A few weeks ago we were given the opportunity to see one of the greatest meteor showers of the year: the Perseids Meteor Shower. My wife and I went outside to our lawn and watched the sky for a little bit as we became a feast for mosquitoes. After a while we gave up because the city of Chicago has light pollution like no other and were tired of killing flying bloodsuckers. Even though we didn't see anything that night, I remember growing up going on campouts with my family at our family farm. I used to stare at the sky in North East Ohio and wonder about planets, stars, and the vast unknown that lies above our heads. I remember very clearly around the age of 10 talking with my dad as we were walking down a hill from our family campsite looking up with him and just talking about the stars. They were beautiful, so distant, and yet so complex.
Fast forward about 20 years I find myself at Moody Bible Institute working. One part about my job that is so wonderful is that once a week we all gather together for department devotions. One of our Network Administrators did a devotion using a sliding scale from the smallest known organism to the largest known organisms to man (https://htwins.net/scale2/) and relating it to God's handiwork. It was so interesting to see stuff as small as quarks to galaxies on how complex everything is.
Every year I go through the ESV Study Bible's read through the year plan and just got done with two Psalms that just sing about God's creation: Psalm 8 and Psalm 19. No matter the complexity, big or small, it all shouts the work and the glory of God. Going back to the starry night with my dad, Psalm 19 opens up with stating:
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1 NASB)
And with Psalm 8:
"O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!" (Psalm 8:1 NASB)
When the Bible talks about the "Heavens", think about looking up. This includes the skies, the birds, and even the stars. All of this just shouts the name of the Lord. One reason I have lots of trouble believing secular creation theories is that we know one of the laws of matter is that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Either matter has been here for eternity, or an eternal designer/creator would have had to do the impossible... create matter. I definitely don't believe that matter has existed for eternity, but do believe in the spiritual realm where we don't really know too much information except for what the Bible allows. When I look at the stars, or anything in the "heavens", I see a design that is so magnificent, so beautiful, it just screams God's handiwork. Psalm 19 continues looking at the heaven and transitions into the Word of God. Psalm 8 begins talking about other ways God has showed off his great creation in the example of babies (8:2) and man in general (8:4). Then we get an interesting twist:
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:4-6 NASB)
Not only has God created all of this, but he has entrusted us to it all. Ever have something so precious made for you, and then you were entrusted with taking care of it? That is how God has treated his creation. Though, we may not be able to control the stars, but all that is under the "Heavens" we definitely have great affect on. The fact that he has entrusted us with his beautiful creation just amplifies the Lord's love. I'm just struck in awe for how wonderful this vision just is. It also makes me ask the question, how am I doing with it?
Sin can be defined briefly as "failing to miss the mark of righteousness that God has set before us." We do not handle the tasks that he has given us very well, and this would include our role in creation. Psalm 19 has a hard break in it that diverts from the glory of the Lord to the glory of the Lord's law. One thing that really struck me was verse 13:
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. (Psalm 19:13 NASB)
The psalmist, David, happens to ask here that God would protect his servant from "presumptuous sins." I have to admit, I had to look up the work "presumptuous." The Oxford Dictionary on Google Search returned this:
"failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate."
(https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=presumptuous) -> I hate pasting in a google search for a reference, but outside Google I don't think you get a free version of Oxford's dictionary.
That really got me to think of when I fail to observe the sin in my life. Certainly there are things that I know that I'm working on in my life that are definite sins, but what about things that may fly under the radar? This is where fellowship works so well, when we can speak into each other's lives and to help us find our faults and grow. In the end, God created something so complex, rich, and wonderful. All of creation screams his glory, but do we treat it like that? Do we tear down others who are made in His image with our minds or words? Are we not being good stewards of the tasks that He has put before us? This is something to be mindful of as we speak to one another. Dive into script and explore His revealed will and marvel at the Lord's beauty, and stray far away from the sin that may capture our souls. Observe his handiwork and how everything just works well together and screams the majesty of our creator God.
Psalm 8 ends so wonderfully by stating:
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9) NASB
May that be on our lips, hearts, and minds as we walk this life of faith!
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