Throughout the Bible, God says there are two external ways He reveals His glory to human beings:

1. General Revelation in Creation, and
2. Specific Revelation in the Bible.

Psalm 19 is divided into these two types of revelation, and the psalmist says that both reveal the glory of God.

The first half of this psalm talks about the general revelation of God in creation.

1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

Is that not a remarkable statement? David says that as we look out into the sky, the visible arch that appears to be a big dome over our head is telling (a strong word) or declaring (King James Version) God's glory!

This is Hebrew poetry. How do I know that? Because it is poetry written by a Hebrew named David! One of the features of Hebrew poetry is that is does not necessarily rhyme, but there are couplets (two successive lines saying much the same thing). Therefore, we should expect the same thought in the next line:

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

The word for expanse, like the word for heavens, refers to that visible arch we see in the sky. David is saying that expanse declares the work of God's hands:

The Book of John and the Book of Romans tell us what the glory of God is. God has many attributes, including the attribute of love, the attribute of mercy, and the attribute of holiness. We can picture each of His attributes as one part of a rainbow, and an entire rainbow representing the sum total of His attributes, which is called His glory.

David says the created visible arch above us is declaring the attributes of God. And Paul expresses a very similar thought:

That is a remarkable statement that is easy to skip over. Paul is saying:

2 Day to day pours forth speech,

Pours forth speech means "spews it out".

And night to night reveals knowledge.

The things we see in the light of day and at night — in this visible arch of creation over us — are telling us about the glory of God. Creation is talking!

Does creation is talking mean that there are literal words we should expect to hear? No, David makes it clear:

3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.

It is not literal, specific words, but there is a definite message. Creation is speaking something so clearly that it is the equivalent of human speech.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.

David reiterates what he has been saying. Creation is speaking and, though it is not in spoken words, it is giving a definite message, which is revealing the glory of God.

What do the heavens (the expanse) look like? It looks like there is some kind of a dome over us. What do we see during the daytime? We see a big blue arch and the sun. If we were going just by appearances, how would we describe what the sun looks like and what it does? The sun looks like a little yellow ball that just slides across the sky during the day. In fact, we see these perspectives in the following verses:

In them He has placed a tent for the sun.

It looks like the underside of a canopy, like you are inside a tent and the sun is there.

5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

That is the way the heavens look. Is the psalmist saying that literally the sun is moving across the bottom of the tent? No, David is not; he is speaking poetically.

To understand what David means in this passage, there are two things we will want to know, as follows:

A very important feature of interpreting the Bible is for the reader to recognize what kind of literature (genre) the text is, such as history or poetry. By avoiding errors, such as interpreting poetry as history, we will understand the text with a correct perspective.

For example: Psalm 19 is poetry, and David is speaking figuratively when he describes the sun as being inside a tent and going across the sky. David uses imagery, because that is the way the heavens look to him.

The Bible is the inspired word of God, meaning every word in the Bible came directly from God Himself through a human agent. And even though every word is inspired, in certain passages God accommodated language so we could understand His word. That is called phenomenological language, and it is used many times in the Bible.

God is good, and He wants us to understand His word. He knew that if He gave forth ALL truth, we would not understand it ALL; therefore, in specific passages He accommodated language by describing things in nature as the APPEAR to human beings.

From All Appearances: We see this is Psalm 19:4-6 as David continues talking about general revelation. To humans it appears that is what the sun does, so that is what David says the sun does.

For centuries, the prevailing view of the universe was that the earth was fixed and, in some cases, it had foundations. The earth was considered to be the center of the universe, and the sun (a disc), the moon, the stars, and the planets ("wanderers") were fixed in spheres that rotated in giant circles around, and in close proximity to, the earth, which did not move.

Many Christians believed the earth was fixed as did most observers of the sky, which was fine. However, what was wrong was many Christians believed that the Bible taught that had to be the case necessarily, and anybody who did not agree with that thinking was a heretic. Do you see the difference? What Christians thought about some parts of science was not a problem. Where they were wrong was when they thought the Bible taught absolutely, as a fact, the earth was fixed and it did not move.

Why did many Christians think the Bible taught that? In Job 38, God is speaking to Job:

An exegesis of the words foundation, bases, and cornerstone would prove unmistakably that the earth has a literal solid foundation, and it does not move. Does that mean the Bible is wrong? Of course not! Remember that exegesis without context can get us into trouble, because we have to know with what kind of literature we are dealing before starting to interpret the passage.

God's point to Job was You were not there when I built this universe, so do not act like you know it all.

First, the Lord God was using imagery when He talked about the earth's foundation and its bases — God is in control of the universe and it is not going to be shaken, because He is in charge. Second, this is another example of phenomenological language where God has accommodated His word so we will understand it according to the way things appear.

The second half of Psalm 19 talks about specific revelation of God in the Bible. Notice how David changes the subject all of a sudden from creation to the Bible:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

David is referring to the Bible, which is the source of spiritual blessings as follows:

verse 7	The Bible brings wisdom and it restores our souls.
verse 8	The Bible brings joy and it enlightens the eyes of our spiritual understanding.

Psalm 19 shows us the general revelation of God in creation communicates to everyone a knowledge of God, because creation spews it out — screams — God's glory! And the specific revelation of God in the Bible communicates a knowledge of God as revealed by His spoken Word — the Bible — through the power of Holy Spirit to specific individuals. Clearly, His Word shows us God's glory and His magnificent, redeeming grace.

Is general revelation sufficient for an individual to believe the Lord God and have eternal life with Him, or is specific revelation also needed?

Paul tells us that creation is declaring the glory — the total attributes — of God:

If we look throughout the Bible we learn more about His invisible attributes that creation spews out, including the attribute of truth:

Messiah Jesus — the Son of God — says I am the truth. God embodies all truth of the universe, meaning that any particular truth is a subset of the ultimate truth of God to mankind. What is that truth? The way to the Father in heaven is through His Son, Messiah Jesus.

What attribute of God do you suppose is spewed forth in accordance to this truth?

God is perfect love, and He communicates this to everyone. How? Through God's greatest sacrificial love to mankind: The death on the cross of His Son — Messiah Jesus — on our behalf.

Have you heard creation reveal the glory of God? Do you sense Holy Spirit drawing you to the Lord God? Do you want to accept God's grace and be assured of eternity in heaven with God and not eternity in hell separated from Him? Then simply acknowledge in prayer to the Lord God:

If you have believed in Messiah Jesus then you are redeemed, and you are a reflection of His glory forevermore!

Father, as we study this vast universe that You created, would You give us ears to hear the strong message about Yourself that Your creation is telling us? And as we discover some surprising things, which we know from looking at the universe, would You show us Your attributes — Your glory?

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who guides us to all truths. May He help us to determine what the Bible really says and keep us from adding things to Your Word, so Your glory is revealed to us clearly.

Father, please help us to not get dogmatic about what we think the Bible says, because so many have had their faith almost ship wrecked when they depended on their thoughts about Your Word when it was not what You were saying at all. And when we explore those creation issues that are essentials for the us, would You make application to each of our lives so we would know what it means to us?

Thank You for Your grace and mercy that never let us down. Help us to glean from Your Word, because we want to see what You are saying about Your creation and, above all else, about Yourself.

We praise You as our Creator and Messiah, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Back To: Creation Series Page

We want to express our deepest appreciation to Mitchell and Dawn Kolodin for their excellent work in transcribing and editing this Creation series.

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