Psalm 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
God has every right to be angry with the ungodly. He has made the truth of Himself so plainly and clearly seen in the heavens, that it takes a fool to deny there is a true God. Romans 1:20 tells us that the ungodly will be without excuse because man can know there is a God by looking into the heavens. Darwin was a fool who was brainwashed by his ungodly father and grandfather so that he chose to believe their lies, rather than look at the heavens for himself and realize there is a God. There is a Creator God.
In verse 4 of our text we see that the message of the Heavens has gone out through all the earth. There is no place on earth that a person can live where there is no heavens. The sky is there. The clouds are there. The stars are there. The birds fly in the sky day after day and they sing of the greatness of God. We mentioned yesterday already that we do not need to follow the Babylonian example of worshipping the heavenly beings. We need to let God show us that the heavenly beings point to a designer, a Creator. They point to an infallible Creator.
God Created the heavens to be a tabernacle for the sun. Genesis 1:14-19 tells us of the creation of the sun. God first set up the firmament and then He put the sun, moon and stars in their place. He set up a tabernacle for the sun. God is a God of order and Creation week was an orderly work of the almighty God.
In verse 5 we are reminded again that God looks at life different than we do. God directed David to use the illustration of a wedding here. In most weddings today, the bride takes centre stage. The groom and his assistants come out and no big deal is made of that. Then the bridesmaids come out and maybe the flower girl. There is some excitement as the flower girl comes out and there is usually some whispering as the bridesmaids walk up the aisle and take their place. Then the congregation is asked to stand and the music changes and then the bride is ushered in, usually by her father and sometimes the mother as well. I am not sure when the order was changed, but for all of my lifetime, the focus of the wedding has been the bride.
God has always had the focus on the bridegroom. It is not that the bride is less important, but it is the order of all things in Scripture. The Bible is a patriarchal book and It places the emphasis on the man. The man is to take the lead. He is to be the provider for his wife and family. He is to be the decision maker and the one who is responsible for the direction the home goes and the direction the society goes.
God describes the sun as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. The wedding is about to begin and the bridegroom has arrived and now the wedding can proceed.
God further states that the sun is as a strong man to run a race. It takes a strong man to be able to succeed in the race of life. There are many challenges and there is a need for endurance as well. A man needs to enter marriage with the intent to remain faithful to his wife for as long as his wife is alive. A man needs to be trained to take the leadership in his home and in his society and he does not hide behind his wife. We have too many men who are quite content to let their wives take the lead. The Bible teaches that the man is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. He is not to be a bully or a wimp. He is to understand that his wife is the weaker vessel and she is to be honoured in her role as a wife and mother. That is God’s design. Women have an important role to fulfil in the home and in the society, but that role is not in leadership. That is clear throughout the Bible and the Psalmist is directed to remind us of that in this Psalm.
In verse 6 we see that the sun is revealed throughout the entire world. There is no place on earth where the sun does not shine. During the different seasons, there can be less or more sunlight, depending on the location, but there is no place where the sun does not shine. The influence of the sun is felt throughout the entire world. Nothing is hid from the heat of the sun.
God is setting the stage in these first verses for the second stage of this Psalm. In that stage, we will see the importance of the Word of God. There is no place where God’s Word has not been proclaimed. Some places have received less exposure to it than other places, but Adam knew the truth. He passed on the truth to Cain and Abel. God also spoke directly to Cain in Genesis 4. Enoch walked with God and God took him in Genesis 5. In Genesis 6 God directed Noah in the building of the Ark. Genesis 5 also lists godly men who passed on God’s truth to the future generations.
It is true there are parts of the world that seem to be forgotten people in recent history. However, their ancestors all had the truth at one time. As was the case in Genesis 4 with Cain, many distorted the truth and their descendants chose to believe the lies of their forefathers, rather than let God reveal Himself to them.
In the New Testament age, God has commanded His children to go into all the world and teach all nations the truth. Even though all people are descendants of Adam and Eve, there is a need to teach every generation the truth about God and to warn them of the danger of following their selfish desires.
In the opening verses God shows us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Just observing what God has made, will cause the open-minded person to consider that there is a Creator Who made the heavens. Those who follow the lies of evolution have deliberately shut out God’s Work in their hearts. They have chosen to believe a lie.
The Bible tells us that we can know the truth and be set free from sin. The Bible also tells us that we can be deceived. There are far more people who choose deception over truth. They can be very adamant about what they believe. They distort the Word of God, but do not want to see that. They accuse those who believe the truth of being deceived and arrogant. Many choose to carry on with that lie in their hearts, rather than pursue the work of God in their heart and conscience. When they are given the truth by someone, they shrug it off and carry on with their own plans. Some in any generation will come to see that they have no valid reason to continue to ignore the truth and they will be saved. That is the good news. As we will see in the following verses, God has given us His sure Word to help the lost to understand who put the heavens there and the importance of glorifying the Creator God. The saved can be encouraged to walk with the Lord and to seek to help the lost to turn to the true God in repentance and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel
