Chal - Heavens!

The chal declare the batlh vo' joH'a'. The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalms 19:1

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In grade school I drew a picture of my "house of the future," what I envisioned back in the 60's as the ultimate hightech lair. It was domed, set way out in the ocean, and featured an underwater "garage" for my submarine and had an observatory with telescope on the top.

I doubt it's a surprise that my house today doesn't have most of the details of that drawing. On the other hand - I do have the telescope. It's a simple refractor, bought mail order - but I've used it to see Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. And, though I've got no observatory - we have skylights, which at the right time of year have a terrific view of the moon.

The chal declare the batlh vo' joH'a'. The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalms 19:1

Peter Kreeft says the arguments for God's existence can be divided into "two basic groups: those which take their data from without—cosmological arguments—and those that take it from within—psychological arguments."

These words nicely delineate a very basic "cosmological argument" for God's existence - simply seeing the heavens points to their maker.

For many it may be hard to appreciate this if, like me, you live in a busy light-polluted city. But hop in your spaceship and get up and out into the black to look out, or drive far from the street lights, out to the country and look up. You'll see an endless tapestry of beauty - countless stars and galaxies - with a complexity we can only wonder at. Lacking that - you might take a look at google.com/sky - a new online observatory that Google has put online recently - your web browser can take you out into the Universe!

Internet, auto or spaceship - however you find your way to the sky - you may be moved to declare with the psalmist

The chal declare the batlh vo' joH'a'. The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalms 19:1

The word "chal" here is the Klingon word for "sky" and I've used it nearly 500 times in the KLV to represent heaven, heavens and skies in the WEB. It's not surprising that The Hebrew word here is likewise very frequent - nearly 400 times - shamayim, heard in the very first verse of the Bible

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

St. Paul reminds us that the witness of creation should point us to God

From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20 NLT)

The Life Application Bible notes:

What kind of God does nature reveal? Nature shows us a God of might, intelligence, and intricate detail; a God of order and beauty; a God who controls powerful forces. That is general revelation. Through special revelation (the Bible and the coming of Jesus), we learn about God’s love and forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. God has graciously given us many sources that we might come to believe in him.

The heavens are a tremendous witness to God's power. Such a witness takes us out of ourselves, makes us look past our own problems and limitations - it's fantastic. But if it ends there it's only artwork, only something to admire. What can change our lives is when we turn from the experience of creation and join in with believers - believers of this time and through the ages as we hear the witness Scriptures and the lives God's Word has touched. May you find that loving community today!

The chal declare the batlh vo' joH'a'. The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalms 19:1