"To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."
Psalm 19
There is a further consideration also, and it is this: what can be seen and known of God in nature is not saving knowledge of Him. One can get only so far in a knowledge of God through nature, or through any process of reasoning. One can know, by reason- ing, or by looking at nature that there is a God. Atheism, as we saw in Psalm 14, is a very difficult position to hold. One can also deduce, from beholding nature, that God is great and powerful, and one who loves order and beauty. But it is not possible to deduce from nature anything about His character, or what His attitude might be to His creatures, and above all, what His attitude might be to sinners, any more than one can tell, from looking at a watch, whether the craftsman who made it was a good man or bad, al- though it might be deduced that he was extremely clever and skilful. There is a point beyond which one cannot go. It is this that Paul deals with in Romans 1, where he speaks of 'that which may be known of God', and mentions 'His eternal power and Godhead'. This knowledge does not save, but failure to respond to it incurs responsibility, and makes men without excuse. Now, it is significant that in the Psalm here, the name for God in 1-6 is 'El', the name associated with power, not 'Jehovah', which is the covenant name of God, that name by which He is known in His saving grace. That comes in the second part of the Psalm. The implication is clear. We cannot know God's saving grace through nature. This is the real answer to those who maintain they can be perfectly good Christians without ever coming to church and worshipping God in nature.