A Cottage Meditation on Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God
Being at the cottage is good for me. I have found that usually I’m able to meet with God pretty quickly when I feel close to his creation.
This week has been special for me. It is the first time that I’ve been at the cottage and studying for a sermon at the same time. I’ve been able to enjoy God in creation and delight in him in his word. The comparison is worth thinking about.
I think sometimes we treat nature like the place we need to go to be near God. For example, when was the last time you saw a Christian retreat centre in an urban setting? And it’s not hard to see why. God is very present in the beauty and serenity of the water, the clouds, the open skies, the sunsets, the hills, and the beautiful vegetation. God is here.
Psalm 19 reminds us that ‘the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies above proclaim his handiwork.’ That’s true. In nature we see God. But we often stop reading (or at least remembering) the psalm there, even though it definitely doesn’t end there.
The second half of Psalm 19 goes on to recount just how amazing the revelation of God is in his Bible, over and above the revelation of God in creation. And David, who knew what it was to be ‘out in nature’, was writing that before most of your Bible was written.
From verses 7-11 the specific wonders of the Bible are made known:
- It revives the soul
- It makes wise the simple
- It rejoices the heart
- It enlightens the eyes
- It endures forever
- It is righteous altogether
- It is more to be desired than sweet things or expensive things
- It warns
- It rewards
No glimpse of nature can cause me to discern my errors. No beautiful sunset can declare me innocent or keep me back from sin. No mountaintop experience could ever make my words and thoughts acceptable in the sight of God. Only God will do those things, as I meet with him in the Bible.
I’ve experienced that this week. God is good. I’ve met with him and enjoyed him in creation, but his word is better. It alone gives the pure joy of the knowledge of God. The place I need to go to meet with him is not some remote vacation spot, it is the book he has given me.
Am I thankful for sunsets? You bet! Am I more thankful for the word than ever before? Absolutely.
Bible Reading Plan for 2011
Pretty much any Christian who has lived for a little while as a Christian can look back at their lives and recognize that the seasons of life when they’ve known the most blessing are those seasons when they’ve been most faithful to read through the Bible. That’s certainly been the case for me! You look at life through an altogether different set of eyes when your mind is being renewed and transformed by the word of God.
What better New Years resolution could there be than to spend more time hearing from God in his word?
As you may or may not remember, last year I posted a Bible reading plan that I had put together. I was thrilled to have a few brothers and sisters eager to use it. I even got the big thumbs-up from uber-blogger extraordinaire, Tim Challies.
This year I made a few revisions to that plan (largely to the order of the reading for the NT books). As I've had a couple people ask, I thought I’d post the new plan here for this year for any more people who are still looking for a Bible reading plan for 2011.
You can download the 2011 Bible Reading Plan here.
While there are certainly myriads of Bible reading plans out there, I’ve found this one pretty helpful. Here are some of the features of it.
- You will find that you are reading through the OT and the NT simultaneously. That helps keep you from getting too bogged down at certain points.
- OT prophets are placed in (roughly) where they would have ministered chronologically. This helps break up the monotony of reading through huge chunks of narrative and prophets, by intermixing the two. It also helps you understand the historical and redemptive context for the prophets.
- The NT is organized into bodies of literature. You begin with the the Petrine body of literature (Mark, which was sourced from Peter's eye-witness account, and Peter's epistles). Then you read Matthew and the other books written particularly for Jews. Next, with Luke-Acts and Paul's epistles, you read through material written for Gentile audiences. You will conclude the year with the Johannine body of literature (all the books written by John).
Overall, the variety and structure hopefully helps to ‘change things up’ enough that it doesn’t feel like every other time you’ve tried to read through the Bible.
Let me know if you’ve got any questions / comments / suggestions for improving the plan for next year!
And just as a PS, here's Piper talking about the Bible. I offer it as a little 'kick in the pants' to get reading! 
Enjoying the Bible So Far in 2010?
