Turn in your Bibles this morning to a very familiar passage, Psalm 1. We're not going to look at the whole psalm or even preach through the psalm, but we're going to look at one word, and I want you to notice the context of that one word. Psalm 1. David said, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Well, the psalmist here says that the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord, the instruction of the Lord. The word means instruction here. And I was captivated by that word delight. I had to ask myself, and I ask you this morning, do you, do I really delight in the law of the Lord? So the question we have to ask ourselves is, what do we mean by delight? Well, the word delight means to take pleasure in. Now philosophically, there are several kinds of pleasure. We could say it this way, there is pleasure from, pleasure that, and pleasure in. I don't want to get too heavy this morning. You might take pleasure from the coffee you drank this morning as you read your Bible. And that's a legitimate form of pleasure. You may also take pleasure that, that was pleasure from, this is pleasure that, you're finding yourself doing this more consistently this semester than you ever have in your life. And there is growth that you're seeing in your life. Or maybe you take pleasure that you and a friend are studying the same passage of Scripture And it's good to have the community of somebody else in this. And both of those are legitimate pleasures, but they are different from pleasure in something because of what we are seeing intrinsically in that thing. Well, what is it in the law or the instruction of the Lord that brings us that kind of delight? And why might we be missing that delight in the law of the Lord? So that's our quest this morning. to find out how new creature living is fueled by new creature delight. That kind of sounds like a smoothie, I know, new creature delight. But delight in the law of the Lord is something that happens in us as a result of becoming people of the Word. So the title of the message this morning is New Creature Delight. And our delight is always related to our comprehension of something of beauty. and of excellence and of glory. So, another question we have to ask ourselves is what makes something beautiful? Well, let's go back a little bit for a history lesson. The Greek philosophers, hundreds of years ago, attempted to discover what made for eudaimonia. That's not a Greek word used in the New Testament, it's in classical Greek. But it meant what made for the flourishing man, what made for the complete whole person. What made for the developing? What made it for the excellent person? Now, they didn't have the Bible to tell them that. They perhaps had portions of it around, but they weren't going to it. And they were just observing in the world around them, and they came up with three things that seemed to be very, very important in producing Eudaimonia, the flourishing man. And they spoke much of the trivium of goodness, truth, and beauty. And they argued among themselves in many cases about how these three things related to one another and if there were any priorities of one over the other. But the Scriptures give us instruction about those things. There is a bedrock, if you could think of it as a picture here, there is a foundation of truth. And it is from that foundation of revealed truth from God Himself upon which two pillars rest. One of those pillars is our ethics. That is that the truth of God informs us as to what is right and what is wrong. It informs us as to our ethics. And there is another pillar of our aesthetics. The scriptures, the truth, and the creation of God inform us as to what is beautiful. Now we come into a little confusion here in our day because we as Bible believers are very unwilling to accept relativism in ethics. And we would look at the commands of God and say, well, for example, the first 10 commandments, we look at those things and say, there are no exceptions to these. There are no times when you can have another God before our God. There aren't any exceptions that there aren't any exceptions for murder. You can't say, well, you know that. I mean, I killed him because he just deserved to die. There are no exceptions to murder. There are no exceptions to committing adultery or to covetousness or to lying or to stealing or to dishonoring our parents, whatever we do. Whatever I do in relating to someone else, I have to make sure that I do not murder them, even in my heart, or commit adultery with them, even in my heart, or lie to them, or dishonor my parents in whatever I'm doing with them. These are absolute commands. And we accept that in the Scriptures. Now, we may not obey them, and we may try to weasel out of them and use the Bible, perhaps not us, but perhaps other people might. use the Bible as the tax code, that we explore it to find where the loopholes are so we can get what we want and still stay out of jail. But we can't use the Bible that way. So we accept that truth absolutely informs what is right and what is wrong, although those decisions are not always easy to make or always easy to parse. But we would say the Bible is absolute in that. But then we come over to