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THE VOICE OF GOD IN HIS WORKS

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 6, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 1.

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THE VOICE OF GOD IN HIS WORKS.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

The words and works of God contain lessons which are infinite and far-reaching. They teach the same truths, but in a different manner. In speaking of God’s works the psalmist writes: “Surely through this His universal temple everything speaks of His glory.” Ps. 29: 9 (Spurrell’s translation). The margin of our common version reads, “Every whit of it uttereth His glory.”
Thus, everything that God created in the universe, proclaims the glory of the Lord. In nature, as in the written Word, His character stands revealed. The mind clouded by sin, can not comprehend God, neither can it fathom the infinite teaching that His words contain. “Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.” Ps. 147: 5. “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” Job 11: 7-9. Until man believes there is infinite instruction in every revelation of God, he can not properly appreciate God. He is not prepared to sit at Jesus’ feet, as did Mary, and learn of Him.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” Ps. 19: 1-3. These last words are quoted by the Spirit of God, to show that the heathen heard and recognized in nature the same Gospel that the apostle preached. See Rom. 10: 12-18.
“God is love,” and with Him there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Every manifestation of creative power is therefore an expression of infinite love. Wherever the sun shines, it proclaims the grace of Christ, that is manifested toward the righteous and the wicked. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt. 5: 43-45.
The rain, the fruitful seasons, and the sun, are witnesses of the Gospel of Christ. They were appealed to by the great apostle when preaching to the heathen. Acts 14: 15-17. The sun has ever proclaimed to the inhabitants of the earth that God is love, and has made it manifest to all men. Because man can not see attributes in nature which he thinks God possesses, this is no evidence that they are not there. With the heavenly anointing man may be able to behold it, for the Scriptures state positively, “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Ps. 84: 11.
The sun and its effects in the natural world, may therefore be studied as an object lesson of the character of the divine Redeemer. As extensive as the warm rays of the sun are felt, so the grace of Christ encircles this earth. The sunshine is the mightiest thing in the world. It enables the seed to germinate in the earth, and send up its little shoot, and bud and blossom in a beautiful, fragrant flower. It enables the rootlets to descend into the soil, and the leaves to unfold in the atmosphere, gathering from the air and the soil the elements out of which is builded the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit of a noble tree. See Deut. 33: 14-16.
What Christ is to the natural world by the sun, He is to the spiritual and the moral world by His Word. All light emanates from Him. His Word brings to the human family all it receives. It was Christ who created the light on the first day of the week, and it was placed in the sun, which God created for that purpose; and He divided it “unto all nations under the whole heaven.” Gen. 1: 3, 4; Deut. 4: 19. It is thus the sun, the moon, and the stars become revealers of the character of our divine Redeemer, who is their Author. They become the object lesson of the greatness and the glory of God. When this truth is believed, the way is prepared for God to communicate to the heart the glorious truths of the Gospel by the luminaries of heaven. Christ, pointing to the sun, said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8: 12; 9: 4, 5; 12: 33-36, 46. “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
These are some of the lessons the works of God proclaim to mankind; and they may be studied with profit; for in them the character of Christ is revealed. S. N. HASKELL.