The Bible is Necessary

My name's Steve, I haven't met you before.

Senior pastor here is St Paul's, and if you've just joined in,

we are now partway through a series looking at the Bible,

and with the hope that we would grow in confidence

that what we have in front of us is God's Word,

because we want confidence not just so much in God's Word,

but we certainly want confidence in the God of His Word.

So we've looked at God's Word as truth in its entirety,

we've looked at why we should be able to take it seriously,

historically, and now we just started last week

in looking at some of the attributes of the Bible,

such as God's Word is enough, the sufficiency of Scripture,

and today we're looking at the necessity of the Bible.

So keep your books, Bibles open, sorry, at Psalm 19.

In his book, Reflections on the Psalm, C.S. Lewis declares

that Psalm 19 is the greatest poem in the Psalter.

And one of the greatest lyrics in the world.

And so that puts a little bit of pressure on me this morning.

Thank you for that, C.S.

But Psalm, I would agree, Psalm 19 is a phenomenal psalm.

It's all about how God communicates to us.

And this psalm breaks up beautifully, for my sake, into three parts.

It tells us about the silent Word of God,

the perfect and powerful Word of God,

and finally, the necessity of the Word of God.

That's the three steps we're taking this morning.

So the first six verses in the silent Word of God

are all about communication.

They refer to declaring, proclaiming, speech,

revealing knowledge about God and His glory.

This speech is coming from the natural world.

It's from the heavens, the moon, the stars,

the oceans, the mountains, the valleys, that sort of thing.

The paradox of this speech in verse 3,

which says,

they have no speech,

they use no words,

no sound is heard from them.

And yet, verse 4,

their voice goes out into all the earth,

the words to the ends of the world.

That's the paradox in verses 3 and 4.

There is no sound,

and yet there isn't a place in all creation

where the knowledge of God isn't loudly heard,

clearly heard.

This paradox is simply a poetic way

of describing non-verbal communication.

There is such a thing as speechless speech.

As wordless words.

That is, we can communicate through gestures,

we can communicate through facial expressions.

The natural world,

is what it's saying here,

is sending us

non-verbal information about God.

Psalm 19 is an answer

to a whole set of questions,

if you like.

Questions like,

why is it when we gaze at the ocean,

or see a sunset,

or an eagle soaring,

or stand before a mountain peak

that's capped with snow,

or stand on the precipice of a huge gorge,

or lay on our back in the darkness

out in the country,

can't do this in Chatswood,

and you look up

and you see the galaxies before you,

why do these things

captivate us?

Move us.

Fill us with a sense of

joy,

or wonder,

or grandeur,

or

the wow factor.

Why does it do that?

The answer of the Bible

is nature affects us

like

great art,

or a

blockbuster movie,

or a great piece of architecture,

or well-written music,

because that is what

the created order is.

It's a masterpiece.

It's a masterpiece.

It is the work of God's hands.

Everything in nature

is declaring to us

that we are not an accident,

that we are a product

of an artistic vision.

We're the product of design.

We're the product of passion,

of imagination,

of purpose,

of intentionality,

of the greatest artist

and designer

that this world

has ever

or will ever know.

And even if

our life

is a entire

mess,

or even if

we don't believe

in God

at all,

you still can't help

to be captivated

by the natural world.

No matter

our belief system,

we can't stop

the natural

order

speaking to us.

we are not an accident.

Verse 4 tells us

that at some level

everyone is hearing

this message

in the world.

As John Calvin

puts it

in his commentary

on the Psalms,

there is certainly

nothing

so obscure

or contemptible

even in the

smallest

corners

of the earth

in which

some marks

of the power

and the wisdom

of God

may not be seen.

There is no

language

nor speech

where their voice

is not heard.

Frankly,

I don't know

of another

view of reality

that gives

us

a higher view

of the natural

world

than Christianity.

Eastern religions

and philosophies

basically see

the natural world

as an illusion.

The Western

secular world

sees the natural

world

as a random

accident.

What other

view of reality

gives us

more reverence

for the world

and for others

than biblical

Christianity?

Now,

as good

as all

this is,

Psalm 19

cannot end

at verse 6.

nature

by itself

is not

enough.