the matter of aesthetics and say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is not in the eye of the beholder. Our culture tells us that. But beauty is in the eye of our Creator. Now, when we go back to ethics, to the moral column of what is right and wrong, And we say, where did these come from? I think in a message previously, I told you God did not determine what is right or wrong in the matter of ethics by a coin toss. He didn't say, well, I've got to write down something about lying. What will it be? And he flips a coin and says, oh, well, it's going to be wrong in this time. And there are some theologians of the past who have even said that it could have gone the other way. It couldn't have gone the other way. Lying is wrong because God is a certain kind of person. Murder is wrong because God is a certain kind of person. Immorality is wrong because God is a certain kind of person. Covetousness is wrong because God is a certain kind of person. All of His laws are expressions of His nature. They must be this way because God is that way, the way He is. Well, that is the same way for beauty. Things are beautiful because God is a certain kind of person. If you were in that Garden of Eden, At that time, I was in that Garden of Eden and we opened our eyes after we were first created and looked around. It would have been stunning to us. Absolutely stunning. When God does something, He doesn't mess it up. You know, He's not looking and saying, oh man, I wish I would have made a giraffe with a shorter neck, you know, or something like that. He doesn't mess up in this thing. When He created that garden, everything was so good. Even God stood back and said, that is Good. He's not talking about the moral aspect of it, although that is a part of the moral laws that he put up, but he's a lot talking about the aesthetic of it. Now, things were beautiful in that garden because God is a certain kind of person. If he were a different kind of person, he might have created things with a different flavor, but they're all revelations of who he is in his nature. Well, where do we find out what is good? We find that out, the ethics in the scriptures. Where do we find out about aesthetics? What is truly beautiful? What we should delight in? We find that from the Scriptures. We can study here and find out much that God says about what He considers beauty by watching His works. When God wanted man to make something, look at what He did in that temple. And the divines would call this the first book of God, the book of special revelation, the Bible. But aesthetics are also taught to us by the works of God in nature, the second book of God, the creation, the general revelation. And we see how God has put things together in nature and so therefore we study physics and all of these sort of things to see how God has put things together and we admire the order and there is a beauty in that order. And we study the visible creation of God so that we can become better at understanding the visual arts and what is true excellence, what is true beauty, what has true glory because God has done certain things a certain way. Now, that doesn't mean that the only kind of art that is good is imitative art and representational art. But we study that creation to see what God has done. Now, these ethics and aesthetics interplay. And I don't mean to get real heavy here, but I don't mean to, nor can I, actually. You'll have to talk to some other professors about that. But I want to talk a little bit about this beauty. What is it about the Grand Canyon, for example, that evokes such awe in us? We're overcome with the grandeur. What is going on that makes us delight in it, take pleasure in it? What is it that when we're walking across, let's say, well I'm from South Dakota, let's say I'm walking across a pasture late at night to get to my grandmother's house and I'm cutting across the pasture and there's some cows that have been out there grazing in the night and they're laying down for the evening and there's a starlit sky. Now the cows never notice that. They just don't get it. They don't have a heart that is an image bearer of God to appreciate the things that God has done. They just eat grass, you know, and weeds and stuff like that, and make steaks. It's wonderful. But what is it about that starlit sky that can, you know, I might take pleasure that the stars are out because I'm stepping carefully and the starlit skies help me step through that pasture. And that I don't stumble and so forth so I might take pleasure that the stars are out but in order to take pleasure in the stars I'm gonna have to pause and think about what I'm seeing and all of these galaxies and and and the wonder of them put together and and Ryan and there's Pleiades and there's the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper and the North Star and and and thinking about all of the things that are beyond that and the billions of it. And as I begin to think this way, I begin to appreciate something of the beauty of this. Or I can walk through the field like a cow and not ever notice it. But if I'm going to be overwhelmed by the beauty of it, I must stop and notice some things about it. Now, let me illustrate