When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? (Psalm 8:3-4)
Why does David not mention the sun along with the moon and stars? Presumably, it is because David composed this psalm at night as he gazed at the luminaries visible in the darkness of space. Making these considerations at day would have proved difficult because the light of the sun would have been too overpowering; only when the sun had retreated over the horizon was David able to contemplate the heavenly host. In so doing, he acknowledged that the very presence of the moon and stars testified that he was looking upon the handiwork of Almighty God, not some cosmic accident. In fact, David’s described what he saw as the work of God’s fingers.
Very often, people use their fingers to point out something so as to provide direction, clarity, and exactness in order to eliminate any doubt. By ascribing the Creation to God’s finger, David was declaring that God had made His Presence known in such a way that could not be denied — at least not by reasonable minds. Actually, there are passages in Scripture indicating that even His enemies were forced to concede His sovereignty over Creation when they saw the work of His fingers.
For instance, Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to duplicate the plague of lice and were compelled to admit that “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). In other words, He made His Presence known with such clarity that it could not be denied. Consider also, that the Ten Commands given to Moses (and to all of God’s people) were written with the finger of God (Ex. 31:18, Deut. 9:10). In other words, mankind cannot deny the legitimacy or the wisdom of these commands because God’s authorship is unmistakeable.
And so as we examine the heavens and its vastness — the myriad of stars and the moon as it reflects the light of the sun — we must conclude that this was no accident. It is not the result of an evolutionary process but the handiwork of an all-powerful Creator. Each night as we gaze up into the sky, the shining moon and twinkling stars display His signature, written with His own finger. Then, as David did so long ago, we begin to consider that the One who created all above is the same One who placed His breath within all of us below. It should cause all of us to be overcome with awe and gratitude.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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