St. John’s Church on Morgan Hill

Blake Heffner June 25th, 2006

“All Nature Sings” June 25, 2006

INTRODUCTION: Psalm 19

“The heavens are telling the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. ” The psalmist goes on to say that the heavens don’t have to speak with words; they don’t even make a sound – yet there is a message proclaimed all around the world! I have always been fascinated by that notion: in the stars and moon at night, and in the sun by day, the Creator of universe is speaking to us. This morning we are going to consider what this message is, particularly with regard to the sun. Listen first to Eugene Peterson’s translation of Psalm 19:

God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape.
That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.

This morning let’s ponder what the sun declares…

1. The Sun Elicits Our Praise – Psalm 19; Psalm 148

The first thing, and most obvious, is that the Bible says the heavenly bodies themselves praise God and should evoke praise within us. Our final hymn this morning will be “All Creatures of Our God and King.” St. Francis of Assisi composed the lyrics as he meditated on Psalm 148:

3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created. 6 He set them in place for ever and ever!

The sun, with its brilliant light, has always been associated with God’s glory – the glow of God, as one of my theology professors put it. Remember when God decided to impress upon the disciples that Jesus shared his glory – Jesus was transfigured before their eyes and “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”

This summer, when the sun is high in the sky and it is very hot, think about how the sun reflects God’s glory and majesty. Inspite of the heat, give God praise.

2. The Sun Speaks of God’s Wisdom - Psalm 74; Romans 1

Psalm 74 attests: “The day is yours, and also the night; you established the sun and moon. You set all the boundaries of the earth and made both summer and winter.” The rhythms of day and night, summer and winter, bear witness to God’s wisdom in creation. This testimony prompted Paul to declare that “God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen since the creation of the world” and so, according to Paul, no one should be able to claim there is no God!

3. God’s Awesome Knowledge and Unknowability –

Psalm 139 & Job 37:21

Psalm 139 uses the absence of daylight to describe God’s intimate personal knowledge of us. “ I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans [that is a way of saying: if I could travel as far to the east or the west as possible] even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night– but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.”

Such intimacy, such presence is really beyond words, isn’t it? God is with you and me no matter where we go, no matter how off track we may get – there is always hope, because he is there to guide us and support us!

Turning this around, the sun reminds us how unfathomable God is. Elihu declares this to Job in chapter 37: “How great is God – beyond our understanding! … No one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies. [Likewise] God comes in awesome majesty. The almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power!”

We tell our children, for good reason, that they should never look directly at the sun. Its blazing light speaks to us of God’s awesome majesty and how far beyond our feeble minds the Lord really is.

Well, we’ve begun with some of the more obvious themes. Let’s dive a little deeper.

4. One Day the Sun Went Backwards – Isaiah 38:8

God’s Tremendous Authority and Amazing Grace

Do you remember the story about King Hezekiah? The King was very ill, at the point of death. The Lord sent Isaiah the prophet to tell him to put his house in order because death is coming. Hezekiah turned to the Lord in prayer, reminding him of his faithfulness and devotion as king. He wept bitterly, and his plea touched the heart of God. The Lord told him through Isaiah that he was going to add 15 years to his life. And, as proof of his promise, the Lord would make the sun’s shadow go backwards ten steps! Talk about a dramatic sign.

Friends, you may not see the sun do a u-turn in the sky – but the Lord who heard Hezekiah’s prayers still hears yours, and God is eager to respond to our pleas. In fact, the morning sunrise was for Jeremiah a sign of God’s love: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Every morning at sunrise, thank God for the freshness of the new day, and his steadfast love and mercy.

5. The Care and Providence of God – Psalm 121

Even in the hottest days of summer, the psalmist tells us to think of God as our source of shade and shelter. In Psalm 121 we read: “The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life, over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

This doesn’t suggest we ought to expose ourselves to those dangerous UV rays, without sunblock or proper attire. That would be very foolish. But, when we pitch our umbrella on the beach, or find a shady place to escape the sun, think about the Lord who is our spiritual sunblocker and shelter, the One who is able to keep us from all harm and guard our lives, even when things get hot, both now and forever!

6. God’s Equanimity or Impartiality – Matthew 5:5

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that both sunshine and rain speak to us about God’s equanimity or impartiality. “Equanimity” just a big word that means God treats everyone equally. He offers the sunshine and the rain to all people, without discrimination - the good, the bad and the indifferent. As God’s people, we also need to offer our love and respect to all people – without partiality.

7. There’s Nothing New under the Sun – Eccl. 1-2

The most depressing texts about the sun are found in Ecclesiastes 1 and 2: “There’s nothing new under the sun… Everything done under the sun seems wrong to me… pointless.” Solomon has a point, of course, but we won’t go there this morning.

8. The Sun of Righteousness Brings Healing – Mal. 4:2

We will also not dwell on the fascinating image in Malachi 4:2 where the prophet promises all who revere God’s name, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” [That’s ‘sun’!] I love that image. We’ll have to move on, though, to conclude with three profound messages involving the sun, found in both the Old and New Testaments:

9. Our Possibility of Sharing God’s Glory – Psalm 37:6; Isaiah 58; Matthew 13

First, we are expected to share God’s glory. David wrote in Psalm 37: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him [and] he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Along that same line, Isaiah declared: “If you will share your food with the hungry, provide the poor wanderer with shelter and clothe those who are naked… then your light will break forth like the dawn… The Lord will guide you always and you will be like a well-watered garden.”

Jesus said simply: “The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Friends, you understand this is a subject that deserves a whole sermon and then some. But the point is clear: in so far as we reach out to others in Jesus’ name, and share what we have with those who are in need, we will share in Christ’s glory and shine like the sun!

10. The Day of Darkness –The Prophets and Jesus

Secondly, there is a day coming when the sun will cease to shine. I’m not talking about a solar eclipse, or a terribly cloudy day – like today. No! The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and Joel and Amos and Micah all speak about a day when the sun will grow dark. In Isaiah’s words: “See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light” (13:9-10).

Many of the prophets foretell this day of wrath, when the sun itself will cease to shine and the earth will be shaken to its very foundations. Jesus echoed these prophecies when he taught about his final return: “The sun will be darkened, and the stars will fall from the sky [before] the Son of Man appears. And all the nations of the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds, with power and great glory.” Fortunately that dark and inevitable day is not the last word!

11. The Ultimate “Day” of the New Jerusalem

No! Not at all! The Last Word is a glorious one – when the sun won’t be needed any longer; it will be superceded by the glorious presence of God. Isaiah gives us a glimpse of this: “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (60:19).

This theme is taken up triumphantly in the climax of the Revelation to John. It’s the picture of New Jerusalem, which Mike Moninghoff and the Choir sang about so dramatically on Music Sunday: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp… There will be no more night. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 21:22-22:5).

Friends, this is the last word about light and glory. When everything under the sun seems to be wrong, as Solomon said, remember that even the sun will not last forever. There will be a day when the present earth and heaven pass away, and all God’s people will be gathered into the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. There everything will be bathed in the light of God’s glory. No more darkness or despair, no more troubles or tears, no more pain or suffering, no more death. When we gather by the river there, we shall see everything – our victorious Lamb and glorious Father, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, absolute justice, complete healing and reconciliation, ecstatic joy and perfect love. What more could we ask?

May the sun speak volumes to you and me this summer! Let us pray.

Lord, in the world around us, grant us glimpses of the world to come.
In the everyday realities of sunshine and moonlight, gentle rain and even thunderstorm,
speak to us of your presence and power, your love and mercy, your will and your ways.
Guard us and guide us in such a way that one day we shall all see you face to face,
and bask in the radiance of your glory.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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