Psalm 19
The creatures show God’s glory, the Word shows his grace.
He who here sings about the work of God in the world around him,
pleads for a work of grace within himself.
Sean Bird – teacher of calculus & physics at
I want to know how God
created this world. I want to
know His thoughts, the rest
are details.
- Albert Einstein, not a Christian,
but firmly denies atheism
1879-1955
God
created
everything
by
number,
weight
and
measure.
-Sir Isaac
Newton
1642-1727
I think that each individual man should do all he can to impress his
own mind with the extent, the order, and the unity of the universe, and
should carry these ideas with him as he reads such passages as the
1st Chap. of the Ep. to Colossians (see Lightfoot on Colossians,
p.182), just as enlarged conceptions of the extent and unity of the
world of life may be of service to us in reading Psalm viii, Heb ii 6, etc.
- James Clerk Maxwell, founder of E&M 1831-1879
Psalm 19 overview
In his earliest days the psalmist, while keeping his father's flock,
had devoted himself to the study of God's two great books—
nature and Scripture; …
How foolish and wicked are those who instead of accepting the
two sacred tomes, and delighting to behold the same divine
hand in each, spend all their wits in endeavouring to find
discrepancies and contradictions. We may rest assured that
the true "Vestiges of Creation" will never contradict Genesis,
nor will a correct "Cosmos" be found at variance with the
narrative of Moses.
He is wisest who reads both the world-book, and the
Word-book as two volumes of the same work, and
feels concerning them, "My Father wrote them both."
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Genesis 3:6
The woman saw that the tree was
1. Good for food
2. A delight to the eyes
3. To be desired to make one wise
NO !
My question is, WAS IT?
Did this match reality?
The heavens declare the
glory of God;
The book of nature
has three volumes:
heaven, earth, and
sea, of which
heaven is the first
and the most
glorious, and by its
aid we are able to
see the beauties of
the other two.
For he has raised everywhere, in all places and in all things, his
ensigns and emblems, under blazons so clear and intelligible
that no one can pretend ignorance in not knowing such a
sovereign Lord, who has so amply exalted his magnificence;
who has, in all parts of the world, in heaven and on earth,
written and as it were engraved the glory of his power,
goodness, wisdom, and eternity.
Paul has therefore said quite rightly that the Lord has never left
himself without a witness [Acts 14:17]; even among those to
whom he has not sent any knowledge of his Word. It is
evident that all creatures, from those in the firmament to those
which are in the center of the earth, are able to act as
witnesses and messengers of his glory to all men …
For the little birds that sing, sing of God; the beasts roar for
him; the elements dread him, the mountains echo him, the
fountains and flowing waters cast their glances at him, and
the grass and flowers laugh before him.
John Calvin pg35-36 Commentaries, Available online at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom.pdf
“From the Christian point of view, every
fact of the space-time universe is created
by God and is what it is by virtue of its
place in the plan of God” - Cornelius VanTil
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Rev 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Cassiopeia A
Hubble Space Telescope
(HST)
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Infrared Array Camera
Visible Light
Chandra X-ray Telescope
Any part of creation has more instruction in it than human mind will
ever exhaust, but the celestial realm is peculiarly rich in spiritual
lore…
Every moment God's existence, power, wisdom and goodness, are
being sounded abroad by the heavenly heralds which shine upon
us from above…
He who would imagine infinity must peer into the boundless
expanse; he who desires to see divine wisdom should consider the
balancing of the orbs; he who would know divine fidelity must mark
the regularity of the planetary motions; and he who would attain
some conceptions of divine power, greatness, and majesty, must
estimate the forces of attraction, the magnitude of the fixed stars,
and the brightness of the whole celestial train.
It is not merely glory that the heavens declare, but the "glory of
God," for they deliver to us such unanswerable arguments for a
conscious, intelligent, planning, controlling, and presiding Creator,
that no unpredjudiced person can remain unconvinced by them.
Historic Presuppositions of Science
1. The world is real – If one believes the world is not really
there, then there is not an incentive to investigate it. But the
Christian doctrine of a real creation provides an incentive (Gen 1:1;
Neh 9:6; Rev 4:11).
