It is summer
time in New York. It is brilliant and beautiful all around. I drove someone home
last Sunday after morning worship. He lives in an apartment complex on a higher
elevation. We stood outside his apartment and looked around the beautiful vista
as far as the eyes can see. He said we live in one of the most beautiful parts
of the world. Alice and I walk almost every day after 9 PM. The stars decorate
the sky with so much beauty and splendor.
King David
spent much of his life outdoors. He got a glimpse God's glory and splendor all
around him. In Psalm 19, King David told us that creation declares God's glory
and creativity. He spoke specifically about the heavens and the skies. We see
the sun marching across the sky in verses 5-6 being used as an image of majesty.
However, these are but symbols indicating the broader sweep of God's creation.
Everything in creation declares God's glory and presence.
Paul, in Romans
1:20, made this point: "For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power,
his divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made..." "the heavens are telling the glory of God" not, "the
heavens are God" David's Psalm maintains a firm distinction between creation and
the creator. This is one of the distinctives of Christianity. Creation is not
God. If you look around today, you see a lot of people who want to embrace
spirituality, yet they make the mistake of assuming that creation contains the
divine (including the idea that man is divine). We see circles of people trying
to revive paganism, running around in togas and animal skins while chanting in
groves. They concoct rituals to help them connect with nature. Some may dismiss
them as kooks, but many are sincere persons who have sensed something of
divinity in nature and something within them yearns for connection. This is
where pure nature spirituality falls short. Creation is sufficient to reveal the
glory and majesty and splendor of God, but it is not sufficient to reveal His
character and personality.
The first part
of Psalm
19 talks about God
revealing himself through creation, theologians call that "general revelation".
The second part of the Psalm talks about God revealing himself in a special way,
through Scripture. Verses 7-11 focus on this special form of revelation. God
reveals himself through his Scriptures; through creation, God reveals glory.
Through the Scriptures, God reveals his will, through law, statutes, precepts,
commands, and ordinances. Notice the claims made for the Scripture — it is
perfect, trustworthy, radiant, more precious than gold. Scripture reveals
details about God's character and his expectations of his
creatures.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 states,
"All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every Good work." Psalm
19 shows that God's
revelation in creation is enough to show that He exists and He is glorious. It
also shows that God's revelation in Scripture is trustworthy and is our guide
for life. Francis Schaeffer, one of the great thinkers of the
20th century, explained the relationship of revelation in creation and
revelation in Scripture this way:
"Finite man in the external universe, being finite, has no sufficient reference point if he begins absolutely and autonomously from himself and thus needs certain knowledge. God gives us this in the Scriptures. With this in mind the scientist can understand, in their ultimate relationships, the truths that he is looking at."
Because we are finite
creatures, we cannot grasp the foundational truths of the universe without God's
direct help.
Ultimately, it is
God's Word that gives us certain knowledge about his character and desires.
In Isaiah
55:11 God spoke to his people,
"... my word that goes forth from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but
I accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." God
will accomplish his ends through his word.
Hebrews
4:12 reveals, "For the word
of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart."
In Christ,
Brown
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