“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hidden from the heat thereof.” –Psalm 19:1-6 (KJV)
I chose to use the King James Version of these verses because I memorized these a number of years ago in this beautiful version. Oftentimes when I go to the paper box early in the morning, even before the sun has begun to lighten the eastern sky, I quote these verses with a delightful feeling of awe and reverence for Creator God. Psalm 19 has two distinct parts. Verses 1 through 6 describe the glory of God revealed in the excellence of the firmament and the skies. Verses 7-14 describe God’s revelation through the law. We will come back to verses 7-14 later, but for today let us take cognizance of the great truths we can learn from verses 1-6. I ask that you read also Psalm 8. It is a companion psalm to 19:1-6. Verses I have memorized from Psalm 8 are 1, and 3-6: "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens…When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet.”
David, attributed as the author of both Psalm 19 and Psalm 8 would have been quite familiar with the broad expanse of the firmament. His days as a youth when he shepherded his father’s flocks gave him opportunities to be in nature, to observe the skies and meadows, to see the changing light from early morning to dusk and into the evening. The sun, myriad stars, the moon--all were his companions. To the Hebrew mind, the sky was conceived of as a solid canopy. As day follows night in rapid succession, this marking of time testifies to God’s glory. Do you say with gratitude each day: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24)? The heavens and the firmament above, the sun, moon and stars are a testimony to God’s might, power and glory. This testimony extends worldwide, wherever there are people to observe the created order. Paul the Apostle attests that there is “no excuse” (Romans 1:19b-20) for anyone not turning to God, because “God has shown it (the truth) to them. For His invisible attirbutes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” Paul of course knew that salvation was in believing: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10: 17). But then he immediately returns to the fact that there is enough revelation for anyone to come to faith. He asks a pertinent question and quotes Psalm 19:3 in Romans 10:18: “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’” The silent, unrelenting testimony of the skies, the sun, the moon and the stars points us to the greatness, majesty and power of God. David gives an analogy as the sun being the bridegroom coming forth from his chamber. God’s majesty in nature points to the Bridegroom God sent, in due time, to be the Savior of the world. George Washington Carver, the great scientist and Christian of another century wrote: “I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
I chose to use the King James Version of these verses because I memorized these a number of years ago in this beautiful version. Oftentimes when I go to the paper box early in the morning, even before the sun has begun to lighten the eastern sky, I quote these verses with a delightful feeling of awe and reverence for Creator God. Psalm 19 has two distinct parts. Verses 1 through 6 describe the glory of God revealed in the excellence of the firmament and the skies. Verses 7-14 describe God’s revelation through the law. We will come back to verses 7-14 later, but for today let us take cognizance of the great truths we can learn from verses 1-6. I ask that you read also Psalm 8. It is a companion psalm to 19:1-6. Verses I have memorized from Psalm 8 are 1, and 3-6: "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens…When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet.”
David, attributed as the author of both Psalm 19 and Psalm 8 would have been quite familiar with the broad expanse of the firmament. His days as a youth when he shepherded his father’s flocks gave him opportunities to be in nature, to observe the skies and meadows, to see the changing light from early morning to dusk and into the evening. The sun, myriad stars, the moon--all were his companions. To the Hebrew mind, the sky was conceived of as a solid canopy. As day follows night in rapid succession, this marking of time testifies to God’s glory. Do you say with gratitude each day: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24)? The heavens and the firmament above, the sun, moon and stars are a testimony to God’s might, power and glory. This testimony extends worldwide, wherever there are people to observe the created order. Paul the Apostle attests that there is “no excuse” (Romans 1:19b-20) for anyone not turning to God, because “God has shown it (the truth) to them. For His invisible attirbutes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” Paul of course knew that salvation was in believing: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10: 17). But then he immediately returns to the fact that there is enough revelation for anyone to come to faith. He asks a pertinent question and quotes Psalm 19:3 in Romans 10:18: “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’” The silent, unrelenting testimony of the skies, the sun, the moon and the stars points us to the greatness, majesty and power of God. David gives an analogy as the sun being the bridegroom coming forth from his chamber. God’s majesty in nature points to the Bridegroom God sent, in due time, to be the Savior of the world. George Washington Carver, the great scientist and Christian of another century wrote: “I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
No comments:
Post a Comment