yeah. And for those who might not
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  know, an discussion is like a coat of arms or a royal banner.
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  It's assigned and it shows the king is at home.
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  I love that phrase. It's this constant visible sign
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  of the King of the Universe flying his starry flag,
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  revealing his eternal power and Godhead.
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  And what's so compelling about this display is its nature.
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  It's both constant and universal, right?
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  The psalmist writes. Day unto day uttereth speech,
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  and night unto night showeth knowledge.
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  The days and nights they act like an ever flowing fountain of
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  Jehovah's praise. It's a continuous, uninterrupted
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  flow of data about the divine. That's right.
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  And yet this declaration is well, it's fundamentally
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  nonverbal. Completely.
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  It's pictorial. The heavens are described as
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  dumb instructors. They speak not with articulated
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  sound or human language, the text says.
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  There are no speech nor language where their voice is not heard
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  but by their significant actions.
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  By the sheer operation of their existence.
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  It's a message for the eye and the mind, not the ear.
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  And this non verbal universal message?
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  It has a staggering implication. It means that the lowest
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  heathen, as the sources put it, who reads this commonplace book
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  for all men, is left without excuse.
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  No excuse at all. Regarding God's existence and
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  His Majesty, they possess enough natural knowledge to see the
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  invisible things of God in His works.
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  They know that God is and that He is mighty and wise.
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  But we should probably pause there because the sources are
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  also clear that this natural light, well, it is universal,
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  it's imperfect. It is.
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  It stops short. It stops at power in existence.
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  It doesn't tell us how to be saved.
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  For the spiritually blind, that illumination is just not enough.
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  They still require God the Holy Ghost to illuminate their minds
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  and hearts to accept even this basic truth.
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  It's like a primer, but it's not the path to salvation.
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  Which leads us perfectly to the solar analogy to redemption.
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  David moves from the general declaration to the most specific
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  and glorious object in the sky, the sun.
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  He describes the Sun as a glorious champion running a
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  race, dwelling in a Tabernacle, and coming forth as a
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  bridegroom. This is where natural revelation
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  starts to anticipate specific revelation.
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  That imagery is just incredibly rich.
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  Why a bridegroom and a champion? Well, the sources link this
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  imagery directly to the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ.
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  The Sun travels across the sky, denying its light to no one in
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  its range. And Christ the Word, who
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  tabernacled among men, offers a well, a far clearer display of
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  the Godhead than the entire cosmos could ever give us.
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  Let's breakdown that parallel for a minute.
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  Yeah, the sun rises like a bridegroom, sumptuously dressed
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  in light that symbolizes joy, the start of a new day or a new
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  covenant. And it comes forth rejoicing
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  like a champion ready for a great race.
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  OK, absolutely. Think of Christ's resurrection.
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  He's purchased his bride, the Church, through the sacrifice of
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  the cross. He rises from the grave as the
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  joyful, glorious Bridegroom. I see He ascends to his
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  Tabernacle in heaven. And then he begins this massive,
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  unstoppable circuit of mercy. This circuit blesses the
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  remotest corners of the earth with salvation and the text.
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  Says that nothing is hid from the heat thereof.
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  Exactly. Just as the physical sun's heat
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  and influence permeate the whole globe, Christ's comforting
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  warmth and his benediction, they reach all seeking souls.
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  It doesn't matter how degraded or depraved their condition is.
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  So the glory of the Redeemer fills heaven and earth,
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  providing the ultimate spiritual light and strength.
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  The natural sun's borrowed glory is pointing to the true Father
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  of lights. That transition is the turning
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  point of the entire Psalm. It has to be natural creation
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  reveals a creator of infinite power.
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  But I mean, power alone can be terrifying.
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  It can be. The analogy of the Sun of
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  Righteousness is the necessary pivot that assures us that this
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  infinite power is paired with infinite grace.
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  So we see the high ceiling of natural revelation.
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  It shows us that God is and that he's strong.
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  But where do we find the clarity we need for a relationship?
