Lent Midweek March 27th Surprised by the Joy of Creation
Lent Midweek
Psalm 19
March 27, 2019
“Surprised by the Joy of Every Day (Creation)”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This sermon would preach much better if we all went far out in the middle of a wide open field somewhere and laid on our back and stared up into the heavens. “The heavens declare the glory of God,” Psalm 19 says. And they do. When you stare up into that great infinity, at that great sun 93 million miles away from us, at the stars some 6 trillion miles away from us, don’t you hear the sermon? The heavens preaching the great glory of God?
Here we are sitting on our little quarter acre of Earth or whatever it is we occupy right now, and there’s the universe sprawled out over its millions and trillions of miles. (I wish we could remove this roof up here just for tonight’s service.) It goes on and on and on. And we say with Psalm 8, “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?” Who am I? Who are you? Amidst this great and glorious universe? We’re not much, are we?
And yet, Psalm 8 continues, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands, you have put all things under his feet.” After God had made all of that, all of the heavens and earth and sun and moon and stars and planets and galaxies and waters and lands and animals and plants—THEN He said, “Let us make man!” Man, you and I, are the climax of His creation. He saw all that He had made and then said, “I’m going to give all of this to man.” And He did. He gave it all to you and me. He said to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.” Rule over it. Cultivate it. Study it. Enjoy it. Take pleasure in it. Live in it.
This is our everyday joy. Every day that we wake up God gives us this glorious creation to live in, to learn from, and to play in.
The language in the first few verses of Psalm 19 is a bit clunky in the Hebrew and different translations aren’t exactly sure what to do with it. So I’ll just give you the overall gist of what it’s saying. When it says “day to day pours out speech” and “night to night reveals knowledge” – what’s it’s getting at there is that one day passes on to the next day and one night passes on to the next night the glory and majesty of God. It’s like one generation passing down to the next generation their wisdom. In this case, each day passes onto the next day the knowledge of God’s glory. So that every morning when you wake up, that new day is ready to preach a sermon to you about the glory and majesty of God. Every morning sun has its sermon ready.
Then the next verses talk about how the heavens don’t speak a language like we’re used to. The heavens don’t speak Hebrew or Greek or Latin or English. But they do have a voice. An inaudible voice that is somehow still heard around the whole world. Think of it this way—is there anywhere in the world that you can go and you won’t be under the voice of the heavens? They’re everywhere. Everywhere making their voice heard saying, “Give glory to God.”
And then Psalm 19 pictures the biggest preacher – the biggest sermon—the SUN—who comes out of its tent in the morning like a strong man ready to run its course with….[with what]…with joy?! Every morning the strong sun comes out of his tent to say to you, “Good morning! All of God’s glorious creation is waiting for you today!”
And it truly is. What part of God’s glorious creation will you study today? Which part of God’s glorious creation will you take joy in today? Music maybe. Maybe you’ll sing a joyful hymn to start your day, like “Awake, My Heart, with Gladness” or “God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It”. Maybe you’ll turn on your Spotify or Pandora—however you listen to your music—and you’ll be lifted by some great classical music or folk music or sacred music. Maybe we’ll sit down at the piano and make beautiful music. You’ll take the notes and harmonies that God interwove into His creation and you’ll subdue them. You’ll cultivate them and craft them.
Or maybe you’ll build something. Maybe take some wood from one of God’s tall trees, that started from just a small seed, and you’ll carve it, cut it, hammer it, sand it, and stain it until it’s a beautiful piece of furniture or art. And you’ll sit back and look with joy at how much beauty can be made from God’s creation.
Maybe you’ll grow something. Maybe some early spring flowers sprouting up around your house. Maybe you’ll turn over God’s earth with a hoe or a tiller or a tractor and smell that black dirt with joy. Maybe you’ll plant some potatoes or some potatoes and think about the joy that will come at the harvest.
What other glorious part of God’s creation will you subdue today? Maybe nothing more than the sunlight. Maybe you’ll sit outside and let your body soak in the warmth and nutrients of the Spring sun while you read a page-turning book made from trees and ink which God provided and words and language that God supplied.
Maybe just your family. You might smile with delight at your young child or grandchild that God gave to you. Maybe at your husband or wife whom God united you to. Maybe you’ll smile to think that God related you by blood and bone to your parents and your children and siblings and grandparents and grandchildren. There is so much joy—in every single day—in every part of God’s creation. The heavens declare the glory of God.
Now, does this creation have a big blemish because of sin? Of course, it does. You all know that. But that doesn’t mean there’s no more joy in it. Jesus has redeemed us and redeemed the world. Even with sin, there is still much to enjoy in this Creation. Every morning the sun comes out of its tent ready to preach its sermon about God’s glory, we also have another sermon ready to be preached. The sermon of our Baptism and redemption. Every day we begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We bind unto ourselves our Baptism and the forgiveness of Jesus. And we go looking to subdue God’s creation again. To find joy in it.
I was thinking how different this joy of ours is from most of the environmentalism you hear today. When you hear people talking about “save the planet” and “Protect the Earth” and so forth, their intentions are good but their view is quite off. They tend to take creation (nature) and make it the god. So we have to bow down to nature. She’s an angry deity who will exact her revenge on us with climate change and air pollution and scarcity of resources.
But mother nature isn’t a god. In fact, we are her gods. We are lords of Creation. God has made us that way. Creation (mother nature) is here for our joy. Not the other way around. She is here to serve us. Now should we be good stewards of Creation? Of course, we wouldn’t have it any differently. God has given her to us. She gives us joy. So we take care of her and love her. But we don’t fear her. We fear God. And we know He will redeem Creation fully on the Last Day.
So when you leave church tonight, take a minute to look up and listen to the heavens—they’re declaring the glory of God. And when you wake up in the morning to the sun coming forth from its tent like a strong man, then rejoice that God has given you another day to enjoy the sounds, sights, smells, and pleasures of His glorious creation.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.