Stars, Stars, and More Stars

Berean Baptist on April 15, 2019

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalms 147:4)

The old English pronoun thy in the King James Version is an indication of individual emphasis. Thy is a singular personal pronoun while you found in modern versions of scripture can be singular or plural. I point this out to show you how God is concerned about the individual. Your personal response to His commands is vitally important. God’s people are not a faceless mob but consist of those whom God knows personally and intimately.

            I want you to notice how Psalm 147 indicates this truth in a very special way. In verse 4, the psalmist wrote, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” I am not sure the psalmist could understand the full significance of this statement. However, he did observe more stars with the naked eye than most of us today.

            Recently, I watched a short video on light pollution and how it obscures our view of the stars in the nighttime sky. Hardly any stars are visible when viewing the sky from our large cities because of the extreme amount of ambient light in which the small pinpoints of the light from the stars are diffused. However, to look at the night sky in a place like Death Valley where light pollution is reduced to much lower levels, the universe is dramatically opened to the human eye.

            The psalmist would have seen this kind of sky especially if he was out in the hills of Judea. This lends much more meaning to the scriptures when we see in places the stars are spoken of as examples of vast multitudes. Looking at the night sky in Santa Rosa would not cause us to number the stars in comparison to the sands on the seashore as the Bible does (Gen. 22:17; Heb. 11:12). And yet, with what the psalmist could see and with how he would lose track while counting, he had no idea of the real impact of the Bible’s comparisons. With modern telescopes, we have learned the stars truly cannot be counted. There are about one hundred million visible galaxies with each containing billions of stars. This is the visible portion of the universe. There is no reason to believe that beyond what we can see there aren’t one hundred million more galaxies.

            Take all of this information and put it back into the context of Psalm 147. Verse 5 says the Lord is infinite. Only He knows how many stars were created. Whatever the number is beyond the 1024 number of stars that are observable, He knows the name and exact coordinates of each one. We are told this because God has such grasp of minute details that He could not fail to know about each and every one of His children. He certainly knows their names and every trial they encounter.

            If you feel alone and think nobody cares, who would you rather would know about you—the infinite God or fallible, finite men? Who has the real ability to help you, God or man? Who is to be depended on and can never fail, God or man? Your most intimate relatives may forget you—father and mother may forsake you—but never God (Psalm 27:10).

            Some of you grew up with abusive fathers and/or mothers. Some of you never had anyone to hold you or care about you. For your entire life, you’ve had to forge through on your own. When you became a Christian, you gained a loving church family. This is a wonderful experience, but you should still remember it is God that brought you to where you are. Learn to trust God and lean wholly on Him. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are still fallible and they may fail you. Remember, God knows your name. He has your number. You never get lost in His filing system because He has your name written in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). “He heals the broken heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (147:3). Such knowledge is more glorious than all the stars.

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith

All Creatures of Our God and King

Berean Baptist on August 13, 2018

Psalm 148

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He entered Jerusalem to the wide acclaim of the people. They hailed Him as the King whom they believed would deliver them from the occupation of Rome and restore the kingdom to Israel. With one voice they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” It was a remarkable display as palm branches were strewn in His path. The people wondered as He approached.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this display is the way Jesus chose to enter. It was not on a fine steed with bright regalia but on the foal of a donkey. No Roman official would enter a city this way. They would have a full cohort of soldiers in a display of power and they would ride on white horses with heads held high. Jesus, however, was meek and lowly and riding on a beast of burden that was the transportation of the common man. This fulfilled the ancient prophecy which said: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

In Luke chapter 19, the story is told in a little different way. Like did not concentrate on the people’s shouts of praise but rather on the disciples. A multitude of them gathered to join the people’s homage. The Pharisees protested and asked Jesus to rebuke them, to which He replied, “If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” From this we can see that all creation was made to glorify Jesus Christ. Stubborn men may withhold their praise and never make mention of the majesty of His name, but the creation shall never cease to give their maker the acclaim He deserves.

The psalmist would certainly agree. In 14 verses of the 148th psalm, he bids all of creation to witness the glory of Christ. He encourages all from every corner of the universe to sing their maker’s praise. He begins in heaven with the powerful angels. They were made to protect God’s throne and His holiness. They always do His perfect will and never stop as messengers of His good will to men.

Then the psalmist moves to the celestial creation. He calls upon the sun, moon, and stars to join the chorus. And then it is the physical earth with its wide variety of creatures and natural beauty. From there, kings and rulers must lend their voices. Finally, it is all people especially those who are called by His name. The creation cannot be silent. Wicked men will not lift up their voices, but need we be disappointed because of them? Jesus was not. The Pharisees would not give Him praise and insisted others should not. Jesus simply said, “They may be silenced but you cannot silence the creation.”

