True Worship (Psalm 19:1-14)

Church, it is certainly a pleasure to be back with you today.

I can tell you I'm just so grateful for all that God is doing here at First Baptist Church.

! Catherine and I spent the past two weeks on sabbatical, and I can tell you we are so grateful

for your generosity, for giving us some time away. It was a great time of rest and relaxation.

While I was away, I want to say thank you so much, Sean. Thank you for leading our praise

team over the past three weeks. Yes, thank you. Sean had everything taken care of, everything

handled, and so that really has been a blessing to me over the past three weeks. I also want

to say thank you to Larry Earhart, who did the same thing in our 11 o'clock service. Both

of them are my heroes over the past couple weeks, so I thank you so much for that. I also want

to say thank you to the staff who handled all of my jobs day to day. Because of taking two

weeks of vacation, two weeks sabbatical, and working one week in Surge, I'm pretty sure

Josh Lorenz thinks that I don't work here full-time. And that's going to really be cloudy,

especially in November when our first child comes. So I promise I do work here full-time,

but I can see why you think that way. Absolutely. So I asked Brett, again, like he said last year

when we were going through summer in the Psalms, he said he was going to do it again the next

year, and I said, you care if I take one of these Psalms and kind of elaborate on it? Believe it or

not, he didn't say no. He was graciously accepted. And can I tell you, I had no clue what it took

to prepare a sermon. I have had several months to look at this. Brett usually only has about a week,

and I am just so thankful, Brett. Not only am I thankful for your friendship,

I see what you do on a day-to-day basis for this church. Brett, thank you so much for taking the

time to preach the word for us and to prepare our hearts and minds to go and serve out in the

mission field. And you and Evan and our staff, I'm just so grateful for all of you, and thank you guys

for what you do for our church. So as Brett said, let's dive into Psalm chapter 19. Now this was a

Psalms 19 · chapter mention

Psalm of David that was written to the choir master, so it makes perfect sense that a choir master

preaching on it this morning, right? So after digging into this Psalm, I discovered that this

Psalm is an accurate representation of what our worship should be like. Not only should we worship

here in our space here today on a weekly basis, on Sunday mornings at 8 30, and in our second service

at 11 o'clock, but we should be doing this in our homes with our families and having that time of

worship. This involves singing. This involves reading God's word. This involves praying together.

The psalmist, when he was writing, he did all of these things, and the psalmist loved to give praise

to God. He loved to reflect on his word and what he has done, and he always knew how to respond with a

pure heart. And when we come together, it reminds us that God wants him to worship him that way on a

daily basis. He wants us to worship him with our thoughts, with our actions, with our plans for the

future, and how we are to be the church outside of these walls. So if you have your Bible, Psalm chapter 19.

Psalms 19 · chapter mention

Here's what the word of God says in verse 1.

The heavens declared the glory of God, and the sky proclaims his handiwork. Day to day it pours out

speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not

heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has

set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong

man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of

them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord

is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired

are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and drippings from the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Who can discern his

errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.

Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock

and my redeemer. I love the meticulous language David uses here when describing all these things

while he's encouraging the congregation to sing along to all of these words. Now, I admit some of our hymns

and our songs are not as in-depth with the language in our own hymns and texts on a weekly basis.

You know, it sure would have been nice to have David around during the late 90s and the early 2000s

when one of our most popular worship songs was, Yes, Lord, Yes, Lord, Yes, Yes, Lord.

It was so hard to trade your sorrows to the joy of the Lord after singing Yes, Lord for the thousandth time.

Now, thankfully, modern worship has turned away from that one. We've either gone back to hymns

or we have gone to a little bit more theologically correct music and thank God for that.

But we go back to the psalm and to see how David pulled this together.

The first thing I want us to look at this psalm is this.

All things were created to worship.

Our worship in this time should give glory and honor and praise to everyone's favorite Sunday school answer.

Our worship should be directed to God.

That's right, God.

He is the one who established this world so that we who are created can worship Him who is the Creator.

And let's go ahead and establish this up front.

There is nothing that God has created that is greater than Him.

There is nothing God has ever created that is greater than Him, the Creator.

You know, there was one who challenged that idea and the Bible says he was struck down like lightning.

That is why in our praise, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are not the ones who's great.

