Special revelation

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; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. - Psalm 19v7-9

Whenever I look at Psalm 19 I go back to the experience of Robinson Crusoe. Though he knew that creation could not have come about by itself and required the intervention of ‘Intelligent Design’ he still did not know the Designer. He remembered the Bible being a part of his growing up and found one in a trunk from off the ship. He had given it a cursory look a couple of times, but is had not really ‘clicked’ yet. I have enclosed most of his entry for the fourth of July as an illustration of the importance of God’s revelation of Himself through his Word.

July 4. - In the morning I took the Bible; and beginning at the New Testament, I began seriously to read it, and imposed upon myself to read a while every morning and every night; not tying myself to the number of chapters, but long as my thoughts should engage me. It was not long after I set seriously to this work till I found my heart more deeply and sincerely affected with the wickedness of my past life. The impression of my dream revived; and the words, "All these things have not brought thee to repentance," ran seriously through my thoughts. I was earnestly begging of God to give me repentance, when it happened providentially, the very day, that, reading the Scripture, I came to these words: "He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and to give remission." I threw down the book; and with my heart as well as my hands lifted up to heaven, in a kind of ecstasy of joy, I cried out aloud, "Jesus, thou son of David! Jesus, thou exalted Prince and Saviour! give me repentance!" This was the first time I could say, in the true sense of the words, that I prayed in all my life; for now I prayed with a sense of my condition, and a true Scripture view of hope, founded on the encouragement of the Word of God; and from this time, I may say, I began to hope that God would hear me.

Now I began to construe the words mentioned above, "Call on Me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in; for though I was indeed at large in the place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that in the worse sense in the world. But now I learned to take it in another sense: now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing. I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it or think of it; it was all of no consideration in comparison to this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction.

God tells is that He reveals Himself through creation. He also tells us that the soul is only converted through His word, that it gives wisdom to the simple, it enlightens the eyes, and it gives rejoicing of heart. God’s word endures forever and it is true and righteous.

As we read through this journal entry we see each of these points illustrated. Crusoe had his eyes opened to God’s existence through creation, but it he did not meet the Creator and turn to Him until he read about Christ in His word.

How wonderful that we God chose to reveal Himself to us in just a clear way and that He speaks to us through it!