Nov 16, 2020
Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims
His handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night
to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor
are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice
goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world. In them He has set a tent for the sun, 5 which
comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong
man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the
end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there
is nothing hidden from its heat.
As we continue this series on the Psalms, which we began last week and will continue through Advent to Epiphany, we’ll look at Psalm 19 for the next two weeks. The first half of this psalm celebrates God’s general revelation: how the “book of nature” (as medieval theologians called it) declares God’s glory. A number of the hymns this morning, notably All Creatures Of Our God And King and From Heav’n O Praise The Lord—Psalm 148, speak of the natural world praising God: the “burning sun,” the “silver moon,” the “winds” and “deeps,” “mountains,” “cedars,” and “beasts great and small” are all called to lift their voices in adoration. Not only does creation praise, but it also proclaims God’s truth, as Paul points out in the Scripture reading from Romans 1 (“His eternal power and Divine nature have been clearly perceived … in the things that have been made”), and as we’ll sing from Psalm 19 itself (“In every star Thy wisdom shines”). In the face of this tremendous “book of nature,” we respond with two hymns in the second half of the service, O Lord Our Lord, How Majestic—Psalm 8 and God, My King, Thy Might Confessing. We stand in awe with the psalmist (“when I gaze at the heavens and all the works your hands have made … what is man that You are mindful and remember him?”), and we join with the chorus of praise that all nature sings forth (“All Thy works, O Lord, shall bless Thee”). —Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Declares, Proclaim, Speak, Reveals,
Speech, Words, Voice, End, Sun, Glory
Keystone Verse: The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)