The greatness is in our God and Him alone and He rules above all things.

I'm going to give several musical examples today.

And one of the obvious examples with this is the hymn that we have sung many times,

How Great Thou Art.

I love the second verse.

And now most of you may know this song by heart, but I really want to focus in on what the second verse says.

It says,

When through the woods, in forest glades I wonder,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Doesn't that sound like a wonderful picture?

Wouldn't you want to be there right now?

No, you're here listening to me.

It leads us to understand that the role of creation is to give honor and praise to the King of Kings.

All that is in heaven and on earth is constantly pouring out praise, just as the psalmist said.

Now, it is no wonder when I hear people go on an excursion or go hiking or go into the woods and see the greatness of creation,

That they feel like they have such a spiritual experience.

You know, the reason why they feel that way, and you'll feel that way if you go out in creation,

Is because of them constantly pouring out praise.

And you have the chance to hear it.

Now, my father-in-law talked about this when he was walking up the Appalachian Trail.

It took him a lot of work to go as far as he did.

He said he was rained on.

He said the trail was hard.

At times that he was tired, but there were just a few times when he was walking through,

That he would just crest a hilltop.

And he would just see the glory of creation.

And just realize that there's nothing in this world other than our Creator that could create something so marvelous.

He understood that atmosphere of worship that creation was continuing to pour out.

Did you know, luckily, right here in this room,

We can create the same atmosphere of worship that creation enjoys on a daily basis.

So you may ask, Clay, how do we create the atmosphere of worship?

The way you create the atmosphere of worship is probably the same thing you've heard the last time you went to the dentist.

Open your mouth.

The act of coming together, praying, reading God's word, singing praise to God Almighty,

Can turn the room that you are in into the holy of holies,

Just as was in the wilderness with Israel.

Now, how can we create something by just speaking it into existence?

Well, we're imitating what our Creator has already done.

The last time I read the book of Genesis,

The Scriptures explain the way that God created the world.

Whenever God was in a new day and He wanted to create something,

The Scripture says the whole entire process He used.

And God said,

The very speech of God created the world that we see around us.

Now, with our speech,

We cannot create rocks and trees and skies and waters and hills, valleys.

We cannot create any of that.

But with our voice,

We speak into existence the focus and the desire to put the cares of this world aside

And pay attention to what the Father has in store.

With one mind and in one accord,

Just as we have heard in the book of Acts with the first church,

The space is created so that God can dwell amongst us.

That is why David said in Psalm chapter 22,

Psalms 22 · chapter mention

God inhabits the praise of His people.

And Jesus reinforced this in Matthew 18 verse 22 when He said,

Matthew 18:22

Where two or three are gathered in my name,

There I am in the midst.

Church, we must intentionally create this space for the Lord to dwell amongst us

Every time we come together in worship.

It doesn't have to be in this room.

It just has to be with the focus and the created intent to welcome God to come amongst us.

The second thing this psalm shows us is that our worship requires reflection.

As we use praise to create the space for God,

We should use reflection like a two-sided mirror.

And I have a two-sided mirror here that Catherine let me borrow.

When I reflect this way,

What I am doing is not reflecting on myself,

But I am reflecting all the things that are above me,

And hopefully to the people that are around me.

That is exactly what David was doing in verses 7-11 in Psalm chapter 19.

Psalms 19 · chapter mention

It is clear to see that the psalmist was showing all the things that the Lord God had established in His righteousness.

And when I see this verse of Scripture,

I think of psalms like,

To God be the glory,

Great things He has done.

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.

We also sing here in the early service,

What He's done.

What He's done.

All glory and the honor to the Son.

My sins are forgiven.

My future is heaven.

I praise God for what He's done.

Do you know how hard it is to fit all that God has done

Into a song that's three and a half minutes?

Do you know how hard it is to even fit it into an hour time slot once a week on Sunday morning?

And as I hold this up and I use different reflection,

You can see different parts of the ceiling.

And that's what our worship should be.

It should continue to show the blessings that come from above.

That as David said,

It makes simple the wise.

And it makes that which is dirty,

That which is discarded,

Perfectly clean,

As it continues to pour out praise from heavenly places.

It should be our desire to be that reflection.

To not only share it amongst ourselves as Christians,

As body of believers,

But to share it with those who may even be in this room today

That do not know who Jesus is.

