portions of it, but our focal point will be verses 12 through 14. That's Psalms number 19 verses 12 through 14. Who can understand his errors, cleanse me from secret faults? Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. May God richly bless both the reading and the hearing of his holy word. This 19th number of Psalms, which was composed by David, can be divided along three main lines or into three parts. The first part, which would be verses 1 through 6, makes the case for the extent as well as the inescapable evidence of natural revelation. Verses 1 through 6 make the case for the extent and the inescapable evidence of natural revelation. And by natural revelation, what we mean is that creation or nature reveals something about God. David makes the case in the first six verses that the very heavens are, he uses the language of an individual messenger. He says that the heavens declare and they cry out, they speak, they preach, they proclaim. This is what Paul speaks of in Romans 1. When he says that we are without evidence of God, just by virtue of the creation. The creation itself is evidence of a creator whether you believe it or not or you understand the message or not, the point that David makes in the first six verses is that natural revelation is an inescapable evidence of a creator. And then in verses 7 through 12 or 11 actually, David moves from natural revelation, which is creation to special revelation. Special revelation means the revealed word of God. Now nature reveals that there is a God, but nature doesn't tell us about God's love or of his saving grace. And so David confines that to verses 6 through 11 or 7 through 11 and he outlines both the distinction and the necessity of special revelation. Natural revelation tells us there's a creator. Special revelation tells us that the creator saves. Natural revelation tells us there is a right and a wrong, but special revelation is what makes provisions for those who have failed to keep the right that is revealed in natural revelation. So special revelation is really the whole of God's word. This is important especially when we look in the Old Testament, when Old Testament writers, particularly David, speaks of the word of God, he uses oftentimes words like the commandments of God or the law of God, the judgments of God. We see this particularly in the 119th Psalm where he uses all of these different expressions for the word of God. And that is called some contemporary Christians to think that David is only referring to God's law. But understand that Old Testament saints also had access to the gospel. It was not fulfilled in the person of Christ yet, but when they speak of the law, they are speaking of the totality of God's revelation to his people. At sometimes they do parcel it out where the emphasis is on the particular precepts or the things that God has commanded. But David with the full grasp and we will see this really from the breadth of everything else that he says here, it is clear that he is not just speaking of the moral or the civil or the ceremonial law of God. In verses 11 through 14, or 7 through 11, what David is really outlining is God's word as a whole. And God's word as a whole would consist of both law that which he requires and gospel that which he gives. Now one of the things that makes me convince that he is addressing both law and gospel here is what he says in verse 7. He says the law of God is perfect converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. Now just the law, if you're just talking about the commandments of God, the commandments of God do not convert the soul. The commandments of God tell us what God requires and it certainly reveals all that God has, what God requires of his image bearers and it certainly brings us under conviction. But the law has no power to convert the soul. It is the gospel that has the ability to convert the soul. You say, well, how did David get access to the gospel? Well, through all of the rituals that were associated with the mosaic law and the day of atonement indicated God's saving grace and his mercies and God's grace contained in the law which also is, when we speak of the law, the broader context of God's word, that's what's able to convert the soul. So when David speaks of the law of God converting the soul, the only thing that can convert the soul is the gospel of God. That's why in the New Testament, Paul in particular speaks of the law as being, it's difficult that the law, or not just Paul in the book of Galatians, but also the book of Hebrews. He says, listen, the law, it tells us what we are to do, but the law leaves us condemned. And Paul says in Romans in particular, he says that every mouth may be stopped. And that's what the law does if we're just talking about the requirements of God. So when David uses law here, this is a catchphrase for the totality of God's word, which would include both law and gospel. So verses one from six makes the case for the extent and the inescapable evidence of natural revelation that God reveals something about himself in his creation. Verses seven through eleven outlines the distinction and the necessity of special revelation. Yes, man is without excuse if God has never given us a Bible. Man is still without excuse in terms of his knowledge of God and his obligations to God, but God in his grace has given us special revelation. He's given us both law and gospel to more clearly articulate that sense of right and wrong that we see just from natural revelation and to articulate the depths and all of the boundaries of his saving grace. But our focal point is found in the third portion of Psalms 19 and the third section of Psalms 19 shows us
really the function, the practical function of special revelation, the practical function of special revelation. So verses one through six give us natural revelation or emphasize natural revelation. Verses seven through eleven show the distinction between natural revelation and special revelation or special revelation and natural revelation as well as the necessity of it. And verses 12 through 14 show us the practical implications of special revelation. And so I want to use this really as our final message for 2014. And so I want to begin with the goal of daily Christian living or really should be the goal of daily living for all of the image bearers of God that's really seen here in verse 14 in particular. In verse 14 this is really it summarizes the goal of Christian living, daily Christian living that the words of our mouth and the meditations or the thoughts of our hearts would be acceptable to God. Now that's the goal. That should be the goal of Christian living. Now let me emphasize here. We're not talking about to become accepted to God. That's in fact this message in this regard is really for believers. Those who have an embrace of the gospel because as Paul tells us in Ephesians 1, 6 that we have been made accepted in the below. So we're talking about living as those who have been accepted by God so that our words and the very meditation of our heart would be acceptable to Him. Now whatever our resolutions were as we began 2014 as Christians I pray that the motivation behind our various resolutions for the year that is about to end the motivation behind them was that our words and that our thoughts would be acceptable to God. Now that may be intentional in some cases some Christians may have begun the year in recognizing you know what that I'm not, I'm accepted in the below but my words, my thoughts over the previous year I know it's inconsistent with what I ought to be and so some have been very intentional in that and some haven't even recognized that they failed in this regard and therefore they are making resolutions to do better or made resolutions to do better for 2014 and basically what they're saying. If we are really trying to improve in any area it's that we would, that our words, our very meditations or the very meditations of our hearts would be acceptable on to God. I pray that that would be the motive for anything that we resolve for the upcoming year and so it kind of runs like this. It's similar to what we often say or we certainly mentioned this during the Christmases or the Advent season and as people say it about the Easter season that and Thanksgiving, that for Christians, Christmas is every day. For Christians, the substance of Thanksgiving is every day. Likewise, for Christians, every day, our goal and our aim ought to be that our words and that our very thoughts, the motives or the meditations of our hearts are acceptable to God, that's a lofty and a worthy goal for daily living. At the beginning of every day, at the beginning of every year it ought to be our conscious commitment and desire that our words and that our very thoughts would be acceptable to God and not only is this true for believers this really ought to be the goal and it ought to be the aim of every image bearer of God. That's what He's created us for. He created Adam in a state where those two things were true that his words then that his meditation of his heart was acceptable to God and that ought to be our goal and that ought to be our aim and particularly for those who have been saved by grace those who have already been made acceptable to God, those who have been received by God through the beloved that our goal ought to be daily, moment by moment and all that we do and all of our interactions all of the hats that we wear, all of the positions that we occupy, whatever place that we find ourselves in, whatever we engage our hands to do, it should be our goal. It should be our desire that the words that we speak and not even the words that we speak but the words that we even think about speaking and the very meditation of our hearts would be acceptable to God. Now if you don't think that is a daily obligation and ought to be the daily desire, when is it good? When is it right for our words and for the meditation of our heart? When is it right for those not to be acceptable to God? What moment, what day of the week is that okay? And so therefore what we see here, that's capture. David, what captures what's captured by David and this 14th verse of the 19th Psalm as he has given us a knowledge of this great God with whom we have to deal with whose existence is screaming out by the stars and one who has given us his revealed word. David gives us the goal and I pray that this was the goal that and if you didn't have it for 2014, I pray that the goal for every day of your Christian life if the Lord grants you to see 2015, that your goal would be that your words and that your meditation of your heart because your actions flow out of those two things. You see what you do will be shaped, what your speech is only the verbal expression of your physical commitments. And likewise your thoughts, that's what drives the engine, that's what stokes our engine, it's the motivation of our hearts. That's why one of the harshest condemnations that God gives on fallen humanity really comes after the flood where he says that he will not destroy the earth again although man's very imaginations are wicked from the time he's a youth. And so God condemns us at the level of our of the meditation of the heart and so those of who have been made accepted in the beloved everything that we are is wrapped up in those two things and so David gives us really what ought to be our goal for the upcoming year and certainly it ought to be it ought to be as the writer of Hebrews or excuse me Ecclesiastes reminds us because when we speak of our words and when we speak of the meditation of our heart what we are acknowledging is that the fear of God as the writer of Ecclesiastes says the fear of God and the keeping of this commandment that is man's home, that's it. That's what we've been created for again so whatever hat we put on, whatever circumstance we may find ourselves in or circumstance that finds us we still have the responsibility of making sure that our words and the very meditation of our hearts that they are acceptable to God. Paul tells us that God is at work in us as believers in Philippians 2.13 he says that God is at work in us causing us to do what, causing us to both will and to do of his good pleasure and so where we get the guarantee of God strengthening for us where we get the promise and the certainty that God will enable you to do this is in doing that which is acceptable to him because that's what he's at work in us doing but here's the second thing that you'll notice the second consideration is that if making sure that our words and our thoughts are acceptable to God if that