“My very educated
mother just served us nine (pizzas).” “A long time ago in a galaxy far far
away.” “Space—the final frontier.” Astronomy has always been interesting to me.
And while the three statements that opened this post are all space related—the
last two are movie quotes, and the first is a mnemonic device to remember the
planet’s names—the first two mean the most to me. Star Wars has always been
entertaining, and the various planets all supporting life—sitting there
unsupported in space—with ships and space stations everywhere you look, can
drive a youngster’s imagination and creativity for years. But to bring it
closer, facts and figures abound on the internet and in science books about
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—sorry Pluto.
I can spout off a ton of these facts if you were to ask me because this was my
favorite subject in grade school.
And biblically,
this is right. God speaks to all humanity through His creation, and it only
makes sense to be totally awed by them. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work
of His hands.” And there’s no escaping this truth. Whether a person
claims that the universe exploded out of a big bang and has expanded over
billions of years; or claims that out of the gigantic vastness of the universe our
small earth is the one place that God has chosen to place His intimate attention
on; or claims that the earth is immovable, flat, and the center of everything
because God wants it to be clear that this is all there is for us, God WILL GET
HIS GLORY—at least on the last day (for the first claim).
And while I laughed
at first, and people I know have laughed at me since—I think there is definitely
something to say for the third view laid out above. However, let’s hear first
what David has to say in Psalm 19:
The
heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky
proclaims the work of His hands.
Day after day
they pour out speech;
night after night
they communicate knowledge.
There is no
speech; there are no words;
their voice is not
heard.
Their message
has gone out to all the earth,
and their words
to the ends of the world.
In the heavens
He has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is
like a groom coming from the bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete
running a course.
It rises from one
end of the heavens
and circles
to their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
The instruction
of the LORD is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony
of the LORD is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts
of the LORD are right,
making the heart glad;
the command
of the LORD is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
The fear
of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances
of the LORD are reliable
and altogether righteous.
They are more
desirable than gold—
than an abundance
of pure gold;
and sweeter
than honey,
which comes
from the honeycomb.
In addition, Your servant
is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.
Who perceives
his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me
from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep Your servant
from willful sins;
do not let them
rule over me.
Then I will be
innocent
and cleansed
from blatant rebellion.
May the words
of my mouth
and the meditation
of my heart
be acceptable
to You,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
And at this point,
my desire is not so much to try to convince you that I am right about my
emerging view of cosmology, as it is my desire to briefly explain how this
psalm points 1) to the glory of God, and 2) to Jesus Christ as the only way to
be reconciled to God. However, with that said, I will bring out some of the
stronger points when suitable to the discussion.
Before venturing
into the text, every commentator points out that there are two distinct
sections in the psalm that can be conveniently explained as general revelation
(vs. 1-6) and special revelation (vs. 7-11) followed by a third section that I call
the response (vs. 12-14). It is very easy when talking about poetry, especially
Biblical poetry for some unknown reason
,
to call into question the literal aspect of what the author is saying because
of the poetic nature of the text. If a person wants to use the “poetic language
argument” on psalm 19, then they need to be consistent and use it all the way
from verse one to verse fourteen. This is not to say that there are not poetic
portions in the psalm, but it is to say that the main emphases in the psalm are
to be taken literally.
First, we have
general revelation in verses 1-6. David writes, “The heavens declare the glory
of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after
day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.
There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message
has gone out to all the earth, and their words
to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from
the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete
running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles
to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.”
All six of these verses seek to prove the fact that the heavens speak of the
glory of God. We cannot lose sight of this fact in any discussion of the
passage. David is not seeking to be scientific, but rather is seeking to give
glory to God. This is what we must all seek to do no matter what time we find
ourselves in.
It is pretty clear
that verse 2 is expanding upon verse 1. In the daytime creation speaks; at
night creation gives knowledge. Derek Kidner explains, “Knowledge is well
matched with night, since without the night skies man would have known, until
recently, nothing but an empty universe.”
Verse 3 is hard to
understand, but after some Hebrew explanation, it begins to be clearer, and
most of verse 4 goes with it. Calvin explains that it does no harm to the text
to translate it as, “There is no language,
there is no speech, [where] their
voice is not heard.” Then he proceeds to interpret it as follows: “Different
nations differ from each other as to language; but the heavens have a common
language to teach all men without distinction, nor is there any thing but their
own carelessness to hinder even those who are most strange to each other, and
who live in the most distant parts of the world, from profiting, as it were, at
the mouth of the same teacher.”
