Turn with me, if you would, again to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, as we considered last week, the first six verses there, David speaks of general revelation. And now in the remaining part of the chapter, we consider special revelation. Psalm 19, as well, please turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 70, article 2 of the Belgian Confession. Again, split into two parts, the two means that God has made known unto us. We considered the first part last week. And also if you would turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3. I made a mistake in the bulletin, it's not chapter 2, it's chapter 3. Just a couple of verses to read there. Psalm 19, 2 Timothy 3, and then page 70 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. As we give our attention to the Word of God. The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from His pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run His course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other. Nothing is hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much purer gold. They are sweeter than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins. May they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. And turning over to Paul's charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He's reminding Timothy of his teaching, his way of life and so forth, and the persecution he endured about evil men and imposters and so forth. And then verse 14, 14 through 17. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scriptures God breathed in is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And then page 70 in the back of the Psalter hymnal, article 2. Again, by what means God has made known unto us. We know Him by two means. First, the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, which is before our eyes as a most elegant book wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to see clearly the invisible things of God, even His everlasting power and divinity, as the Apostle Paul says, Romans 1.20. All which things are sufficient to convince men and leave them without excuse. And then for our particular concern this morning, second, he makes himself more clearly and fully known to us by his holy and divine word that is to say, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life, to his glory and our salvation. Before we begin, I also forgot something else that I was going to mention earlier. If you would consider, in preparation for this evening's sermon, reading Judges chapters 10 and 11. We will consider chapter 11 tonight, but in preparation for that, Judges chapters 10 and 11. Beloved in Christ, if you think about it, it's interesting, I believe, that on the one hand, man's greatest need is to know God. And then on the other hand, everywhere man looks, that most elegant book of creation is there wide open for every eye to see. That most elegant book, as we considered last week, which reveals the glory, the eternal power, and the divine nature of God, as Paul says. Now, isn't that wonderful? Man has this need to know God, and all he has to do is open his eyes and behold the truth of God. Isn't that wonderful? Well, that would be wonderful if it was as easy as that, wouldn't it? But it doesn't work quite that easy, does it? Man is blinded because of sin. Apart from Jesus Christ, even with his eyes wide open, looking at the endless ocean or the majestic mountains or the beauty of a newborn baby's face or even the broad expanse of the skies with all the stars on a clear night, even with his eyes wide open to see all those things, man is blind to the truth that all of these things preach. Because of sin, man doesn't even see God as Creator. And therefore, as we said last week, the world book of general revelation is not sufficient to satisfy man's greatest need to know God as Redeemer through Jesus Christ. Creation is not enough to reveal God as the God of salvation to one who is spiritually blind. But praise be to God that we are not without hope. Because God has given to us another book. His Word book. And again, David in Psalm 19 talks about this book after talking about God's world book. Therefore, we consider this morning knowing God through His Word book of special revelation. We call it special revelation because God reveals Himself in a particular or special way to a particular people. This is the book we need, beloved, in order to remove the blinders that we might see things clearly, to see and to understand the truth. The truth of this book alone, applied by the Holy Spirit, drives away the darkness and the ignorance of unbelief as the psalmist testifies in Psalm 119, verse 105, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. And what's interesting is not only do we need the light of special revelation to know God as Creator and Redeemer, but we also need the light of special revelation to show us our need to know God. To explain to us in simple language that we need to know God. It's only after we are born again by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit that the blinders of sin are removed and we understand our great need and our comfort as we come to know is that through His Word Book of Special Revelation, God gives to His people, as the Confession says, that which is necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our salvation. And as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Reformed theology speaks of the perfections of Scripture. And the four perfections of Scripture we talk about are its authority, It's necessity. It's necessary. It's clarity. It's clear. And then also, it is sufficient. It's sufficiency. And I believe, again, that David in Psalm 19 points to these. First of all, notice the author of this book. The authority of Scripture is found in its author. Well, who is the author of this word book? Now, again, this is not a trick question. Like last week, it wasn't a trick question either. It's not a trick question. Scripture itself tells us who the author is and how he authored it. David makes it clear that the Lord is the author. Not simply the Creator God, but more specifically the Covenant Lord who has covenanted in a special way with His people. Notice David says, the law of the Lord. The statutes of the Lord. The precepts of the Lord. The commands of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. The ordinances of the Lord. And what David gives us here is quite a list of terms for written revelation, along with adjectives to describe it, and then also statements of what