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Well, with that, we're going to turn our attention to God's Word. We're going to be reading from Psalm 19, which is our passage this morning that Matt's going to be preaching from. So we're just going to go ahead and read that today. Turn to Psalm 19 and then stand for the reading of God's Word.

Beautiful weather outside, so it's a wonderful passage to begin the day with here. Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run his race. Its rising from one end of heaven and its circuit to the other end.

And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word that testifies to your majesty and your creative power and just your eternal nature. That you have everything that we see and everything that we hear and feel and experience has been created by you. And we acknowledge that you are our creator.

Lord, and you have provided your word which purifies our heart, converts our soul, and makes us rejoice and causes us to fear you. In a way that we know that you are God and worthy of our worship and our obedience. Lord, we come here this morning acknowledging that you are our Creator and the author of your word, and that in those things that you have revealed yourself about your power and your character.

And we acknowledge that this morning. We bring our worship to you and ask that you would be exalted and accept our praise as just a small sacrifice for us. From us, we thank you for the opportunity to be here in this place, to gather here as your body.

And I pray that each heart that's here would be prepared to hear your word and that would be transformed more into your likeness. That even in the singing of your praises, singing of the great doctrines of the faith, Lord, that we would, in exalting you, that we would learn how great you are and how worthy you are of our praise and our service and our obedience.

And I pray that you would be blessed this morning in our gathering and in our worship. We ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, good morning. Good morning. And howdy. Please open your Bibles to Psalm 19. I was originally going to preach the next few verses in Ephesians, but decided to change course midweek, spend some time in the Psalms this morning.

As many of you know, our pastor, Thomas, his father recently passed away, and he had a funeral for him yesterday. And so we, as elders, told him to go spend time with your family, go be with your family, and take the weekend off. And so I'll be preaching for you this morning.

I know many of you were there in support. Many of you were watching on the live stream. And so I speak on behalf of the Babers. I know they appreciate your support, your prayers. And I'm assuming Thomas is probably watching this morning. And so, Thomas, we appreciate you and our thoughts are with you.

You know, funerals have a way of causing us to think about our own lives, don't they? When someone passes away, when someone dies, we're reminded that life is so very short. Even if you live 80 or 90 years, it is so short in light of eternity. And so it causes us to evaluate our own lives.

How are we spending our lives, our remaining days on this earth? Are they going to count? Are they going to matter for you? Something. And so I ask you, how are you spending your life? What is it that you are pursuing with your life? What has captivated the desires of your heart?

And this morning I would submit to you that life is too short to be captivated with anything less than the glory of God. There's nothing else in this life that matters. than the glory of God. And so that is my prayer for us this morning as we study this psalm together, that you would see the glory of God revealed in such a way that it captivates your soul and it becomes the greatest desire of your heart, so that you would spend the remainder of your days here on earth desiring God's glory above everything and everyone else.

And that's exactly where Psalm 19 takes us. That's where David takes us in Psalm 19. It is a psalm of David. It was written for the choir director, so it was meant to be sung. But David was a man after God's own heart. He was a man that was captivated by the glory of God.

And again, this is what our text shows us this morning. Now, there's a lot here. It may be a little ambitious to cover the entire Psalm this morning, but that's what I'm going to try and do. And I want to work through it together. Down very nicely into three main thoughts, or three main sections.

Let me give them to you up front. Number one, in verses one through six, we see the glory of God declared in his creation. Verses one through six, verses seven through twelve, we see the glory of God described in his word. And then verses 12 through 14, I want you to see the glory of God that is desired in his servant.

So let's look at it together. First, I want you to see the glory of God declared in his creation. The glory of God declared in his creation, beginning in verse 1. It says, The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the handiwork or the work of his hands.

The term for heavens and their expanse, these are the same terms that are used in Genesis 1 in the creation account, where God says, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens. This was day 4. Let there be lights that separate the day from the night.

He goes on to say that he made two great lights, one that covers the day and one that governs the night. And he placed them in the expanse of the heavens. That's the words that David uses here in Psalm 19. He's using it to refer to the visible sky.

So when you look up into the sky, all that you See that expands from one horizon to the other. It refers to the atmosphere, the breathable atmosphere that we get to enjoy here on earth and everything in it. It refers to the sun and the moon and the stars and the stellar space, all of it, all of that you see when you look up, whether it's day or night.

That's what David is drawing our attention to here in Psalm 19. And he says that the heavens and their expanse are telling us something, doesn't it? It says they are taking account of or recounting or rehearsing. That's what the word telling means. And it carries with it the idea of accuracy and precision.

For example, in Exodus 24, we see Moses coming off the mountain after a meeting with God. And he had just listened to all that God had told him, and he was to come and recount it to the people. He was to recount or tell the people the words of the Lord with accuracy and precision.

Don't take anything out. Don't leave out the details, but recount it. And that's what the heavens do for us. They tell, they recount, and what are they telling us? They are telling us about the glory of God. The glory of God. The word glory literally means that which is heavy.

It's kind of an odd way to think about the glory. I think most of us probably. Immediately go to something that's beautiful or glorious in that way. But in the Hebrew mind, something that's heavy is something that is valuable. It has substance, it matters, it's weighty, it's impressive.

That's what he says here. That's what he communicates when he says glory. The heavens are constantly telling us of the weighty things of God, the impressiveness of God. That's the glory. And he's saying, whenever you walk out and you look into the skies, into the heavens, they are constantly telling us of these things, of the weighty matters of God.

Now, how do they do that? How are they telling us of God's glory? By declaring the works of his hands. That's what it says in the second line. They are declaring the work of his hands, the work of his fingers. Declaring is a similar word. It's different, but it means to announce or to proclaim something, to publish it clearly, to declare it with authority.

What is it declaring? It's declaring that there is a God. It's announcing that. It's announcing there is a Creator, that there is an all-powerful one. And that's the name, by the way, that David uses here in this text, the mighty one, the all-powerful one. That's what he's drawing our minds to.

It declares it. He made the sun. He made the moon. He made the stars. He made all of it. His fingerprints are all over God's creation, and it's being declared clearly, unmistakably. You can see it when you look up in the visible sky. Perhaps you can imagine David standing out in a pasture somewhere looking up into God's creation, and then he's inspired to write this psalm.

And that's speculation, but I think it's an educated guess. He was a shepherd, and he would have had ample opportunities to see the glory of God and creation. And so it's clearly seen. We're reminded of this in Romans 1, 20, where it says, For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, his divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Listen, the declaration that is being made in the heavens and in the expanse above is so unmistakably clear. It is evident. And it is only the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. What a foolish thing to say that there is no God. It is clear, it is being declared.

And notice how often it is being declared. How often are the heavens telling of the glory of God? It says in verse 2 that it is being declared all the time, constantly. Day to day pours forth speech. Night to night reveals knowledge. All the time, all day, every day, all night, every night.

There is never a moment when the heavens are not declaring the glory of God. Notice also the phrase that it says it pours forth speech. This speaks of something that's bubbling over, that's gushing out. Have you ever been driving down the road, you see a fire hydrant that's been knocked over?

The water is just gushing out into the street. You can't contain it, even if you try. That's what it's saying of the glory of God. It's gushing out, it's pouring forth. It can't be contained. You can't miss it. And it's being constantly brought before our eyes. Notice also that it is silent.

It's silent. It says there is no speech. There are no words. Their voice is not heard. It's interesting that they're telling, they're declaring, they're revealing, they're pouring forth speech, but there is no speech. But there are no words. There is no voice. It seems interesting to me that the message of the glory of God in the heavens is not an audible one.

It's not verbal, it's visual. You don't hear it with your ear. It's not preached to you like I'm preaching it to you now. It is only observed. You stand there in awe and you look at it, and it tells and it declares and it bubbles forth the truths about God's glory and about his might, and it does it in absolute silence.

There's no need for words, it transcends all human languages. It is clear, it is evident, it is constant, and it is silent. And lastly, notice how far this declaration of God's glory reaches. It says, their line has gone out through all the earth and their utterances to the ends of the world.

It is global. It's a global declaration. The glory of God, the power of God, has been declared to every single person everywhere in the world throughout all of history. There is no one that is left out. No tribe, no tongue, no nation that is left out. No one who can say, I didn't understand, I didn't know, I didn't see it, because their utterances have gone to the ends.

Of the earth to the remotest parts of the world. It's comprehensive. It's global. It is declared everywhere. And so David draws our mind to the declaration of the glory of God in creation, and then he gives us an object lesson of this declaration, and he points our minds to the sun.

Notice the last part of verse 4. It says, In them, that is in the heavens and their expanse, he has placed a tent or a dwelling place for the sun. Again, that's our object lesson. It comes up every day, doesn't it? It's a daily reminder of the glory of God, of the power of God.

Look at how he relates it. He says, the sun is likened to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber on his wedding day. You see, that's what the sun is like. Have you ever gotten up early before the sun has come up and watch it begin to peek up over the horizon?

It's like the bridegroom coming out of his chamber, of his tent. It's coming out in full array of glory. It cannot be missed. It is radiant. Its light is piercing as it comes up over the horizon. And he also likes. It to a strong man. You see that there in the text?

It's like a strong man running its course. Literally, a mighty warrior. A mighty warrior. That's a strong man. A mighty warrior on a mission. It's an unstoppable force. When's the last time you saw the sun stop in its course? I've never seen it. It's an unstoppable thing. And once it comes up over that horizon, it runs its course like a strong man.

And it reminds us of the incredible and unstoppable power of God, a display of God's great power and his might. Is that what you think about when you see the sun? You should. It's what Davis would have us think upon. And then lastly, the sun reminds us that, again, God's glory is being displayed everywhere.

Look at verse 6. It says, it's rising from one end of the heavens and its circuit to the other end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. See, the sun comes up every morning, it runs its course, and then it sets every night. And again, there's never a day when this does not happen.

And it makes its travel around the earth. The entire world sees it. And nothing is hidden from his heat. I don't care where you are in the world. Sun's rays eventually touch you. You are not hidden from its heat. And such is the glory of God being declared in the heavens and in his creation.

They are everywhere. They are clear. They are unmistakable. They are constant. They are silent. They are globally seen. That's the glory of God declared in his creation. Next, let me show to you the glory of God described in his word. That's where David goes next. The glory of God described in his word.

This is verses 7 through 11. Now, let me point out a couple of things as we get into these verses about the structure of them. Verses 7 through 9, you'll see, should see very plainly in the text that there are six lines or six descriptions about the glorious nature of God's Word.

You see them there? And each of the lines are emphasizing something a little different of God's Word, a different aspect. He gives different names in each of the lines. He gives a different characteristic or attribute and then a different effect that the Word of God has. And so I want to cover those this morning.

Let's look at the first one together. It says, The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The word for law simply means a direction or instruction, and it emphasizes the teaching nature of God's Word. That's what God's Word does: it teaches us, it gives us instruction on how we are to live, how we are to think, how we are to act.

It teaches us everything we need to know about God, about the weighty matters of God, about the things that are impressive about God. And it says that His law is perfect, it lacks nothing, it is whole, it is complete. That's the idea here. His word is sufficient. Sufficient, it's complete.

Sufficient to do what? What does it say? It says it's perfect, restoring the soul. Listen, the one who embraces the instruction of God's Word will be completely and totally restored. That's what God's Word does. That's the effect of God's Word in the life of the one who embraces it, the one who receives it.

Their soul will be converted. Their entire being will be renewed and restored and revived. It takes that which is spiritually dead and it brings it to life. That's what the Word of God does. That's what it means when it says it's restoring the soul. It's perfect, it's the perfect instruction.

On how we can be saved. That's number one. Number two, it says that God's testimony is sure. It's making wise the simple. His testimony is sure. This refers to God's witness of himself. That's his testimony. The book that you are holding in your hand is God's testimony of himself.

Now, in verses 1 through 6, we learned of God's testimony in the world. He testified the world, his creation testifies of God. But God's word goes further, it gives us further testimony. It reveals to us God's will, God's thinking, God's character. It reveals to us His faithfulness, His sovereignty, His grace, His mercy, His wrath, His justice, His infinite wisdom, His knowledge of all things, His perfections.

That is what is revealed. That is what is testified in the Word of God, in the words that you hold in your hand. It is God's testimony. And of course, we must ask: can His testimony be trusted? Right? I mean, I don't think any of you are interested in false testimony.

