The Late Show

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” ~Psalm 19:1

  

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching our women’s Bible Study, on the first 6 verses of Psalm 19.  And, as I studied the passage in preparation for the lesson, I found myself convicted about how I often take for granted the amazing gift of grace that God has given us in Creation.  Even as I prepared for the lesson, I was impatient to get to, what I considered, “the good stuff,” in verses 7-14.  Sadly, this attitude is reflected in my life each day, as I rarely take time to see the world that God has created for what it is – a revelation of Himself to us, His creation.  Maybe it is as the old saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt.”  Arizona boasts that they enjoy 300 days of sunshine each year.  But, that was not exactly a selling point for this California girl…  Growing up in Southern California, I have seen sunny days, and instead of causing me to be thankful, and praise God for his wisdom and creativity, I complain about the oppressive heat.  I’d like to think that, maybe if I lived in a place where winter meant months of endless gray skies, below freezing temperatures, and several feet of snow, then I might be less likely to complain, and instead reflect on how the light and warmth of the sun reveals the power, wisdom, and mercy of the Creator.

 

“Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”  ~Psalm 19:2

 

Although we do not always stop to notice it, the created world is constantly speaking, overflowing with their witness to the glory and existence of God.  I love how John Piper says, “knowledge comes through nature, day and night.  At night, the night sky speaks.  In the day, the day sky speaks.  Or to be precise, speech pours forth. Nature does not whisper—it shouts, and it shouts continually.”

 

The created world around us reveals so much to us about God, about His character, His nature, His creativity, His power, His mercy, His wrath, and His eternality.

 

In our family devotional time, we recently studied the 6 days of creation with Hannah.  And (I just love when God does this!!), this coincided perfectly with the catechism that Hannah has been learning as well.  As we have talked about the fact that God made everything, we have also been working on helping her to understand that God made all things “For His own glory.”  But, the other night, it was interesting to watch her put the pieces together…  You could almost see the little wheels turning in her mind as she worked on the concept of God making everything.  “But, if God made everything, then it wasn’t here before He made it.”  Exactly!  It is amazing when you stop to think that there was a time when only God existed.  He was not created.  He never had a beginning….  Again, I have to quote John Piper,

“You became the person you are. You grew and learned and changed and matured. But not God. He is good, long-suffering, reliable, honest, righteous, merciful, but He never became that way.  He never learned anything from anybody; He never grew; He never changed; He never matured.  He simply always was what He is from eternity before eternity before eternity.  As unimaginable as it is, it says to me: He is sure.  He is a rock.  He cannot cease to be what He has been from all eternity, because there are no forces at work on Him which do not have their ultimate origin in Him and are limited by Him. So my faith in God’s future is greatly strengthened by pondering the fact that he is the eternal, glorious creator.” (emphasis added)

 

“There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their measuring line (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,” ~Psalm 19:3-4

 

Charles Spurgeon says, the teaching of the stars, the sky, the heavens, “is not addressed to the ear, and is not uttered in articulate sounds; it is pictorial, and directed to the eye and the heart; it touches not the sense by which faith comes, for faith cometh by hearing” (The Treasury of David – Vol. 1, pg. 271)– and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom. 10:17)  What the created world communicates to us is not by way of words of a literal, verbal, audible nature.  But, neither is it some secret language, only to be deciphered by the enlightened few.  It is available, and accessible to everyone.  The revelation in the created world transcends geography, culture, and language.  But, the result of this is that all men can then be held accountable for acknowledging the truth of what nature communicates.

 

“which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.  Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to he end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
~Psalm 19:5-6

 

No one is immune.   No one is unaffected.    We may be able to hide ourselves from other aspects of creation – we generally sleep while the stars are out, we stay inside and protect ourselves from the rain, we may close the blinds and hide from the light of the sun, or turn on the air conditioner and momentarily escape feeling it’s heat.  But, no one can escape the fact that the sun, in some way, has an effect on every living creature.  In the same way – even though some may deny Him – the fact remains that no one is unaffected by God.  We are here because of Him.  Life is sustained because of Him. 

Romans 1:18-20 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, 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. So they are without excuse.” (Emphasis added)

 

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These verses, and their implications for everyday life, have been on my mind constantly for the past few weeks.  So, I was excited to read about this today on several blogs, Facebook, and news sites:

“The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show this week for those willing to get up in the wee hours of the morning and wait patiently for the shooting stars.

In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, but late Tuesday night and also Wednesday night could prove fruitful, weather permitting.”

I realize that these are hours when most people are sound asleep.  But, if you are up, what a great opportunity to watch as “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”!