Christ will have His glory. We do not worry that the race of fallen men will not bow. We are not offended by what they may or may not do. The mighty vast creation is sufficient for this beautiful chorus. It will not be silenced no matter how loudly unbelieving skeptics may rail against Him. Remember this when you are worried about what America will do. The leaders of this country will not trample the sovereignty of God. He will triumph with all of the hosts on His side. “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38).

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

Stars, Stars, and More Stars

Berean Baptist on August 6, 2018

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalms 147:4)

In our study of the Ten Commandments, we have noted the personal nature of the commands. The old English pronoun thy in Exodus 20:3 is an indication of this individual emphasis. Thy is a singular personal pronoun while you found in modern versions of scripture can be singular or plural. I point this out to show how God is concerned with the individual. Your personal response to His commands is vitally important. God’s people are not a faceless mob but consist of those whom God knows personally and intimately.

I want you to notice how Psalm 147 indicates this truth in a very special way. In verse 4, the psalmist wrote, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” I am not sure the psalmist could understand the full significance of this statement. However, he did observe more stars with the naked eye than most of us today.

Recently, I watched a short video on light pollution and how it obscures our view of the stars in the nighttime sky. Hardly any stars are visible when viewing the sky from our large cities because of the extreme amount of ambient light in which the small pinpoints of the light from the stars are diffused. However, to look at the night sky in a place like Death Valley where light pollution is reduced to much lower levels, the universe is dramatically opened to the human eye.

The psalmist would have seen this kind of sky especially if he was out in the hills of Judea. This lends much more meaning to the scriptures when we see in places the stars are spoken of as examples of vast multitudes. Looking at the night sky in Santa Rosa would not cause us to number the stars in comparison to the sands on the seashore as the Bible does (Gen. 22:17; Heb. 11:12). And yet, with what the psalmist could see and with how he would lose track while counting, he had no idea of the real impact of the Bible’s comparisons. With modern telescopes, we have learned the stars really cannot be counted. There are about one hundred million galaxies visible with each containing billions of stars. This is the visible portion of the universe. There is no reason to believe that beyond what we can see there aren’t one hundred million more galaxies.

Take all this information and put it back into the context of Psalm 147. Verse 5 says the Lord is infinite. Only He knows how many stars were created. Whatever the number is beyond the 1024 number of stars that are observable, He knows the name and exact coordinates of each one. We are told this because God has such grasp of minute details that He could not fail to know about every one of His children. He certainly knows their names and every trial they encounter.

If you feel alone and think nobody cares, who would you rather would know about you—the infinite God or fallible, finite men? Who has the real ability to help you, God or man? Who is to be depended on and can never fail, God or man? Your most intimate relatives may forget you—father and mother may forsake you—but never God (Psalm 27:10).

Some of you grew up with abusive fathers and/or mothers. Some of you never had anyone to hold you or care about you. For your entire life, you’ve had to forge through on your own. When you became a Christian, you gained a loving church family. This is a wonderful experience, but you should still remember it is God that brought you to where you are. Learn to trust God and lean wholly on Him. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are still fallible and they may fail you. Remember, God knows your name. He has your number. You never get lost in His filing system because He has your name written in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). “He heals the broken heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (147:3). Such knowledge is more glorious than all the stars.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

Fools Made to Seek God

Berean Baptist on August 8, 2016

Psalm 53

Recently I had a conversation with someone who related his former belief about God by saying something to this effect: “I believed if there was a God He created us and put us in His test tube as an experiment to see what we would do.” This view of God obviously makes Him very detached and impersonal without a real plan of interaction or care for His creatures.

Psalm 53 very clearly shows that false ideas about God are the norm for people rather than the exception. All aberrant views of God may not be the same, but all of them are products of the fallen human nature. This psalm begins with one of these fallacious viewpoints which is the idea there is no God at all. This idea is beyond foolish for even a fool knows he can look at creation and see it couldn’t have just happened—with no rhyme or reason it just happened, and everything appeared from nothing. That something appeared from nothing is mind boggling to say the least, but it is all we are left with if there is no self-existent all powerful something. This is what God is—He is that all powerful something. The word used in Psalm 53 for God is the Hebrew Elohim which refers to the sovereign God who is the maker and sustainer of the universe. He is capable of making something out of nothing.

The existence of the sovereign God is evident lest we be total fools, and so we must move from the foolishness of the atheist to determine the personality of God. Are we His creatures the subject of an experiment? Is He impersonal? This notion is forcefully disputed by the psalmist as he states in verse 2 that God looked down from heaven to see if there were any that did seek Him. Why would this be important to an impersonal God? If there is no relationship to be had, what difference does seeking Him make?

