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Psalm 19:1, 2 - The Heavens Declare the Glory of God.Psalm 19:1, 2 (NKJV) The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.Psalm 19:1, 2 (NIV) 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. CONTEXT God reveals himself through creation. Nature teaches us about God's character. 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] INTRODUCTION 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] COMMENTARY PEARLS 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. Our Saviour bound up His precious lessons with the things of nature. The trees, the birds, the flowers of the valleys, the hills, the lakes, and the beautiful heavens, as well as the incidents and surroundings of daily life, were all linked with the words of truth, that His lessons might thus be often recalled to mind, even amid the busy cares of man's life of toil. 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. If we will but listen, God's created works will teach us precious lessons of obedience and trust. From the stars that in their trackless courses through space follow from age to age their appointed path, down to the minutest atom, the things of nature obey the Creator's will. And God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created. He who upholds the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without fear. When men go forth to their daily toil, as when they engage in prayer; when they lie down at night, and when they rise in the morning; when the rich man feasts in his palace, or when the poor man gathers his children about the scanty board, each is tenderly watched by the heavenly Father. No tears are shed that God does not notice. There is no smile that He does not mark. If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed. Our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now; for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares, or overwhelmed by their weight. We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long been strangers. As your senses delight in the attractive loveliness of the earth, think of the world that is to come, that shall never know the blight of sin and death; where the face of nature will no more wear the shadow of the curse. Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination can portray. In the varied gifts of God in nature we see but the faintest gleaming of His glory. It is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9. The poet and the naturalist have many things to say about nature, but it is the Christian who enjoys the beauty of the earth with the highest appreciation, because he recognizes his Father's handiwork and perceives His love in flower and shrub and tree. No one can fully appreciate the significance of hill and vale, river and sea, who does not look upon them as an expression of God's love to man. {SC 85-87} In training His disciples, Jesus chose to withdraw from the confusion of the city to the quiet of the fields and hills, as more in harmony with the lessons of self-abnegation He desired to teach them. And during His ministry He loved to gather the people about Him under the blue heavens, on some grassy hillside, or on the beach beside the lake. Here, surrounded by the works of His own creation, He could turn the thoughts of His hearers from the artificial to the natural. In the growth and development of nature were revealed the principles of His kingdom. As men should lift up their eyes to the hills of God, and behold the wonderful works of His hands, they could learn precious lessons of divine truth. Christ's teaching would be repeated to them in the things of nature. So it is with all who go into the fields with Christ in their hearts. They will feel themselves surrounded with a holy influence. The things of nature take up the parables of our Lord, and repeat His counsels. By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. DA291 COMMENTARY Touches of Home Not long ago I came home exhausted from a long trip. The house was cool and dark, the rooms were empty, and Ken carried my suitcases into the bedroom. It was good to be home, and near my husband again. But sometimes, coming off a long trip, you really want to feel home in the deepest sense. Not just inside the four walls of your familiar dwelling.., but home. Home with God. Ken flicked on the bathroom lights and I wheeled in. And there, sitting on the counter, were roses. They took my breath away - and not simply because of their lush texture and color, but because they were so different from everything else around me. The sink is made of porcelain, the counter, Conan, the walls, wallboard. A glance around the room revealed brass and glass, plastic and metal, tile and paint. Everything around me was machined and man-made. Everything but the roses. Martin Luther once observed that "a man who could make one rose would be accounted the greatest in the world. Yet God scatters numberless roses around us. His gifts are so infinite that we do not see them." When I saw those roses in the bathroom that evening, I felt instantly at home. The flowers in that vase spoke of my Father's touch... and my husband's love. Nature is only a name for an effect. And the cause is God. The touch is his... from a lowly daisy to a queenly rose... from a tiny pine seedling to a towering redwood... from the whisper of April wind in the cherry tree to the crashing of a storm-driven surf. Bring something into your home or office today that reminds you of his creative touch: a vase of flowers, a colorful seashell, a humble pinecone, or a thriving, green houseplant. Let these God-breathed, God-caused touches remind you of your real home. Creator and Savior, you have said you are preparing a place for me in your Father's house... just over the horizon. One day soon, I will be home forever. [Joni Eareckson Tada Daily Devotional: http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional] CLOSING THOUGHT Nature cannot teach us everything necessary for life. 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] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY Psalm 19:1, 2 - The Heavens Declare the Glory of God. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170411-1019.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20130212-0930.html Psalm 19:1 - Nature's Revelation of God. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040708-0900.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |