"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." (Genesis 1:6-8) "The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1) "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne." (Psalm 97:1-2) "Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with honor and majesty. Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment; who stretches out the heavens as a curtain; Who lays the beams of His chambers in the waters; who makesthe clouds His chariot; who walks upon the wings of the wind." (Psalm 104:1-3) "The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm; and the clouds are the dust of His feet." (Nahum 1:3) "The Lord is the true God He is the living God, and an everlasting King. ... He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His discretion. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of His treasures." (Jeremiah 10:10,12-13) Behold, God is great, and we know Him not; the number of Hisyears is unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from His vapor; Which the skies pour down and drop upon man abundantly." (Job 36:26-28) "Hearken you unto the noise of His voice, and the sound that goes out of His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven, and His lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty; and He stays them not when His voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with His voice; great things does He, which we cannot comprehend, For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth; likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of His mighty rain." (Job 37:2-6) "Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, the thunderings of His pavilion? ... He covers His hands with the lightning; and gives it a charge that it strike the mark." (Job 36:30,32) "Did you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16)
"He binds up the waters in His thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them." (Job 26:8)
Read these texts as the living words of the living God. The whole of understanding them is in believing that they mean just what they say. Man, as well as the firmament, shows the handiwork of God. In Christ are all things created, and we also are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." (Ephesians 2:10)
If we believe that God is personally present, "in the firmament of His power," (Psalm 150:1) then when we consider the power that is revealed there we shall know and rejoice in "the power which works in us." (Ephesians 3:20)
Look in the margin of the Revised Version, in Genesis 1:6, and note that the word rendered "firmament" is the Hebrew for "expanse." "And God said, Let there be a firmament [margin: "expanse"] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." (Genesis 1:6)
God made an expanse, a vast space to divide the waters from the waters. The stars are set in the expanse of the heavens. This idea of an expanse is found in: "Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain." (Psalm 104:2)
That God is actually and really present "in the firmament of His power," (Psalm 150:1) is seen in the, statement that "[He] makes the clouds His chariot," (Psalm 104:3) and "has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the, dust of His feet." (Nahum 1:3) "Behold, the Lord rides upon a swift cloud." (Isaiah 19:1) "When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens." (Jeremiah 10:13) "He thunders with the voice of His majesty. God thunders marvelously with His voice; great things does He,which we cannot comprehend." (Job 37:4-5)
If children were taught the truth about the thunder and the storm, "as the truth is in Jesus," (Ephesians 4:21) they would never cower in terror when the voice of God is heard in the heavens. "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. In your name shall they rejoice all the day; and in your righteousness shall they be exalted." (Psalm 89:15-16) "Has the rain a father?" (Job 38:28)
Has it? Read the answer in the Bible. Where does the rain come from? From the clouds. How does it get there? "He draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from His vapor; Which the skies pour down and drop upon man abundantly." (Job 36:27-28)
Is the poor Indian, whose untutored mind sees God in the cloud, and hears Him in the wind, to be pitied for his ignorance? Is he in reality so "untutored" as the civilized man whose learning has caused him to leave God out of all his so-called science? "Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds?" (Job 36:29) "Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous workings of Him which is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16)
These are questions to which no man even in these days is presumptuous enough to say, "Yes." "He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them." (Job 26:8)
No scientist can explain the power by which the clouds are upheld in the sky. Only the first and only book of science, the Bible, tells us what it is. It is the "eternal power" of the Creator, which is clearly seen in the clouds as well as in all other things that He has made.
By a little calculation we can form a slight idea of the wonderful power by which the waters are bound up in the thick clouds so that the cloud is not rent under them. This calculation can easily be made if we remember that a cubic foot of water weighs 62½ pounds. Let us take a comparatively small space. Perhaps the area best known by all is the space covered by the Parliament buildings. A cloud holding sufficient water to cause it to rain to the depth of just an inch over that space alone, would contain over 1250 tons of water.
A better idea of this weight can be obtained if we consider it as coal instead of water, for we are accustomed to seeing tons of coal. Think then of 1250 tons of coal being suspended over that small area. And think of the great clouds that send down their contents over miles and miles of country. What an infinite weight of water is floating about in the air over our heads!
What holds this water thus suspended? There can be but one answer: It is the hand of God. "[He] has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand." (Isaiah 40:13) "The balancings of the clouds [reveal the] wondrous workings of Him which is perfect in knowledge." (Job 37:16)
Jesus said: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)
Now we know that the power by which He draws is very real. It is power that is constantly in operation before our eyes, drawing up the drops of water, "which distill in rain from His vapor." (Job 36:27)
It is a real, tangible power, to which we are to submit. Why should we not quietly yield to this power that tends to draw us upward to God, instead of, by our stubborn resistance, compelling it to "strive" with us? (Genesis 6:3)
When the Apostle sets Christ forth as the One who by himself purges our sins, he speaks of Him as "upholding all things by the Word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)
The clouds of water give us something tangible by which we can grasp the power that saves us when we believe. We may trust Him, because "All power ... in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18) is His. Then: "Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary: praise Him in the firmament of His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness." (Psalm 150:1-2) "Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created. He has also established them for ever and ever: He has made a decree which shall not pass away." (Psalm 148:4-6)
In the latest rendering of the Psalms, this last verse, as it is also indicated in the margin of the Revised Version, reads thus: "He established them for ever and ever: He gave them a law which they may not transgress." (Psalm 148:6)--Present Truth, August 18, 1898.