Introduction: There are two extremes with regard to hearing the voice of God. The atheist says, "I hear no voice at all. There is a complete silence from Heaven. Therefore there is no God." On the other hand, the mystic says, "God spoke audibly to me today. I heard His voice." or "God told me to ask you for money." or "God told me to be a preacher or missionary." The mystic and the atheist are both wrong. God has spoken, and He is still speaking to mankind, but not like that. Psalm 19 is about hearing the voice of God. What does David teach us?
I. God is speaking to mankind in Creation (General Revelation). (Psalm 19:1-6)
A. Simple observation teaches us that Someone made the world, and that He is very powerful, wise and good.
Romans 1:18-20 says:
Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Rom 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
B. Scientific studies confirm the power and wisdom of God to the nth degree. Biologists are impressed by the intricacies of life. Physicists are impressed by God's wisdom in atomic structure.
C. David was particularly impressed by the sun. The sun happens to be a great example of God's power -- its volume is 1.3 million times larger than the earth. Its interior temperature is 27 million degrees. All our our heat comes from the sun, but we receive only 1 2billionth of the total heat it puts out. Atmosperic pressure on the surface of the sun is 340 billion times our pressure here at sea level. Yet there are billions of suns out there. What a powerful God we worship!
D. The advantage of General Revelation is that there are no language barriers to overcome. (Ps. 19:3-4)
II. God is speaking to mankind in His written Word (Special Revelation).
2 Pet 1:20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
2 Pet 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...
A. General Revelation tells us of God's power and wisdom, but it doesn't tell us the way of salvation.
B. David RECEIVED God's Word. (Ps. 19:7-11) He admired it greatly. He did not reject it.
C. David WAS HUMBLED by God's Word. (Ps. 19:12-13)
D. David WAS MOVED TO FAITH by God's Word. (Ps. 19:14)
E. Jesus is the incarnate Word of God. The Old Testament pointed the way to Him, the Gospels paint a picture of Him, and the Epistles teach us how to live for Him.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Heb 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
Heb 1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son... Jesus is the best and final revelation of God.
III. God no longer speaks in miraculous ways.
A. Before God finished the Bible and gave it to us; and before Jesus was incarnated as the Word of God, God spoke in dreams, visions, signs and sometimes audibly. He no longer does that. PROOF:
1. The Bible says that the old ways will cease:
1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
2. Revelations and miraculous gifts of the Spirit were signs to authenticate the Apostles. There are no more Apostles, therefore these special gifts are gone from the Church.
2 Cor 12:11 I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing.
2 Cor 12:12 The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance.
3. Those who say that revelations from God still are given today leave themselves wide open to false teachers: New doctines of Purgatory, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the infallibility of the Pope; The Book of Mormon, the Koran; the ravings of modern-day televangelists; etc.
4. The Presbyterian position for over 350 years has been given in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter One, paragraph one:
"God's will for the church has been committed wholly unto writing. The holy Scripture is thus most necessary. The former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people are now ceased."
In paragraph six the Confessions says:
"The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men."
B. How then can the Christian know what to do about a specific situation?
Conclusion: The atheist cannot hear God's voice, or see God's hand at work, because he has become deaf and blind. The mystic sees and hears imaginery things. But God has spoken, both in Creation, and in His Word, and we hear His voice. May God help us all to love Him, and to be obedient to His commands. Amen.