No Escape

Aug 9

Reflective Reading: Psalm 19

This week I have had the privilege of speaking at a family music festival in Minnesota, and it has truly been a God blessed week! Our staff has been busy at the book and audio table, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s worship and Bible time (which will be today for you). Lives have been touched with the truths of God’s Word, and a new work has begun in individuals and families.

This morning in devotions I revealed something interesting in Psalm 19. Here’s the text:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line (or voice) is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:4-7).

In verses 1-3, God speaks to mankind through his creation. His creative voice speaks in such a way that “there is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” In verse two, God’s voice is unmistakenly demonstrated both “night and day.” Notice that it is God/El we are talking about, not Yahweh/LORD. God, or El in Hebrew, is the strong and mighty One. God speaks powerfully just has He did in Genesis chapter one. In Genesis one, Elohim speaks the world into existence with his power. In Genesis 2, Yahweh speaks with Adam and Eve as He walks and talks with them in the Garden of Eden. These two representations of God are important because they represent both his power and his relational side. He is not too powerful that He can’t come close to His creation.

In Psalm 19 we have this same representation. In the first half of this Psalm, we have God, or El, speaking powerfully through his creation. In the second half we have Yahweh speaking and relating to his created beings through His Word. That said, let’s take a closer look at God’s relation to his creation.

Directly after we learn how God speaks through His creation, and just before we learn how Yahweh is relating to his children through His Word, there is an illustration of the sun running its course with joy, like a groom leaving his chamber. Regarding the sun, king David writes that nothing can escape its heat. This statement is connected to the next sentence:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting (or reviving) the soul.”

Just as “nothing can be hidden” from the heat of the sun, no one can escape the influence of the Word of God when they place themselves under its influence. As the sun brings life to the earth, the Word of God revives the soul. A soul that is revived is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and a strong man rejoicing when he’s running a race. This is the kind of transformation that should be evidenced when a person is under the constant influence of the Word of God.

When a person is under the constant influence of the Word of God, you will find him rejoicing like a runner. The word rejoice (“rejoicing” when running a race) carries the idea of a horse which has been let out of a stall and immediately begins jumping and dancing because of his new-found freedom. This is what a Christian should experience when learning new truths from the Word.

I’ve been around long enough to know that the influence of the Word of God is paramount to a joyful and fulfilled life. While speaking at the music festival, I asked who had been saved longer than me. I was saved when I was twenty-two years old, which makes me forty-nine years old spiritually. One woman raised her hand. She said that she had been saved fifty-four years! I asked her if she had been immersed in the Scriptures daily these past fifty-four years. I wish you could have seen the smile on her face when she answered a resounding “Yes!” I had asked the question because I could see the joyful countenance on her face. The Word of God has an inescapable influence on the soul that leaves an obvious mark on one’s countenance.

Not only does the Word revive the soul, but it also produces daily testimonies:

“The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

The word testimony has a two-fold meaning. A testimony can be truths about God revealed from His Word or truths about God revealed from His children. These truths may represent God’s nature, deliverances, judgments, promises, or answers to prayer.

The testimonies that come from his children are the unmistakable works of God in our lives. We are able to testify that God arranged the circumstances that gave us opportunities to witness to, serve, protect, and care for others. After my seminar, a woman came up to me and shared a recent testimony. While on her way to her daughter’s wedding last week, she prayed that the LORD would keep her safe on the road so that there would be no hinderances or sorrow added to this joyful occasion. While traveling to the church she was hit by a car that had run a red light. The woman in the other car slammed on her breaks and just missed hitting her on the driver’s side door. She shared that she immediately stepped out of the car unhurt and praising the LORD for His protection and answer to prayer! The other woman got out of her car and was crying and quite the emotional mess. The Christian woman calmed her down and said that they both had so much to be thankful for! No one was hurt and both cars were still drivable. The Christian woman continued to praise God for an obvious answer to prayer—an answer that gave her a powerful testimony to share with others. There is nothing in life that is by chance. Answers to prayer are “sure” testimonies.

The word sure, as in “the testimony of the LORD is sure,” is the word for a foster father who carries his child through difficulty. Each time God rescues us from something or protects us, regardless of how small it might seem, it is a testimony. And testimonies need to be shared daily. These testimonies are what “makes wise the simple!” A simple person is naïve, gullible, easily enticed, and empty headed. A person who goes through life without acknowledging that God is carrying them through or guiding them, is a simple person. They are oblivious to the work of God surrounding their lives.

Testimonies are also proofs of God’s relation to his creation. God, the most powerful Being in the universe is relatable. He’s so relatable that he desires to carry us through difficulty. As he carries us through, he is helping us to be wise; helping us to understand that we can trust him. He is both God and LORD; both all-powerful and relatable. When we are convinced of this, we will place ourselves under the daily influence of his Word, holding on to his promises, and testifying how he carries us through every circumstance.

In Psalm 119 we read in the first two verses, a mirror of these truths regarding the Law/Word of the LORD and his testimonies.

“ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”

Lastly, one of the most important reasons to share God’s testimonies, as much as his creation and voice declares his glory and his handywork (or “hand-at-work” in our lives), is for our children. In Deuteronomy we read:

“When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us” (Deuteronomy 6:20-25).

May we be filled with so many testimonies of God’s hand-at-work in our lives that our children are left with no doubt as to this amazing God we serve! I believe that our testimonies will be one of the greatest influences to inspire them to love and serve are God too.

Sincerely,

Mark Hamby

M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min

No Escape

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