Salmos 19
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
Salmos 19:7-14
Phillips says… The stars say: "God is almighty, He is eternal, He is omniscient, He is a God of infinite order and immeasurable power. The Scriptures tell us God is a Person who loves and feels, who knows and cares and rules. So David turns from what God has wrought to what God has written. (Exploring Psalms Volume One) (1) General revelation = God's self-disclosure through the created world as in Ps 19:1 (cp Ro 1:20-note) The general revelation of God in His Creation prepares us for His special revelation in the Scriptures. The light of the created World leads sin blinded men to the light of the Word (Ps 119:105-note) which in turn leads men to the Light of the World (Jesus Christ, Jn 8:12 - Listen to Michael W. Smith's Here I Am To Worship which begins "Light of the World, You stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes… ". Has He opened your eyes dear reader? Hallelujah. Thank You Lord! He is worthy for us to take a moment to be still [Ps 46:10-note], to bow down and to praise and worship the glorious majesty of the majesty [Ps 145:5-note] of our soon coming [Rev 22:7-note] King of kings - Rev 19:16-note). To know life's purpose We must know life's Creator. (2) Special revelation = God's disclosure of Himself by an act of direct revelation, specifically in His written Word as in Ps 19:7 (cp Heb 1:1,2-note, 2Pe 1:20, 21-note) Remember that the Bible makes no attempt to prove God's existence. It assumes it! O Word of God Incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky. --How German philosopher Immanuel Kant alluded to the general revelation of Psalm 19… Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more seriously reflection concentrates upon them: the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me. (Ed comment: On "part A" Kant is correct. On "Part B" Kant is only partially correct, alluding to the conscience [Ro 2:14, 15-note] but not describing the sword that cuts, convicts and then cleanses the conscience. [Heb 4:12, 13-note, Heb 9:13-note]) Related Resources: What is general revelation and special revelation? Watch a 2' 20" video by John Piper International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (scroll down for discussion) The Bible - The Written Word of God - J. Hampton Keathley, III Bibliology - Greg Herrick (simple synopsis - revelation, inspiration, inerrancy, etc) LORD (Jehovah - note) is derived from havah --''to be, to become''. Thus Jehovah speaks to God's being or essence. Jehovah makes one think in terms of being or existence and life. Since Jehovah is the self-existent One and all of life is contained in Him, why do we need to look elsewhere? Why do we not rest in His unchangeableness (cp Mal 3:6)? Here's a working definition of immutability. It means that God does not change in his basic character. There are several ways of expressing this truth: His purposes do not change. He never grows in knowledge or wisdom. He never differs from Himself. He never improves upon His own perfection. He never "grows" or "develops" in any respect. You can always use the word "always" with God, for He is always wise, always sovereign, always good, always just, always holy, always merciful, and always gracious. Whatever God is, he always is. There are no "sometimes" attributes of God. All of His attributes are "always" attributes. He always is what He is. The second verse of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" speaks to this truth… Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrow share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer! Jehovah has never failed and will never fail, nor has His Word of Truth ever failed (cp Josh 21:45, 23:14, 2Cor 1:20KJV). Why would He begin to fail to be my all in all now? (You Are My All In All by Dennis Jernigan) He cannot fail for He is Jehovah, the self-existent, covenant-keeping God. Although God used this name in Genesis 2:4, it was not until Exodus 3:13ff that His people understood the significance of His name, and it was the name that went with His covenant promise to His people as emphasized by Exodus 6:2, 3, 4. When you need assurance that God is there, keeping His promises, never changing even though you may have wavered in your obedience or your "promises" to Him, run to the strong tower of the Name, Jehovah (see Pr 18:10-note) Trust in His name. He is Jehovah, the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8-note - Remember that Jehovah = Jesus!). Wiersbe makes the interesting observation that when David described Creation, he… used Elohim (See notes on Elohim: My Creator) (Ps 19:1), the name that speaks of God’s great power; but when he wrote about God’s Word, seven times he used the “covenant” name Jehovah (see notes), for the God of creation is also the God of personal revelation to His people. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament. Victor or Wordsearch) Perfect (08549) (tamiym from tamam = complete, comprehensive, all-sided so as to cover all aspects of a thing, used in Ps 19:13, Ge 17:1 = 'blameless') means that the law of the LORD is without defect or blemish, whole, undefiled, of utmost integrity, sound, healthful, wholesome. As a moral concept, it speaks of uprightness, so fittingly tamiym is used to describe God - Dt 32:4 Job 37:16 2Sa 22:31 (Where Lxx = amomos) The law of the LORD is complete, lacking nothing (see 2Pe 1:3-note) and is the very essence of integrity, entirely in accord with truth, complete, sound (cp 2Ti 1:13-note 2Ti 4:3-note), whole, without spot, undefiled. The word lacks nothing in order that it might be what it should be. It is complete as a revelation of Divine truth and complete as a rule of conduct. J M
Salmos 19:7-14
