Yesterday’s devotional was a challenge to those who are saved. It was a challenge to be consistent and honest in our walk with the Lord. I made reference to the new mayor of Winnipeg. This man was a preacher for 22 years. He left that role and entered politics. I stated that this man had no problem with the wicked lifestyle the Bible refers to as sodomy. I was asked a question regarding this statement. Was I saying that the new mayor believed that sodomy was wicked? What I was saying is that sodomy is wicked according to God’s Word. The new mayor has no problem defying God and supporting what God calls an abomination.
As we look at our text today, God is continuing to speak of the obvious teaching of the heavens. As we read in verse 4, the heavens have a line that goes around the entire world. There is no place in the world where people can claim ignorance of the glory of God. The depth of the knowledge of the glory of God is greater among countries like Canada and the U.S. and other parts of the developed world. However, even countries that are not as developed as we think we are, there is still the basic knowledge of God. Paganism has distorted that knowledge, but the basis is still there. God warned us of the evil imaginations that are in man from his youth. In every generation, there is a remnant of saved individuals. It is our duty to faithfully teach God’s Word and point people to the heavens and remind them that this is a revelation of the glory of God.
The need of mankind today is the same as it has always been. We need to be given the pure truth. We have the pure truth. We have the Word of God. For the English speaking world the Word of God is found in the King James Version.
It is important for mankind to listen to what God says. No person should substitute man’s words for God’s Words. Those of us who are saved must be careful to lead people to trust in God’s Word. The Bible makes it clear that we need human teachers. We need human teachers who know the fear of God in their hearts.
God is good and He gives every person a conscience. God gives man the ability to know when he or she is being deceived. God is not willing that any should perish. He wants all to be saved. He has sent His Holy Spirit to work in the heart of the lost person to draw the person to the truth. What is needed is for man to learn to listen to what God’s Word says.
In verse 5 of our text we are told that the heavens are like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. God also compares the heavens to the strong runner, running a race. In the Bible the bridegroom is important. Jesus Christ is the bridegroom. He is of greater importance than the bride, which is the church. Jesus used the picture of the bridegroom in Matthew 25. John the Baptist also referred to Christ as the bridegroom in John 3.
In our text God says that the sun is like that bridegroom or as that runner. The sun is an attention grabber. We squint at the brightness of the sun. We appreciate the heat that is given by the sun. The sun announces the glory of God. Man has not and never will be able to replicate the sun. We have nothing that man has made that comes close to what God made when He made the sun.
God shows us here that the purpose of the sun is to provide proof of the glory of God. We appreciate many things about the sun, but it is important that man see the glory of God as we look at the sun. Unlike the pagan religions, we do not worship the sun. We note that God created the sun and we are reminded to worship God as we look at the sun and other things that He has made.
In verse 6 we are again reminded of the vast scope of the sun. The sun reaches to every part of the earth. Man cannot stop the movement of the sun. We can block some of its effects with blinds and with sunglasses and many other things. However, we cannot stop the sun from doing its work. In the same manner but with greater effectiveness, we cannot stop God from doing His Work. It is important for us to exalt Him in all things. That is the great need in our world today. That was the great need in the days of the writer of this Psalm.
Today is the Lord’s day. It is the day that God has given us to go to a true church and to be reminded of the glory of God through the public proclamation of His Word. I hope that each person receiving this devotional will prepare now to attend a true church today. This cannot be overstated. I make no apologies for encouraging people to go to a true church. A true church is not interested in what it can get from you. A true church is interested in glorifying God in all things. God works in the hearts of many to worship God in all things. Let us magnify the Lord today.
Pastor Bartel