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Ps19-1 A PORTRAIT OF SCRIPTURE PSALM 19 PART #1

Perhaps the clearest picture of the Power of Scripture was painted by a shepherd boy on a grassy hill in the Middle East 3,000 years ago.

Unquestionably the most majestic and awesome affirmation of the Divine Scriptures is in Psalm 19. As we turn there think with me. . . how did David the shepherd boy, a man after God’s own heart, arrive at such an incredible understanding of the Word? Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (KJV) In Hebrew hashe-mayim mesaperim-kevoth-ale The heavens are shouting the glory of their Almighty Creator God. WHEN YOU COME TO PSALM 19 GOD SAYS THE HEAVENS ARE SHOUTING THE WONDERS OF THEIR CREATOR!

As a boy he had chosen to focus his heart upon the study of God’s two great books: NATURE and SCRIPTURE. Think of this, so careful was David’s study of these two, he compares and contrasts them. He magnifies the wondrous character and person of the Author in both!

Psalm 19 magnifies God’s Revelation of Himself. • In v. 1-6 through CREATION God is revealed in a general way. (general revelation) • In v. 7-14 the SCRIPTURES reveal God in a special way. (special revelation)

What is “general revelation”? It is the fact that nature reveals and magnifies the wondrous character of our Heavenly Father. Noyte what Paul says in the New Testament: • Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (KJV) • Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (KJV) REMEMBER PEOPLE COME INTO THE WORLD HOLDING TWO CANDLES (creation and conscience).

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One of the amazing ways nature reveals its Almighty Creator is the majesty of a common thunderstorm. David watched many as he sat long hours on lonely hills watching his flock. They were so much a part of hos life that they crop up repeatedly in his and Asaph’s writing of the Psalms. • Psalm 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. (KJV) • Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. (KJV) • Psalm 77:18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. (KJV) • Psalm 78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. (KJV) (pretty accurate description since a thunderbolt is about 30,000 degrees Centigrade, hotter than the surface temperature of the Sun). • Psalm 81:7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. (KJV)

Job adds some great words on this beautiful reminder of our Creator God: • Job 26:14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? (KJV) • Job 28:26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: (KJV) • Psalm 40:9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. (KJV)

So thunder and lightning are powerful. They are extolling their Creator God. But are they so amazing? Yes they are! In every way thunderstorms are magnifying God’s greatness!

I. THUNDERSTORMS DEMONSTRATE THE LAWS BUILT INTO NATURE AT CREATION. A. There are laws built into nature. Hot air rises, water vapor condenses into rain, cools and falls. B. What makes a thunderstorm? 1. The Sun’s rays warm the ground, air rises carrying with it moisture. Cool air doesn’t hold water long so water drops form into fluffy white cumulus clouds. This is Stage one and this process takes 15-30 minutes. 2. Warm air continues to rise from the earth, water continues to condense, cumulus cloud continues to form rising at one to two thousand feet per minute until it flattens into an anvil shape at 60,000 feet. The friction of the rising air against the falling rain produces enormous positive electrical charges. The ground is negative and the stoke of positive meeting negative is called lightning and the sound thunder. This is Stage Two the Mature Stage.

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3. Finally droplets condensing into rain evaporate, upward warm air cools and stops rising and the storm dissipates. This is the final stage. II. THUNDERSTORMS DEMONSTRATE GOD’S INCALCULABLE POWER. A. Why? Because in that middle stage of the storm, the mature stage, something happens – lightning. 1. Electricity present in the cloud flows downward in a stroke toward the ground. 2. The stoke returns upward from the negatively charged earth making as many as 4 trips back and forth in one flash. 3. The flash we call lightning consists of a 2 inch wide bolt of electricity that super heats molecules of air to 30,000 degrees centigrade. That is 5x as hot as the surface of the Sun! 4. The power released in one stroke or bolt of lightning is enormous. Upwards of 1 billion volts and as much as a thousand billion KWH of energy! How much? 5. In everyday terms, a normal home uses a 1000 KWH per month. The lightning storm you last saw had enough electrical power to light every home on earth for a month. Yes, a month! And that is one storm. 6. There are 2,000 lightning storms on earth at any moment and each one could light all the homes of all the people for a month. IS THERE ANY SHORTAGE OF POWER WITH GOD?

Now read Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (KJV) In Hebrew hashe-mayim mesaperim-kevoth-ale The heavens are shouting the glory of their Almighty Creator God. What are they saying? They are declaring:

• HE EXISTS- HE IS GOD • HE IS CREATOR – HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF • HE IS REDEEMER -HE HAS PAID SINS PRICE • HE IS JUDGE – HE WILL DETERMINE WHERE YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER!

We were all born with two candles – Creation and Conscience. To those God adds His Word. We know He is real. Don’t blow out any of your candles. Let them lead you closer to your Creator.