The psalmist declares God’s glory in Psalm 19. It is in this moment in which we find David. The speech of the sun and the message of the moon have struck him deep, and like the Law gives “light to the eyes” it has revealed a stark contrast between Creator and creation. The gaps, the faults and the inadequacies that we try to fill with everything else are put plainly on display and we see ourselves as we really are.
And it’s in moments like those that the real glory of God’s creation can be found. Through it God brings us to a place where we’re ready to receive the Gospel. Confronted by the glory of God, we’re ripe for an encounter with the Son of God, who stepped into creation and filled the gaps of our imperfect existence with the perfection of his. We’re ready to receive and able to appreciate the “firstborn of all creation,” whose death on a cross forgives our constant attempts to put ourselves on the world’s tallest pedestal. Yes, when we take the time to stare at the stars that hang over us; when we remove our nose from the grindstone long enough to notice the picture of God’s faithfulness that is the rising sun, we again encounter a Maker who creates from nothing and has redeemed our nothing, through the work of Christ.
Albert Einstein once said, “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand in rapt awe, is as good as dead.” Strong words. When was the last time that you stood in jaw-dropped awe? How alive is your sense of wonder? Perhaps one of the best exercises we can do to refresh our perspective and revive our faith is simply to sit back and stare at the stuff we can’t comprehend and could never compete with.
David closes his song with a simple request. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. The work of God speaks. It tells us of his power. When we listen, it declares the depths of his love and the heights of his grace. David’s desire is that his words, that his work, might do the same.
Let us never lose our wonder for the One who has made the world and who has saved the world. After all, when we live humbled by what he’s done in our sight, we can be confident that all we do is pleasing in his.
