“The whole creation is a poem, every species a stanza, and every individual creature a verse in it.” –Stephen Charnock
The psalmist gazed into the night sky. The stars exploded against the black curtains of the heavens. The moon turned its cold ivory eye to focus on this awestruck pilgrim. The crisp night air invigorated the psalmist. Even more exhilarating was the knowledge that God had embroidered this wonder to serve as his personal servants. The stars were tiny, distant heralds proclaiming the truth of God’s existence.
Their voices had not fallen on deaf ears. David was busy contemplating the glory of the heavens when a question dawned on him:
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3-4, ESV)
A similar thought struck Thomas Carlyle, a contemporary of Charles H. Spurgeon, “When I gazed into these stars, have they not looked down on me as if with pity from their serene spaces, like eyes glistening with heavenly tears over the little lot of man.” [Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David, 87.] The stars in the night sky see the great needs of humanity and trumpet the message of the gospel—God is mindful of you and has provided a way of salvation for you through the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Above all the noise and daily din of our lives there is a message that God loves his people. He is mindful of his people and pursues them diligently. He pours grace into their lives and loves to examine his grace in us and its powerful effects. Job acknowledged God’s prerogative to test and examine us:
What is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
visit him every morning
and test him every moment? (Job 7:17-18, ESV)
The love of God not only meets our greatest need (salvation) but also reveals our daily needs and condition to us. Think about where you are today. Are you following the Lord today? Are you eager for the Lord to test and examine the effects and fruits of God’s grace in your daily walk? Have a blessed week and we will see you on Sunday.
Yours in the surest band of Christian affection,
Pastor Dale