Nature

doesn't tell

us enough

about God.

It doesn't

give us

everything we

need to

know.

As great

as nature

is in

terms of

revealing

a divine

designer,

that

information,

that revelation,

if you like,

is mixed.

It is unclear

and non-verbal

communication

is always

like that.

You cannot

communicate

specifics

non-verbally.

You cannot

say,

I'll meet you

at dinner

at 6 o'clock

tonight down

at the Bavarian

Beer Cafe

in Chatswood

and it's on

this street.

You can't

communicate

that non-verbally.

You need

specifics.

You need

words.

Non-verbal

communication

is always

mixed.

Falling to

sleep during

the middle

of a sermon

is a form

of non-verbal

communication.

But it's

mixed

communication.

You may

be entirely

bored or

you may

have sleep

apnea.

It's still

non-verbal

even if

you're

snoring,

by the

way.

It's a

result of

many things.

So does

nature really

point to a

designer and

a creative

God?

Yes.

But there

are mixed

messages because

in this same

created order we

have natural

disasters.

We have all

sorts of

disease and

decay.

And Romans

1 tells us

it is so

easy to

misinterpret

and repress

what nature

is telling

us.

We need

something more

than God's

silent word.

We need

his perfect

and powerful

word.

God.

The doctrine

of the

necessity of

scripture

reminds us

of our

predicament.

The God

who we

need to

know the

most cannot

be discovered

on our

own.

It also

assures us

that the

solution to

our predicament

is in fact

to create a

God who

has made

himself known

through his

word.

So as

the

Westminster

Confession

of Faith

puts it,

although the

light of

nature and

the works

of creation

and providence

do so far

manifest the

goodness,

wisdom and

power of

God as

to leave

humanity

inexcusable,

yet are

they not

sufficient to

give that

knowledge of

God and

his will

which is

necessary for

salvation.

The

Westminster

Confession

goes on to

say,

the Bible

is most

necessary.

Or to

use a

phrase again

of John

Calvin's,

the Bible

are the

spectacles

through which

we see

God,

we see

the world

and we

see

ourselves.

That's

Institutes

Book 1

chapter 6

in case you

want to

look that

one up.

We cannot

truly know

God,

his will

or the

way of

salvation

apart from

the Bible

and we

see this

in Psalm

19.

In verses

7 to

12,

King David,

the author

of this

psalm,

introduces

us to

the perfect

word.

This is

the perfect

necessary

word of

God.

The

perfect

necessary

particular

specific

communication

to God,

from God

to humanity

comes to

us through

the

scriptures,

the

Christian

Bible.

Notice

again the

emphasis in

these verses

on words,

laws,

statutes,

precepts,

commands,

decrees,

they are all

different ways

to express

the same

reality and

that is

the entire

word of

God,

the scriptures.

They're not

referring to

different parts

of the Bible,

they are all

different ways

of referring to

the Bible.

people.

And these

verses tell us

two things

about the

Bible.

Firstly,

the perfection

of the

Bible.

See the

words that

are used

to describe

the Bible

in the

perfect,

trustworthy,

right,

radiant,

firm,

precious,

sweet.

They are

very good

and they

are very

strong words.

Take,

for instance,

the word

right in

verse

eight.

It's a

really

important

word because

it literally

means the

straight edge.

It's a

straight edge

by which

all other

things are

measured.

God's

word is the

straight edge

by which

all other

words are

measured.

We cannot

determine

whether

scripture is

true or

right by

any other

standard.

All other

standards are

judged by

the scriptures

themselves.

Take also

verse nine.

where it

says the

decrees of

the Lord

are firm

and all

of them

are righteous.

The word

firm there

means sure

and certain,

bedrock,

foundational.

This verse

is saying

that every

single

part of

scripture

is equally

sure,

equally

certain,

equally

trustworthy,

equally

right,

equally

perfect.

All of

it.

The

perfectionist

scripture

scripture is

stated in

the most

remarkable

way in

this psalm.

But the

second thing

we notice

is the

power of

the Bible

in these

verses.

I get this

from the

second line

of each

of the

poetic

statements.

So for

instance,

verse seven,

the Bible

has the

power to

refresh the

soul.