The interaction of God with man in these verses is actually negative. The relationship that could be had is stymied by man’s sinfulness. This is not the condition of one or a few or even the majority. It is the condition of all as God sees all of us as filthy and not one of us is capable of good. This moral corruption causes all false views of God and keeps man from seeking God in the right way.

What is the solution to the problem? Only one—salvation—salvation from the depravity of the mind that keeps us away from God. How will this salvation come when the corruption of man keeps him from seeking it? It must come out of Zion (v. 6). Do you understand what this means? It means it must come from God. Only God can fix the problem and it is the sovereign God who by an act of His gracious omnipotent will that it is accomplished. The psalmist pleads for the salvation of God to come out of Zion!

A psalm such as this puts the free will of man in salvation forever at rest. There is nothing in us that wills us to God. The psalmist debunked this myth by saying there is none that does good, no, not one. Willing ourselves to God is good, isn’t it? And yet, according to this psalm, it can never happen. We cannot will ourselves to God but He can will Himself to us. When salvation comes out of Zion, it is God dealing with the depravity of man to change him to one who will seek Him. And this is how salvation happens, friends. We love Him because He first loved us.

When you seek God, never boast, “I am on my way to find God.” Always remember He changed you so that you would seek Him. This is how the dilemma of Psalm 53 is solved. The very personal God gets very personal with you. You are not a test tube baby but one personally born of the Spirit of God.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Why Are You Here?

Berean Baptist on March 31, 2015

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;  [4]  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalms 8:3-4)

When I read the 8th Psalm, I am always struck by David’s humility as he observed the handiwork of God in the creation of the universe. This Psalm was written nearly 3000 years ago when there were no devices to explore the far reaches of the universe. There was no such thing as purchasing a small telescope from a local hobby store much less to think of the Hubble Telescope that was launched into space on top of a giant rocket.

As David looked at the stars, he observed with what we would call a primitive mind unable to fathom how vast the size of the universe. With his limited ability, what he could see was so overwhelming that he sunk at his puny insignificance. He regarded the intricate work of creation as the skillful activity of the finger of God. Like a fine craftsman that pays attention to the smallest detail, David saw God as the master architect of all things animate and inanimate. In his insignificance, David asked, “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” With what he could see he was overwhelmed and felt as lowly as a speck of dust.

We would think with David’s reaction that further revelation and exploration of the vastness of the universe would only lead us to greater amazement at what God has done. How much more our insignificance is intensified when we know the distance between stars and galaxies must be measured in light years which is impossible for us to comprehend. David did not know that each of the stars is comparable to the sun in size with many being much larger. He did not know the observable portion of the universe with the stars he could see was only a minute fraction of the entire creation.

Now these thousands of years later, we know these things but instead of being overwhelmed at the magnitude of it all and reaching superlative levels of amazement at the power of God, scientists tell us there was no intelligent design. Stephen Hawking the brilliant (?) theoretical physicist proposed the universe actually was self-created. Was David really the one with the primitive mind? With what little he knew, he was wise enough to understand the universe could not just simply happen. The puzzle of the moon and the stars was just a beginning point for him. What about the intricacies of the human body (Psalm 139:14)? A self-created universe means all living things are also self-created. Is it possible intelligence could lead to such conclusions?

God has given us the ability to see more and know more. We would think the increase of knowledge would lead to one conclusion—God did more far more than first imagined. How foolish we must be to ever have discounted His sovereign control over all affairs in the creation. David correctly assessed his self-worth with his limited knowledge. But the knowledge he had of the true living God was not innate. God revealed Himself to David as his Saviour and Redeemer. This is the great missing link to the universe the scientists do not have. They miss the handiwork of God because they have not been given special revelation of the redeeming work of Christ. These scriptures present not only the greatness of God, but also the powerful deceptive abilities of Satan. When scientists also miss the natural revelation of God, it only further accentuates the helplessness of man. We are utterly incapable of finding God on our own.

Take a moment to consider the divine providence of God in your life. Why are you here today while there are hundreds that pass this church without thinking of the majesty of God? Why did God allow you to receive the special revelation of His marvelous grace? Are you wiser than others? Do you possess intelligence beyond that of Stephen Hawking and were able to figure it out? You know better. His intelligence led him to deeper darkness and so would yours. Utter foolishness says we hear and believe because we have greater insight. We hear and believe because God made it so. His sovereign plan is His choice of you not your choice of Him. Why are you here? Only because of the grace of God and don’t ever forget it.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith