This Psalm is one of many credited to David as the writer. All Scripture has one Author - God. David grew up as a shepherd boy. He spent nights in the fields with his father’s sheep. Later as a fugitive in his own land, he spent nights outdoors as he sought a place to hide from wicked king Saul. Then later as king he faced many different challenges. He had opportunity to look into the heavens on many occasions.
God directed those He chose to write His Word, to note things as they went through life. They did not write according to their feelings. They wrote according to His will. They were mentally and spiritually involved in their writing. They did not understand everything they wrote, but they knew they were writing the Word of the LORD.
In our Psalm God directed David to begin with another declaration regarding the glory of God. When any person looks into the heavens, they should be brought to glorify God. Any thinking person knows that the heavens did not just happen to be there. They also know that the heavens were not the result of some long drawn out process or of some catastrophic event.
The heavens testify to the fact that there is a Designer behind them. The fact that clouds can form and not fall out of the sky. The fact that those clouds look so fluffy and yet they hold moisture that will come down in several different forms. The sun and the moon and the stars also speak to the fact that there is a Designer. The stars have been in the heavens since the Creation, some 6,000 years ago. It has not been billions of years since things began.
The sad reality is that millions of people reject the true God and they do not think. They blindly follow the lies given to them. Some of them allow their imaginations to develop further lies regarding the heavens.
The firmament is the expanse of the heavens. It is that area that supports the water that is in the heavens. It is where the birds fly and the airplanes fly. The firmament shows the handywork of God. No accident could cause the firmament to exist and remain as it has for the past 6,000 years. The winds that blow and dissipate the smoke and other things that man sends up into the sky, is a work of God. It is His design. He is able to cause His creation to clean up some of the messes that we make.
Every day God reveals more truth about Himself. We are finite. We do not see everything at once. God gives us day and He gives us night. Man can see much with the naked eye. With telescopes, and other objects we can see even more. All of this should cause us to know the power and omniscience of God more. It should cause us to glorify God. It is the fool who looks into the sky and is only reminded of an accident of chance. God gives man opportunity to discover Him. Man oftentimes is looking to discover things from a distorted view. God gave us His Word to help us to think of things from the right perspective.
In verse 3 we read that when God confounded the language of man, He did not take away the ability to know Him. We do not need language to know that God is. God has given us language to understand what we are seeing. However, looking into the heavens should cause us to be amazed at what God has made. It should draw man to glorify the true God. We are created with a conscience. We know there is a God and His Word helps us to define Him correctly. The heavens help us to see the greatness of our God.
In verse 4 we read of the “line” of the heavens. The suns rays, and the reflection of the moon and the light of the stars is seen all over the world. The earth rotates and we do not need to travel to see the wonders of God in the heavens. He brings them to us. We do not need to waste billions of dollars flying into space to figure out how the world was made. We can see it from the earth. We know that the northern lights also give sound. We do not know what the sound is but it is another reminder of the glory of God.
God set a place for the sun. It remains in its place day after day and night after night. The sun is likened to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. The Bible puts great emphasis on the bridegroom because Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom in the New Testament.
God also likens the sun to the strong man running a race. A strong man jumps out of the starting block and runs the track with strength and with speed. He does not lack the strength needed to finish the race. The sun does not get stuck in the middle of the sky. The earth revolves and it takes a year for it to make its rotation around the sun. Yes there are more technical definitions for this but God’s Word tells us that we see the sun every day and as the earth rotates, to us it appears that the sun is moving at a steady rate day after day.
In verse 6 we are told that the sun’s movement is from the end of heaven. It speaks of the circuit of the sun. The sun provides the source of heat that is needed for us to live. It is not just beneficial for us, but for the birds and other creatures as well as plant life. The sun is an amazing part of God’s creation. He designed it and He knew exactly what He was doing when He created it. It will be there until He destroys this earth and the heavens. In the new heavens and earth, there will be no need for the sun because the Son of God is there.
Yes, God has provided the heavens for us to enjoy and to ponder His greatness. Let us take advantage of what He has given us to learn to glorify Him. Let us take His Word as the truth. Let us build our beliefs on the truth.
Pastor Bartel