is our aim, if that was our aim for 2014 and if this is our aim for the beginning of the new year and it is our desire and certainly it ought to be then as we look back, as we look back on the year that is ending and we all acknowledge no one would say that no it's okay when our thoughts and our words are not acceptable to God. No one would make that confession but here's what we suggested that if that is the case that if our hearts or our words and meditation of our hearts are always supposed to be acceptable to God and we stand at the end of one year and we are projecting into another year here's what we suggested, look back on the year that passed and can we say that boy, this is the year when I finally made it where all of my words and all of the meditations of my heart were acceptable to him. Can we say that? No, that's why this is our daily resolution. That's why every day is new years for Christians because we recognize you know what? This is the oughtness of our living but herein is our failure and so since in other words as we look back to the year that was and we can't say that we succeeded in making sure that all of our words and all of our meditations were acceptable to God and we'll look at perhaps some of the reasons that it got a little astute for us then we are reminded here of the rhetorical question that David raises in verse 12 and that's also critical for us and analyzing the year that was and preparing for the year that is a hint. Here's a rhetorical question that he raises in verse 12. Who can understand his errors? You see what again we are talking about God at work in his word but he says who can understand his errors? Now the intended, now I said that's a rhetorical question and rhetorical questions means that the answer is obvious. So when you read that you don't say well either me or oh yeah brothers this is someone so they say no. No, who can understand his error? The reason David inserts that question is because the answer ought to be obvious the answer is no one. No one. What in a broad sense are the errors that we are not always aware of. In a broad sense what does he mean by errors because someone say well the language is too small it's too soft there it should be sin and certainly errors are sins when errors don't line up with God what God has intended but David is speaking to the beloved and since he's speaking to the beloved with the aroma of sacrifice blood that makes them accepted David is now reminding us that we have errors and those errors those errors that we are not aware of it is when our words, it's when our thoughts are not acceptable to God. And if we are to avoid the errors of the past where we have not our words have not been what they ought to be in other words they've not been acceptable to God when the motivations of our heart and the fruit which is the work that they, the fruit of it which is the actions that flow out of our thinking and our working or our speaking when these things show that we have sinned how can we discover those errors. You see David raises a question because he assumes that everyone who reads this who ought to make sure that their words and the meditation of their hearts are acceptable to God recognizes that their words and their their their meditations are not acceptable to God. And so he raises a question then who can understand his errors. Now in another words David is suggesting is that as we stand on the the the the the the the the brinks of an end of one year and we head into a new year it's interesting that many people will make some of the same resolutions that we made last year, right? But we don't make any changes in our thinking. And it's become a cliche so so so dried and that it has no more punch. But but people say well you know the definition of insanity is when you do the same thing all the time and expect a different result it's lost his punch I grant that. But certainly this time of year reminds me of why such a saying came into existence to begin with. Because there are many that are gonna say the same thing oh I want to I just want to love more I just want to do this and then they'll go right back to doing the same thing and it's primarily because especially when it comes to our Christian wall is because we've not availed ourselves to that which exposes our errors. Look at what David says in verse eight. In verse 80 says that the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. Basically what David is saying and this is what my prayer for all of us is is that we move and moving forward we ought to be what God wants us to be we know that. But but in moving forward that that that we would pray that God by his spirit and his word that he would enlighten our eyes through his word. So that we can see our errors. See some people have been crying about the same things but they've they've not been their eyes haven't been enlightened to see their own culpability. What David says is that it's the word of God in that sense. It's the law of God that enlightens our hearts. Paul says in Romans seven I think this is in conjunction here in Romans seven Paul and I pray that that God would would give us such an insight into our thinking into our speaking into all of our doing that we don't measure ourselves by others who are just as bad as we are that we would measure ourselves that we would God would enlighten our eyes. So that is Paul says in Romans seven that we would see the exceeding sinfulness of sin in all that God calls in that we would see it. You see our tendency is that we would only see it as it manifests itself in others. We see the obvious. We see great sins. We see the sins of others and then we compare ourselves to that. David says God's word enlightens our eyes so that I'm not and that's what I think Jesus is getting at when he speaks of those who go around talking about the spec in everyone else's eye and they can't see the beam in their own. You see here's if we, if our words, the meditation of our hearts are to be acceptable to him, then we and we know that is our daily obligation and everyone would acknowledge, I haven't taken, I haven't passed out ballots and asked your had you to raise your hand to see who hasn't made that standard but I know the answer, brothers and sisters, if that's the case, do we see our errors? Do we see it? Do we