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  That's the question. And that's when we turn the
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  page. We go from the world book to the
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  word book. This is where David moves from a
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  general declaration to the superior specific revelation
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  that show with his grace. This shift is from looking at
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  these sort of vague, universal pointers to specific articulated
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  doctrine. The Word book provides the
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  crystal clarity that the pictorial language of nature
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  just can't give us. It lacks it.
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  It's defined not as one book, but as the doctrine of God
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  encompassing the whole run and rule of sacred writ.
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  It is the complete body of divine instruction for humanity.
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  Our source material elevates this doctrine to the status of a
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  most absolute Canon of all doctrine.
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  High bar. It's the final authority for
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  faith, for conduct. It doesn't matter what human
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  speculation or tradition suggests, the word stands as the
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  undeniable ultimate measure. And we have to see the
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  deliberate contrast in its audience.
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  The world book, that's for all humanity.
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  It's a global library. Open to everyone.
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  But the word book is the statute book for his domestic auditory,
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  the Church or Israel. It is proper only for guns,
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  covenant people. It's the specific, specialized,
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  articulated message for those brought into his house.
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  That makes perfect sense. And it makes sense that this
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  explicit revelation offers the highest display.
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  The heavens declare glory, but the Word contains the clearest
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  possible display of divine love and gives us an open vision of
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  redeeming grace. I mean, the cosmos gives us the
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  scope of God's ability, but the Word gives us the scope of His
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  mercy. It presents a complete scheme of
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  gracious salvation with no missing pieces and no
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  unnecessary filler. And to help us appreciate just
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  how comprehensive this revelation is, David uses a
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  remarkable literary device. He uses multiple synonymous
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  titles for this instruction. Yes, he does.
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  Which confirms that he sees the entire word as a unified,
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  multifaceted Canon. We see six specific titles in
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  the text, and they highlight this completeness.
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  The law of the Lord. The testimony of the Lord.
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  The statutes of the Lord. The commandments of the Lord.
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  The judgments of the Lord and the fear of the Lord.
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  All different facets of the same thing.
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  Exactly. The fact that David uses 6
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  different names underscores that the doctrine is 1.
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  But its application is multifaceted, whether he calls
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  it law, which is God's will or testimony, God's truth or
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  judgments, God's equity. He means the same thing.
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  He means the complete doctrine of God, the full rule of sacred
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  writ. And this sets the stage
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  perfectly for the next section, which details exactly what this
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  multifaceted instruction does to the human heart.
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  This is where we shift from description to, well, to
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  siritual mechanics. David doesn't just offer
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  generalized praise, he creates A6 point framework.
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  A spiritual checklist, almost. A checklist is a good way to
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  think about it. It maps 6 distinct divine
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  effects to six characteristics of the word.
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  This is the X apply, and it shows exactly how this revealed
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  doctrine operates on the soul. It's like a powerful set of
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  specialized spiritual tools. So let's.
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  Look at the first operation. Which is the most vital one for
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  salvation? Converting the soul.
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  So its quality is that the law of the Lord is perfect.
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  And because it's perfect, it lacks nothing and requires
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  nothing from outside itself. Yeah.
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  So the effect is that this perfection restores the entire
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  person to holiness and completely turns the soul toward
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  God. It's the primary means of
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  conversion. The primary means the soul is
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  moved from being cast out by sin and chaos to being restored to
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  order and fellowship. It doesn't just address the
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  symptoms, it rebuilds the entire structure.
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  And that restoration is absolute.
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  I mean, if something is perfect, it is utterly sufficient to get
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  the job done. It has to be.
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  The second operation focuses on stability, making wise the
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  simple. Here the quality is that the
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  testimony of the Lord is sure it's infallible, utterly press
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  worthy. And the effect is stability and
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  guidance. It instructs humble and
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  teachable minds unto salvation, and it provides establishment
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  against all uncertainty. I mean, think of the modern
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  world. We're flooded with conflicting
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  philosophies and moral relativism.
