The Sanctuary of God's Voice

A quick stop by Cracker Barrel can be quite inspirational sometimes. Recently I found a sign that read, “My garden is a place where I can lose myself to find myself.” Isn’t that true?! I frequently refer to my little backyard garden as my sanctuary. In the process of taking care of all the little chores, time seems to disappear. Its simplicity and beauty causes me to forget about myself and my problems, and before you know it, there’s a three-way conversation between the plant, myself, and God (I still don’t know how He produces yellow squash out of a green plant!). For other people, maybe their sanctuary is a workshop, or seamstress’ table. For Susanna Wesley, her place was a chair. When her seventeen children (two others had died as infants) saw Momma seated, with an apron over her head, they knew to be quiet and leave Momma alone.

God’s glory can be heard throughout all of His creation – the crashing roar of the waves on a beach, the tranquil hush of a lake at dawn, or the singing of a mountain stream over the pebbles. David knew of this as well. In Psalm 19, he wrote:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the sky displays his handiwork.

2 Day after day it speaks out;

night after night it reveals his greatness.

3 There is no actual speech or word,

nor is its voice literally heard.

4 Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth;

its words carry to the distant horizon.

In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun. (Ps. 19:1-4a, NET)

It’s easy to imagine David as a young boy, learning to hear the voice of the Creator while tending his father’s sheep. Just seeing the uniqueness of all creation, spoke to him of his personal value, also, in the eyes of the Lord. David heard the sweetness of this Voice long before Samuel’s oil anointed him to be king. I especially like verses 3 and 4. God’s voice isn’t literally heard – but it is unmistakable!

This majestic glory that David saw in the heavens caused him to respond at the end of the psalm:

12 Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse me from secret faults.

13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;

Let them not have dominion over me.

Then I shall be blameless,

And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Ps 19:12-14, NKJV)

The correlation is simple: David saw the glory of God in the heavens, and asked the Lord to perform the same wondrous work in him as well. He wanted even the words of his mouth and the thoughts of his heart to be acceptable in God’s sight. He knew this was possible since God was his strength and his Redeemer.

Our misunderstanding of this Psalm occurs with the middle verses:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

Yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,

And in keeping them there is great reward. (PS 19:7-11, NKJV)

When we read these verses our minds instantly think of God’s written law, and especially the first five books of the Bible. After all, the Hebrew word is, torah. But I don’t think that’s what David had in mind at all. That is totally out of character with the beginning and ending of this psalm. We talked last Sunday, how, at its root, torah doesn’t mean law in our sense of the word. It means an instruction that causes one to hit the mark.

David sees the Voice of God maintaining order in the heavenly creation. He says this Voice (instruction that is spoken into his heart) changes his soul, causes his heart to rejoice, and enlightens his eyes. It is to be desired more than gold, and is sweeter than honey.

How foolish we have been to think there was any power in words printed on a page. Those words will eventually burn, but God’s word spoken into our hearts, has the power to change us eternally. The words of this Voice will endure forever!