I'm just

going to pick

up three of

them.

has the

power to

refresh the

soul.

The word

soul there

in verse

seven,

the original

word is

the word

psych.

The best

way to

translate

this is

that the

Bible has

the power

to show

you who

you are,

who you

really are.

It has the

power to

restore who

you are,

to restore

your true

identity.

Of course,

this means

that there

is something

desperately

wrong with

our

identities.

We are

out of

touch with

who we

are,

who we

really are.

It's an

amazing

claim.

It's saying

only the

Bible can

do that

because when

David writes

in verse

seven,

the law

of the

Lord is

perfect,

refreshing

the soul,

he is in

this moment

contrasting the

scriptures

scriptures

with

nature.

The

Bible and

the Bible

alone can

show you

and make

you who

you are

meant to

be.

Nature

cannot do

that in

itself.

Even

though when

we're all

out of

sorts,

nature is

often the

first place

we escape

to.

please do

that.

I mean,

it's a

great thing

to do,

but take

your Bible

with you.

The

Bible shows

us just

how much

we are

broken,

how sinful

we are,

how flawed,

even more

flawed than

we're prepared

to acknowledge,

but also at

the same

time,

how valued

and affirmed

and forgiven

and accepted

and loved

we are,

more than

we'd ever

possibly imagine

or dream.

We are

far worse

and far

better than

we ever

imagined,

and the

Bible shows

us who

we truly

are.

The

Bible has

the power

to refresh

the soul,

but it

also has

the power,

verse 7

again,

to make

wise the

simple.

It has

the power

to make

us wise

so that

we are

able to

navigate

God's

world

well.

One of

my favourite

quotes from

American

humorist and

author Mark

Twain,

in fact it's

probably the

only quote

really,

I should have

clarified that,

the only one

that I can

remember,

and it's

therefore my

favourite one,

is the one

where he says

he's reflecting

on his life,

later in life

reflects on his

life and he

made this

claim,

he said,

when I was

16,

he said,

I could not

believe how

ignorant my

father was

about the

ways of the

world.

he said,

when I

turned 25,

I was

astounded by

how much

he'd grown

up.

Every

growing,

developing,

maturing

person I

know is

able to

look back

on their

life 15

years ago

and see

how foolish

they were

back then.

Now it's

pretty obvious

when you

compare your

10-year-old

self with

your 25-year-old

self.

You look

back on your

10-year-old

self and

you go,

I knew

nothing.

But it's

also true

when you

compare your

25-year-old

self with

your 40-year-old

self.

Or in

my case,

my 55-year-old

self,

my 40-year-old

self,

and you

realise,

I didn't

know my

heart as

well then

as I do

now.

I can

think back

of things

in that

time and

I view

them differently.

My

perspective

has changed.

My heart

and my

emotions have

shifted.

In that

time.

How much

has changed

in 15

years?

I was

simple then.

I'm wiser

on those

things now.

Of course,

you realise

the implications

of this,

don't you?

So,

our current

selves are

going to

look simple

and foolish

to our

15 years

from now

selves,

which means

you're

foolish now.

It means

you're

simple now.

Well,

me too.

I mean,

I'm throwing

myself in

that one

as well.

It's not

an accusation.

I'm throwing

myself in

that one

as well.

So,

what do we

do with

that,

with the

acknowledgement

that God's

word is

telling me

that I'm

simple and

foolish now?

Verse 11,

by them,

talking about

his word,

your servant

is warned

in keeping

them,

there is

great reward.

The Bible

warns us

against the

foolishness

of life

now,

to get

wise now.

It makes

wise the

simple

now.

Third one,

the Bible

also has

power to

delight our

hearts.

Verse 8,

the precepts

of the Lord

are right,

giving joy

to the heart.

Verse 10

expands on

that joy.

They are

more precious

than gold,

than much

pure gold.

They are

sweeter than

honey,

than honey

from the

honeycomb.

What is

interesting

about this

is that

we would

normally,

for the

Christian person,

we would

normally

associate

the sweet

words of

God,

attach them

to his

promises,

his mercy

and his

grace.

We would

not normally

attach the

sweetness of

God's

word to

his law

and his

commands.