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  We're constantly in a state of confusion, standing on the
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  quicksands of human speculation. The sure testimony of the Word
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  allows you to rush to solid ground the Terra Firma of divine
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  revelation. It gives the simple, honest
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  person a clearer road map than all the philosophers combined.
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  Moving to the third one, rejoicing the heart.
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  The quality here is that the statutes of the Lord are right.
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  They're founded completely in righteousness.
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  So if the word is right and righteous, and the heart is made
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  right by the truth, then the effect is that it imparts this
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  deep satisfaction and joy to that right heart.
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  A cordial of comfort, as one source puts it.
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  That's a great phrase. Earthly happiness is so fleeting
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  it just stays on the surface of the lip.
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  But these heavenly delights, they flew from the righteousness
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  of God's rule, and they satisfy the inner nature itself.
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  It's a joy that external circumstances can't touch.
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  Exactly. The 4th operation addresses our
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  spiritual vision, enlightening the eyes.
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  And it's quality is that the commandment of the Lord is pure.
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  And the effect of this purity is that it purges away earthly
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  grossness. Imagine a soul struggling with a
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  kind of spiritual cataract. The mind is clouded by the lusts
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  and prejudices of the world. The commandment in its purity
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  acts as a skillful oculist, clearing that spiritual and
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  intellectual discernment. So the believer's vision is
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  corrected. It's corrected, allowing them to
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  accurately discern the truth of all things separating eternal
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  value from temporary distraction.
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  The 5th operation speaks to the state and the permanence of the
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  transformed inner man. Sanctifying the heart or
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  cleansing? And here David uses a slightly
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  different title for the instruction.
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  The fear of the Lord and its quality is that it is clean and
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  uniquely enduring forever. This inward piety, this fear of
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  the Lord, it acts to actively cleanse out the love of sin.
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  It shows that the grace written in the heart, the internal
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  effect of the word, is an incorruptible principle.
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  So it lasts. It lasts, unlike the ever
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  changing governments or philosophies or human
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  constitutions that eventually decay.
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  The sanctity implanted by the word is perpetual.
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  David is saying if the principle of godliness is pure, it will
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  resist corruption and last forever.
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  And finally, the 6th operation confirms the validity of God's
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  rule, establishing truth and justice.
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  The quality here is that the judgments of the Lord are true
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  and righteous altogether. The effect is that it's judicial
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  decisions. Whether you see them in a
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  specific laws given or in God's broader Providence, they are
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  manifestly just and beyond reproach.
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  They commend themselves to every truthful and rational mind.
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  The point is the comprehensive authority.
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  Right, jointly and severally, every single word of the Lord is
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  true. And the cumulative power of
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  these six operations leads to this immediate realization of
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  the words incalculable value and reward.
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  David doesn't just stop at calling it valuable, he uses
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  increasing superlatives. Yes, he does.
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  Scripture truth is more to be desired than much fine gold.
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  He moves from the concept of gold to fine gold to much fine
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  gold. He's establishing it as a
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  spiritual treasure beyond any earthly currency.
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  And it's not only profitable but intensely pleasurable, sweeter
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  also than honey in the honeycomb.
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  This duality appeals to everyone, the wise person
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  seeking profit and the young person seeking delight.
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  As God's servant, the psalmist recognizes that by these
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  testimonies he is continuously warned of duty, of danger, and
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  of the remedy for sin. The Word acts like divine storm
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  signals on the sea of life. Alerting the experienced
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  navigators to every. Peril and every safe harbor,
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  Yes. And this obedience promises
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  great reward in keeping the law. This includes present joys like
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  spiritual peace and assurance, and also a future glorious
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  recompense. The source material hints that
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  the ultimate reward comes at the heel, the very end of the work,
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  when the light affliction of this present moment is not
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  worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed.
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  OK, so we've discussed the perfect comprehensive nature of
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  the Word, and now comes the natural and I would say
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  necessary pivot, the inward turn, the inward turn, the
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  movement from contemplating the external perfection of the
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  cosmos to the absolute perfection of the Word.