We are called to share this to a lost and dying world

Because there are people who do not understand the glory there is to serve the Almighty God.

We sing these songs,

We read God's Word,

And we pray so that we may reflect what He has done through us.

Reflecting the glory of God in worship

Is one of the most beautiful things we can do together.

However,

If all we do in our worship is simply reflect

The majesty and glory of God that is around us,

We have not worshipped in the manner Christ has asked us to do.

You see, Christ said that we must worship in spirit and in truth.

That's why I have two sides to this mirror.

One side is meant to reflect the spirit

And all that He is continuing to do in our lives.

But the other side is so that I can reflect on myself.

Our worship in truth should remind us of who we truly are.

You know, I look in this mirror and I see many things.

I see my teeth that my mother and father paid tremendous amounts of money

So that they could be straight.

I see a few more gray hairs than I had last year.

I see a few less hairs than I had last year.

I see that that is my future.

But when I look into the eyes of the person in this mirror,

I'm reminded that I'm not enough.

I'm reminded that the person in that mirror has failed time and time again.

Church, we must see our depravity in worship.

This is relevant in the songs that we sing.

It says, one song says,

Alas, and did my Savior bleed,

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head,

The original text says,

For such a worm as I.

We sing a song in here all the time that says,

I was a wretch.

I remember who I was.

I was lost.

I was blind.

I was running out of time.

Just a few minutes ago, we sang,

How great the chasm that lay between us.

How high the mountain I could not climb.

In desperation, I turned to heaven

And spoke your name into the night.

Church, on our own,

We are not enough.

Many have tried to live in a false sense of righteousness.

But Paul preaches against that in Romans 3.23

When he says,

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount

That it's easy to see the sin and the speck in our brother's eye

When we certainly have a plank in our own eye.

The great Charles Spurgeon once said,

Brother, if any man thinks of you ill,

Do not be angry with him.

For you are worse off than he thinks you to be.

The truth is, if our sin is not forgiven,

We are destined for a hell that is designed for eternal separation from God.

The deeper we understand that the wages of our sin is death,

The more we can appreciate that the gift of God is eternal life

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

He came for the imperfect.

He came in our filth and in our shame.

He came for the person that's on the inside of that mirror.

And he paid a price of a life that was perfect

So that I could have life

So that you could have life more abundantly.

And that's why we finish these songs.

At the cross

At the cross where I first saw the light

And the burden of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith

I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day.

Thank you, Jesus

For the blood applied.

Thank you, Jesus

It has washed me white.

Thank you, Jesus

You have saved my life.

You've brought me from the darkness

Into glorious light.

Hallelujah.

Praise the one who set me free.

Hallelujah.

Death has lost its grip on me.

You have broken every chain.

There is salvation in your name.

Jesus Christ

You are my living hope.

You know, the reflection we see

In our worship to the King

Should show us our scars

Of our sin

And who we were.

But when we accept Jesus Christ

As our Lord and Savior

That reflection

Then shows us

The righteousness of God

Of which we are covered.

We did not deserve this.

There's a song that says

We were the beggars

But now we're royalty.

We were the prisoners

But now we are running free.

We are forgiven

Accepted

Redeemed by His grace.

So let the house

Of the Lord

Sing praise.

The same reflection

That shows us our sin

Shows us

That we are children

Of the Most High King.

Let us never forget

Those two things.

As we look to our third thing

Is the final thing

Of this psalm shows us

Is our worship requires us

To respond.

After David had written

About the heavens

And the grandeur

And the glory

That continuously flows

From heaven

And all that God has done

He takes the time

And a moment to respond.

He makes it practical

For us not to enjoy

A time of praise

And reflection

But to go forth

And be the church.

Why do we have to respond?

Because our response

Is what takes us

Through those doors

Into the mission field.

There were several

Different responses

In worship

And I'm just going to

Name a few of them.

In a time of worship

And desperation

And of sadness

Isaiah was worshiping

And he saw the Lord

High and lifted up

And the train of his robe

Filled the temple.

Isaiah's first response

Was

Woe is me

For I am a man

Of unclean lips

And an angel

Took a coal

From the altar

And touched his lips

And said

Now your iniquity

Has been purged.

Your sin

Has been forgiven.