2. The universe is good – Even with the Fall, this
goodness is not eradicated. This higher view of nature led to the
Christian belief that the material world is worthy of investigation
(Gen 1:31; Ps 111:2,3; 1Tim 4:4).
The early chemist Jean-Baptiste van Helmont
insisted that the
pursuit of science is
“a good gift,” given by God.
1580-1644
“There is need of art and
more exacting toil in
order to investigate the
motion of the stars, to
determine their assigned
stations, to measure
their intervals, to note
their properties.” (I.v.1)
Limitations of General Revelation
“to what avail is the loudest
declaration to a deaf man, or
the clearest showing to one
spiritually blind? God the Holy
Ghost must illuminate us, or
all the suns in the milky way
never will.”
the skies proclaim the
work of His hands.
The nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 1569,
photo taken by Hubble Telescope
Strange is it that
some who love God
are yet afraid to study
the God-declaring
book of nature
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
How beautiful this dome of sky,
And the vast hills in fluctuation fixed
At thy command, how awful! Shall the soul,
Human and rational, report of Thee
Even less than these? Be mute who will, who can,
Yet I will praise thee with impassioned voice.
My lips, that may forget thee in the crowd,
Cannot forget thee here, where thou hast built
For thine own glory, in the wilderness!
William Wordsworth, 1770-1850.
The lessons of day & night
7. Night invites us to rest in Him
6. Day bids us work for God
1. The changeful character of
earthly things
2. The brevity both of joy and
sorrow
3. The preciousness of life
4. Our utter powerlessness in
getting back time that is past
5. The irresistible approach of
eternity
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. Jesus Christ is called the
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
Word, for he is a far more
and makes its circuit to the other;
distinct display of Godhead
nothing is hidden from its heat.
than all the heavens can
afford; they are, after all, but
dumb instructors; neither star
nor sun can arrive at a word,
but Jesus is the express
image of Jehovah's person,
and his name is the Word of
God.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19
Jonathan Edwards “It appears to me very likely that the Holy Ghost
in these expressions which he most immediately uses about the
rising of the sun, has an eye to the rising of the Sun of
Righteousness from the grave …He rose as the joyful, glorious
bridegroom of his church; for Christ, especially as risen again,
is the proper bridegroom, or husband, of his church, as the
apostle teaches (Romans 7:4), "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should
be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
Psalm 19
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
“The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
converting the soul.”
making wise the simple.
The great means of the conversion 8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
of sinners is the Word of God, and The commands of the LORD are radiant,
the more closely we keep to it in giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
our ministry the more likely we
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
are to be successful.”
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
“The testimony of the Lord is sure.” than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
God bears his testimony against sin, and on behalf of righteousness;
he testifies of our fall and of our restoration; this testimony is plain,
decided, and infallible, and is to be accepted as sure. God's witness
in his Word is so sure that we may draw solid comfort from it both for
time and eternity, and so sure that no attacks made upon it however
fierce or subtle can ever weaken its force. What a blessing that in a
world of uncertainties we have something sure to rest upon!
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 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,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
5. 7 Jehovah’s perfect law
Restores the soul again;
His testimony sure
Gives wisdom unto men;
8The precepts of the LORD are right,
And fill the heart with great delight.
6. The LORD’s command is pure,
Enlightening the eyes;
9Jehovah’s fear is clean,
More lasting than the skies.
The judgments of the LORD express
His truth and perfect righteousness.
7. 10They’re more to be desired
Than stores of finest gold;
Than honey from the comb
More sweetness far they hold.
11With
warnings they Thy servant guard
In keeping them is great reward
8. 12His errors who can know?
Cleanse me from hidden stain
13Keep me from willful sins,
Nor let them o’er me reign.
And then I upright shall appear
And be from great transgression clear.
9. 14 Let all the words I speak
And all the thoughts within
Come up before Thy sight
And Thine approval win.
O Thou Jehovah, unto me
My rock and my Redeemer be.