Psalm 19:1 - Nature's Revelation of God.

Psalm 19:1; Nature's Revelation of God.

Psalm 19:1 (NIV)  The heavens declare the glory of God; the 
skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

Psa 19:1 (NLT)  The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies 
display his marvelous craftsmanship. 

Psa 19:1 (CWR)  The heavens declare God's glory and the skies 
reveal His handiwork. 

Psalm 19:1 (TLB)  The heavens are telling the glory of God; they 
are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship.  

CONTEXT

God's Glory in Creation and the Law
God's Works and Word

CROSS REFERENCES

Psalm 33:6 (KJV)  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; 
and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION

Overview
God declares His glory in creation and in His Word (Ps. 19). 
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

In this psalm, David's steps of meditation take him from 
creation, through God's Word, through David's own sinfulness, to 
salvation. As God reveals himself through nature (Psalm 19:1-6), we learn 
about his power and our finiteness. As God reveals himself through 
Scripture (Psalm 19:7-11), we learn about his holiness and our sinfulness. 
As God reveals himself through daily experiences (Psalm 19:12-14), 
we learn about his gracious forgiveness and our salvation. [Life 
Application SB] 

We are surrounded by fantastic displays of God's 
craftsmanship--the heavens give dramatic evidence of his 
existence, his power, his 
 love, his care. To say that the universe happened by chance is absurd. 
Its design, intricacy, and orderliness point to a personally 
involved Creator. As you look at God's handiwork in nature and the 
heavens, thank him for such magnificent beauty and the truth it reveals 
about the Creator. [Life Application SB] 

The apostle Paul referred to this psalm when he explained that 
everyone knows about God because nature proclaims God's existence and 
power (Romans 1:19-20). This does not cancel the need for missions 
because the message of God's salvation found in his Word, the Bible, 
must still be told to the ends of the earth. While nature points to 
the existence of God, the Bible tells us about salvation. God's 
people must explain to others how they can have a relationship with 
God. Although people everywhere should already believe in a Creator 
by just looking at the evidence of nature around them, God needs us 
to explain his love, mercy, and grace. What are you doing to take 
God's message to the world? [Life Application SB] 

Nature is not God, nor was it ever God. The voice of nature 
testifies of God, but nature is not God. As His created work, it simply 
bears a testimony to God's power. Deity is the author of nature. The 
natural world has, in itself, no power but that which God supplies.  
{6BC 1068.2} 

Nature is full of lessons of the love of God. Rightly 
understood, these lessons lead to the Creator. They point from nature to 
nature's God, teaching those simple, holy truths which cleanse the mind, 
bringing it into close touch with God. {3BC 1144.7} 

God calls men to look upon the heavens. See Him in the wonders 
of the starry heavens. We are not merely to gaze upon the heavens; 
we are to consider the works of God. He would have us study the 
works of infinity, and from this study, learn to love and reverence 
and obey Him. The heavens and the earth with their treasures are to 
teach the lessons of God's love, care, and power.  {4BC 1145.9} 

Many are the ways in which God is seeking to make Himself known 
to us and bring us into communion with Him. Nature speaks to our 
senses without ceasing. The open heart will be impressed with the love 
and glory of God as revealed through the works of His hands. The 
listening ear can hear and understand the communications of God through 
the things of nature. The green fields, the lofty trees, the buds 
and flowers, the passing cloud, the falling rain, the babbling 
brook, the glories of the heavens, speak to our hearts, and invite us 
to become acquainted with Him who made them all.  {SC 85.1} 

God would have His children appreciate His works and delight in 
the simple, quiet beauty with which He has adorned our earthly home. 
He is a lover of the beautiful, and above all that is outwardly 
attractive He loves beauty of character; He would have us cultivate purity 
and simplicity, the quiet graces of the flowers.  {SC 85.3} 

The things of nature speak to man of his Creator's love. He has 
linked us to Himself by unnumbered tokens in heaven and in earth. This 
world is not all sorrow and misery. "God is love," is written upon 
every opening bud, upon the petals of every flower, and upon every 
spire of grass. Though the curse of sin has caused the earth to bring 
forth thorns and thistles, there are flowers upon the thistles and the 
thorns are hidden by roses. All things in nature testify to the tender, 
fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy. 
His prohibitions and injunctions are not intended merely to display 
His authority, but in all that He does He has the well-being of His 
children in view. He does not require them to give up anything that it 
would be for their best interest to retain.  {PP 599.4} 

Now sin has marred God's perfect work, yet that handwriting 
remains. Even now all created things declare the glory of His excellence. 
There is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto 
itself. No bird that cleaves the air, no animal that moves upon the 
ground, but ministers to some other life. There is no leaf of the 
forest, or lowly blade of grass, but has its ministry. Every tree and 
shrub and leaf pours forth that element of life without which neither 
man nor animal could live; and man and animal, in turn, minister to 
the life of tree and shrub and leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance 
and unfold their beauty in blessing to the world. The sun sheds its 
light to gladden a thousand worlds. The ocean, itself the source of 
all our springs and fountains, receives the streams from every land, 
but takes to give. The mists ascending from its bosom fall in 
showers to water the earth, that it may bring forth and bud.  {DA 20.2} 

I gloomily surveyed the thick white powder coating the back of 
my clothes dryer. At least the fire was out, and it hadn't been my 
fault. The air vent had been installed backward, trapping lint. 
"Remember, don't use it until an appliance repairman takes a 
look," advised my friendly volunteer fireman. No, I certainly wasn't 
ready to risk another fire, but with three teenagers in the house, I 
sure would miss the convenience of a dryer. 
Oh, well, at least it's spring, I thought as I ducked under 
branches to tie one end of a cotton clothesline to a Russian olive and 
the other to a willow in the backyard. After I had hauled the first 
load to the new line, I began the classic, rhythmic routine: Bend to 
the basket; stretch to the line; squeak the clothespin over damp 
cloth. Bend. Stretch. Squeak. The movement began to lull me. 
A light breeze fluffed my hair and set the aspens quivering. 
Sunlight filtering through their leaves in a dozen shades of green cast 
dappled shadows along the edge of the swift-running creek near the end 
of the clothesline. The water lapped at branches trailing in the 
twinkling stream. As I pegged out each sock and towel, my contentment 
becoming deeper and deeper, I gazed up at a panoramic view of the Wind 
River Mountains, snow glistening on the ten-thousand-foot peaks. I 
took a deep breath of cool mountain air. When puffy clouds drifted 
overhead in a postcard blue sky, my daily tensions drifted away, too. I 
have a better view from my clothesline than most tourists have from 
their resorts. Who needs a dryer? 
Even after the dryer was repaired, I found myself using the 
clothesline until snow began to fly. What had begun as an inconvenience had 
become a refreshing interlude-and a perfect setting for "fresh air 
prayer." by Gail Thorell Schilling in Daily Guideposts 2001 

A good way to commune with God--as this psalm tells us--is through 
nature. Take time to enjoy God's gift of creation. Walk in the woods; 
listen to the water rushing in a stream; look at the stars and moon; 
smell The flowers. Slow down and take time to hear what nature tells 
us about God. Drive through the country, in the mountains, or take 
some scenic route. Watch for sunsets and sunrises and beautiful cloud 
formations, and on rainy days, look for those rainbows. Experience the power 
and fury of a thunderstorm. Watch the birds and animals, and enjoy 
the beautiful world our Father created for us. --Barbara Stephens  
[Life Recovery Devotional SB] 

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system, 
through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.  
[George Washington Carver]