some things for you this way. And again, stay with me. How many of you, when you were younger, elementary school age probably, made potholders? You know, you took those little loops and you put them on a loom and you wove those things together and you tied the ends together and tied a knot in it and you brought it to mom and she said, oh honey, that is so beautiful. How many of you did that? Okay, I did that too. How many of you tried to sell them and make money on it? I tried that. You know, grandma bought a couple and that was it. But you know, mother might look at that and say, oh honey, that is so beautiful. Now, would it be fair to say that potholders have a limited capacity for beauty? Would it be fair to say that? Yeah, I mean, you might mix some colors together. You can't really make any pictures out of it much. They have a very limited capacity for beauty. Now, why is mom saying that's beautiful? Because she's not talking about taking pleasure in the potholder. Any mother who holds up that potholder and says, this is astonishing. Let's frame this. You know, let's see this thing that has come to pass. This is not going to happen. There is very little pleasure she can take in the potholder, but she takes pleasure that you, as her seven or eight year old child, with your stubby little fingers, were able to put all of that together and with a little help of an adult, maybe make this. And the fact that she takes pleasure that you brought it to her with glee and delight and said, Mommy, this is for you. Okay. But there's very little beauty in this potholder because it has a limited capacity for beauty. Now, compare that with a tapestry hanging on a wall, maybe over in our museum and gallery or some other gallery, and maybe it's 10 feet high and maybe 20, 25 feet long or something, and you walk in and you are first struck by perhaps the sheer vastness of it. It's a woven piece of work like a potholder, but there's something else about it that is has a greater capacity for beauty. And you might be struck first by the unity of that picture. Maybe you're seeing peacocks and exotic animals in a lush forest, or maybe you're seeing a war scene, or a hunt scene, or a religious scene, something of that nature, and you're struck with the vastness of it, and perhaps you're struck by the picture itself. But then to gain a real appreciation for it, and that's an important word, an appreciation for it, you walk up to it closer and you begin to examine it and you find out, you look at that and you see that this is made of countless multitudes of thread. And you begin thinking, who made these threads? How did they make them so fine? Who wove these things together? And how did they keep all of these colors straight? And maybe if you're allowed to touch it, you turn over a corner of it and you see all the hand-tied knots on the back and you say, this is absolutely amazing. And you begin to think about it, and what are you doing? You are studying this piece of work. And seeing how all of these complex pieces fit together. Now, a potholder is not complex. It can have unity, in that it is one potholder. It can have utility, because it helps you with hot pots. But it's not very complex. And it is a complexity, and that is just one element of aesthetics. There are many other, proportion, and symmetry, and many other things that contribute to aesthetics. But complexity is one of those. And the more you study the complexity and admire how this is all put together, you stand back and you say, this is amazing. And if the person who did it is standing right there, you turn to them and say, this is astonishing. Thank you. Now, what is the effect of something truly beautiful on the human heart? What is it that God made in us to resonate with something that is truly beautiful? Well, one of the first responses that you have is that of joy. We stand on that rim of the Grand Canyon, and there's kind of a tingle that goes through us looking at this, and there's a joy that whelms up. And we even talk to people later, and we say, I really enjoyed that view, or I enjoyed that walk through the woods. It's exactly what I needed. I saw many things here. It was a beautiful walk. And we enjoy it. Another effect of something truly beautiful on us is that it elicits awe and wonder in us. And we say, this is just astonishing that all of these things are put together this way. And as I said, if that person is standing next to it who created it, we turn to him and say, thank you for creating this. I really enjoyed this. It is just amazing. Well, those are some of the most basic responses of something that is truly, truly beautiful. And it's the same way for music. There's a big difference between Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Beethoven's Ninth. One has very little capacity for beauty. It's okay. It has a place. It gets boring very fast. I mean, nobody downloads it and listens to that every day. But in order to understand the real beauty behind Beethoven's Ninth, you have to spend some time. We take whole courses in music appreciation, understanding the components that go into this. and how they interplay with one another, and the balance, and the harmony, and the meter, and