More about Revelation - Notes on Psalm 19

What'd So Special About Language?


Psalm 19:1-6

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.


Psalm 19:7-14

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
     The statutes are 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 pure gold;

They are sweeter than honey,
     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 I will be blameless,
     innocent of great transgression.

May the words of my mouth
     and the meditations of my heart
        be pleasing in your sight,

 O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

                     
The Bible talks about two kinds of revelation: (1) what is revealed about God visibly in nature, which is called General Revelation, and (2) what is revealed about God in Scripture, which is usually called Special (or Specific) Revelation.

General Revelation, witnessed in nature, testifies to the existence of a Creator.

Here in Psalm 19 David tells us that God's General Revelation is continuous, abundant, and universal.
 (verses 1-6).

In verses 3-4 we read: There is no speech or language where their voice [God's visible created acts] are not heard. Their voice goes into all the earth....

Language is the unique ability of human beings, the ones God created in His own image.

There are no primitive languages. There is no evidence that primitive languages ever existed in all of human history.

There are primitive people, who speak languages. But their languages are highly complex with complicated grammar and vocabulary, able to convey past and future time, precise verbs and nouns, and able to pose verbally abstract notions.

Language did not evolve from primitive to complex.
There were no cave men grunts preceding language.
The spoken word developed at the beginning of man's history and was always capable of describing human activity real or imagined.

The pygmies of Africa speak in a language just as developed as professors at Harvard University.

A 6-year-old child, when he enters school, already has a vocabulary of 5,000 to 6,000 words! He will add about 800 new words a year and when he is a teenager he will have a vocabulary of 15,000 words!

(Scientists working with apes report that after years of work, the great animals can sometimes recognize a vocabulary of 150 words! And that is a remarkable achievement!)

So in the first six verses of this remarkable Psalm we read David's words about the continuous, abundant, and universal revelations about Himself through His creation.

Then we read verses 7-14 and see how they reflect God's Specific Revelations about Himself through His Word.


To be sure, the only way we know about God's invisible moral attributes -- His mercy, love, justice, righteousness, compassion -- is because He reveals them to us in Scripture.

But first notice this: In the early verses David refers to God as God (El) - the generic, common name for the Supreme Being used by many cultures at the time of the Hebrews.

But now in verses 7-14 he refers to God as LORD, the sacred, covenant name for God used only by the Jews.

The sacred name LORD was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush -- "I AM WHO I AM" - and it occurs 7 times in this section.

The name LORD was never pronounced by the Jews, because it was too sacred. And scribes, when they came to the word, put aside their writing instrument, took a new one to write the word, and then cast it aside and resumed writing with the original stylus.

God's original General Revelation was to the world, and rejected by the world.

His second Specific Revelation was entrusted to His chosen people and they were to guard and proclaim the message to all the world.

They were the ones who really knew God, understood His mercy and righteousness and understood that the LORD was eager to forgive us of our sins.

They knew God as Creator and also as the merciful and compassionate LORD.

They understood both God's General Revelation and also His Specific Revelation.

They knew and loved a God they wanted to please, and sought to please Him with their words and meditations.

They could confidently ask, "Forgive my hidden faults," and say, "The LORD is our Rock and our Redeemer!"

They knew Him well!out