The Testament of the Sun

There are two phrases I've adopted from my father. The first, “Soli Deo Gloria” — a Christian mantra echoed through the centuries, translating to “To God alone be the glory.” It has impacted me, albeit imperfectly, to my core. The second is “Dios te está gritando,” which means that God is screaming at you instead of merely talking. Sometimes, in the context, my father means it in a negative light, such as when God’s righteous indignation causes the earth to tremble resulting from the sins of His rebellious people (Psalm 78; Micah 6). In other contexts, the Lord's voice booms to warn His children of impending doom such as when He gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments to ease their souls should they obey it (Exodus 20:18-21). But at other times, God's shouts stem from sheer jubilation because His glory stretches over and underneath all that He has crafted (Haggai 2:6-9; Psalm 104:32-33). There are moments when the Lord is as quiet as a whisper (see endnote "i"), but there are also moments when the Ancient One demands to be heard. 

And just as art often imitates its artist, so does creation imitate its Creator. Psalm 19 recounts this awesome and powerful declaration made by the heavens. David records vividly and poetically the proclamation of the expanse. And what do the galaxies and luminaries proclaim? What do they shout? What is their message? It is nothing less than God’s glorious grandeur and His good handiwork (Psalm 19:1).

David hears the stars’ song in the night; his ears are saturated by heavenly speech throughout the day(Psalm 19:2). And he sees no other creature do this more exceptionally than the rising sun. God gave the sun a heavenly tabernacle to rest its crown on, but when it's time, it leaps out of its slumber like a young man on his wedding day. The sun is joyful. It rises and sets and brings forth light and heat to all those below. But it also declares. It, too, proclaims. It shouts. And what it attests to is of a God much greater than he (Psalm 19:4-6).

But this heavenly shout doesn't seem to satisfy David. He's keen on the errors of the pagans, for the pagan worships the sun as a god. They gaze upon the heavens and so build altars, and offer up sacrifices to the moon and planets (Ezekiel 8:16; 2 Kings 23:5). They, as Paul laments, worshiped the creature as opposed to the Creator, exchanging the truth for a lie (Romans 1:23). David, however, recognizes these heavenly bodies as messengers alone, and no matter how grandiose their spectacle, they can only reveal so much about God's character.

David doesn't pretend to know the fullness of God's goodness by the proclamation of the sun, alone. Neither does the sun pretend to reveal so much as to rob glory from God. The sun can leap. It can soar, scream, shout, expose the world with its light, give warmth to the inhabitants of the earth, but it can never redeem, and its revelation is never sufficient to save.

Therefore, in a sense, man can have all the light of the sun and still live in darkness. One can see the beauty of a sunset and be in awe with mountains and magpies, canyons and colors, but none of these things can fully reveal the deep yearning that every individual possesses. Men like Job awaited for an arbiter, a mediator, between God and man (Job 9:32-35; 19:23-27). In fact, all of creation groans, because it knows that things aren't as they should be (Romans 8:22). They all long for a redemption, a blessed newness that seems to be too far to behold. And yet David receives glimpses of this redemption when he shifts his attention from the proclamation of the heavens to the law of God.

The law of the Lord provides this special revelation. This is to say that the Word alone can provide what the soul desperately needs. David seeks forgiveness of sin, purification of soul, and joy for the heart, and this can only come from the testimony of the Lord (Psalm 19:7-8). If the sun's testament was great, how much greater is the testimony of He who spoke it into existence? David longs for this better word, a word upon which his soul can rest and which can declare him innocent, blameless, and acceptable (Psalm 19:12-14).

But the story doesn't end there. The author of Hebrews reveals to the church that God spoke at sundry times and in divers manners to the fathers by prophets, King David being one of them. But in recent days, God chose to reveal His word exclusively through His Son, a Son who inherited all things made, and not only that but He also made those very things (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is the perfect mouthpiece of God. He is the very Word of God and was present speaking all things into existence, including the heavens, the earth, and the sun (John 1:1; Colossians 1:15-17). He, too, is shouting a message. He has a testament. And what is the testament of the Son? He is the brightness of God's glory, the image of His person, the One who sustains the universe by the word of His power, and most importantly, the purification for our sins (Hebrews 1:3). This is the Word that David longed for. Jesus fulfills the law that David found so enriching and delightful. Jesus does this to perfection which busts open the doors of heaven to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10: Colossians 1:13). This Jesus, the very Word of God, is who stirs up the heavens to rejoice. He is the reason the sun runs its course with joy. He is the reason Abraham longed for His day even after his bones were laid to rest (John 8:56). He's the reason the disciples dropped everything they had with the utterance of two simple words—follow me (Luke 5:27). This Jesus is the Lord, the rock, and the Redeemer David was seeking after (Psalm 19:14).

So what does this have to do with you, with me? I think David wants us to know that although the heavens declare God’s glory, it is only through the powerful word and person of Jesus that we can obtain the whole message and all its savory goodness. The Word is sharper than a double-edged sword that pierces through flesh, bone, tendon, and sinew, and it wounds our hearts and minds to conviction (Hebrews 4:12). Paul reminds Timothy that all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, and its goal is to ensure the man of God is perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16). Do you dare to let such a book change your life? Will you let it consume you to the point that you are willing to not only die for its message but to live for it zealously, preaching this word to every tribe and nation that you are willing and able to reach? Jesus has spoken, have you obeyed the goodness of His word? If the sun proclaims the goodness of God, how much more should the Christian since Jesus Himself commissions every believer to do so (Matthew 28:18-20)? Seek Him and the Word He has left you with. Don't let your Bibles collect dust; she screams for you to pick her up, as wisdom had done from the dawn of time (Proverbs 8:1-3). Rip open the Word with child-like delight and see what the Jesus who died for you has for you to marvel in. Dig deep into the word which pages drip with substance much sweeter than honey and gleams with truth far finer than gold (Psalm 19:10).

i In reference to 1 Kings 19:12-13, where Elijah hears the voice of God not in the whirlwind or in the earthquake or in the fire, but in a whisper.