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  It brings the psalmist to a profound and often painful self
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  realization. He measures his own failing soul
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  against that Flawless. Stance he has to.
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  And the light cast by the pure word is so intense that it
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  functions like an MRI scan of the soul.
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  It leads to that humbling cry. Who can understand his errors?
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  And that's not a rhetorical question.
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  No, it's an exclamation of awe and, frankly, horror at the vast
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  number and depth of personal sins.
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  True self knowledge is just impossible without this divine
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  illumination. The sheer purity of the word
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  lays open the soul's inner life, discovering not just the gross
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  transgressions. The obvious public failures.
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  The obvious ones, yes, but the subtle, otherwise unobserved and
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  secret atoms of senses flying within the house.
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  What a phrase, isn't it? These are the hidden workings of
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  corruption in the deepest, most private chambers of the soul.
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  They're the blind spots that even the keenest self scrutiny
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  will always miss. It's the utter impossibility of
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  listing them, of counting them, that is so terrifying.
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  I mean, if you can't understand the full scope of your errors,
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  how could you possibly confess every sin?
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  You can't. Our visible transgressions are
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  just small samples compared to the, I don't know, the granary
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  full of corruption hidden in the heart.
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  The word reveals sins that are entirely hidden from oneself.
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  The unwitting mistakes, the unconscious attitudes.
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  The inconsiderate faults that escape our notice but are
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  nonetheless offenses against a holy God.
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  And this acute awareness of personal failure it informs
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  David's necessary prayer for corrective grace against two
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  distinct categories of sin. He knows he needs help against
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  what he doesn't see and against what he fights and loses against
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  daily. The first petition targets that
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  insidious hidden corruption. Cleanse thou me from secret
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  faults. These are sins of ignorance born
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  from the hidden corruption working within the mind and
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  heart that we are not even aware.
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  Of and these require a divine washing.
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  The source material warns that secret sins are exceptionally
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  dangerous. Because they remain concealed,
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  the Sinner is deprived of the chance to truly repent and seek
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  help. So you become the architect of
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  your own lusts. You do.
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  And if these offenses aren't addressed by divine washing,
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  they can lead to spiritual ruin precisely because they are
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  undetected and therefore unmortified.
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  So it demands a specific spiritual discipline.
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  It does, praying specifically for purification from sins you
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  do not realize you possess. Then David moves to the even
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  more dangerous category. Restraint from presumptuous
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  sins, right? These are not errors of
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  ignorance. These are known, evident willful
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  sins committed with full deliberation and conscious
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  rejection of God's known will. And his plea is so passionate.
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  It's for restraint. Keep back thy servant also from
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  presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over
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  me. He knows he needs to be held
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  back. He does.
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  David recognizes that even as a servant of God, he has a natural
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  proneness towards these massive acts of rebellion.
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  He plays to be held back as a horse is held back by the bit.
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  He knows that without divine restraint he will run violently
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  into the most grievous transgression.
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  The sorts of stress that presumptuous sins, sins
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  committed with a resolved will against clear knowledge, are the
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  chief and worst of all, sins. Why is that?
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  Because they represent the greatest development of the core
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  mischief of rebellion. They're done with malice in the
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  heart despite having light in the mind.
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  And the final plea in this section is driven by fear of the
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  consequence. Allowing these giant evils to
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  reign is the path toward what the sources refer to as the
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  Great Transgression. OK, now the sources affirm that
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  atonement is available for even the most deliberate sins under
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  the Christian dispensation. But these acts of willful
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  rebellion come dangerously close to the unpardonable sin.
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  Why? Because they're committed
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  knowingly, brazenly, and with a determined contempt for the
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  known standard of God. So the goal is avoidance, at
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  least to the declaration. Then shall I be upright?
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  This indicates that escaping the dominion, the kingly rule of
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  wrestle sin, is essential for maintaining integrity, for
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  assurance, and for avoiding spiritual devastation.
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  The perfect standard of the word reveals the depth of the
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  corruption. And that revelation immediately
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  compels the psalmist to seek divine intervention.
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  So the song concludes, and it unifies everything we've just
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  analyzed. The awe of creation, the
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  perfection of the Word, and this intense internal need for
• 20:46
  cleansing with a sweet, necessary prayer that governs
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  David's entire devotional practice.
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  He petitions God for the acceptance of sincerity.
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  He prays that God would receive both His external expression,
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  the words of my mouth, and his internal disposition, the
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  meditation of my heart. And this just highlights the
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  vital synthesis that's required for true worship.
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  Outward words are rendered mockery if the heart does not
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  meditate, right. External piety, no matter how
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  impressive it looks to man, is vanity if it is not acceptable
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  in the sight of God. This prayer shows a deep
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  consciousness of duty, of humility.
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  And the recognition that even his best offerings, his words
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  and his thoughts are tainted by the very secret falls he just
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  confessed. Exactly so.
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  Given that realization of his own vileness, David cannot rest
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  his hope for acceptance on his own merit.
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  He has to ground his entire petition in God's saving
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  character. And he does that by invoking 2
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  specific and crucial titles. The first title is Oh Lord, my
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  Strength. This acknowledges God as the
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  enabling and sustaining power. David knows he's too weak to be
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  acceptable on his own. He's asking for help.
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  He's asking Jehovah to support and empower his fragile
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  devotion, recognizing that it's God's right arm, not his own
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  watchfulness or effort, that keeps his holy things holy.
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  And 2nd, and this is probably the most critical part to
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  understanding the depth of this prayer, He cries and my
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  Redeemer. This invokes the Redeemer, the
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  Goel, or the Kinsman Redeemer. Can you unpack that for us?
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  The Goel. The Goel was the closest living
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  relative with the legal right and responsibility to act on
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  behalf of a wronged or impoverished family member.
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  Remember to rescue, to avenge, or to pay a ransom.
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  OK, so by invoking the goal, David is recognizing that his
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  hope for acceptance is entirely grounded in God's saving action,
• 22:35
  not his own merit. It's the Redeemers blood and
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  righteousness alone that Hallows and consecrates his otherwise
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  vile and wicked words and thoughts.
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  Making them acceptable before a holy God.
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  That's it. This movement is really the
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  theological masterstroke of the Psalm.
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  It takes you from cosmic awe through the illuminating
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  standard of the perfect word, which exposes your deepest
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  corruption. And finally, compels the
• 22:58
  believer to cast all hope for acceptance upon the kinsman
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  Redeemer. It shows that the only way to
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  stand upright before the law is through the advocate who
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  fulfills it for you. And that realization leads us
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  right back to the start of Part 4.
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  The Word illuminates the depth of our secret faults, those
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  errors hidden even from ourselves.
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  So the question remains, if we are blind to half our sins, what
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  practical spiritual disciplines, beyond simply reading the text,
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  might a believer adopt to petition God for illumination
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  and cleansing from the corruption they do not even
• 23:31
  realize they possess? That's the ultimate challenge,
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  isn't it? If the word is the light, how do
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  we shine it into the shadows we can't perceive?
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  I think it requires cultivating intentional unstructured silence
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  before God. We are often so busy confessing
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  the sins we can name the presumptuous 1 that we leave no
• 23:48
  quiet space for the Holy Spirit to act as the oculist.
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  To reveal the corruption we're just comfortable living with.
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  Exactly. It demands prolonged, focused
• 23:56
  meditation on the perfection of the law, allowing that standard
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  to expose areas of our thoughts and motivations that we've
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  unconsciously deemed acceptable, but which stand in direct
• 24:07
  opposition to God's purity. And only then.
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  Only then can we genuinely and regularly pray with David.
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  Cleanse thou me from secret faults, trusting the kinsmen to
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  do the work we cannot even begin.
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  A compelling and necessary consideration.
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  Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the two
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  books of Jehovah. We hope this study of Psalm 19
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  gives you not only knowledge of God's existence, but a clearer
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  vision of your own heart come telling you toward the Redeemer.
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  Until next time.