I certainly am not. I want a true testimony. And notice what it says. It says that it is sure. God's testimony is sure. It can be trusted, it's reliable. And dependable and certain. You don't have to worry about finding anything false in there. You can trust it. You can count on it with your life.

And that's what he says here. It can be trusted because God Himself can be trusted. He is a God of truth, and by nature he cannot lie. His word is truth. John 17:17. So His testimony is sure. And notice the effect of it. It makes wise the simple, it offers wisdom to those who do not have it.

Is that you this morning? Are you lacking wisdom? Do you need wisdom in your life? David points us to God's word as the testimony that brings about wisdom. He gives us the answers, he gives us the proper understanding of life and of life's all-important questions about who God is, about who we are, about how we are to relate to others.

He answers all of that in his testimony, and it is sure. It is true. And number three, it says that the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. That's what the word of God is. They are right. They are precepts. They are principles. They are guidelines for living.

And they are right. His guidance never, ever. Leads us astray. Did you know that? They are always correct. They always lead you down the right path. Psalm 119, 105 echoes this by saying that the word of the Lord is a lamp into our feet and a light into our path.

And so they are right and they rejoice the heart. God's precepts bring joy to our heart. Do you want to have true joy? Do you want to know what true joy is? Follow the precepts of the Lord and bring them into your life. Let them guide you. Let them instruct you.

It is only the way of the transgressor that is hard. When you transgress God's precepts, it brings hardship into your life. But when you follow them, it results in pure joy. It rejoices the heart. Number four, the commandment is pure and it enlightens your eyes. It's enlightening to the eyes.

This emphasizes the authority of God's word. They are commandments. They are commandments. God doesn't ask for our opinion. Have you ever noticed that? He doesn't ask us what we think. He declares to us, he commands what he thinks, what he knows to be true, what he knows to be pure.

And his commandments are pure. There is no mixture of error in God's commands. There are no hints of deceit or injustice. He's not trying to trick you. That is, of course, what Satan tries to get us to believe. It's what he convinced Adam and Eve of. No, God's commands are not good.

Don't follow God's commands. By going your own way, that is what will enlighten your eyes. No, no. No, he is a liar. And God's commands are pure. They are of the purest intentions, and they are for our good. As Deuteronomy 10:12 says, they are for our good. And they enlighten our eyes.

They bring light onto what we are to do. We don't have to guess about what God expects of us, what God requires of us. He's made it clear. He's brought them to light. So they are pure. Number five says, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

Now, that's an interesting way to describe the word of God, the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. I like how MacArthur puts it when he describes it as God's worship manual. God's worship manual. That's what the fear of the Lord is. It's standing in awe of God and recognizing that he deserves to be worshipped.

And that's exactly what God says. Word does. It compels us, it brings us to the end of ourselves, and it shows us the glory of God and His worth and need to be worshipped. It's a God's worship manual, and it not only shows us the need of worship, but it shows us how to approach Him.

It teaches us how to approach the God, how to fear God, and its instruction is clean. It's uncontaminated, and it shows us the way to true devotion to the glorious God revealed in Scripture. It hasn't been ruined by man's ways or defiled by man's perverted ways of false worship.

It is not corrupt, it is clean, and it endures forever. That's the effect. It endures forever. It never fades away. It never disappears. It stands forever throughout all of time. Always clean, always right, always relevant, never needs to be abandoned. It endures forever. And lastly, notice the sixth one that he mentions.

It says, the judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. That's what the judgments of the Lord are. They're judgments. They speak. Of God's decisions. They are his verdicts. See, God is the judge of all the earth. And we have a record of all of his judgments that he has made or that he desires us to know, and they are true judgments.

They line up with that which is right and fair and true. Did you know that? God never gets it wrong. Have you figured that out yet in your own life? All of God's judgments are right. They are true. He never passes judgment falsely. The judge of the earth will always do what is right.

And so he describes for us in these six expressions the glorious nature of God's word. But he doesn't stop there. In verses 10 and 11, he goes on and he describes the incomparable worth of it. You see, when you see the glory of God's word, like what was just described, when you catch a glimpse of how glorious God is in his word, you begin to understand how much it's worth.

