the heavens declare the glory of God

pure doxology is not only impacted by theology, it has no source but theology.  and as i've been compiling a referenced summary outline for our systematic theology course we're developing at church, song has been welling up inside me ready to burst out spontaneously and praise the greatness of our God.  of course, it takes communion with the LORD before that song takes flight.  and it came this morning as simply and quietly as that old chorus,

i love You, Lord
and i lift my voice
to worship You,
O my soul, rejoice!
take joy, my King
in what You hear
may it be a sweet, sweet sound
in Your ear.


yet even in that moment of contemplative praise i am humbled by the reality of my distracted heart.  oh, to fear the LORD and worship Him whole-heartedly, it is beyond my nature's ability.  only by the power of His Spirit living in me can i sincerely cry, i love You, Lord!


been thinking also of the role creation plays in revealing the majesty of God.  psalm 19:1-2 says, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.  day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  to those of us who see God, we see and appreciate the beauty of His creation.  but do we really appreciate science and the role that it plays in discovering the world around us which can aid our doxology?  or is science the enemy of Truth?
unfortunately it seems that science has often been pitted against religion, often because religion has felt threatened (not by science's discoveries but by scientists' interpretations of those discoveries...it's important to distinguish between the arguments and the true source of the arguments). and even more unfortunately, religion at times historically has acted on that sense of threat with brutal retaliation.  this is not general or universal as some would have us believe (*cough...dan brown...*cough), but their have been incidents that have developed this stereotype and led trigger-happy religious figures and scientists to furiously load their intellectual weapons and stand twitching at any sudden movement the other makes.  as a result it is often the tactic of secular scientists to discredit faith as a crutch for those not willing to face facts, and for religious leaders to either water down doctrine to fit current trends in popular thinking or to dismiss scientific discoveries as malicious hoaxes from atheistic attackers of faith.  (disclaimer: i am only making personal observations from the lay of the land as i see the battle rage between science and religion).
what saddens me though is why the Church is so hesitant to reconcile what we know to be general revelation (romans 1:19-20) with special revelation (2 tim. 3:16-17; deut. 29:29; john 1:14).  it seems to me that many church leaders even in the evangelical (and by that i mean those who truly hold to sola Scriptura and sola fide) and conservative circles that i run in shy away from general revelation all together, almost as if we're afraid of what we'll find there.  it seems there is a growing fear that if we truly peer into the natural world with the scientific method we (those of us who by faith believe in God and the authority of His Word) will not like what we see.  when nothing could be further from the Truth!

the heavens declare the glory of God.  it's as if we read that, but don't truly believe it.  is it a true statement?  a resounding and solidly reasonable, YES!!!

romans 1 makes it especially clear that "natural revelation yields a natural theology or a natural knowledge of God.  God's wrath is present, not because men fail to receive his natural revelation, but because, after receiving this knowledge, mankind fails to act appropriately.  they refuse to honor God or be grateful to him.  they suppress the truth of God" (What is Reformed Theology, R.C. Sproul, p.15).  romans 1:29 says that they literally "did not see fit to acknowledge God."  it is a choice men make to suppress the truth that has been revealed, and whether they will acknowledge it or not, it is true revelation that leaves them without excuse.
it's helpful for me to think about it in terms of 1st and 2nd things (a main concept in C.S. Lewis' writings).  when you put 1st things (God) first, you can then undersand and appreciate 2nd things (in this case, nature and man).  but when you put 2nd things first, you miss them both entirely.
those that claim an interpretation of scientific facts as the evidence against believing in God are not making discoveries that disprove Him, they are making a choice to reject Him.

it is not that they don't see nature, it is that they cannot hear what it is screaming to them!  and because we have been given divine revelation in the form of His Word we can clearly hear and appreciate the message that creation is singing.  and i'll add that we (as those who hold forth the Word of Life) have the responsibility to pass on a love for general revelation (His creation) and a hunger to explore the Brilliance it points to.  don't miss the message: the heavens declare the glory of God!!!