More Powerful Than Words

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth.”

When I see a dramatic evening sky, these words always seem to fill my mind. I am particularly drawn to the lines, “They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth.” What beautiful poetry the Psalmist creates.

There are things that are beyond the reach of words, things and experiences in life too beautiful - and to painful - to be described. As a person of words, of this I am well aware. The miracle of a new born child. The depth of grief. The joy of loving and being loved by another. The pain of disappointment. The thrill of finding hope. The awareness of the nearness of God. Experiences, both positive and negative, are beyond our reach when it comes to sharing them with others. Some things are indeed beyond words.

But the Psalmist knows that the beauty and the power of the heavens are themselves a language all their own. Their reality, their very existence, proclaim what words never could: God IS. In the end, all debate falls short. In the end, all arguments are empty. In the end, all the words can only hope to point in the direction of what the heavens declare.

I suppose that, ultimately, God has to be experienced. And that experience is too powerful to be described away by words. Like the heavens, only our life can declare the glorious truth that God IS. And that will be more powerful than any words could ever be.

Peace.