The Heavens Declare the Glory of God… In the Laws of the Universe

Psalm 19:1-6

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows forth his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

​Today Jesus entered into Jerusalem to the accolade, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” It was a momentous event, a day that will always be remembered for its joy and clarity in which people saw God. But we don’t have to see Jesus riding on a donkey to see God. That is the message of Psalm 19. God can be seen and known in the heavens. Furthermore, we should have the same exultant adulation that the crowd had upon visibly seeing God in the flesh each and every day of our lives.

As the Apostle Paul has told us in Romans, “Ever since the creation of the world His eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things He has made.” In his letter to the Romans, Paul isn’t arguing that everybody should immediately understand Christian theology. He is acknowledging that through nature humans throughout history have had access to understanding something of the grandeur, the holiness, and the morality of the Divine.

Rather than relying on theologians or poets, today we will turn to those who understand nature the best—the greatest scientists the world has ever known. We will see that throughout history, but mostly focused on the modern times, how it was these scientists saw the divine handprints in their discoveries.

Far from an inherent conflict between science and religion, both have mutually edified the other. Certainly, there have been episodic conflicts between the two. But the thoughts that we will hear from these scientists leave no doubt in my mind of the truth of our theme verse that “the heavens declare the glory of God!”

In fact, even the term "scientist" is of recent origin, coined in 1834. People like Sir Francis Bacon and Sir Isaac Newton were never referred to as scientists but actually naturalphilosophers—because it was precisely thought that they weren’t simply discovering facts and laws about how nature behaved, but they were discovering deep truths with profound implications about the nature of the Creator.

Perhaps the most ancient account of natural philosophy comes from Plato’s work Timaeus. One scholar observed:

The text argues for the necessity of a divine craftsman, who rationally constructed the cosmos out of pre-existing chaos (Timaeus 27d–30c). In the Laws, in answer to the question as to what arguments justify faith in the gods, Plato affirms: ‘One is our dogma about the soul... the other is our dogma concerning the ordering of the motion of the stars.’

In ancient times especially, the wonder and power of God were seen in the motions of the planets and the stability of the stars. It is hard to overestimate the extent to which gazing at the heavens and discerning its movements brought faith to those of ancient scientific bent. We know that ancient mathematician Pythagoras had something of a religious cult that revolved around the wonders of numbers. While we may take issue with his theology, he clearly used analytical exploration to discover God. “Number is the ruler of forms and ideas, and the cause of gods and demons.” —Pythagoras

Pythagoras recognized common mathematical principles present not only in the movement of the planets but in the harmonies of music. For Pythagoras, these connections were a sign of the work of the Divine. He said, “There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” It was the purity and perfection of numbers that were present in music and the movement of the planets that for him could only come from something as pure and perfect as God.

Fast forward to the 17th century into a Judeo-Christian world when modern science gained its footing and the great advances in technology began. John Ray, an English naturalist, explained his motivation for his scientific exploration, which matched that of many of the natural philosophers of his time, “To illustrate the glory of God in the knowledge of the works of nature or creation.”

In the early years of the 1600s, modern science was essentially created by Sir Francis Bacon—or at least the scientific method, which is still relied upon today; the very approach which makes scientific inquiry so fantastically successful. Bacon did acknowledge that science can lead one to doubt, but he didn’t stop there, “A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion… Science, when it has been properly understood, does not oppose religion, but rather confirms and supports it.”

As we can see, in Bacon’s time there was already some struggle between science and religion, but the inventor of modern science is edified by his investigations.

Since we have seen that there is no essential or necessary conflict between science and religion, we will now dig deeper into precisely how it is that the heavens disclose the glory of God—by listening to these greatest scientists ever.

Isaac Newton, depending upon your ranking, is either the first or second greatest scientist to have ever lived. He discovered gravity and invented calculus so that he could properly understand the movement of the stars and the orbits of the planets. I was a math major and I can barely understand calculus. I can’t imagine having the kind of mind that could invent it! It was that very mind, in the depths of the greatest scientific discoveries up to his time, who wrote, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”

Scientists have an innate love of simplicity and orderliness; they find great beauty in such systems, and it creates a feeling of awe and even reverence. This is why Newton, in discovering more than any other human ever the connection between nature and mathematics, realized God’s power and profound intelligence. Newton, as did others, sees in nature’s mathematical laws, orderliness, and predictability the imprints of God’s character.

If you were to enter somebody’s house and find clothes lying around, dishes in the sink, and bills piled up (in other words, if you had ever seen my college dorm room), you would rightly conclude that a slob lived there— inattentive to details and at the time uncaring. If you were to visit the church manse, you would find an orderly place not only with mathematical precision but with elegance; the paintings and the pictures are hung just so; the colors of the walls enhance the space… even the light fixtures lend to it being a home.

You would then clearly conclude that there was somebody—who is definitely not me—who is behind it. Wendy!

In the same way, when Isaac Newton and others entered into the laws of nature with her orderliness, simplicity, and complexity, they could not help but see the beauty of God in it—an unmatchable mind, aesthetic sense unparalleled, and a Creator who loves and adores their creation.

Despite Newton’s titanic prowess, even he realized the limits of scientific knowledge, “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.”

Nature is so confounding because it’s both very comprehensible—its mathematical precision demonstrates to us that God is rational because creation is rational—but at the same time, nature can never be wholly grasped, never completely understood; there is always more to know, just like there is always more to know about God. These truths show us that God is both immanent (that is, close by) and transcendent (that is, utterly, infinitely greater than us).

The life-giving power of the Earth shows God’s goodness and generosity in that the Earth provides for all of our needs.

The predictability of the rising of the sun, of the seasons, and all the laws of nature demonstrate the steadfast faithfulness of God. It is not as if one day gravity works and the next day it’s broken—like the elevator or the subway!

The wonderful creatures show us that God finds joy in the dazzling array of diversity. The process of evolution, with its unfolding and revealing new species and new adaptations, shows us that God appreciates discovery and newness. The DNA molecule shows us that all life is connected to each other, that we all have a common source. There is a remarkable oneness to all life, so that we might be at one with each other even as God wants us to be at one with Him.

For these scientists, the mathematical beauty, the orderliness, the simplicity and complexity could not help but point to a divine origin. Listen to these quotes:

“The more I study science, the more I believe in God… I want to know God’s thoughts; the rest are details.” —Albert Einstein

“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will make you an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”—Werner Heisenberg, Uncertainty Principle

“The great and wonderful power of God in nature is seen in His works and the harmony of the universe… The first cause of all motion, is the power of God, which moves all things.”—Robert Boyle, founder of modern chemistry

“I have looked into most philosophical systems and I have seen that none will work without the foundation of God.” —James Clerk Maxwell (voted third greatest physicist of all time, and Presbyterian elder)

In the mathematical precision of the universe, in the stunning beauty of a sunset, in the playful joy of a puppy, and the dazzling colors of the flowers—we can see God. May all of our days be filled with hosannas—joyous shouts of thanksgiving to our God.

Amen.