The heavens tell the glory of God
Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
In a matter of 14 verses, the Psalmist praises God for the beauty and grandeur of creation (1-6); offers thanks to the LORD (Yahweh) for the gift of the Law (Torah) (7-10); and then narrows the focus on the psalmist and his relationship to the LORD (Yahweh) and the Torah (11-14).
Let us take a moment and focus on the first 6 verses that declare the works of God (El - Hebrew). God’s handiwork is everywhere —- in the heavens, in the work of the sun, in all of earth’s creation. And this creation sings praises to God - in creation’s ways. The natural creation cannot “speak words” - and yet, the voice of creation goes throughout the earth.
You know those moments when you are enjoying the outdoors and you see the beauty of the earth, sprouting, growing — many of you post pictures of such nature scenes on facebook. These might include flowers, a hiking trail, a sunrise or sunset, birds and animals. These are all part of God’s creation and they are declaring the works of God.
At the end of verse 4 through verse 6, there seems to be a counter to those cultures that see the sun as another god among many gods. Here in these verses, however, the sun is part of God’s creation. The psalmist is asserting that the sun is not a god, but rather is a part of God’s creation. God alone is God, and God has made the sun. In addition to this, God has made a tent for the sun to “rest” through the night, and then the next morning, the sun emerges and begins another trek across the sky. The sun is able to do that, not because the sun is a god, but because the creator God has made it that way and has set the sun in the sky for that purpose.
In these first six verses of Psalm 19, the psalmist declares the greatness of God for all of God’s creation, and the psalmist joins all of creation in praising God for what God has made. As I write this on a cold, snowy, January afternoon, invite you to join the psalmist to marvel at God’s handiwork in all of creation; lift up prayers of thanksgiving for all that God has made; and trust that the sun that God has made will continue to shine bright!
Let us pray… Creator God, we lift our praises to you, thank you for all that you have made. We thank you for the gift of each day, and as you cause the sun to rise each day to shine bright on our world, may it remind us of your Son and the light that he shines to reveal the promises and hope that we have each and every day through his death and resurrection. Amen.