Psalm 19 & "Of the Glory of God in the Starry Heavens"

 

NASA Image GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002074 

You can pick up any Bible and turn to Psalm 19's opening verses:

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. (Psalms 19:1-3)

If you've been to numerous church services, you might have heard the open words to one of my favorite hymns:

The spacious firmament on high,

with all the blue ethereal sky,

and spangled heavens, a shining frame,

their great Original proclaim.

Nature speaks of God in so many ways. There is a in the makeup of human beings an urge, a species memory, a need to seek explanations. One primary explanation we seek is whether or not there is a Creator (as mentioned by Paul in Romans 1:25 and Peter in 1 Peter 4:19), the center of Pascal's Wager by a seventeenth-century French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, and theologian. We don't have to have that much intelligence to understand that all people make a choice whether or not to believe there is a Greater Power. Judaism is based on such a belief, as is Christianity, Islam, and a number of other religions who exist to worship the creative deity.

Over millennia, thousands of other deities have been worshipped. Several are mentioned in the Hebrew Torah, both Greek and Roman histories, along with tribes around the world who had no written word to write down a name. Each group believed their deity was the right one. That's the step beyond Pascal's Wager - once you determine a deity exists, which one is the One. 

I'm here encouraging Bible reading because the One who inspired Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 is the choice I made after decided there is a (singular) God. Part of Psalm 19 outlines what I believe to be true:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: 
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: 
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: 
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalms 19:7-10)

I've read the Law, and its confirmation in Matthew 22:35-40. I've read the testimony God inspired in men. I've read the results of living by His statutes and know His Commandments are enlightening. I do fear - I've read what happens to those who hate and disobey - Him, but believe His judgment is true righteousness. I've read of examples where He kept promises that resulted in good for people, and promises that resulted in judgment even to death. As Paul, I, too, know who I believed:

. . . for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12b+)

And:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

(As an "Aside": I wrote a poem using those last two verses and included them in a blog. Now I need to look that up and exchange this paragraph for a link to that blog. Wonder when I'll get around to that?)

Hope - Keep It Always

 "Light at the end of the tunnel" This tunnel takes Glasgow-Loch Lomond Cycleway under Glasgow Road

There are beautiful Bible verses that discuss hope. That was Sunday's message from David Webb, now a visiting pastor for our revival, from Walker Springs Road Baptist Church in Jackson, Alabama. When we first visited First Baptist Church of Cottondale, he was our Assistant Pastor/Youth Director.

Sunday morning, he spoke to us about hope and was inspired Brother Webb began with:

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

Read through to:

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? (Romans 8:24)

If you'll read through the verses 17-23, it may be difficult to see what there is to be hopeful about. The words paint a picture beyond our ability to live through, and no thought of what we might do the "fix" the problems in our world.  There we discover we were created with vanity 

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, (Romans 8:20)

That "vanity" is found often in the Old Testament, but only nine times in the New Testament. The Greek, from Strong's lexicon on line is:

ματαιότης mataiótēs, mat-ah-yot'-ace; transientness; morally, depravity:—vanity.

Yes - God made us to where we make the choices between good/evil, moral/immoral, love/hate - all those antonyms that show us to separate, but never equal paths we might follow. God has provided both to each one of us and the choices are ours to make under every circumstance. 

How do we know God made us and not millions of years of an uncertain, unthinking universe we can only see as stars in the night or scientific discoveries displayed graphically on a screen - or words in a scientific explanation that has words we always need to research before pronouncing? Back to the Bible telling us so. First chapter in Genesis pretty much lays out the basics, but my favorite verses come from John's first chapter:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5)

What are we in the scheme of things? Just a little lower than the angels:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: (Psalms 8:3-6)

Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-17 describe the fall of a cherub who wished to take God's place. Whether we call him evil incarnate, the devil, Lucifer, Satan, or the snake in the Garden, he lost his place in heaven. A third of the angels were very much like the worst of us, Revelation 12:4 is thought to mean that a third of the angels lost their place in heaven, too.

If we want to discuss lost hope, Brother Webb introduced us to the hopeless estate of Job. In the beginning of the book he lost everything - his wealth, his home, his children, his wife - but some friends who only made matters worse. He even lost his hope with God:

What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? (Job 6:11)

This is when so many loved ones despair to the point of believing there is no hope - why wait for death to solve all their problems. It takes a lot to destroy the last remaining piece of hope. That's only Job's sixth chapter. There are a total of 42. Job never lost the reality of his life with God. 

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

If you read Job's 42 chapter, you'll learn that everything that he lost was returned, doubled, except his wife. Remember, he had ten children in God's hands as well as the younger ten.

We have hope. We have it through everything written in the Bible about God and Jesus. Jesus seemed to be without hope on the cross - his followers certainly lost hope, but only one took his own life. The others maintained a hope in life, a time to find what comes next, to learn why:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

That is our hope, our faith, that we will see Him - and the others who know who kept their hope alive and have firm belief we shall join them in God's perfect timing, not in a loss of hope.