The Republican., 1940-08-08

LESSON TEXT-Psalm 10.
GOLDEN TEXT-Let the words of my
mouth, and the meditation of my heart. be
acceptable in thy sight. o Lord. my
strength. and my redeemer.-Psalm1 1914
Consistently beautiful and beauti-
fully consistent is the revelation of
God, whether it be in the glory of
His works, in the perfection of His
Word, or in His gracious dealings
with man. The spiritually minded
man sees God in all of His works,
whereas the blind materialist sees
only matter and natural laws which
he may use or abuse. He makes
of Gods creation things for his own
comfort or for the destruction of
his fellow men, not recognizing 'the
Creator, who is blessed forever"
This is a serious matter, for in so
doing the unbeliever has changed
the truth of God into lie" (read
Rom. 1:2O-25).
The psalmist here presents God
as He is revealed in nature, in His
Word, and in the heart of man.
l. Gods Glory Revealed in Nature
wv. 1-6).
"The heavens declare the glory of
Cod The sun in all its glory and
power and the starry stiffness of the
night all utter forth a glorious
voice." as Joseph Addison expresses
it:
Forever singing as they shine
The hand that made us is divine
Nature speaks eloquently of God
without saying a single word. The
eye, the mind, and the heart of men
may see in and know from nature
alone the eternal power and God
head so that they are without eX-
cuse" (Rom. 1:20). "No man living
beneath the copes of heaven dwells
beyond the bounds of Gods court
preachers"
Those who do not hear or heed
these voices, whether their ears
"are stopped with the clay of earth
ly tastes and occupations, or stuffed
with scientific Wadding of the most
modern kind" (Maclaren), are de-
scribed by Paul as having their fool
ish heart darkened: "Professing
themselves to be wise, they became
FOOLS (Rom. 1:21, 22).
Nature gives only limited rev.
elation of God, showing His exist
ence, power and wisdom; but to
really know Him we must see
ii. Gods Perfection Revealed in
His Word wv. 7-1D.
- 6 =
it written that God is a Redeemer,
a cleanser from sin, a restorer of
the soul. That truth is found only
in His Word-the Bible. What folly
then for sinful men who need re-
demption to see God only in nature,
but never look into His Word or go
to church that they may hear His
truth proclaimed. The final and
perfect revelation of God is in His
Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.
The psalmist with the eye of faith
saw the perfection of God revealed
in His law. We are privileged to
know the Son of God who came not
"to destroy the law . but to full
fill"
Note the beautiful symmetry of
verses 7-9:
Law. w..............pe perfect. . restoring (R.V)
Testimony. ....... sure. .... making wise
Statutes. ......... right. .... rejoicing
Commandment. pure. enlightening
Fear. r............. .clean.... enduring
Judgments. true. altogether
righteous
Little wonder that the psalmist
says that the words of God are sweet
er than honey, more precious than
gold, and worthy to be needed and
kept The great reward of thus
knowing Gods Word is that we may
learn of
Ill. Gods Grace Revealed in the
Heart of Man wv. 12-14.
Man is sinner; sometimes he
sins unwittingly and ignorantly;
sometimes deliberately and in pre-
sumption; and sometimes both.
What shall he do with his sin? The
psalmist says to bring it to God in
repentance and prayer for cleans
ing We may add to his invitation
the admonition to come for cleans
ing in the blood of Christ.
Come to this fountain, so rich and sweet;
Cast thy poor soul at the Saviours feet;
Plunge in today, and be made complete;
Glory to His name!"
Gods grace not only cleanses-it
keeps us. He is able and willing to
make not only the words of our
mouth, but the very meditation of
our hearts acceptable in His sight.
That means holy living There is
nothing more needed in our day
than a revival of Christian living in
the daily responsibilities of life.
Personal purity of heart and motive,
recognition of Gods Word in thought
and life-these things will make the
believer upright" ". 13) and re-
fleet honor and glory on the Lord
who is our Strength" (R. V.
rocky "and redeemer" ". 14).