the Word of God does. And I believe that these terms for written revelation, law, statutes, precepts, etc., through them, David is covering the whole of Scripture. For example, the first term, law, which we might automatically think of as the Ten Commandments, is really a more comprehensive term for God's revealed will that points to the whole of Scripture, the entirety of God's Word. And then with the other terms, David includes with them, or in them, he includes God's own testimony to the truth, as well as precise orders or commands for God's people, and then also the judgments of God with regard to our thoughts and our actions. Yet it is all, every bit of it is the Lord's. And all of these terms place the Bible before us as the Word of God to be obeyed. Now how did God author the Bible? By what we call inspiration. He inspired it. And what is a good biblical definition of inspiration? Paul says, again in 2 Timothy 3.16, all Scripture is God-breathed. And then if you notice, Article 3 of the Belgic Confession speaks of the written Word of God. We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of man, but that men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Peter says, and that afterwards God, from a special care which He has for us and our salvation, commanded His servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit His revealed Word to writing, and He Himself wrote with His own finger the two tables of the law. Therefore, we call such writings holy and divine Scripture. But notice that special revelation does not start with the word book in the form of the printed page. That's not where it begins. In Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2, it says, In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God spoke, we know, to Moses through the burning bush as well. He spoke to him face to face. God spoke to Samuel through a vision or a dream. And God spoke to others in the same way. Peter, for example, with the sheet of animals, you recall. That was a vision. Remember the ephod we've been talking about in connection with Gideon. The ephod, that priestly garment with the urim and the thummim through which God would make His will with regard to certain matters known to His people. Jesus, we know, spoke to Paul on the Damascus road as He shone upon him in that bright light. And all of this was God's special revelation, His spoken word of Himself and His will. Then, of course, God's ultimate revelation, special revelation, was through the incarnation of Jesus, God with man, now abiding. As Jesus says, he who has seen me has seen the Father. And the truth of all of that special revelation which points, focuses, comes together in the Lord Jesus Christ has been inscripturated for us and we call it the Bible. This is God's Word. Of course, throughout history, some have argued that the Bible, as we know it, that this book is not God's Word. but it contains God's Word. It's in there somewhere. You have to find it, but it's there. Or some have said that it's not God's Word as you simply sit down and read it. Therefore, as you sit down and read it, you cannot have the confidence that it's God's Word, but it's only God's Word if and when the Holy Spirit makes that Word real to me. But that's not true. Whether I understand it or not. Whether I believe it or not, even whether I read it or not, it is God's Word. Even Jesus acknowledged the Old Testament as the Word of God. He scolded the disciples on the road to Emmaus for being slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken about the Christ. And then he goes on, we read, with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. Jesus said in John 5.39, You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, Jesus said. And even the apostles demanded that their words be acknowledged as God's Word. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2.13, And we also thank God continually because when you receive the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the Word of men, but as it actually is the Word of God which is at work in you who believe. And Peter in 2 Peter 3 even points to Paul's writings as being divine Scripture. And what then is the work of God's special revelation? First of all, to testify to Christ. But then as Paul says, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And beloved, we have this before us because God inspired faithful men throughout the history of Revelation to record the truth of the history of redemption. And again, there are problems, aren't there? Because some say that only certain fundamental truths in this book are inspired. Not everything. Only certain fundamental truths. Others say that the Bible is simply more inspired than other books and therefore that makes it the most religious book. So others with regard to the human authors say that they were simply dictation machines, passive, other than that not really involved at all. But we know, as is clear from Scripture itself, that God used the personalities and the intelligence and the abilities and the cultures of each human author as we see their different styles. And also with regard to the Gospels, for example, we notice the different audiences. And God motivated them to write. He guided their work and directed their thoughts by the Holy Spirit that they should record His infallible and inerrant Word. Again, as Peter says, 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. And beloved, all of it is God's Word. Our Bible, we know, is in 66 books. I encourage you at some time in the very near future to also take a little time to study Articles 4, 5, and 6, which I don't plan to consider in detail with you, but Article 4, dealing with the canonical books of Holy Scripture, the 66 that we find in our Bible. The canon, the reed, the measuring rod. Article 5, talking about where the Holy Scriptures derive their dignity and authority, not just because the Church says so, but because the Holy Spirit witnesses in our hearts that it's the Word of God. And also Article 6, the difference between the canonical and the Roman Catholic apocryphal books. Please take some time and consider those articles on your own. But again, all of it is God's Word. And because it is His Word, it comes with the authority of God Himself. Not to be questioned, not to be disobeyed, but to be humbly submitted to. And in the second place, we consider the necessity of this book. It's necessary. We said before that the world book reveals God as Creator, but not as Redeemer through Jesus Christ. Yet apart from that knowledge of Christ as Redeemer, we cannot clearly read the contents of the world book. And consequently then, we cannot even know God as Creator apart from knowing Him as Redeemer through Jesus Christ. The word book is necessary in order to know God as Redeemer through His only begotten Son. And only as the Holy Spirit applies that saving knowledge to a regenerated heart, only then can one know God also as Creator and confess this is my Father's world. I believe David speaks of this necessity in Psalm 19 when he talks about what the Word of God does. It revives the soul. It makes wise the simple. It gives joy to the heart. It gives light to the eyes. It warns of punishment and promises eternal reward. Now, these things, of course, can easily overlap with regard to the clarity and also the sufficiency. But here, I think in a particular way, it points to the necessity of special revelation. The necessity of the word book because it gives what we need. Because of sin, man's soul is lifeless. He is without wisdom. He has no true joy. His eyes are blinded. He's headed for eternal punishment, but desperately needs eternal life. Paul sums it up best when he says God's Word makes one wise for salvation, which then of course points to that great need for salvation from sin. God's special revelation applied by the Holy Spirit is necessary in order to give new life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins. And also, as David says in verse 11, By them is your servant warned. By them is your servant warned. The idea being that by them is your servant kept on guard. He walks circumspect according to the law of God to do what is commanded and to keep from that which is forbidden. Now, beloved, we all know that there are many, and maybe some of us know some personally, who openly say they don't need God. They don't need religion. They don't need the Bible. And why do they say these things? Because they are blind in sin. Their very attitude is proof that they need God's special revelation. Only those who do not see God's truth clearly think they don't need Him. And our task as those who have been brought by God and His grace to see our great need, our task is to keep the light of God's Word before the world. God's people are called to let the light of Jesus Christ shine before the world in both Word and in deed. As Jesus says in Matthew 5, verse 16, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. And the church as it exists on this earth also continually needs the light of God's Word. We cannot do without it. No matter how long you've been a believer, not one of us can do without the light of God's Word, as Paul says, because this God-breathed Scripture is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. But not only is the Word book necessary, it is also clear, as we notice the clarity of this book. Again, this ought to be comforting. It's necessary. And therefore, God does not leave us to grope around in the dark. He clearly reveals to us His will. It clearly reveals the truth about God. The truth about man. The truth about Jesus Christ. The truth about salvation and the Holy Spirit. The truth about the church. The truth about the end times. It clearly reveals how great my sins and misery are and that I am in desperate need of salvation. It clearly reveals then a knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, and then it also reveals how God's redeemed people are to live before His face, thoroughly equipped for every good work. And again, David points to this clarity when he describes the Word of God as perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, and sure. The law of the Lord is perfect. The Word of God in all of its fullness is perfectly free from all defects and all corruption and instead is perfectly filled with all good and it is perfectly fitted for the purpose for which God gave it. The Word of God lacks nothing that is needful for us and its instruction is perfect and it will accomplish, as Isaiah says, the purpose for which God sent it. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy. God's Word is worthy, congregation, of our full and complete, without a doubt, confidence and trust. There's no danger of God's Word deceiving us or leading us astray. No danger of that. Instead, it perfectly leads those who are simple. The idea being like little children, leading them to salvation, contentment, joy, and eternal life. The precepts of the Lord are right. God's precepts are not crooked or deceitful again or wicked. They are right and straight and true. And they lead the believer into all truth. The commands of the Lord are radiant. Now speaking more specifically about the law of God, the Ten Commandments. God's commands show us like a bright light the proper path, which again is wonderful because God commands His people to be holy even as He is holy. And again, He doesn't just leave us in the dark to try to figure out how. He sheds a light upon our path. And as well, the commandments then on the other side reveal to us the sin that clings to us against our renewed will, showing us what needs to be purged from our lives. Just as light brings out the secrets of a dark corner, the dirt and the grime that is hiding there, the law of God does the same. The fear of the Lord is pure. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. The Word of God is not like the things of this world that decay. And because God's Word is pure and sure and righteous and without blemish or fault, it will stand forever. Jesus said in Matthew 24, verse 35, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. And in summary, we might say that because the Word of God is perfect, holy, righteous, without defect and error. Therefore, its message is clear and true, and it clearly reveals Jesus Christ and all of His benefits to me. It clearly leads me into all truth. And the beauty here, then, is that this book is sufficient to do just that. It is enough. Now, boys and girls, I remember very vividly when I got my first pair of glasses in the third grade. My eyes aren't very good. Even this microphone is fuzzy to me. It wasn't quite that bad in third grade, but yet I needed them, I figured out. I remember going into the examination room at the eye doctor's office in our small town and getting my first pair of glasses. It was kind of amazing. And before I was to leave that room, another eye doctor was going to play a little game with me, and he made me give him my brand new glasses, which I wasn't so sure about. And I walked into the hallway, and down the narrow hallway, I don't know, maybe 20 