We would

not normally

do that.

We put up

with the

laws and

the commands

because of

the sweetness

of your

character.

That's how

we would

normally

respond.

Verse 1

says a

similar thing

as this,

blessed is

the one

whose delight

is in the

law of

the Lord,

who meditates

on his

law day

and night.

commands.

You see,

left to

our own

devices,

we don't

know how

to obey

commands

except through

some kind

of coercion.

How do

we get to

the point

where we

delight in

God's

commands in

such a way

they are

sweet,

they are

good,

they are

majestic,

they are

beautiful,

they are

joyful?

How do

we get to

that point?

that requires

a complete

reset of

the driving

motivations of

our lives.

How do

we get to

this entire

reformed

identity

where the

simple are

made wise

and the

reset of

the inner

drive of

our lives?

How does

that come

about?

This is

where we

turn to

the last

section of

Psalm 19

and my

last point.

Reading from

verse 12.

But who

can discern

their own

errors?

Forgive my

hidden faults.

Keep your

servant also

from willful

sins.

May they

not rule

over me.

Then I

will be

blameless,

innocent of

great

transgression.

May these

words of

my mouth

and this

meditation of

my heart

be pleasing

in your

sight.

Lord my

rock and

my

redeemer.

Now,

there's a

contradiction

in these

verses.

An apparent

contradiction

to these

verses.

David starts

with who

can discern

their own

errors.

It's a

rhetorical

question where

you're meant

to come up

with the

conclusion of

well actually

no one

can.

No one

can know

their own

errors.

And then

he adds

keep your

servant

also from

willful

sins.

May they

not rule

over me.

Then I'll

be blameless,

innocent of

great

transgression.

He adds

there that

the very

best he

can hope

for is

that he

might be

able to

at very

least identify

the obvious

sins in

his life,

the willful

sins in

his life,

the ones

that he

deliberately

chooses to

break,

if you like,

the laws

he chooses

to break.

And he

says if I

can avoid

those,

then I'll

be innocent

of great

transgressions.

He's speaking

here like a

moralist.

If I can

avoid the

big things,

then I'll

be innocent

of great

transgressions,

the obvious

ones,

the deliberate

singing,

the stuff

everyone

sees.

But one

thing he

says that

I cannot

overcome

the sins

that are

deep down

in my

heart.

I can't

overcome

those ones.

I can't

overcome

them because

I can't

even see

them.

It's the

sin that's

below the

sin.

It's the

driving force

that gives

rise to

the obvious

sins and

the breaking

of the

law.

The pride,

the self

justification,

the defensiveness,

the greed,

the resentment,

the unkindness,

all the

stuff that

is ultimately

the things

that are

keeping us

awake and

messing up

our lives

are the

things that

we cannot

see.

Ironically,

the sin

that most

dominates

us,

the sin

that most

hurts us

and hurts

others are

the ones

that we

cannot see

and therefore

we justify.

to quote

Derek

Kidner

on this

verse,

the fault

may be

hidden

not because

it is too

small to

see but

because it

is too

characteristic

to register.

It is so

much part of

our life

it has become

acceptable to

us.

it has become

respectable,

justifiable.

David goes

on to say

in verse

14,

may these

words of

my mouth

and this

meditation of

my heart

be pleasing

in your

sight,

Lord,

my rock

and my

redeemer.

the word

pleasing

here

is crucial.

It's a

word that's

used

in every

instance in

the Old

Testament

referring to

the sacrificial

system.

The aroma

was pleasing

to God.

The sacrifice

was pleasing

to God.

And the

sacrifice we

know that

was pleasing

to God

was an

animal

without

blemish.

And so

David here

appears to

be,

if you like,

confidently

contradicting

himself.

How can

he say,

may these

words of

my mouth

and this

meditation

of my

heart

be pleasing

without

blemish,

without

fault,

without

failing,

in your

sight,

when he

can't even

see them.

And he

can't

overcome

them.

How can

he say

that?

How can

you say

that?

How can

I say

that?

That the

meditations

of my

heart are

pleasing to

God when

I've got

sin there

that I

can't

even see?

me?

The only

possible

answer is

the very

last words

of this

psalm.

