The Sermon uses scriptures Psalm 19. It was preached on January 27, 2019 at Vespers Service at Presbyterian Communities in Florence, SC.
Meditations of the Heart
I love how they can speak to us about
God’s love,
forgiveness, and grace in our daily lives;
they also
proclaim the beauty of creation in
the world
around us.
Psalm
19 shows us the balance between creation:
The heavens declare the glory of
God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
and the law:
The law of the Lord is
perfect, refreshing the soul.
The psalmist sees a connection
in taking time to be in God’s creation
and
in finding delight in God’s law, the torah.
The first 6 verses concentrate on
the greatness of creation.
Think of the wonders you and I see around us each
day.
How do you and I see God's creation?
For me, I have always connected with God through nature;
when I need
answers, a walk in the woods or a garden,
gives me an opportunity to hear God’s voice.
I go to the
woods to pray to hear God's voice on the breeze,
and to feel the quiet and peace that
only nature can bring to my soul[1].
When you and I think of
creation,
certain images may come to mind…
the garden of Eden,
a
perfect place with unimaginable beauty
and
abundance;
the vast
ocean with horizons going on and on
and
full of unseen life;
mountains reaching to the sky
as if they are
pointing to heaven;
and in the
words of the psalmist about the sun:
“…rising
is from the end of the heavens,
and
its circuit to the end of them;
and
nothing is hid from its heat.”
The sun and all of creation testifies to God.
In James Mays’ commentary on the Psalms,
he mentions the notion that
“…every
created thing has the capacity of a creature
to acknowledge its originator.”[2]
Creation manifests the glory of its Creator and
silently bears witness to the
Creator.
In her writings, the 12th century abbess and prophetess
Hildegard of Bingen says we observe
creation
through our senses:
in seeing, to recognize all the world,
in hearing, to
understand,
in smelling,
to discern,
in tasting,
to nurture,
in touching,
to govern.
In this way
humankind comes to know God,
for God is
the author of all creation.[3]
When
you and I stop to take in the world around us,
we are given the gift of time:
to take a breath,
to pause,
to thank our Creator.
The psalmist offers more than
connecting to God
through
creation, the next verses discuss
the
incomparable value of the law of the Lord.
There is beauty, not only in creation, but also in God’s law.
God’s sovereignty is
proclaimed by cosmic voices and
the words
of God are given to humankind in God's
law.
Through the law, the torah,
the Lord revives, enhances, and guides
human life.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the
soul;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening
the eyes;”
Life depends on the law as much
as it depends on the daily rising of
the sun.
We have been given a world to live in
and laws that guide us in our
life.
For the Israelites and the psalmist,
God’s guidance was in the words of
the Torah;
you and
I can see the words of God throughout
all scriptures, Old and New
Testament.
From creation
to the Ten Commandments,
from the wandering in the wilderness
to the exile and return,
from the wisdom of proverbs
to the prophecies of the prophets,
from the birth of a Savior
to the Resurrection of a Redeemer,
from the Disciples and Acts of the Apostles
to the Letters of Paul and the
Revelation given to John,
God’s presence, mercy, love and grace is revealed to all.
In the final verses of Psalm 19,
there is a prayer for God’s help.
The psalmist is seeking God’s pardon and restoration;
he knows
that the joy found in creation is not enough;
he knows he cannot be righteous through the Torah alone;
it is all
dependent on the Lord.
You and I
have the very human need for
divine forgiveness and protection.
Through God there can be forgiveness;
love motivated God to create
humankind and
bear the burden of human disobedience.
The ultimate answer to the prayer is the Good News of Jesus,
our Savior and Redeemer.
Jesus, has power over creation,
knows the
law, the prophets, the words of the psalms, and
embodies
God’s love for humanity in word and deed.
Creation, the law, all reflect one truth…the love of God;
God’s love is manifested in the story of Israel,
in the life of the psalmist,
and in the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus.
By
embracing the world around us,
by examining how God’s laws influence and
guide our daily lives, and
by following the
teachings of Jesus,
we know that life is full of possibilities…
to connect and be in communion with God,
to listen to God, learn from the life of Jesus,
to have a meaningful and
deep relationship
with God and neighbor,
and to know the Holy Spirit is at work in the world.
The
psalmist proclaimed the meditations of his heart
with the final words of the Psalm:
“O Lord, my rock
and my redeemer.”
What
does your heart and my heart say?
You
and I can encounter God in creation, in
the scriptures,
and in our daily lives.
We
too have that capacity to let our heart speak,
confess to God,
admit our weaknesses,
and praise and give glory to our ‘rock and redeemer’.
The psalmist knew he was dependent on God,
you and I
know we have the same need for God’s help;
we cannot save
ourselves.
We
depend on help from others and we help others;
we rely om a community of faith and
fellowship;
and most importantly with guidance
from the Lord above,
through the love of God,
the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