feet away, there was a narrow wall with what I know now to be wallpaper on it. And he said, what do you see? Squinting. Well, it looks like some lines up and down. Maybe it's a forest. It looks like trees, maybe. I went with that as my final answer. He gave me my glasses back. That wallpaper was a scene of a library. Shelves filled with books. I think a little girl standing there looking at the books. But you see, until I put on those glasses, I didn't know what I was missing. I didn't know what I could not see. And that's the same with God's people when they are first brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ. As the Holy Spirit removes the blindness of sin from their hearts and gives them a clear vision of the glory of God and salvation, they are brought to see what they never saw before, yet so desperately needed. And that is what is so sad about the people of the world. Each one, like each one of us, so desperately needs the Lord Jesus Christ, but they don't see it. And therefore, they don't know it. And that's why we are called to be different from the world, that they might, by God's grace, see a glimpse of the truth that I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, and that they might see a glimpse of Christ living in me. A whole lot more than that, true? But at least a glimpse. Beloved, the Word of God is sufficient to bring us to taste its sweetness that is sweeter than the sweetest honey. It is sufficient to bring us to understand that it is more precious than the greatest riches of this world. If it is not more precious to you than the riches of this world, then you do not highly esteem the Word of God in the place that it deserves. It is sufficient to bring us to see the need to recognize and confess our sins instead of, as the psalmist says, harboring hidden faults in our hearts. And instead then that we might desire to hide God's Word in our heart. Not harbor sins, but hide God's Word in our heart that we might not sin against Him. It is sufficient to bring us to a knowledge of the righteousness and glory of God and to desire that we might stand before Him as righteous. Again, it is sufficient to properly warn us to be on guard, as verse 11 says, but also then to describe to us the rewards in keeping God's law, in keeping it, not just afterward, but in keeping it today. The rewards of joy and peace and contentment in doing God's will. You see, God does not reveal to us every last detail about Him because we can't handle it. Our puny little minds cannot handle it. But He gives us that which is sufficient. and therefore the word book of special revelation is indeed sufficient to bring us to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ the only Savior it is sufficient to make us wise for salvation we don't need the words of men we don't need the church's tradition we don't need new revelation because there is no new revelation God has given to us all that we need right here in His Word and Jesus Christ has sent His Holy Spirit whom He promised would lead us into all truth. The Spirit and the Word. What a package deal. God has not shortchanged His people. He has not left even one of His elect 1% short of full salvation. He will not leave one 1% short. And the proof that His Holy Spirit and Word is sufficient is seen when His people desire their lives to be in tune with the truth of God's Word and therefore that they can confess, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Indeed, redemption is the great theme of Scripture. And the message of the Bible is loud and clear as Paul says in Romans when he says, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. And that means, as Paul later says, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and instead, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Beloved, the bookshelves are filled with all kinds of self-help books. From dealing with stress to fixing your car. from enhancing your relationship with your spouse to making friends, winning friends, and influencing enemies. But none of them matter one bit, apart from God's Word book called the Bible. Apart from the truth of the Word of God, apart from the truth of Jesus Christ applied by the Holy Spirit, there is no hope. One can read all the self-help books society can write and publish, but I would caution you against doing that. But if they never see clearly and instead reject the only true and greatest book of salvation written, revealed, accomplished, and applied by God Himself, there is no hope. May God's Word be and ever remain precious to each one of us. Our children will memorize that Word in school and in Sunday school. And boys and girls, I hope and pray that you learn to love that Word, that you see it as so much more than simply a grade in your report card. That you learn to understand it and truly love that Word of God. And may we as young people and adults once again take up that goal and desire to memorize Scripture and hide God's Word in our hearts. Because only then will the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing and acceptable to Him. Beloved, may our Bibles never collect dust. May they never stay in good shape. Instead, may they show diligent use and careful study even as they come apart at the seams. And may we as God's people strive to be used of God to bring the light of His Word to those who have never heard and do not yet believe in Him. Beloved, we have been blessed with the greatest blessing, the greatest resource, the Word of God. Therefore, congregation, love it. Love it deeply. Read it. Read it daily. Read it thoroughly. Read it with much prayer. And by the grace of God, enjoy the blessing of the light of God's truth. And may we sing together with the saints of all ages, Our God, how great Thou art, our rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we are so humbly grateful for Your Word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our path. We do thank You and praise You for calling a people for Yourself out of darkness and bringing them, including us, into Your marvelous light. We do pray this morning for those who continue to walk in darkness, who continue to be ignorant with regard to their true needs. We pray, Father, that You will continue to see to it that Your Word goes forth faithfully and boldly, that you would continue to light up hearts and lives by the power of your Holy Spirit. Bring many to yourself, O Lord. May we cherish your word. May we indeed, O Lord, read it and desire that you feed us through that. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.