Then God said

With a loud voice

Who will go before me?

Who will go

And be my voice?

What was the response

Of Isaiah?

Do you remember?

Here I am.

Send me.

From then on

Isaiah went forth

And prophesied

To the nation of Israel.

In a time of prayer

And of anguish

Of what was to come

Our Savior was

Dripping drops of blood

In the garden of Gethsemane.

The burden

That was to come

On him

Was greater than

Any man could ever bear.

Obedient worship

Is sometimes so real

And so frustrating

That it will move us

To tears

From our hurt.

And as he wept

In obedience

He prayed

Lord if it be your will

Let this cup

Pass from me

Church I'm glad

He didn't stop right there

The next thing

He said was

But Lord

Not my will

But thine be done

After that

He got up

And did what he needed to do

He carried the cross

For you

And for me

In a time of singing

And worship

Paul and Silas

Were in prison

Again

They did not expect

Anything to come

Of where they were

They were in a

Dark prison cell

You can imagine

The filth

You can imagine

The nastiness

Yet they were obedient

In worship

And singing

The praises of God

All of a sudden

The doors

Of the jail

Swung open

And it would seem

That they would go free

But they waited

Why did they wait?

Why didn't they run through?

Because they knew

That a jailer

Was about to take his life

And he did not know

Jesus Christ

As his Lord and Savior

Because they stayed

And in obedience

They went to the jailer

And said

Hey

Believe on the Lord

Jesus Christ

And you will be saved

You and your household

And in that moment

The jailer

Accepted Jesus Christ

And his entire family

Sometimes

Our accurate response

Is to stay back

And is to realize

Where we are

And to share the gospel

Of Jesus Christ

Even when it doesn't seem

Like we should

Finally

In a time of wonder

The disciple

Whom Jesus loved

Was able to see

The glorious eternity

On the Isle of Patmos

He saw

The new Jerusalem

Coming down

From the throne of God

He saw the new heaven

He saw the new earth

He saw Satan

Cast into the lake of fire

And in a loud

Thunderous voice

He heard the Lord say

Surely

I come

Quickly

John's response was

Amen

Come quickly

Lord Jesus

Our response

Today

Can look like

Many of these forms

But unless

I've missed it

We have not seen

The heavens open today

We have not

Bled drops of blood

In anticipation of death

We are not

Sitting in a prison cell

And we are not

On some secluded island

Looking at the eternity

That is to come

So

What is an appropriate response?

Committing us

To the call of Jesus

To our lives

In accordance

To his word

The response

Is what the psalmist wrote

He said

Let the words

Of my mouth

And the meditation

Of my heart

Be pleasing to you

Oh God

My rock

And my redeemer

David gives us

The key here

To practically

Go forth

And to be

The church

And to live

Our lives

In full surrender

To the calling

Of Jesus Christ

And if you're here today

And you have simply

Gone through the motions

And not made Jesus Christ

Lord of your Savior

Has not made Jesus Christ

The Lord of your life

I pray

That you would come

And that you speak to me

Speak to Evan

Speak to Josh

Speak to Brett

Speak to anyone here

Because today

Is the day

Of salvation

For those of us

Who are saved

Let us respond

Just as David did

And consider where we failed

And ask God

To guide us

So that we may be

Good stewards

Of the light

That is shining

Through us

This is why we worship

This is why we come together

We're created to come together

We are required

To reflect

And we are required

To respond

So let's do that at this time

Would you join me

In a word of prayer

Our God

We thank you

For your word today

And what it has taught us

About worship

I'm reminded daily

In my reflection

That in my own self

I am insufficient

And that I need you

And Father

I pray that if there are

Those of us here today

That do not know you

As Lord and Savior

That they would be bold enough

To respond

In obedience today

Father for those of us

Who have accepted you

As Lord

Of our lives

May we be reminded

That our words

And the meditations

Of our heart

Carry more importance

Than we could ever

Imagine

Father let us be

The church outside

Of these walls

And not just here

On Sunday morning

Let our words

Our thoughts

And our actions

Would make us children

That you would be proud of

For it's in Jesus

Humbly name we pray

Amen

Would you please stand

As we close our worship service

We're going to sing

Oh come to the altar

If the spirit of God

Is speaking to you

And you need to respond

I ask you to do that

At this time