For centuries, scientists have charted the clockwork regularity of the observable universe. Remarkably — at least to a non-specialist — those scientists can predict celestial events decades or centuries in advance — and down to the second. It is an incredible human achievement.
The admiration one feels toward such scientists would turn to pity, however, if they came away from their work more impressed with themselves than with what they observed.
As evidenced by reactions to Monday’s solar eclipse, people of faith tend to think not of themselves but of God. In fact, for many believers, celestial phenomena call forth reminders that He has revealed Himself through both nature and Scripture.
For instance, prominent Christians with large followings on social media marked the eclipse by posting the same Bible verse:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)
On Facebook, evangelist Franklin Graham posted a photo of himself sporting eclipse-viewing glasses. At least nine other people stood in the background looking at the sky. And Psalm 19:1 accompanied the photo.
On the social media platform X, former NFL tight end, author and pro-life activist Benjamin Watson shared the same verse, along with deeper reflections.
“Witnessing extraordinary events like the eclipse today leaves me awestruck. Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God,” Watson wrote in part.
“If we think this is amazing I can’t imagine what supernatural wonders our eyes will behold when we see him face to face,” the former tight end added.
Witnessing extraordinary events like the eclipse today leaves me awestruck. Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. If we think this is amazing I can’t imagine what supernatural wonders our eyes will behold when we see him face to face.
— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) April 8, 2024
Author, professor and theologian Dr. Dustin Benge saw the eclipse as an opportunity to sit quietly with God.
“Today is the perfect day to meditate on this verse: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.’ Psalm 19:1,” Benge wrote in an X post.
Today is the perfect day to meditate on this verse:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1
— Dustin Benge (@DustinBenge) April 8, 2024
Others cited Psalm 19:1 while sharing images of the eclipse in progress.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1 https://t.co/FKTSzm8Smt
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) April 8, 2024
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” – Psalms 19:1 pic.twitter.com/ON1l0wxbaL
— Dan Gambardello (@cryptorecruitr) April 8, 2024
Indeed, all but the most hardened atheists can’t help but agree that God has revealed Himself through His clockwork universe.
That acknowledgment, in fact, has had implications in realms other than theology or science.
To cite but one example, the constitutional concept of checks and balances stems at least in part from 17th- and 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers’ veneration of God’s celestial order, as well as their corresponding belief that human political systems could mimic that order. According to this view, action in one branch of government would produce a predictable reaction, or check, in another.
In a 2006 essay that appeared in “Liberty and American Experience in the Eighteenth Century,” historian David Wootten described this understanding of checks and balances as “the mechanical metaphor which lies at the origins of modern constitutionalism.”
Looking heavenward, therefore, has even helped human beings achieve as much political liberty as they have ever enjoyed.
Did you view the eclipse?
Still, one must be careful not to stop with celestial observation, even if it produces appropriate humility.
In the stars, planets and moons, as well as on Earth itself, 18th-century deists such as Thomas Paine believed that they saw the whole of God’s revelation. That belief, of course, did not accommodate the activity of a living God. In short, deists venerated the natural while dismissing the supernatural as an affront to reason.
Thus, for those who seek God, celestial phenomena alone will not suffice.
Hence the importance of Biblical verses that remind us of God’s complete revelation.