all of these things, and the way certain themes recur, and their variations on those themes. And the more you understand of those things, the more you can soak up the beauty of it, and the more you enjoy it, and the more you're overcome with the wonder of this piece. And were Beethoven standing here, you'd say, that is absolutely phenomenal. Thank you, thank you. This was a wonderful evening. We might say that to the orchestra. You gave me a wonderful evening here. Now, if you have a row, row, row your boat aesthetic, you will not enjoy this any more than a cow does the sky. It takes some study to gain some appreciation of those things. Do you delight in the law of the Lord? The blessed man does. There's something that is done in his soul in a man and a woman who delights in the law, the instruction of the Lord. This book is as it is because God is who He is. He has said things here that are exact reflections of His nature. But, you can have a potholder theology and be bored with this book. I've seen many addicts come to Christ over the last several weeks. Absolutely thrilling. All they may know is John 3.16. But you should hear their testimonies. Saying, I have been in this bondage for years and I am free from my sin. I am free from my sin. It's paid for. I'm free. I have no idea that anything could be like this. There's joy and there's wonder that God should save them. there's gratitude to this God and all they know is John 3 16 a potholder theology and that's okay but there has to be much more growth in them for them to begin to delight in the law of the Lord and some of you may be sitting here and you still have a potholder theology and you've been saved many years because you do not spend time studying this book There's a wonderful picture, just like on that tapestry, there's a wonderful picture that we're beholding on that tapestry that is made up of all these individual components. And there's a wonderful drama of this redemption that God has done for us in this book. And it starts in Genesis 3.15, where God, after that fall, said to that serpent, the seed of this woman will crush your head. And a promise was made. that God would make all things new. And so that journey began and man multiplied on the earth and he turned exceedingly wicked and only one man walked with God. The man's name was Noah and God destroyed everyone else and took Noah and his sons and started over. And eventually he called Abraham out of the Ur of the Chaldeans and says, I want to do something for you. I want through you to bless all of the nations of the earth. And I want you to go to a place that I'm going to show you." And he treks off for thousands of miles and heads to a land we call Israel today. And there he settles and he gives birth to Isaac. And Isaac gives birth to Jacob. And Jacob becomes Israel. And he has the sons of Israel, the children of Israel. And they go into Egypt and end up in captivity there. And God delivers them through that exodus. And he says, I want you to kill a lamb. Sprinkle his blood on the doorpost and when I see it the death angel will pass over you and I will deliver you and they will send you out And he delivers his people from that bondage and Then he delivers his law and he says this is what I'm like This is what the Lord your God is like and by the way, there are many of those laws We are not under in this day, but every one of those laws reflects to us something of the nature of God Because he gave them They show who He is. If He were a different kind of God, He would have said different kinds of things. But He said these things because He is who He is. And He still is that way. And He instituted a bunch of sacrifices on a daily basis to show them that it was by the shedding of blood and by the shedding of the blood of these lambs and these bulls that would be a foreshadowing of something that would come. And He made these people into a nation. And they betrayed Him, and He sent them into captivity, and He disciplined, and He chastened them. But there was a remnant who stayed true to His words and delighted in the law of their God. Some of them were prophets, others of them were lay people, but a small number. And we come into the New Testament, and in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. And Jesus was born. And he told us what he was like. And the apostle said, and we beheld his glory, his excellence, his beauty as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And we watched him. And if you watch him in the Gospels, you stand back in awe that some... I read these Gospels and I say, I am not like this man. I want to be, but I'm not here yet. And I'm seeing a beauty, an excellence, a glory in him that I do not yet see in myself, but I want it. And I delight in seeing it in Him. And then He sends out His disciples with that message, and He sends them into all of the world. And you and I have heard that Gospel, and most of you have come to Christ, and you have accepted this Lamb's substitute for your sin. And He now calls us His church. And one day He is going to display His whole church before all of the watching beings in the heavens and we will be the star witness in that event showing the exceeding kindness