The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

 

Of old you have laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. Psalm 102:25

There are two things you don’t want to ever see them make: law and sausage.

For those of us who deal with law, we can understand the quotation above. Law is often foolish and stupid, even irrational. If we participated in the legislative process, we often see the distortions created by power and privilege. At its best, law as man creates it is an imperfect fallible product. We know that, and we live our lives and engage in our law practices understanding that man’s law is a product that reflects human sin and fallibility.

But consider the laws of the universe created by God. In a recent book by Martin Rees entitled Just Six Numbers: the Deep Forces that Shape the Universe, the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain notes that the whole universe—its very character and existence—is governed by just six numbers, which if they were changed ever so slightly would mean the universe as we know it could not exist. These very precise laws include such factors as the speed of light, the force of gravity, the weak and strong nuclear forces, Plank’s constant, and the mass of the elemental particles such as neutrons, protons and electrons. Many cosmologists and astronomers are now writing of the apparent “intelligent design” reflected in our universe and in life itself. The Universe is “just so” that it is stable and that life can exist. Some titles of recent books reflect this growing amazement at the precision of the creation: The Cosmic Blueprint, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, The Intelligent Universe, and The Fingerprint of God.

Some cosmologist recognize the inescapable theological implications of the precision of the laws of our universe. Noted cosmologist Paul Davis wrote, “the equations of physics have in them incredible simplicity, elegance and beauty. That in itself is sufficient to prove to me that there must be a God who is responsible for these laws and responsible for the universe.”

In contrast to the imperfection of our man-made laws stands the amazing detail, precision and fine-tuning of the universe which is the handiwork of God. No wonder we ought to be amazed, with the Psalmist, at God’s creation. The more we learn, the more stunning is the very mind of God. And we should be comforted that the Lord who holds our lives and being in His hands, knows what He is doing and has created a Universe with astonishing beauty and precision.

There is here no chance, no randomness, no accident—but the evidence of a powerful and creative mind that has made this world. And He made us. And He has a plan for us that has the same qualities of detail and care that are evidenced in His physical handiwork.

Man’s laws may be imprecise, and we must continually tinker with them. God’s laws are immutable, reliable, sure and necessary. Robert Jastrow in his book, God and the Astronomers, has this striking observation:

For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.

With the hymn writer we can declare:

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great thou art, How great thou art.

Lynn R. Buzzard

– This article comes from AI’s “No Higher Calling,” a devotional for lawyers.