Meditate on the Wisdom of God -- Sermon based on Psalm 19

I've got a question for you: Did Adam and Eve have belly-buttons? You may have your opinion on that one way or another, but in the end, the Bible doesn't answer that question for us. so we've just gotta say, “I don't know.” You see, there are some questions that the Bible doesn't answer for us. And some of them are a little bit more serious than whether or not Adam and Eve had belly-buttons. Why did God create Satan if he knew he was going to rebel? Why are some people saved but not others? It can be frustrating not to have the answers we want. We might think, “Why didn't God just tell us?!” But if you stop and think about it, there's a lot of wisdom in the way that God has revealed himself to mankind. So today we're going to meditate on the wisdom of God. We'll meditate on his wisdom that's on display in his created world, and in his written Word.

In the Psalm that we'll focus on this morning, it speaks of God's wisdom in his world right from the very first verse. It says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” We see God's wisdom in this verse, because he revealed himself to people in creation itself. You don't have to think about it too long to come to the conclusion that everything we see had to come from somewhere. That's so evident that the Bible says that only a fool could deny it. You see, everything that he has created proclaims his glory for all people to hear.

Just think about the wisdom in that. As God went about his work of creation, he was well aware that the crown of his creation would rebel against him and that people wouldn't always have a close relationship with him. He knew that after Adam and Eve fell into sin, that every person would be born spiritually blind. So he told them some things about himself in nature. God demonstrated very clearly that he is powerful and in charge of everything. Because of this, everyone who ever lived, no matter what their situation in life might be, can understand that God is real and very powerful. From that alone, we can say that God's wisdom is displayed in his world.

But the display of God's wisdom isn't limited to to the fact that he has put a natural knowledge of him into each person. Verse 3 says, “There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” Every time someone so much as says a word, it proclaims the work of God's hands. All our speech shows that God has enough wisdom to design some very intelligent creatures. I mean, just think about all that mankind has accomplished. Human intellect has put a man on the moon and a phone in your pocket, but it still can't really explain to you why you remember certain people's names but not others. And whatever feats mankind goes on to accomplish, they really “proclaim the works of his hands” even more. As the one who created us and has given us all our abilities, his wisdom is shown in everything we do.

There are so many details of God's creation that show us how wise God is. Just look at all the wisdom we see in the way the world works. Every fall, if you look up into the sky, you'll see birds flying south. They're not necessarily known as the smartest creatures, but God created them in such a way that they know how to keep themselves alive. And every year, if you know where to go, you can see salmon swimming hundreds of miles upstream to the place they were born in order to spawn in the right place. We can see God's wisdom in the way that these necessary instincts just seem to be imprinted on these creatures' brains from the very day they're born.

But there's also something that he's written on our hearts from the day that we were born. He's written his law onto our hearts. That's why every culture that has ever existed has had certain moral guidelines: You can't murder. You can't take something that belongs to someone else. You can't sleep with another person's spouse. There are always consequences for those actions, even in the most un-Christian societies. This also teaches every person in the world something about their God: that we haven't lived up to his expectations. If you doubt this at all, think about the feeling you get when you see a police officer out of the corner of your eye, and you just have to hope that he lets you slide by a few miles per hour over the speed limit. That frantic, guilty feeling, no matter what situation you might feel it in, lets us know that we haven't lived perfectly, and that we deserve to suffer the consequences of our actions. That's something that God has revealed to his creation in nature. And we can pretty easily see the wisdom in that, since his law is something that's important for everyone to know.

God really has shown his wisdom in his world in that he reveals himself to his creation in it. Our natural knowledge tells us a thing or two about who God is and where we stand with him. But if that were the only way that God revealed himself to us, we'd be in a pretty bad place. In the end, we'd end up where so many of the world's other religions have – trying to make God happy with what we do. But, thankfully, that isn't the only way that God has revealed himself to us. He has also revealed himself to us in his Word. And there is plenty of wisdom for us to meditate on in God's Word.

In verse seven we really see the shift in this psalm from talking about how God reveals himself in the world to how he reveals himself in the Word. It says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” There are a couple things worth pointing out before we move on. First of all, If you glance down the page here, you'll see a lot of words like, “Law” and “statutes”. When those words are used here, they're not talking about law as opposed to gospel. Instead, they're more generic words for all the things that God teaches us in his Word. So keep that in mind as we go on. Notice also that as we move from talking about God revealing himself in creation to revealing himself in his Word, we also get a change in the name that David uses. In the first part it was “God”. Elohim. That's the generic Hebrew word for God. And it makes sense to use that word when we talk about the natural knowledge of God, because the natural knowledge of God tells us that there is a creator God, but it doesn't really tell us everything about our God. But in this section, David uses the name “LORD”. That's yahweh, the God of free and faithful grace. That's what we learn about in God's Word. And you see this shift in the content of the psalm as well. In the first part, we heard about God's power and knowledge, but now the focus shifts to all the wonderful things that God does for us in his Word. Let's take a look at some of those:

