The Psalmist's Greatest Hits

This week we are starting a new sermon series that will be a little different than what we have done in the past. Instead of working our way through a book of the Bible, we are going to do a "Greatest Hits" series on the book of Psalms. As with any compilation, your favorite psalm may be missing from the mix, but that's the way it goes.

Sunday we are going to be looking at a psalm of incredible depth and beauty...Psalm 19. I am having a hard time getting past the first verse:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the works of his hands."

We've all stood out on a cold winter's night and stared in awe at the stars. Those who live up here in the north country are regularly overwhelmed by the northern lights. These things shout about who God is...his power, his majesty, his creativity and his desire to be known.

Consider the vastness of space for a moment. Where does "space" end? I don't think it does. Why would an infinite, all-powerful God create something that has a limit? Remember, the heavens declare the glory of God and according to Romans 1:20 God's "invisible qualities" (like his divine power and eternal nature) can be clearly seen in the creation.

During our bi-annual play "The Northwoods Revue" I talk about how many guys say that they feel closest to God in a deer stand. That's not surprising. The created world can tell us much about the Lord if we open our eyes to see it. The creation bears witness to him. His fingerprints are everywhere.

I think we need to use the word "creation" more. Words have power that change the way we think about things. "Nature" is a neutral word while creation implies a creator. We give up too much by agreeing to refer to the world around us as "nature". Scientists study the creation. There is a divine order to the world around us that forms the basis for scientific study. In the last 200 years scientists forgot that...seeking to be "modern" and "scientific". But today increasing numbers of scientists are coming to the conclusion that the creation around them could not just have happened by chance. Instead, the scientists (many of whom have no religious agenda) are declaring that the best explanation for the data that they are encountering is the existence of some intelligent designer who "made it this way." Their studies are coming full circle. They are discovering that the order that they see around them displays the handiwork of God.

In the words of the late Francis Schaeffer, "God is there, and He is not silent" or as David put it, "The heavens declare the glory of God."

Karl