see what's wrong with our thinking that causes us to think that wrong is right? Do we see it and only God's word can illuminate our eyes enlighten us so that we could see it for what it is because what is it that hindered us from last year, let's not even go on last year, I was, my wife and I was watching it, we're watching a specialty of the night on the news and they gave an overview of the whole year, man, I, some of the stuff that happened this year, I thought it happened five years ago. Some of the people that died this year, I thought they died three, four years ago and it just goes to show how much stuff happens and how fast it happens. So let's not try to serve it every day of this year and a good luck if you think you can do that and see where your thinking went off. That's taken in too much, right? How about if we do it today? How about those things that we thought about? Those things, those words that we spoke today that are not acceptable to the Lord. Today, you say, well, I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast but it's easier than remembering the motives from January, right? You see, here is our challenge. There's something that is within us. And so what is it that prompts error? What is it that prompts error? Well, basically it's two things that causes even the accepted to walk or to think in a way that's inconsistent with God's word. It's two things that you can reduce it to two. One would be the sin that remains in you and the other is the sin that's in the world. You see, something, notice what David goes on to say, he says that he prays that, in other words, he says that our eyesight needs to be enlightened by God's word so that we can see things correct because if we don't see things correct, he gives us sort of a progression but it's not really a progression in verses 12. He speaks of secret sin or secret faults. And secret, it doesn't just mean in a nefarious sort of way where you're hiding it, but it's not clear to your view. It's something that hasn't been revealed and our sins that become secret, they mount up when we are not enlightened by God's word. But then he also speaks of presumptuous sins in verse 13. He says, and keep your servant back also from presumptuous sins. The Hebrew word that's translated there for presumption means arrogant. So there are two things that would cause us to, even though everyone would admit that daily our obligation ought to be, and we hear this at the end of many prayers that let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, but are they? And the answer to that is no. And the question then would be, well why isn't, why haven't we allowed, even consciously, our words to always be acceptable to God? And why isn't that we have not always made sure that our meditations are acceptable to God? And it would be one because of our fall in nature. Because of our fall in nature, we love sin more than we would love to admit it. I've often said, one of the reasons we're better at sin than we are at righteousness is because we have more experience at it. Sin is the one thing that you do naturally. Now I know that you have some people that just have certain instincts, certain natural abilities to play music or to play sports, but that's not discovered until a ball is thrown. If you take a person that has all of the physical abilities to be the greatest baseball player in the world, but he doesn't live in a part of the world where they play baseball, you'll never discover them. But you'll discover he's a sin, a sinner. And you know when you'll discover it's parents, you know, when they're crying and there's nothing wrong. They've been fed, the diaper is clean, and they're still crying. Why? Because they want attention. We are sinners from the word come. And so the sin that is within us, that causes us to see all of life from the me-lens. That's what keeps us from making sure that our words, the meditation of our hearts are acceptable to God. But then it's not just the sin that is in us, but it's also the sinful world that we live in. You see, we can be law-biting citizens, good, upstanding citizens until somebody does something. And then we think that justifies us. In speaking, and in thinking, and in doing, in a way that is inconsistent with what is pleasing to God. You see, whatever it is, and you can fill in your own blanks. That's one of the issues that is before us, as we look at the nation, we are looking at several social issues and concerns that are very troubling. We are seeing the rise of racial tensions that we haven't seen in years. That whatever your side on the issue is, however you respond to it, here's what we are as children of God. Doesn't mean that we put our head in the sand. No, we should be making a difference, raising our voices, but in raising our voices, must make sure that we're doing it in a way. That is acceptable to God. See, that is our issue, that is our concern because sometimes the injustice that we receive, sometimes the injuries that we receive, the insults, the disappointments that we see, that we see and that we experience from the hands of others can also cause us. To act in a way that is not acceptable to God. See, so here's what David gives us. And again, there are issues out there, and there are issues that will confront us not only in society as a whole, but in your homes, on your job, in your interactions with family and friends, there are things that will cause you, that will either stir up the old Adam in you, cause of what you've experienced. You will feel that it's okay not to be acceptable to God in your words and in your deeds. That brings us to a third consideration that David gives us here. If we have failed in our aim to have our words and our thoughts acceptable to God, then ultimately that means that in certain situations that we have operated under a dominion or authority that is in conflict with the authority of God. In other words, we have been dominated by an inferior source of authority. Look at what David says in verse 13. He says, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins, presumptuous means, arrogance which falls, the which flows from our fallen nature, or it's the reaction of our fallen nature to things that take place around us. But then he goes on to say this, let them not have dominion over me.
Not only does he say, keep me back from my fallen nature, keep me back from that. Keep me back from the fallen, the intentions and inclinations that remain the residue of remaining sin that remains with it or that still is within me. Keep me back from acting on what is so natural to me. And keep me from being stirred in that direction because of the things that take place outside of me. And David gives us this interesting insight. And he says, and don't let presumptuous sin have dominion over me. Don't let my source of authority be my own fallen nature
or the corrupt world that's around me. I remember watching baseball as, no, I love baseball and I remember watching baseball as a kid. And one of my favorite players at the time was Willie Davis. Number three was Los Angeles Dodgers, centerfielder. And Willie Davis, my father put it to use his terms. Willie Davis had a bad understand. He didn't like people throwing clothes at him. And so when he, you know, somebody would throw at him or he felt the pitch was too close, then he had a history of just charging the mountain, just going out after the guy that threw at him. And so when I was coming up and I was playing baseball and I didn't realize I'm playing 12-year-old kids and they just don't know how to throw straight, right? They just can't throw straight. It's not in them yet. And so I got hit by a pitch. My instinct was to, I was dominated really by the spirit of Willie Davis. I thought I was supposed to either throw my bat at him or throw it down and go get him. And so I'm ready to go out there. And my father's, what are you doing?
Brothers and sisters, there's something that causes us to act. There's something that causes us to speak. There's something in us. There's whatever it is that causes and the language that David uses here is it has dominion over you. Bad understanding, bad disposition has dominion over you. Being rude and disrespectful, it has dominion over you. Being negligent and slothful in the things of God, it has a grip over you. That's the language that Paul uses in Galatians when they are less than enthralled about the gospel. He says, who has bewitched you? Who put a spell on you? David is using similar language here. But as we stand at the end of one year, and as we look forward to the beginning of another year if the Lord is gracious, here's what our goal ought to be, that the very words of our mouths, the very motivations and meditations of our heart would always be acceptable to him. But we stand here convicted because our errors tell us reason we have to pledge to do it again is because we messed up again. And we pray that God would enlighten our eyes so that we would see sin for what it is, that we would see gossip as murder, that we would see that which is inconsistent with God's word for the sinfulness for what it is, that we would see it as God sees it, and that we would recognize that it actually when we continue to act, it is because we have allowed something to have dominion over us. Brothers and sisters, my prayer for you for the new year is that as you have been made accepted by God or to God in Christ, that you would recognize more consciously and consistently the Lordship of Jesus. Lordship of Jesus doesn't just mean saying that, you know, well, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord in head of my life. No, it means what Paul says in 2 Corinthians, that we would submit every thought and every word, hold it captive and bring it to the obedience of Christ. Because brothers and sisters, we have been crucified to the world and the world has been crucified to us so that if we have made errors in how we have judged our own affections, our own actions, our own words, that my prayer is that God by his spirit through his word would show us a more excellent way so that we daily would strive to make sure that our words and the meditations of our hearts are acceptable to him and so that we would see obedience to him as something that is desirable for us and that we would recognize the power of the Lordship of Christ, that which we haven't do doesn't mean we can't. And the only way that we will be able to is that we stand in his power. What a wonderful word here in David's song he begins in a broad sweep in talking about the inescapable evidence of God in his creation. Then he takes it to the level of God's word and then he brings God's word home to us and God's word home to us means, brothers and sisters, I pray that it is your goal and your desire that the very words you speak and every meditation and thought of our hearts would be acceptable to God. And when they are not, that God by his spirit would enlighten our eyes to see it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the reminders that you have given us of the bounty of your grace. We thank you for the knowledge of salvation that you've given us in Jesus Christ. And we also thank you for your indwelling spirit that as we make use of the means that you have appointed we can see our sins for what they are. And you've strengthened us to turn and to walk in a new way. We pray that your people who have been called by your name would take heed to both the word and the means that you have provided. So that this day and the year that is before us every day that follows, it would be our aim that our words and the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable to you. Show it to us when we are not and strengthen us and encourage us that it may be so. We ask all of these things in Christ's name, amen.