Lord,

my rock

and my

redeemer.

The reason

why David

is so

confident

is because

he knows

that God

is his

redeemer.

And what

is, if you

like, a

general

statement for

David here

is a much

more specific

statement for

the Christian

now.

You see, the

Bible tells us

that King

David was

the forerunner,

the shadow

of a much

greater king,

one who

delighted in

the law of

God completely,

one who was

completely pure

of heart,

sinless

in perfection.

the New

Testament

declares that

Jesus himself,

Jesus Christ,

is the king

of kings.

He is the

great King

David.

And notice

that at

every instance,

Satan and

others tried

to divert

him to

move into

sinfulness

himself.

Satan comes

after him.

And what is

Jesus'

response to

Satan?

I mean, he

was already

out in nature,

he was out

in the

wilderness.

What was

his response

to Satan?

Have a look

around at the

moon and the

stars to see

the glory.

No.

It is

written.

It is

written.

It is

written.

When the

religious elite

came after

him, it

is written.

It is

written.

It is

written.

In the

Garden of

Gethsemane,

on the way

to crucifixion,

the cross

itself, it

is written.

It is

written.

It is

written.

Scripture

after

scripture

after

scripture

after

scripture,

in every

part of

his life,

Jesus, you

cut him and

he bleeds

scripture.

In every

instance of

life,

scripture was

his response.

Jesus

delighted in

scripture.

He is the

only one who

completely

delighted in

scripture.

He is the

only one who

ever kept

every precept,

every law,

every command.

and he dies

on the cross

as our

substitute

for our

disobedience,

our

breaking

of every

command.

And by

his death,

he has

redeemed us.

He's paid

the price.

He's brought

us back into

God.

God.

And so

when we

see our

failure,

we come

to him,

we trust

in him,

and his

great reward

becomes

ours.

His

fulfillment

of all

the law

becomes

ours.

It's the

great exchange,

the punishment

for our

imperfect

law keeping

has gone

across to

him and

the reward

for his

perfect record

transfers to

us.

This is

the gospel.

this is

the good

news of

Christianity

and it's

only this

that ultimately

rewires the

heart.

It's only

this that

gives us a

firm and

confident

identity

regardless of

the reality

of our

ongoing

imperfections

and failures

and sin.

Nature,

the created

order in

itself can

never rewire

the heart

like that.

God's

solution

The Bible

is absolutely

necessary for

us to see

our true

predicament,

God's

solution and

therefore the

rewiring of

our hearts

in such a

way that

God's word

becomes

glorious,

majestic,

sweet,

delightful,

joyful.

You see,

the moralistic

religious person

seeks to

obey the

word of

God out

of fear.

The

relativistic

person is

indifferent to

the word of

God.

The

Christian

delights

in God's

word

word

because

Jesus,

the one

who delights

in the

word,

became a

curse

for you

and for

me.

He is

our

redeemer

and because

he is our

redeemer,

he is our

rock,

he is our

refuge,

he is our

safe place

and the

Bible is

absolutely

necessary for

refreshing the

soul,

for making

wise the

simple,

for delighting

the heart

because when

the Christian

through the

work of the

spirit looks

into the

Bible,

they see

beauty,

they see

majesty,

they see

glory.

The Bible

becomes the

window through

which we see

the beauty

and the

majesty and

the glory

of everything

else.

That's why I

appreciate a

David Attenborough

and some of

the insights

he has and

the little

crews that

he has of

filming the

intricate

details.

And yet I've

got something

more than

him.

I see

glory when

he doesn't

see glory.

The Bible

becomes the

window through

which we see

beauty and

majesty and

glory in

God who

redeems,

the God who

creates and

recreates.

glory.

All of us

crave glory.

We're designed

to crave glory.

We are

designed by

God to

marvel at

majesty,

to have the

wow factor.

glory.

And every

one of us at

some point in

life need to

go beside

us, you

know, the

sea or

stare at the

ocean or to

look at the

galaxies or

whatever it

might be to

get that

awe factor,

if you like,

to make us

feel hopeful,

to make us,

give us

perspective on

life.

And yet the

necessary source

of the greatest,

greatest glimpses

of glory we

have is

sitting on our

bookshelves.