The
fact of the matter here is that any so-called scientist who refuses to
acknowledge God’s hand in creation really has no business being in that field
of study. Romans 1:18-23 describes this type of person perfectly.
The end of verse
4, through the end of verse 6, describes the sun. This description is
beautiful, and I will repeat it here: “In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from
the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete
running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles
to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.”
David’s poetic language hits a high point in verse 5. Verse 4 and verse 6 are
simply stating facts. To an observer, the sun is moving—not the earth—and as
such, it dwells in the tent of the heavens—within our own atmosphere—running a
racetrack around the earth. And while David’s point is not to prove this—our Bible
is a trustworthy book, and several things need to be stated. First, if the
earth is orbiting the sun, how did the earth get formed on the second and third
days of creation, but the sun didn’t get formed until the fourth? Second, if
the earth is spinning 1,000 miles an hour on its axis (and its unchanging motion
is why we don’t notice it), why does Joshua 10 simply say, “the sun stood
still,” and not something along the lines of, “the sun stood still, and we all
flew east because the earth actually careened to a halt”? (I recognize that God
is powerful enough to keep everyone from flying away, but I also believe that
God is a God of simplicity, proven by, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
you will be saved”; the simplest way for the sun to stand still is literally for
the sun to stand still). Finally, if God sits above the circle of the earth—and
the circle is actually a sphere, which isn’t textually supportable
—wouldn’t
He technically be under the earth anywhere in the southern hemisphere?
But I digress.
While other religions worshipped the sun, David is here saying, “Lord, you are
glorious because You gave the sun a job to do and it does it: day in, day out,
for weeks on end and years untold.” This is what set Judaism—and now sets
Christianity—apart from any other religion on earth. Other religions worshipped
the heavens; we see them as pointing to God.
Second, we have
special revelation. David writes, “The instruction of the LORD
is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD
is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. The precepts
of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the
command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances
of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous. They
are more desirable than gold—than an abundance
of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes
from the honeycomb. In addition, Your servant is warned
by them; there is great reward in keeping them.” David here
makes six statements about God’s Word—that special revelation by which man can
be put into covenant with God. If there is poetic language in the first half of
the psalm besides David’s description of the sun’s movement as a bridegroom/athlete,
then it is in the fact that the sun could be used as a simile for all six
statements about God’s Word.
First, the sun is
bright, and who is not cheered by the light of the sun on a cloudless day? In a
much greater way the Word of God renews life.
Second, the sun
follows a trusted course, and wise people understand this. In much the same way—though
greater—the Word of God can be trusted to make people wise.
Third, though it
is hard to see how the sun can be right, it isn’t hard to see how it makes
hearts glad. When it rises people rejoice at getting another day to live. In a
much greater way, the Word of God is right—never wrong—and this should lead to
gladness for those who rely on His Word.
Fourth, the sun is
radiant, and if you look at it, it hurts your eyes. In a much greater way, God’s
Word is radiant with truth, and looking in there will leave a glow on your face
like Moses’ (Exodus 34:29).
Fifth, the sun is
pure light. And its continuous circuit through the heavens would evidence that
it is never going anywhere for good. It is “everlasting.” What is truly
everlasting though, is God’s Word. Revelation says that there will be no sun on
the New Earth, but the Word of God will be there.
Sixth, and
finally, the sun is reliable. It rises in the east and sets in the west. It
sinks lower in the sky as winter comes and rises higher as summer draws near.
It has done this for 6,000+ years. It isn’t stopping anytime soon (unless Jesus
returns). However, the Word of God is much more reliable, and it—not the sun
nor any other part of creation—is what we must place our trust in.
David then adds
two things at the end of the section. First, he says he’d rather have God’s
Word than riches/wealth or delicacies of diet. Second, he says that it warns
him of sin and encourages him to run with perseverance for his reward (Hebrews
12:1-2). How much attention/praise do we give to God for His Word? Do we want
it more than a steak dinner or a six figure job? If we don’t, we should. We don’t
want a created object to obey God better than we do; though sadly, the sun is always
a much more faithful servant of God than we are.
