Editor’s Note: This past Monday, April 8, 2024, we were blessed to be able to see the full solar eclipse. I am thankful for God’s wonderful creation, the order and its beauty. I am thankful that God has blessed me with eyes to see His world. I am thankful that I can read: “O Lord our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength Because of thine enemies, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8) and “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).
Below is an article by F. Lagard Smith which is excellent, and a poem written by Chuck Palmer of Paragould, Arkansas, my son, Donnie’s father-in-law.
Eclipse of a Darkening Nation
F. LaGard Smith
The excitement is mounting! From Texas to Arkansas to Indiana, Ohio, and upper New York, millions will join ecstatic astronomers watching Monday’s total eclipse of the Sun. For those outside the 115-mile-wide “path of totality,” a partial eclipse won’t be nearly the same, but still worth seeing. The next total solar eclipse won’t be seen here until 2044, so don’t miss it this time around! But don’t forget your special protective glasses, as any unprotected viewing of the sun can result in permanent damage—a kind of eclipse of the eyes, darkening sight!
Passing at its closest point of the month, the oversized Moon will slide between the Earth and the Sun, during which time center-line viewers will experience some four minutes of darkness, together with rapidly dropping temperatures and an eerie silence when even songbirds may stop their singing. In Middle Tennessee where we live, the transit will happen between 12:44 and 3:20, with the maximum (partial) eclipse taking place at 2:03 pm. The fact that eclipses can be predicted so precisely, even down to the minute, is amazing. Ever wondered how that works?
Try divine order. Conveniently overlooked by scientific naturalists who believe that their semi-sacred cosmos is the result of mindless, purposeless chance, the root word for “cosmos” is “order.” When was the last time unguided forces ever produced order? And if you need a reminder, think (if you dare!) of the same root for “cosmetics”—suggesting order out of chaos!
To appreciate cosmic order, you don’t have to wait until the next solar or lunar eclipse, simply observe tomorrow’s sunrise and sunset, or the rotating seasons, or the planets and constellations in their fixed courses. Day in, day out, night in, night out, the heavens declare the glory of a God of order. Without predictable cosmic order, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. So, why are those who most closely observe the cosmos the least likely to attribute order to a purposeful, all-powerful Creator? Have they been blinded by looking too closely at the Sun, or—blinded by their naturalistic worldview—not viewing the Son closely enough?
Another root word is helpful here—the root of “eclipse,” which means “to leave out.” Leave the Son out of the picture, and what you have is a world of spiritual darkness. Wonder why there’s such disorder in society, in culture, in families, and in your local cities, schools, workplaces, and centers of entertainment? If order comes from God, disorder comes from blocking out the Light of the World. No wonder today’s world is in such confusing disarray!
Before God said, “Let there be light,” there was nothing but darkness over the deep. Whereupon God set the Sun, Moon, and stars in their place to rule over the day and the night. Order! And when sin brought chaos and darkness into the world, God sent his only begotten Son, at whose cruel death the earth shook and darkness covered the land from noon until three in the afternoon. Whereupon the centurion in charge of Jesus’ crucifixion exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Must culture become totally dark before the world acknowledges his divine light?
If Creation itself is designed to teach us spiritual lessons, no parable could be more instructive than that of a total solar eclipse. Of ultimate importance is the “outer darkness” where those who deny the Son will be eternally eclipsed—“left out” of his light forever.
Perhaps that’s Monday’s most important take-away: a four-minute reminder of how desolate life is without the Son.
Above, we did gaze at the heavenly spheres
At two celestial bodies that have lighted our years
We beheld a rare spectacle one bright April day
As these two globes would act out a heavenly play
E’en tho’ Jehovah had set the sun to rule the days
Today, the moon would briefly veil the bright solar rays
Tho’ an eclipse might be viewed but once in a life
It recalls the dark day of our dear Savior’s strife
The day, when Christ died on the cross for our sins
And defeated wicked Satan, the battle He’d win
Luke tells of the darkness and of the veil of strife
And of the good news now heralded
Through Him we have life!
— Chuck Palmer