January 26thPsalm 19: 1-6
The world of creation
‘We must try to look out at the world through quiet eyes.’ [Howard Thurman]
‘Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.’ [Jack Kornfield]
‘Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him....
Praise be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.’ [Francis of Assissi]
C.S. Lewis called Psalm 19 the ‘greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.’ (Reflections on the Psalms, 56). It is a profound meditation on the glory of God revealed in nature and the Torah. This week we focus on verses 1-6 – God’s glory revealed in nature.
‘Lord, my rock and my redeemer’ are the last words of this psalm. On the way to that confessional conclusion the psalm speaks of the creation’s testimony to the Creator, the incomparable value of the Law of the Lord and the human need for forgiveness and protection. One must meditate on all three parts in order to understand the devotion and trust expressed in the concluding confession.’
The world witnesses to God. Creation reveals the glory of its creator. Creation does what the congregation does during worship, it praises God! The congregation names the mighty works of God and the heavens, in their marvellous beauty and expanse, witness to the glory of God. No speech, no words are heard yet their ‘voice’ (the stars, the sun) give voice to exuberant praise.
"Can the human mind," one scientist asks, "imagine billions of galaxies? How much is a 'billion'? Think of it in this way: If you planted a thousand tulip bulbs each day from the day Jesus was born until today, you would still need to plant 1,000 bulbs every day for the next 750 years to reach one billion."
The new James Webb satellite will show us some of those galaxies in ways we have never seen before, a reminder of the immensity of space. Psalm 19 is not anti-science, but it does offer us a view of the universe as something more than an object to studied and controlled. While creation is not God, it is related to God and loved by God. The word for humanity (adam) is closely related to the word for earth/ground (adama). The ecological implications of this are astounding. In God’s ordering of the cosmos, the future of the creature is linked to the future of creation.
There is a wonderful Hasidic story about the child of a rabbi who used to wander in the woods. At first his father let him wander, but over time he became concerned. The woods were dangerous. The father did not know what lurked there. He decided to discuss the matter with his child.
One day he took his boy aside and said, "You know, I have noticed that each day you walk into the woods. I wonder, why do you go there?"
The boy said to his father, "I go there to find God."
"That is a very good thing," the father replied gently. "I am glad you are searching for God. But, my child, don't you know that God is the same everywhere?"
"Yes," the boy answered, "but I'm not.”
‘Creating God, your fingers trace’