Phillips notes that… There are two kinds of cleansing. There is a radical cleansing from sin that depends on the blood of Christ. There is also a recurrent cleansing from sin that depends on the Word of God. This recurrent cleansing was centered in Old Testament times in the laver, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The laver was made of the mirrors of the women and filled with water. Thus it both revealed defilement and it removed defilement. It symbolized the cleansing function of the Word of God. (cp Jas 1:22, 23, 24-note, Jas 1:25-note) We need to spend time daily reading God's Word so that its convicting and cleansing action might act upon our souls. (Ibid) Webster (1828) on acquit - "To set free; to release or discharge from an obligation, accusation, guilt, censure, suspicion, or whatever lies upon a person as a charge or duty." Naqah - 42x in 33v in the NAS - Gen 24:8, 41; Exod 20:7; 21:19; 34:7; Num 5:19, 28, 31; 14:18; Deut 5:11; Judg 15:3; 1 Sam 26:9; 1 Kgs 2:9; Job 9:28; 10:14; Ps 19:12f; Prov 6:29; 11:21; 16:5; 17:5; 19:5, 9; 28:20; Isa 3:26; Jer 2:35; 25:29; 30:11; 46:28; 49:12; Joel 3:21; Nah 1:3; Zech 5:3. NAS = acquit(3), acquitted(2), avenge(1), avenged(1), blameless(1), by means clear(1), completely acquitted(1), completely free(1), completely free from punishment(1), deserted(1), free(4), free from punishment(1), go unpunished(8), immune(1), innocent(1), leave unpunished(2), means leave(4), by means leave unpunished(2), by means leave unpunished(2), purged(2), unpunished(1), without guilt(1). Spurgeon… Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Thou canst mark in me faults entirely hidden from myself. It were hopeless to expect to see all my spots; therefore, O Lord, wash away in the atoning blood even those sins which my conscience has been unable to detect. Secret sins, like private conspirators, must be hunted out, or they may do deadly mischief; it is well to be much in prayer concerning them. In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree was passed that every true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this declaration, that there is no hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their sins as easily as they can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have committed in one hour, there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the sins that are known to us and that we may be able to confess, there are a vast mass of sins, which are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are secret, and come not beneath our eye. If we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves. The transgressions which we see and confess are but like the farmer's small samples which he brings to market, when he has left his granary full at home. We have but a very few sins which we can observe and detect, compared with those which are hidden from ourselves and unseen by our fellow creatures. (Ps 19:12 Treasury of David) John Phillips… Martin Luther tells us that when the words: "The just shall live by faith" first dawned upon his darkened soul it was "like entering into paradise." The words are his. "Before those words broke upon my mind, I hated God and was angry with Him because, not content with frightening us sinners by the law and by the miseries of life, He still further increased our torture by the gospel. But when, by the Spirit of God, I understood those words 'the just shall live by faith'—then I felt born again, like a new man. I entered in by the open doors into the very paradise of God. In very truth this text was to me the true gate of paradise." As the hymnwriter put it:There are two kinds of cleansing. There is a radical cleansing from sin that depends on the blood of Christ. There is also a recurrent cleansing from sin that depends on the Word of God. This recurrent cleansing was centered in Old Testament times in the laver, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The laver was made of the mirrors of the women and filled with water. Thus it both revealed defilement and it removed defilement. It symbolized the cleansing function of the Word of God. We need to spend time daily reading God's Word so that its convicting and cleansing action might act upon our souls.John Phillips Commentary Series, The - The John Phillips Commentary Series – Exploring Psalms, Volume One: An Expository Commentary. Adam Clarke's comment is excellent (and convicting) stating that I should ask to be acquitted… From those which I have committed, and have forgotten; from those for which I have not repented; from those which have been committed in my heart, but have not been brought to act in my life; from those which I have committed without knowing that they were sins, sins of ignorance; and from those which I have committed in private, for which I should blush and be confounded were they to be made public. Ebenezer Erskine writes of the believer's burdens while still in this earthly house (his body)… Not only is he burdened with a burden of clay, but also with a burden of sin. I mean indwelling corruption, the secret atheism, enmity, unbelief, ignorance, pride, hypocrisy, and other abominations of his heart. O but this is a heavy burden, which many times is likely to dispirit the poor believer, and press him down to the very ground. David (though a man according to God's own heart,) yet cries out under this burden, "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults," Psalm 19:12. (The Groans Of Believers Under Their Burdens) ><>><>><> Who can discern his errors? - In the Scottish highlands is an old bridge that spans a wild cataract. Its structure is so massive, and it rises so high above the gorge that it is known as “The High Bridge.” But something happened that made it necessary for officials to condemn it. A tiny birch seed, caught by a gust of wind, dropped into a small crevice above the keystone. It lodged unnoticed in the lime, and before long it germinated. Soon it was a young sapling, but still nobody saw it. As it grew into a tree, its roots went deep into the mortar. Eventually it began to loosen and crack the masonry so that the arch was severely damaged. The bridge that had defied violent storms and supported the weight of marching armies finally had to be closed to traffic. It had succumbed to a small seed. So too in the Christian life, one little hidden sin can weaken the foundation of a person’s character and be the cause of his downfall. I think David must have sensed this when he cried out, “Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.” Such a prayer does not open the door to morbid introspection. Rather, it expresses a desire that the soul-searching work of God’s convicting power will reveal to us our spiritual defects. To ask for less is to run the risk of allowing some evil, though it be ever so small, to take root in our hearts. Soon the seed becomes a sapling; and the sapling becomes a full-grown tree, dislodging the spiritual masonry of our lives. Recognizing that our iniquities and secret sins are all known by God (Psalm 90:8), let us daily seek His cleansing. -P. R. Van Gorder. It is possible to be full of Scripture and full of carnality. ><>><>><> Alexander