And that's where David takes us in verses 10 and 11. He says, they are more desirable than gold. Yes, much fine gold. You see, for David, there was nothing more valuable, nothing more precious than the glory. Word of God to him. I mean, someone could have offered him all the treasures of the world, the greatest treasures, the finest gold, and he was a king.

He had a lot of it. But none of it compared to the value that he saw in God's Word. That's what he expresses here. He would have declined it all. All the offers of the greatest treasures, he would have declined in exchange for God's Word. Why? Because the glory of God's Word had become his greatest treasure in all of life.

God's law, God's testimony, His precepts, the commandments, the judgments, all of it were worth more to him than life's greatest treasures. I asked you this morning, is that true of you? Is that how you view God's Word? Do you see God's Word that way? Is it your most valuable possession?

He goes on to say that it's sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Very poetic language. Got some beekeepers in the audience, I know. I know a few of you like to make honey. And it's sweet, right? In the ancient world, it was one of life's simple but profound joys to have honey.

Not always easily accessible. Couldn't go to Costco, right, and buy a big jar of it. But it was one of those joys of life that they had, the finer joys of life. And that's the point that I think David is making here. What he's saying is that there's nothing more enjoyable, nothing sweeter, nothing more satisfying in life than spending time in and delighting in God's Word.

And so, again, I ask you this morning: is that true of you? When you spend time, do you spend time in God's Word? Does it satisfy your soul? Is it the sweetest thing, the most satisfying thing that life offers to you? Or have you given your desires and you're finding satisfaction and other lesser things?

David points us to the incredible worth of God's Word, and he goes on, he says, Moreover, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. You see, David had read God's law, he had read the precepts, he knew God's word, he understood the attributes of it, that they were pure and sure and right and true and clean and perfect.

And he had experienced the effects of it in his own life. His soul had been restored. He experienced. That. His mind had been trained in godly wisdom. His heart had been filled with unspeakable joy, and he knew it from experience. He experienced it firsthand the great rewards that God's Word had brought about into his life.

And so, for him, God's Word was more rewarding to him than all of life's greatest accomplishments. It was great. It offered great reward. Again, I ask, is that true of you? Do you find obedience to God's Word more rewarding than the greatest accomplishments that you have achieved in this life or are pursuing?

David says that they are more rewarding to obey God's word. And so he describes for us the glory of God's Word, the glory of God in His Word. And lastly, I want to show you, I want to show you how the glory of God is desired in His servant.

He closes out this Psalm with a simple prayer, verses 12 through 14. It's a simple prayer that expresses David's desire for the glory of God to be perfected in his servant. And we see three requests in these last Few verses. Let me show them to you. Again, verse 12, it says, First, there is a desire to be cleansed from hidden faults.

It says, Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. What are the hidden faults? Well, these speak of moral mistakes, moral failures that are hidden. You are not yet aware of. They are there. They are in your life. They are sinful. They are a departure from the pure and righteous ways of God, but they are concealed.

They are hidden. They have not yet been brought to your attention. These are the hidden faults. And this is why he asked the rhetorical question: who can discern his errors? Who can discern these things? The obvious answer is no one. And that's why we need God's word. We need God's Word to discern our errors and to reveal our hidden sins.

We need it to judge us. We need it to show us what's in our hearts. We need it to convince us of how much there still is within our own hearts that needs to be cleansed. That's what the Word of God does. This is where David's mind goes first.

He desires to be acquitted of these hidden faults, these hidden sins. And he cries out, Acquit me. Cleanse me. That's the idea. Don't hold them against me. Free me from their guilt. In other words, forgive me. That's what he cries out. Forgive me. I don't know what they all are yet.

I know they're there. I know they're hidden. But forgive me. Release me from the guilt of these things. Show them to me so that I could be forgiven. That's his prayer. Notice also his second request. He goes on and says, Also, keep back your servant from presumptuous sins.

From presumptuous sins. Let them not rule over me. And then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. The word for presumptuous is often translated as arrogant or proud. And it refers to the sins that are born out of arrogance or of pride. These are the deliberate sins, the premeditated sins, the ones that we think about in advance.

In other words, you know what God has said in His Word. You know His commandments. You know the precepts. You've heard the warnings. And yet, you decide that you know better. You decide that there is a greater treasure out there. There's a greater joy that's more satisfying. And so you pursue it presumptuously, sinfully.

You transgress the law of God presumptuously. That's what he's talking about here, as presumptuous sin. Do you have any of those in your life? Have you been presumptuous or arrogant or proud? Have you disregarded the clear teaching of God's word? Have you ignored its warnings? Have you been pursuing something else other than the glory of God in your life?

Notice how David prays about these kinds of sins. He says, Keep back your servant from them. Restrain me. Spare me, protect me. That's his request. Protect me from these presumptuous sins. Why? Because they have the tendency to rule your life, to rule over you. Let me tell you something about presumptuous sins.

They come about because you're delighting in something other than God. That's why they exist in your life. You have arrogantly said in your heart that there is something greater than obeying God, something more satisfying to pursue. And so you pursue it. And you begin to pursue it. And as you do, you form habits in your life because that is what you desire more than anything else.

And so you begin to habitually pursue these things. And as you create these habits, you indulge in them. And they become an idol in your life, something that you have exalted higher than God. And that idol in your life becomes something that demands. Service from you. It demands your time, your efforts, your money, your resources.

And so you serve it, and it begins to rule over you and enslave you. That's what presumptuous sins do. And so David prays, Keep me back from these. Don't let them rule over me. Don't let my heart be enamored with the things of this world, so that I might be blameless and be acquitted of great transgression.

And to be forgiven of great sin, pray, ask God to keep you from presumptuous sins. Don't give your heart in arrogance to things that are worthless and meaningless. Is that the cry of your heart this morning? Does this describe your prayer life? Lastly, notice David's final request. He says, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight.

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. This is the prayer of a man who has been captivated by the glory of God. Do you see that? Don't just acquit me and forgive me of my sins. Don't just keep me back from sinning. But purify me at the heart level.

That's where David goes. That's where the glory of God takes him. Take my heart and transform it. Change my desires. Cause the words that come out of my mouth and the pursuits of my heart to be a delight to you. That's what he wants. He wants God to delight in the innermost parts, the thoughts and the intentions of his heart, that they would be acceptable, that they would be pure and holy and a delight, that they would put a smile on the face of God when he looks at them.

Is that what you want this morning? Do you want him to change you from the inside out? David prays that the glory of God would be perfected in his servant. Notice how he says that. He says, It's your servant. This is your servant. This is the cry of those who serve the living God, the glorious God.

God, make this true of me, of my heart, that I might be found acceptable in your sight, that I might be in relationship with you. The word acceptable is often used in the context of sacrifices, acceptable sacrifices, one that provides a relationship with God. And this is David's prayer.

And again, I ask, is that your prayer this morning? Do you desire to be transformed? Transformed at the heart level. You want God to transform your life, not just forgive you, but have His glory perfected in you. I love how David ends this Psalm. He turns to the only one who can answer this kind of prayer.

He's the only one that can bring these requests about. Notice what he says: O Lord, my rock, my strength. In other words, that's what he means when he says, my rock, my strength, and my redeemer, the one who rescues me. He turns to God. There's only one that can rescue you from your sinful inclinations.

There's only one who can forgive you and acquit you of all the hidden faults, of all the presumptuous sins, of all of the things that your heart pursues that are contrary to the word of God, to the glory of God, and that is God Himself. And we have a Redeemer, and His name is Jesus Christ.

He is our Redeemer. He is the one who has made the payment, who rescues us, and who perfects the glory of God in our hearts. And so I invite you this morning to be captivated. By the glory of God, to turn to Christ. Let him change you from the inside out.

Let him forgive you of your sins. If you pray as David has prayed, or you turn to God like this, he will save you in an instant, he will restore your soul, and he will bring joy, unspeakable joy, to your heart. I pray that you turn to him today.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we exalt your glory this morning. And we have been confronted with it in creation. We have been confronted with it in your word. We have been convicted of it by your servant David, who desired it more than anything else. God, convict us in the same way.

Judge us, reveal our sins, show us the error of our ways, change our desires. God, we ask you this morning, do that in us, do that in every one of us, so that as we go out here and we look up into the heavens this morning, that we would declare your glory as the heavens do.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.