Psalm 19 and Romans 1.18-23
Everyone who has spent significant time with a small child has been questioned about the wonder of the world with the intensity of a John Grisham courtroom scene. Who made this? Where did it come from? How does it work? Why is it green? When will it happen again?
When somebody first becomes a Christian, the question is often asked, but what about people who have never heard of Jesus, how can they find God? Psalm 19 starts to answer this question. Creation itself reveals something of the Creator. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God.’ v1 Observation of the world we live in has always raised those childlike questions and in that sense speaks to us of God. Paul puts it like this, ‘For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.’ Romans1.20
Psalm 19 though recognizes the limitation of creation itself as a full revelation of the nature of God and his relationship with humanity. ‘There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. v3 Central to this psalm is verse 9, ‘the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.’ Scripture is clear, that through God’s creation alone we should understand that he is eternal and holy and consequently we should worship him through the holiness of our lives and be God seekers. Rom 1.21 But to more fully understand God and be in relationship with him we need the word of God. For David, this was the law books in the Old Testament. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.’ v7
We however live in a different age and have the revelation of Jesus Christ the living Word of God. ‘The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.’ John1.17
It is now our responsibility to communicate that word so the question, ‘How can they find God?’ is no longer asked. How then are we being, ‘witnesses … to the ends of the earth?’ Acts 1.8
How great is our God!