Finally, we have
David’s response where he says, “Who perceives
his unintentional sins? Cleanse me
from my hidden faults. Moreover, keep Your servant
from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be
innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion. May the words
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” In reflecting upon
the sun and how nothing is hidden from its heat, and in reflecting upon the
amazing law of God, David is reminded that not only is the Law amazing and
positive for the child of God, but also that it searches him out and he cannot escape
it. Derek Kidner calls it “the spiritual counterpart of verse 6c.”
If it wasn’t for
the Word of God and its searching, sword-like nature, none of us would care
about how we live our lives. In fact, many people in this world recognize the
truth about the Word of God, know it makes a huge claim on their lives, and
refuse to submit to it, and rebel in every way possible. There are some who
believe in a flat earth who would argue that our government—NASA specifically—knows
that the world is flat and have decided to create and promote the globe model
in umpteen different ways to deceive the world. Now, while I don’t like
conspiracy theories—and I find them foolish—I would like to say that if this was
proved to be true then it only casts more credence to the Word of God. Romans
1:18-23, Colossians 2:8, and 1 Timothy 6:20—among others—all talk about people
being deceived or simply ignoring and rebelling against the truth that is right
in front of them. But I digress again.
David recognizes
that he is a weak human who obeys God less faithfully than the sun, and for
this reason he asks God to cleanse him even from sins he doesn’t yet recognize
in his own heart. (I’m so thankful that God took almost seven years to reveal
as much of my wickedness as I am now aware of—there’s so much more I’m still oblivious
to—and that He didn’t drop it all on me the first day I came to Christ.) David
knows his heart is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and he wants God to deal with it. He
even asks the Lord to keep him from willful sins. He wants God to keep him from
false testimony, adultery, idolatry, etc. He knows he is incapable of avoiding
these on his own. He knows he’s weak. But he also knows that if God answers
this prayer then he would be blameless, and that is what all of God’s people
should desire—holiness and blameless living.
He closes with a
plea that even his speech and thoughts be pleasing to God. Do we desire this
much to be close to God and in blameless, uninterrupted communion with Him? I’m
praying that I would become this way.
But maybe you’re
reading this and you think, “this guy is crazy—even more than the average, ‘kooky’
Christian—because he thinks the earth is flat.” Or maybe you don’t. Maybe your
issue is more substantial, “Who is this Jesus he is talking about? Why would he
want to live a blameless life? My life is anything but blameless.” I have good
news for you.
First, you need to
understand that the same man who wrote this psalm fell into the vilest of sins
at one point in his life, and it took a story about sheep to get him out (2
Samuel 11-12). If a guy can be so dedicated to God that even looking at the sun
convicts him of wrong heart motives he
might have, and then he falls into the “worst” of sins later on in life, then
I must say that there is nothing you can possibly do to keep yourself from God’s
love and grace.
Second, you need
to understand that the reason anyone would desire to live blameless is because
they want to please those who love them. No one loves greater than God, and
since God desires holiness, those whom He has loved desire freely to please Him
by striving to live a blameless life. If this desire is absent in a person’s
life then they are not a believer.
Third, you need to
understand just how God’s love is greater than anyone else’s love. There is a
Son much greater than the sun that was discussed extensively in this post. Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin who lived a perfectly sinless life.
As such, He had not earned death as the punishment for sin, and as such He had
done a life full of good deeds that we couldn’t even come close to equaling.
But, He was unjustly tried, sentenced to death and crucified on a cross. Three
days later He rose from the dead because death had no claim on Him, and for those
who believe in Him death won’t have the last word either. So with that, I plead
with you to give your life to Him.
So as my title
implies, God’s glory is seen in both His works and His Word, and His glory in
both will never fall flat, because He upholds the world by the word of His
power, and His Word outlives everything on earth (Isaiah 40:8). God’s Word even
outlived Pluto as a planet (which causes one to wonder when they’ll decide
seven other objects in the sky aren’t planets either). But let me suffice it to
say: you can’t prove that the earth is flat any more than you can prove that
the earth is a globe. Mathematical calculations can work either way and there
are also scientific explanations either way. However, what can be proved is
that God is glorious, and that His works and Word demonstrate this truth. The
question is: you have faith in your view of the structure of our planet, but do
you also have your faith placed firmly in Jesus Christ? That’s the only
question that ultimately matters.
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