If we're not enjoying the Bible, reading it, meditating on it, memorizing it, praying it, etc., it's because we've forgotten what it really is.
If we're spending money to be entertained but we're too lazy to read our Bible for free, it's because we're convinced there's more joy to be had in being entertained by the world than having communion with God. John Piper rightly corrects us.
Bible Reading Plan for 2010
Pretty much any Christian who has lived for a little while as a Christian can look back at their lives and recognize that the seasons of life when they’ve known the most blessing are those seasons when they’ve been most faithful to read through the Bible. That’s certainly been the case for me! You look at life through an altogether different set of eyes when your mind is being renewed and transformed by the word of God.
What better New Years resolution could there be than to spend more time hearing from God in his word?
As you may or may not remember, last year I posted a Bible reading plan that I had put together. I was thrilled to have a few brothers and sisters eager to use it.
This year I made a few revisions to that plan and we've offered it to the whole church to see if anyone would like to read along with us. I thought I'd post the new plan here for this year for any more people who are still looking for a Bible reading plan for 2010.
As with last year, there are two versions, one for reading through the Bible on your own and one for reading through the Bible with your spouse.
While there are certainly myriads of Bible reading plans out there, I’ve found this one pretty helpful. Here are some of the features of it.
- You will find that you are reading through the OT on your own, and the NT together (if you do the couples plan)
- OT prophets are placed in (roughly) where they would have ministered chronologically. This helps break up the monotony of reading through huge chunks of narrative and prophets, by intermixing the two. It also helps you understand the historical and redemptive context for the prophets.
- The NT is organized into bodies of literature. You begin with the the Johannine body of literature (all the books written by John). Then you read Matthew and the other books written particularly for Jews. Next you read through Luke-Acts, you read through material written for Gentile audiences. Finally, there is Mark and Peter.
Overall, the variety and structure helps to ‘change things up’ enough that it doesn’t feel like every other time you’ve tried to read through the Bible. The main changes from this year over last year are the ordering of the NT books and some of the prophets have been placed differently.
Let me know if you’ve got any questions / comments / suggestions for improving the plan for next year!
Reading Leviticus
If you're on my Bible reading plan (there are at least two of you that I know of ) or any other similar plan, there's a good chance you're finding yourself smack-dab in the middle of Leviticus right now. That's not an easy place to be.
For most Christians, the new year's zeal and the intruiging narrative which kept us on schedule through Genesis and the first half of Exodus has lost its power. Somewhere around Exodus 25, when Moses was receiving the instructions for the building of the tabernacle, it became tough-sledding.
Do we really need to read it all? What difference do all these laws make to us now? Was it really a temptation for them to boil a young goat in its mother's milk? Why did God inspire this? These are all questions that plague us as many of us find it hard to make it through this section of Scripture.
Here are three things I've found helpful for getting through:
- Buy an ESV Study Bible. This is going to sound funny, but it's not intended to be: There are pictures in this Bible. It seriously helps. As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I feel like I understand the layout of the tabernacle better now than after any other time making it through Exodus.
- Look for Patterns. When going through a book like Leviticus, it is easy to get caught up in the details and miss the big point. For example, did you notice any recurring phrases as you read through the last 3/4 of Leviticus? From chapter 11 on the phrase 'I am the Lord' is repeated 49 times. That's significant. You'll want to read the book noticing those kinds of patterns and asking, 'Why is this said so many times?' That will help you understand the book as a whole.
- Read it as Literature. While there are so many lists of laws, they are not randomly strewn together. There are particular narrative incidents given in between particular laws and commands. Why? What's the point in putting that particular story right where it is, after that particular event? Those are the types of questions that will help you benefit from Leviticus, because they'll keep you focused on big picture issues, rather than particular case laws.
And don't give up! Keep on going! Every single word that is there is God-breathed, and it is all useful. The soul who perseveres will be blessed!
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