New Year Resolution

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The New Year is a good time to take stock of our situation, our lives and our priorities. And we all need to ask ourselves - Where am I going? What am I doing? Am I closer to God now than I was a year ago? Is it obvious (to myself and to other people) that I am more Christ-like? Is the fruit of the Spirit more evident in my life? Am I genuinely open to God or really indifferent to him? Is my spiritual life more of a pretence that a reality? Searching questions for each one of us! I suppose people make New Year resolutions hoping that the coming year will be better than the last. That somehow life will be different, as if making a wish, or buying a new diary will change anything! Of course the good news is that a fresh start is always possible. The slate can be wiped clean. Each of us can come afresh to the Saviour and know his forgiveness. And life can have meaning, and purpose, and hope.

Psalm 19 permits us to look at the world around us, and to look into our own hearts. So prepare today to look at yourself afresh through the prism of scripture. The Puritans of old were not interested in morbid introspection - but in testing themselves against the measure of scripture. And we should do that too – on this first Sunday in the New Year.

One recent commentator refers to Psalm 19 as ‘one of the greatest treasures of religious devotion’ (J. Eaton, The Psalms, 2003, p.109). And so it is. And hopefully the study of this ancient hymn will evoke a fresh melody in your heart. At the beginning of this New Year this Psalm is a useful reference point by which to test the reality of our walk with God, our faith in Christ and our response to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Notice that Psalm 19 moves us from the general to the particular; from nature to scripture; from the creator to the redeemer; from the heavens to the heart. I want us to look at Psalm 19 under three simple headings.


1) The believer contemplates the heavens (19:1-6)

Here the Psalmist urges us to contemplate the work of the creator. Written at a time when the seasons were vital for livelihood, an awareness of the created order was important. But here it is no mere stargazing for its own sake. No reliance on astronomy or astrology. But a conscious reflection upon the created order which revealed something of the glory of God.

I would like to point out to you a significant change that is made during the course of this Psalm. In v1 the Psalmist refers to the creator God. And from v7 he refers to Yahweh, (that is the LORD). ‘God’ represents the distant deity; ‘Yahweh’ (the LORD) the personal God who reveals himself to us.

May I ask you, how do you think of God? How do you understand him? Is he some distant, transcendent being, or as your personal redeemer and Lord? The creation proclaims the work of the Creator. Here is the wordless testimony from the creator’s hand. His glory shines through all that he has made, not least in the passing of night and day.

One commentator refers to the heavens as being the witness and the preacher of the glory of God (J. Calvin, Psalms, Vol. I. p.309). And so they are. And as we look at the sun or the moon we are reminded of the creator’s handiwork.

In Gen 1:1 we read, ‘In the beginning God’ and the writer then unfolds both the profound mystery of the creation, and the wisdom and the power of the creator. God said, ‘Let there be’, (and there was) and ‘He saw all that he had made, and it was very good’ (1:31). The hand of the Creator can be seen in all that he had made. And Psalm 8 is another celebration of the Creator and of his work. There we reflect on the wonder of the creation and the glory bestowed upon us undeserving creatures.

Now you may be thinking that this is all very well, but what is this saying to me? Can we know the creator simply by observing his creation? It’s all very well to refer to the heavens as a witness and preacher of the glory of God. But how do we make the transition from simply observing the handiwork of God the creator, to knowing him as God the redeemer? The answer is simple. Some of us can demonstrate this quite easily. If you are shortsighted and wear glasses and take them off -what you see around you is blurred and unclear. Everything lacks definition and clarity. But when you put your glasses back on you see things clearly. The lenses help you to see what unaided you could not see.

Now that illustration is used by John Calvin in his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion. Though we might observe the creator in his creation, we need to view the creation through the prism of scripture to give us clarity, and insight, and understanding. While in nature we may see the work of God the creator; but it is only in scripture that we can learn of God the redeemer.

In one of his hymns (Great God the heavens) Isaac Watts has the line:
‘Fair is the book of nature’s lines,
but fairer is your book of grace.’
At the beginning of this New Year could I encourage you to look at God’s unspoken testimony around you? When you are next walking on the Cheviots, or at Druridge Bay, what do you see but the hand of the creator? We need to recapture the spirit of the early Keswick Convention, when people were encouraged to observe ‘the lovely face of nature’s panorama’ through ‘eyes sanctified by thankfulness to God’ (D. Bebbington, Holiness, 2000, p. 80).