of His love to us who didn't deserve that. And one day we will sit as the Lamb's bride at the marriage supper of the Lamb. And we will join all of creation. And we will be singing at the top of our glorified lungs, worthy is this Lamb that was slain. And we will join there out of every tongue and kindred and nation. Do you see the beauty in this plan? Is there anything in you that resonates with delight? That you are a part of it and that our God has done this for us? And in many of your hearts there is that delight. It brings just to hear this old, old story again. For those who love it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest. And your heart resonates with joy and awe that such a God should do this for us. And praise to the one who did it because you have seen the beauty of this plan and the excellence of our God and the glory of our God. But young people, I'm telling you, if you want to delight in this law of the Lord as the psalmist did, you must spend much time not only beholding that tapestry from afar and seeing the whole picture, but you must get close and study it piece by piece and relate it to the whole and stand back and say, that is amazing that God put this in here and that relates to this over here. But if you will not take a Bible appreciation course, if I can say it that way, and every one of your Bible courses is a Bible appreciation course, showing you the components of all of this, and you see the complexity of this, but the unity of it, and as you see those things together. And as the Spirit of God who dwells in you, the Teacher who dwells in you, gives you understanding of these things and gives you, as Jonathan Edwards would say, a relish of these things. Your soul is changed into that same image of God as you behold in this word the glories of our God. But you must become a student of the word. You must become people of the book. You must spend much time in this book. If you're going to really appreciate Beethoven's Ninth, you're going to have to do a lot of study. If you're going to appreciate the art over in our museum and gallery, you must study. You cannot stay the same. And if you study it, you will not stay the same. And if you want to truly put on the heart and the behavior and the thoughts of a new creation, you must spend much time studying this book, tracing those threads through this history, watching God work in these wonderful ways in the hearts of people, meditating on the fact that He, out of all of these nations and all of these people, out of all of the generations, sent the gospel to you and worked in your heart and drew you to himself and made you part of that bride and one day will parade you before all of the creation in heaven to show how exceeding great and wonderful is his kindness towards sinners. But you must become a student of the book. Now that means there are a lot of other things you can't do. You just won't have time to do. This will not be boring. Some of you spend so little time, and the Bible is boring to you. You have a row, row, row your boat theology, a potholder theology, because you do not spend time studying anything else about this book. This is why you need to read it through every year, or at least make that a goal. I'm not saying that's a legalistic standard. Why? Because you see these threads constantly going through this, and they're refreshed. I don't know how many times I've read this book from cover to cover. And it is the most exciting, thrilling thing. You can actually begin to take delight in the law of the Lord when you see all of these connections. I want to close with one verse from Psalm 27, 4. Would you turn there? Psalm 27, 4. You must make God the biggest thing in your life. Psalm 27, for David said, One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. David said there's nothing like observing the beauty of the Lord. And that's why you and I can go to this Bible every day and pray Psalm 119. Oh Lord, open my eyes. that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." And when you see the beauty of our God, the beauty of truth, the beauty of what He has said, the beauty of His plan, you will be transformed. You can't see God in these ways and stay the same. And that's His whole design. Let's pray. How wonderful You are. How amazing You are. How complex and yet how singular You are to us. We know You as our Father. We know You as our Creator. We know You as our Redeemer. We know You as our Shepherd. We know You as our Door. We know You as our Resurrection and our Life. All of these threads Show us more of who you are and what you are like, and our souls delight in what we see. There is no one like you. There is no one who has loved us like you. And no one who excels in any way like you excel. And we confess to you that we do not bring to you the praise and the glory and the honor that you, as our perfect God, deserve. But we want you to have more of that glory and that honor today. We want to take greater delight in you, our perfect God. Work in our souls to that end for your own glory and for the good of us, your creatures, whom you have redeemed. We pray this in the name of your blessed son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.