Sunday Morning Bible Story
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night sheweth knowlege. There is no speech nor
language where their voice is not heard. Psalm 19
All through scripture there is the enduring revelation that God
made the heavens and the earth. It is repeated, taught and
revealed in verse after verse, book after book, and is central
in both the Old and New Testaments.
This passage though rises to a higher level, and teaches plainly
that not only did God, Jehovah, create the heaven and the earth,
it teaches that the heaven and the earth reveal God to man.
The old timers in theology referred to this as "the light of nature."
So not only does looking at creation reveal to man that there is
a supreme creator, nature teaches us that Jehovah is God.
There is no such thing as "mother nature," and no such thing as
"father time." There is the God, Jehovah, who created all things
and is revealed in the things which he created.
What can man see in nature?
1. The glory of God. In nature, specifically in the heavens, God
has revealed to man that he is a glorious God. Can anyone look
up at the heavens, day or night, and not tell that there is a glory
beyond description in words?
Poets for centuries talk of the beauty of sunrise and sunset, the
clouds, the stars, the dark and the light. Flowers and birds and
trees, nature, nature, nature. Robert Browning says it as good
as anyone:
The year's at the spring
and day's at the morn;
morning's at seven;
the hillside's dew-pearled;
the lark's on the wing;
the snail's on the thorn:
God's in his heaven-
all's right with the world.
2. The handywork of God. Nature teaches that God is
at work in the world. The greatness of the sky, the heavens,
the stars, the clouds, the sun and the moon, the complete
vastness of the universe, of which we can only see what God
has chosen to reveal to us, those things all speak to us and
they are saying -- there is a God, a glorious God who has
been at work in our world, and who continues to work on
our behalf.
Which is greater, the creation of the world and all things in
it, or the oversight which keeps the sun, moon, stars and
planets in their courses? Both require the glory and constant
work of a great God. Which is more difficult, creating the
earth and the grass and trees and flowers, or, making sure
that they grow, and reproduce and flourish?
3. That God speaks to us day by day. The Psalmist says,
"day unto day uttereth speech." This great God who made
all things to reveal his glory, speaks to us day after day.
Each day is a chance to learn something new about God.
Can anyone ever get enough of seeing a sunrise? A sunset?
A bright, beautiful morning? A rainy afternoon? God
reveals himself to man, through nature, on a daily basis.
Perhaps the lesson for us is that if we don't know enough
about his glory, we have not been paying close attention.
After all, David has not said that God reveals himself in
television, sports or talk radio, just sayin'.
4. That there is no place or people on earth who cannot
learn of God through nature. There is no speech nor
language where their voice is not heard, is the revelation
of God. Everyone, around the globe, far and near, no
matter what their speech or language, can learn of God
through the light of nature.
The apostle Paul in Romans chapter one relates this same
idea, saying: "for the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
God is at work in the world, and he reveals himself to man
in the beauty and glory of nature. This revelation of God
is on-going, day after day, night after night, and through
the light of nature, the great God who make all things
commands that we bow to his great glory.
And, as we respond to the light of nature, and behold
and submit to God's glory, he reveals himself further to
us in the light of conscience, and in the light of his word.
"And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
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