2) The believer reflects on the scriptures (19:7-11)

From the general, the Psalmist then moves onto the particular. From the general revelation in creation to the special revelation in scripture. From the unspoken eloquence of nature to the clarity and disclosure of scripture. All that we learn by observation alone is that the creator is impersonal. But through the revelation of scripture we can know the redeemer in a personal way.

Psalm 19:7-11 anticipates what is to be expressed in Psalm 119. That great hymn is the Psalmist’s reflection on the word of God. It is a commentary on the notion that as we read the Bible God preaches to us through the scriptures. In a sermon you hear the voice of the preacher. But consider. Do you ever expect to hear the Word of God and a word from the Lord? Do our words point you away from ourselves to the Father who created you? To the Son who redeemed you? And to the Spirit who continues to sanctify you?

Notice what is said here in Psalm 19:7-11 about the law of the Lord, the law of Yahweh. See how comprehensively the divine instruction is described. It refers to his revealed will, to his statutes and precepts and commands and ordinances. They bring life; they are trustworthy and true; they give joy to the heart of the believer; they give light to the eyes. The Lord’s ordinances are described as being more precious than gold; much sweeter than honey. In other words they are a special treasure (that is precious and desirable) and are sweet to the tongue and warm to the heart.

Again from Isaac Watts:

‘From the discoveries of your lawthe perfect rules of life I draw;these are my study and delight,not honey so invites the taste,nor gold that hath the furnace pass’dappears so pleasing to the sight.’

But the Psalmist doesn’t just contemplate the word of God and leave it at that. Observing it like an object under a glass case in a museum. But he unfolds its benefits. He makes clear its intention. He reveals its purposes. He points us to the redeemer. Here is a person who delights in the Word of God. He is familiar with it. It shapes his life. It moulds his thoughts. It makes him wise unto salvation. It brings peace and joy in believing. Are you like that? Does that describe you? If that comes from scripture, how then is it possible for us to ignore the Word of God and remain indifferent to it? Denying ourselves both the benefits and the blessings; that are sweet to the taste, and warm to the heart and will satisfy our spiritual hunger?

At the beginning of this New Year could I encourage you to resolve to spend time in reading and reflecting on the Word of God. Not just content to read the words on the page, but to let them enter the deepest recesses of your being. Taste and see that the Lord is good!


3) The believer examines his heart (19:12-14)

We could leave it at that and be content simply to contemplate the creation and the work of the creator. And yet remain unmoved. We could also be thankful for the translation of the scriptures in our own language, and be content that they remain unread. And yet remain unmoved. To be content to see (but yet remain blind) and to hear (but yet to remain deaf).

But the Psalmist concludes by taking things even further. By inviting us to examine ourselves. In the light of the holiness and the majesty of Almighty God how can we know him? How can he speak to our hearts? In the light of the awe and the mystery of Almighty God, how can he touch our innermost being? This Psalm challenges us to examine ourselves in the light of the work of the creator God and the redeemer God. For his living word addresses us and speaks to our hearts.

Notice the confession of the servant of God (in vv.12-13): ‘Forgive my hidden faults’ unseen to all but the Lord, and are yet common to us all. ‘Keep me from wilful sins’ that are in open rebellion against the Lord, and are yet common to us all. ‘May they not rule over me.’ The implication being that by faith God would forgive, and that God would restore and that God would rule over my heart.

Notice too (in v.14) the concluding words of the servant of God. They are not addressed to him as our accuser. But to our God as our rock (or strength) and our redeemer (or Saviour).

What great confidence this believer has in his God. From being cleansed, and forgiven, and restored by his creator and his redeemer. And in the light of this he can then ask one thing more. That his voice and his heart might be fully attuned to his God.

In the words of Watts:

‘Accept my poor attempts of praisethat I have read your book of graceand book of nature, not in vain.’

At the beginning of this New Year could I encourage you to look afresh to the Lord as you strength and stay during times of testing, or sadness, or grief or pain. To look to the creator God to see his handiwork afresh (in the creation), and to hear the revealed Word of God (in the scriptures). And above all to praise and to worship him with a renewed heart, and fresh vision of what God can do, and with a voice filled with praise and thanksgiving and worship.

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