Again, verse 7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” You can see God's wisdom here in how he relates to people. By nature we understand that we don't live up to God's standards perfectly, so our soul is in a sort of agitated state, wanting to make things better. And then God, in his wisdom, gives us exactly what we need. The Word of God comes in and, as this verse puts it, revives the soul. It tells us that while God is powerful, holy and wise, he's also loving. And that's what puts our soul at ease. God's love is shown to us clearly in his son, Jesus. Jesus lived the life that none of us could, and died to pay the price that we owed. That perfect love that we hear about in God's Word puts our souls at ease.

As much of a blessing as that is, God has even more in store for us besides that. It goes on to say, “The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” We've seen plenty examples of God's wisdom throughout this Psalm. Here he tells us that he'll share wisdom with us. I mentioned a little bit earlier all the impressive things that mankind has accomplished. God's not promising you a nobel prize here if you just follow his law. Instead, he promises that his Word will give you a wisdom that surpasses even that. His Word will make you wise for salvation. It teaches us that Jesus lived and died to take away our sins. You don't have to be a genius to understand that – even little children can understand it. So whether you love solving one advanced math problem after another, or you're struggling your way through school, God's Word gives you the kind of wisdom that makes all the difference.

Now that God has made you wise for salvation, he's got some more wisdom to share with you for this life. “The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” As the light of God's Word shines in our hearts, it also shines to give light to our eyes. In Psalm 119, which is another Psalm about God's Word, we see a similar thought when it says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” As we walk in faith, God gives us wisdom each day in his Word. So it's important for us to be in this Word regularly, because not only does it create and sustain our faith, but it also teaches us how we should live.

There's one more part of God's wisdom that I want to meditate on this morning. And that's that his Word never changes. Verse 9 says, “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.” That truth is what makes his Word so valuable to us. The psalm gives a couple pictures of how valuable God's Word is: “They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.” God's unchanging promises are the most valuable thing we have. When he says that he blots out your transgressions and won't remember your sins, we count on that promise. After all, that promise came from the same powerful, wise God that has displayed his wisdom all over creation and throughout his Word.

There might be times that you wonder about why God revealed himself the way he did. We might wonder why he included some things in the Bible, but not others. If you ever find yourself thinking that way, join in the prayer that David closes the psalm with: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” So what will you meditate on to find your answers? The world will give us some, but the Word is where we find answers to the most important questions that we have. And when you meditate on God's Word, God doesn't promise that he'll answer all your questions, but he does promise that he'll teach you what you need to know. And when your heart meditates on God's Word like we have this morning, you will see all the wisdom that God has shown to us in his world and in his Word. Amen.

I GAVE IT UP FOR LENT

Are you giving up anything for Lent? Every year lots of Christians, especially Catholics, give something up for Lent. But what about Lutherans? Do we have to give something up? Should we give something up? Why would we give something up?

First of all, let's be clear that you don't have to give something up for Lent to be a good Christian. But still, plenty of people do choose to give something up. People give up all sorts of things, from the trivial to the meaningful. Some give up chocolate so that they'll fit into their swimsuits when the sun starts shining a little bit warmer after Easter. Others give up their daily latte and donate the three or four dollars a day to their church or a charity. The question is, why would you choose to give up something that you like when you don't have to? Some people like the reminder that it gives them. Every time that someone denies his flesh the pleasure of a sip of a soda, it can serve as a reminder of all that Jesus' flesh endured as he suffered for our sins. Every time someone donates her coffee money to church, it can remind her of how much Jesus has given us. So, while a Christian doesn't have to give anything up for Lent, you certainly could.

In the end, it comes down to your attitude. I'm reminded of the parable that Jesus told in Luke 18: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

If your attitude during Lent is like the Pharisee, that's not good. It would be easy to get to exalt yourself during Lent. After all, you come to church twice a week. Some people can't even make it once! And on top of that, you're giving something up too! I pray that God would keep us from even a hint of self-righteousness during our Lenten journey this year.

I pray that, instead, God would give us the attitude of the tax collector. In all we do, we simply ask "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  After all, we, like the tax collector, are sinners. We are sinners who can only be justified by God's mercy. And that's what Lent is all about. Every time we gather together throughout this Lenten season, we get to see the mercy that God has shown us in his son, Jesus. May God bless you all as you focus on that mercy each day.