Thursday, February 3

Thursday

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.  The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

Psalm 19:1-10

I hope by now (assuming you have been reading these devotional blogs this week) you are beginning to grasp just how remarkable this Psalm really is.  David began by telling us that God speaks to us through His creation (19:1-6).  Then he told us that God speaks to us through His Word (19:7-10).  Before we look at how David concludes this magnificent Psalm (19:11-14), we should stop to consider the incredible balance and wisdom of what we have already learned. 

We need both the word of God in creation and the written Word of God in the Scriptures in order to have the complete picture.  God has not left us with just vague clues from the natural world and neither has He given us a bunch of writings that are disconnected from real life.  If all we had to go on were the stars and the mountains and oceans, etc. then we might be able to discern that God exists and that He is powerful and creative, but how would we know about His faithfulness, justice, compassion and mercy? 

The truth is that while many people are moved to worship God by the beauty of nature, many others are drawn to worship nature itself rather than the God who created it.  The messages about God in creation are easily missed and often misinterpreted.  There are some things that are easy to communicate non-verbally; a smile, a nod, or a wink can all let someone know you like them or accept them.  But how would you tell someone that you want to meet them at 3:30 p.m. at Starbucks in Geneva Commons, and that they should be sure to bring their iPad if you couldn’t use actual words?  There are some messages that require actual words. 

Psalm 19 tells us that the knowledge of God has been written for us in two volumes, and that it takes both volumes to know God. There is the revelation in nature, and there is the revelation given in a Book, in the written Word. Both are essential to the knowledge and understanding of God

Nature is designed to tell us not only how things happened but who is behind them. It is perfectly proper for a scientist to investigate the realm of nature.  Man has made some wonderful discoveries about how God put things together.  They are fascinating, exciting, opening up whole new possibilities for life.  What is wrong is the attempt to exclude God from that realm and not to allow nature to carry us on to that end for which it was designed - to bring us to an understanding that behind this universe, behind ourselves and the mystery of our own lives, is the great intelligence and wisdom and power of a living God.  That is why so many feel so lost and lonely, alienated and forsaken in a mechanistic universe.

But the book of nature is only Volume 1.  There is also another book, Volume 2, designed to answer the other pressing questions we humans ask: "Why?  What is behind all this?  What is the meaning of it all?  Where are we headed, and why are we involved in this whole process?  how should we live our lives?”  Nature simply cannot answer those questions.  That is why those who work exclusively in the realm of science can never state a satisfactory purpose for life.  Nature simply does not give that knowledge (at least not completely).  But, if we take the meaning of Psalm 19 seriously, we see that nature is intended to be a signpost, it is meant to point us in a particular direction.  If this great, throbbing question, "Why?" is ever to be answered, the answer must come from the God himself. So he has given us a Book, His Book!