Central Truth

God reveals Himself to us though nature and His Word.

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Reflections

Long, long before the age of our great telescopes, humans gazed in amazement at the night sky. Earth's position is in the Orion Spur, a minor arm about a third of the way in from the outer edge of our spiral galaxy. From here, we can spot that cloudy smear across the sky known as the Milky Way. Especially on cold, clear winter nights, we can glimpse our galaxy, which is thought to contain two hundred billion stars. David opens Psalm 19 in a profound manner by pointing to the heavens as a means of knowing God. When he announces that "The heavens are telling of the glory of God" (vs 1), he is describing the impact of the night sky on the naked eye.

With the advent of orbiting observatories, how much more can we today attest to the glory of God? Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made . . . ." The beauty and enormity of our ever-expanding universe show us the greatness of our Creator-God.

At verse seven, however, David shifts from God's creation informing us of His glory to God's laws as self-revelatory. Here David makes clear that God not only shows us who He is through what He has made, but also through His Word. David lists God's laws, His testimony, His precepts, His commandments, the fear of the Lord, and the judgements of the Lord as integral to our knowledge of God's nature. Therefore, David suggests, we have two strong witnesses that teach us about the nature and attributes of God.

And to what does all of this meditation on the knowledge of God lead? David closes the psalm with the beautiful prayer: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." (vs 14). From the night sky to the Word of God, the more we know about God, the more we are led to humble ourselves before Him in worship.

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Discussion Questions

1. Has God ever revealed Himself to you through nature? In what way?

2. Going a bit deeper than a general acknowledgment of God's glory in nature, what specific truths about God can we glean from the natural world around us?

3. Thinking about verses 7-14, what do God's laws, precepts, commandments, and judgments reveal about His nature?

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