Articles
'The Spacious Firmament'
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator’s power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What tho' in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
What tho' no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
Forever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is divine."
The essence of "The Spacious Firmament" comes from Ps. 19:1-6, where the psalmist meditates on the grandeur of God as witnessed in His creation. The entire hymn reflects on how each part of the heavens -- sky, space, sun, moon, stars, and planets -- proclaims the grandeur of their Maker.
The hymn employs some archaic language and phrasing that are important to grasp if the worshipper is to sing with understanding. In verse 1 the firmament refers to Gen. 1:6-8, where on the second day God created the heavens. The "heavens," as we call them, are comprised of three parts:
- The blue, ethereal sky (our atmosphere -- "ethereal" means elegant, airy or heavenly)
- The spangled heavens, a shining frame (outer space, which is dotted with stars and forms a frame for the earth);
- Heaven, the spiritual abode of God and heavenly beings (referred to as the "third heaven" in II Cor. 12:2).
Each of these realms proclaims that they have an Original, or Creator. The sun, which never grows weary, shines over every land, continent and island (referencing Ps. 19:5-6), thus proclaiming to all men everywhere that it is the work of an Almighty hand.
Verse 2 moves the imagery from day to night, referred to as the evening shades. The moon is personified as telling the tale of her creation to the listening earth, referencing Ps. 19:2. The moon is then joined by the stars and planets, which spread the truth about God’s presence and power over the whole earth (from pole to pole) as they roll in their orbits and rotations. Thus the whole night sky is filled with exhibits of God’s wisdom and design.
Verse 3 essentially asks the question: "So what?" It asks, "So what, if these silent, radiant orbs (stars, planets) are moving around the terrestrial ball (the earth)? Their voice doesn't say anything; there's no sound to tell us about God" (referencing Ps. 19:3-4). However, when we use our minds to reason about how these magnificent planets and stars were created, we "hear" the voice of creation rejoicing with a glorious voice and singing!
As we contemplate, we see the best explanation: The hand that made all these glorious things is divine. So what? We can know that there is a God by looking at the breathtaking and powerful things we find in the heavens, even though they make no audible sound or speech.
This hymn, when understood, does a beautiful, poetic job of meditating on Ps. 19:1-6. It helps us to consider the truths we learn about God from the universe: God is massive, like the sky and outer space; God is incredibly powerful and unfailing, like the sun; God is brilliant in His placement of the moon, stars and planets, each following their courses perfectly without stop.
God is speaking to us even when we don’t hear an audible voice. He expects us to learn about Him from what He has made. We are ultimately left "without excuse" (Rom. 1:20) when we examine God's creation and consider the wisdom, power and design that are demanded by such marvelous craftsmanship.
Let us stand in awe!
