Get up early in the morning and witness the sunrise. Stay up late at night and behold the colors of the sunset arrayed against the far, untouchable horizon. The magnificence of the immense universe declares the wonderful handiwork of our Creator God. It forever tells of the amazing work of His creative hand.
It speaks to every single person who has ever lived on this terrestrial globe… of a caring God, Who, in the beginning, created the heavens; formed the earth and spoke, fashioned all that was made in those six astonishing days of creation.
Not one person could be indifferent to the heavenly glories of the day-time sky and the countless wonders of the stunning night-time sphere… as we gaze on the sun and moon and countless array of twinkling stars, which God in His own grace placed into the heavens on the third day of creation.
And God placed them there for signs and seasons… for endless days and for years. They were created to shed their radiant glow and life-giving warmth onto the earth. They were fashioned to rule the day and establish the night, as a perpetual reminder of God’s eternal goodness and His immeasurable greatness.
I need no other encouragement or motivation to know with all of my heart and with all of my soul and all of my mind and strength – to 100% believe in God.
Psalm 19:1-6 Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 19
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
and his circuit unto the ends of it:
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Psalm 19 is one of the more well-known, beloved psalms—it’s been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. After studying it a bit more closely, I came away with not only a better appreciation of the psalm itself, but for the true glory of God, which is the David’s whole reason for writing the psalm.
In this psalm, David sits down against the whole backdrop of his native land, from sunrise to sunset he contemplates everything which is before him, listens to what all of creation says about the glory of God, what the Scriptures teach us about the righteousness of God, and how we ought to respond in our prayers.
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
David opens his psalm by observing the ceaseless speech of creation to glorify God:
1The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.2Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
The ESV has a great English version of Psalm 19, but there is always a lot lost in translation, no matter how faithful you can be to the text.
Look at the tremendously vivid verbs David selects to describe how creation announces the glory of God:
- “The heavens declare the glory of God…” would be more literally translated recount, because it’s the word used for actual counting and numbering. When you say that someone recounts a story, however, there’s a sense that they are including every part of the story, bit by bit. All of the heavens have not merely declared the glory of God; they are enumerating every single wondrous detail of God’s glory.
- “Day to day pours out speech…” is a very good word equivalent, because this word is used in Proverbs 18:4 to describe a flowing river.
- “Night to night reveals knowledge…” property means “breathes out.” The exhaled breath of the night’s speech forms a gentler parallel image to the rushing water of the day’s speech.
Overall, the point of the first two verses is to declare the ceaseless nature of creation’s speech. There is never a silent moment during day or night when creation ceases to pour forth and breathe out its unified witness to God’s glory.
So, we might ask a brief question at this point: Why don’t we hear it? Is this speech bottled up in some kind of soundproof area so that we can’t hear it?
Not at all. Over the next few verses, David insists that the reach of creation’s voice is universal, so that there is no one who fails to hear it.
Creation’s Voice Praises God Through All the Earth
David continues his psalm:
3There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.4Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,5which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.6Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Notice the insistence on the reach of creation’s voice:
- “There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard” (v. 3)
- “Their voice goes out through all the earth” (v. 4)
- “Their words [go out] to the end of the world” (v. 4)
- The course of the sun “is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat” (v. 6)
If creation’s single message is to announce the glory of God, and if creation’s voice reaches to the ends of the earth and beyond—so that there is absolutely nothing hidden from its reach—question then, how is it that we go through our lives mostly numb and oblivious to what creation is shouting at us at all times?
Certainly, there are points in life where a sunrise or a sunset catches our breath, or where we experience the overwhelming joy of looking out across a region of mountains after hiking to the top of one of the peaks, or perhaps where we are humbled to feel small in comparison to the vastness of all the world’s oceans.
But I believe that David clearly (heavenly) has something more in mind here.
All of creation is always declaring to us God’s glory. Every single microscopic organism and every furious tornado recounts the detail, creativity, and power of our Creator. For those who have eyes to see. for those who have ears to hear, let them be thoroughly still, to hear this sermon of praise to our God in heaven.
Why Christians Should Love God’s Creation
If this is true, then here are a few things we should consider in response.
First, this probably means that most of us need to get outside more often—and I’m thinking primarily about myself.
I’d much prefer to be in the artificially created comforts of my heated and air-conditioned home, sheltered from the rawness of nature, but I should probably consider how that short-circuits my ability to understand God.
Creating a carefully tamed environment to live out my days probably is not the single best teacher for understanding God as he is.
Second, this is a great motivation for Christians to pursue science, especially younger Christians who are trying to decide what to do with their lives.
In the current intellectual climate, many Christians are inherently suspicious of science, but Psalm 19 gives us a firm theological foundation for doing science, because science is the systematic exploration of God’s glory in creation.
In point of fact, the scientific revolution would never have happened without Christianity, because it was Christian theology that drove many of the first scientists to desire to discover horizons, exploring God’s world more closely.
The confusion today is that too many scientists actually promulgate a kind of philosophy (or even a religion) which takes as its first principle the belief that Psalm 19 isn’t true—that creation has nothing to do with proclaiming the glory of God. But as Bible believing Christians, I pray we know differently. Our science enlarges possibilities, expands our reach, view of God rather than shrinking it.
Finally, we need to make a mental note to allow ourselves to listen to creation’s praise of God. We are so busy in our lives that we fail to notice some spectacular beauty and wonder and terror within creation most of the time. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day and every night Creation is preaching to us a sermon every day of the week, if we would but listen to it – we’d know God!
As Christians, we should love creation, because creation is God’s handiwork.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, when I look into the heavens and see the splendour of Your handiwork and the glories of Your creative power, I am moved as was David to proclaim Your glory and to declare the wonderful works of Your mighty hand. But when I look to the cross of Calvary and see Christ: – born, died, buried and resurrected to life… so that by faith in Him I might be reconciled back to God; be forgiven of my sins and become Your child and heir – I am lost in wonder love and praise, speak to me again and again, enlighten, illuminate me once more. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 