What speaks, yet uses no words? What beautifully and eloquently declares the power, wisdom and glory of God, yet does so without employing human language or speech? 

God’s creation does. And we’d better pay attention. 

King David must have been musing on the wonders of a star-studded key as he wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).  

All creation testifies to God’s power, wisdom and glory. The “voice” of the heavens reaches out into the remotest parts of the world. Yet the world, it seems, refuses to listen. It’s considered the height of wisdom to reject the very idea of a Creator—to act as if the world is all there ever was and to say that there is not and never was a Maker. But the stars in the night sky shout it out. There is a God! He is the Maker of all. He is awesome. And he is real. 

Still, nature can only reveal so much. It cannot tell us who this God is and what he did to save us. For that, we need another revelation—the Bible: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. . . The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:7-11).

Only God can tell us who he really is, that he is Triune—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Only he can tell us how deeply and dearly he loves us. Only he could have revealed his plan to save his fallen world. Only he could have told us that he so deeply loved the world that he sent his Son to live among us and die, so that we might live with him in unending peace and joy. 

When this God speaks, I need to listen. Sin is so deeply ingrained in my heart that I sin when I know better, and even when I don’t want to. “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me” (Psalm 19:12,13). My sin is not a minor corruption. Only God can undo its awful effects. And the heart and core of the Bible’s message is that he has! 

As amazing as the heavens are and as eloquently as the stars speak about the power of our Creator, we rejoice even more in the wisdom and love he has revealed to us in his Word. 

We pray: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Amen.