Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Psalm 19
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 7, 2021

“How do you do it? How do you stay so positive with so much negativity in the world?” “How can you go on? How can you find joy in life when you’ve dealt with so much pain and loss?” Those questions have been asked of God’s people since sin entered the world. People just don’t understand how believers have coped with trials and difficulties and struggles and even managed to find joy in those situations. And while it’s certainly true that everyone deals with stress and struggles differently, there is one constant for the Christian. The power to deal with the struggle comes from God’s Word. 

Psalm 19 is going to make that truth clear for us today. Psalm 19 was written by King David. What’s interesting is that most of the psalms surrounding Psalm 19 are prayers for deliverance from troubles and struggles or prayers of thanksgiving for delivery that’s already been received. Psalm 19 serves as somewhat of an interlude. In Psalm 19, David sets aside his concern with his enemies and his struggles and instead directs his attention to the glory of God. Psalm 19 is really a song of praise intended to give God glory. And in doing so, David shows us how he’s been able to deal with the struggle.

“For the choir director. A psalm by David. The heavens tell about the glory of God. The expanse of the sky proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech. Night after night they display knowledge. They do not speak. They say no words. Their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, and their word reaches the end of the world. God has pitched a tent for the sun in the heavens. It comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy. It celebrates like a champion who has run his race. It sets out from one end of the heavens. It runs until it reaches the other end. There is nowhere to hide from its heat.” 

For David, who knows the true God, a quick glance at the world, the stars and the sun, this beautiful, orderly universe, which God created and maintains points to the power and wisdom of God. It’s a great comfort to him. It shows God’s love and ability to overcome any struggle David may be facing. And maybe for you too. For you who know the true God, a look at creation gives you comfort and trust in the God who created it. But as wonderful as the testimony of creation is, it is limited. Certainly, creation speaks without speaking of a powerful Creator, but it cannot reveal God the Redeemer. No matter how often you gaze upon the stars or see the glory of God in the rising and setting of the sun, they will never tell you how to get to heaven. And that’s why simply knowing that there is a God by looking at his creation isn’t enough. For those who know the True God, it can be comforting, but that’s because they have more knowledge than natural knowledge. They have knowledge that’s been revealed. And that’s where David goes next. 

“The law of the LORD is perfect. It revives the soul. The testimony of the LORD is trustworthy. It gives wisdom to the inexperienced. The precepts of the LORD are right. They give joy to the heart. The commandment of the LORD is bright. It gives light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure. It stands forever. The just decrees of the LORD are truth. They are altogether righteous. They are more desirable than gold, even better than much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the honeycomb.”

David finds his comfort in God’s Word. God’s Word reveals God the Redeemer and all that he has done for us in Jesus. In six balanced statements, David lists six different names for God’s Word, six attributes for the Word and six different blessings that come from the Word. And while at first glance these six names for the Word all seem to refer to the law,  in the psalms especially, these names can refer to all of God’s Word, and in some cases are clearly referring to the Gospel. And that’s what we have here. Let’s look at them one at a time. 

“The law of the LORD is perfect. It revives the soul.” It only makes sense that these attributes of the Word would be attributes of God himself since he is the author of his Word. If God is perfect, then the Word he gives must also be perfect. This picture of perfection also has the idea of completeness. God’s Word completely supplies all of the spiritual knowledge we need. And this knowledge revives the soul. Think of reviving as bringing back to life or turning back. Only the gospel, the good news about Jesus, has the power to make the soul that was dead alive again. Only the gospel can turn the soul that was headed for hell back to God. And that’s exactly what God’s Word does. It gives life! David continues: “The testimony of the LORD is trustworthy. It gives wisdom to the inexperienced.” Again, it only makes sense that if God is trustworthy, his Word will be trustworthy. And we see that clearly as every single one of God’s promises are kept. And so it also makes sense that the believer will go to God’s Word for guidance, for wisdom. And the more we go to the Word, the more wisdom we gain. David continues: “The precepts of the LORD are right. They give joy to the heart.” God’s Word brings joy into the heart of the believer both by revealing all that God has done to save us, and by showing how we can thank God by doing his will. “The commandment of the LORD is bright. It gives light to the eyes.” What do we hear in yet another psalm, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” God’s Word shows us the way. In good times and bad, in sickness and health, in ease or in struggle, God’s Word shows us where to look, where to walk, how to cope. “The fear of the LORD is pure. It stands forever.” God’s Word will not be broken. It’s unchanging and eternal, and therefore completely dependable and reliable. Eternally relevant and applicable. “The decrees of the LORD are truth. They are altogether righteous.” Jesus himself said, “Sanctify them by the truth, your Word is truth.” God’s Word will never lead us down a wrong path. It will never lead us astray. In times of struggle and difficulty, this is where believers turn.

I think we get the point, right? God’s Word is wonderful for the believer. How wonderful? “They are more desirable than gold, even better than much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the honeycomb.” While gold can buy things in this life and makes one rich, God’s Word has the power to give eternal life. And while there’s not much sweeter than honey straight from the comb, it doesn’t compare to the sweetness of the forgiveness of sins and peace with God. 

“How do you do it? How do you stay so positive with so much negativity in the world?” “How can you go on? How can you find joy in life when you’ve dealt with so much pain and loss?” This is how we do it. We find our joy, our positivity, our purpose in God’s Word and in God’s unchanging promises of forgiveness and eternal life. And God’s Word impacts how we move forward as well. 

“Yes, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward. Who can recognize his own errors? Declare me innocent of hidden sins. Restrain your servant also from deliberate sins. Do not let them rule over me. Then I will be blameless. Then I will be innocent of great rebellion. May the speech from my mouth and the thoughts in my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” As Pastor Schlicht said yesterday, our struggle isn’t primarily against flesh and blood, but against the devil and his spiritual forces. It’s a struggle to resist his temptations. It’s a struggle to resist his attacks. It’s a struggle not to sin. And that struggle impacts everyone, from the greatest to the least. But it’s not a struggle we face alone. After finding comfort in the Word and lauding its attributes and blessings, David now asks the LORD to help him use the Word to do God’s will. David desires the forgiveness only God can give. David wants God’s help to keep him from sinning. In everything from his words to his thoughts to his actions, David prays for God’s help that all he does would be pleasing in God’s sight. 

Isn’t that our prayer as well? Isn’t that our desire? We want to serve the Lord. We want to keep his commands. But it’s a struggle. It’s the struggle we see so well in Lent. It’s the struggle our Savior Jesus took for us. He struggled under the burden of the law. He struggled under the weight of our sin. But he never let the struggle take his eyes off of his goal, our salvation. Our Rock and our Redeemer took his struggle to the cross where he removed our sins forever. And so, while we still struggle, we can overcome the struggle by the power of the Word. Our speech, our thoughts, our actions can be pleasing to God because of what Christ has done, what the Holy Spirit has made us to be, holy and pleasing in God’s sight. 

“How do you do it? How do you stay so positive with so much negativity in the world?” “How can you go on? How can you find joy in life when you’ve dealt with so much pain and loss?” It’s a struggle. It’s not easy. Yet, we’re not alone. With God’s help and empowered by the Word, we can. Amen.