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THE WATCHMAKER GOD

by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.

A sermon preached at the Fundamentalist Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles
Lord's Day Evening, January 20, 2002


"The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

Dr. John S. Waldrip preached an excellent sermon last week in which he told us that the atheist is without any excuse for not believing in God. The atheist can look up at the stars, and see the universe in all its glory and precision. If he has any spark of life left in his conscience, he may ask himself, "How can such a vast universe exist, in so precise a condition, without a Creator-God?"

You young people have been fed a pack of dirty lies by your professors in secular high school or college. They have told you that there is no proof of the existence of God. I say that they are dead wrong! The very stars in the sky show that God exists!

I. First, I want you to think about William Paley's argument
for the existence of God.

William Paley lived from 1743 to 1805. He entered Cambridge University to study mathematics, and went on to study theology. He later taught at Cambridge. His three major books include The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785), A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794), and Natural Theology; or; Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802).

Dr. Norman L. Geisler, our greatest living Christian apologist, gives this summary of Paley's basic argument for the existence of God:

Paley offered what has become the classical formulation of the "teleological argument." It is based on the watch analogy: If [someone] found a watch in an empty field, [he] would rightly conclude that it had a maker because of its obvious design. Likewise, when [someone] looks at the even more complex design of the world in which we live, [he] cannot but conclude that there is a great Designer behind it (Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D., Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Books, 1999, p. 574).

Dr. Geisler points out that even Darwin "as late as 1831" was deeply impressed by Paley's Evidences. Geisler goes on to say, "Recently Paley's thought has been the subject of a revival through the [scientific] development of the anthropic principle" (ibid., p. 575).

Think about it. Suppose you were the first man to land on the moon. As you walked out of your space craft, you looked down and found a watch lying there. You would have to come to the conclusion that an intelligent being had been there before you came. Now look at the rocks, and animals, and plants around you. Look up at the stars, and the universe, revolving in perfect precision - like a watch. You must conclude that a great and intelligent Being was here before you were. That is William Paley's argument for the existence of God - the Creator!

"The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament [the skies - the universe] sheweth his handywork [the work of His hands]" (Psalm 19:1).

This passage of Scripture goes on to say:

"Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 19:2-3).

Commenting on these verses, Dr. Charles Ryrie says, "David reflects on the glory of God in natural revelation…Day and night the created universe broadcasts its silent but eloquent symphony to the glory of the Creator" ( The Ryrie Study Bible, note on Psalm 19:1-2).

Your atheistic college professor may tell you that the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) proved that William Paley's argument was false, but Dr. Norman Geisler points out that "Kant neither offered a disproof of God nor suggested a complete disregard of [Paley's argument]. Kant concluded that the teleological argument, while not conclusive, does have value…is a highly probable but not absolutely certain argument for [God]" (Geisler, op. cit., pp. 720-721).

Dr. Henry C. Thiessen, late professor at Wheaton College, pointed out that Paley's argument should be seen as one of many arguments for God's existence, including the cosmological argument, the moral argument, and the argument from congruity (cf. Henry C. Thiessen, Ph.D., Introductory Lectures on Systematic Theology, Eerdmans, 1949, p. 57). Dr. Henry M. Morris devotes an entire chapter to fulfilled prophecy as another evidence of God in his book, Science and the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, p. 117-128). And Dr. Thiessen said:

The evidence [for God] is cumulative, a single argument for the existence of God being inadequate, but a number of them together being sufficient to bind the conscience and compel belief (ibid.).

William Paley's argument, from design, in this context, is the greatest indication of the existence of God.

"The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

II. Second, I want you to realize that the laws of the universe are exact -
precision reflects the faithfulness of God.

The scientific laws of God are scrupulously precise. Every atom, every rock, every animal, and every person inside the universe is required to obey these laws to the smallest detail. Only God, who made the laws in the first place, has the freedom to change them through miracles.

The more research that scientists do, the clearer it becomes that God is precise. He knows exactly what He is doing. Even the so-called "theory of relativity," conceived by Albert Einstein, is built on one exact and precise premise: the speed of light in a vacuum is always constant. Today we know that the speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792,458 kilometers per second. The fact that this number is known with such precision reveals that God is careful and exact and a Being of immense intelligence.

Take this example. In February of the year 1504 Christopher Columbus and his men were dying of starvation on an island. The Indians on that island refused to give them any more food. But Columbus had a book with him which listed the motions of the sun and the moon. An eclipse of the moon was listed in the book for the 29th of February, 1504. Columbus warned the Indians that the moon would be blotted out that night. The Indians laughed, but when the eclipse happened, just as Columbus had predicted, the Indians trembled with fear and brought food to Columbus and his men.

Christopher Columbus had performed no miracle. He had only understood astronomy. It was God, the Designer, God the Lawgiver, who had created the heavens and ordained their precise motions. It was Almighty God who had made Columbus' astronomy book possible by His laws that govern the stars!

As Mr. Griffith sang a moment ago:

Praise the Lord! Ye heavens, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him,
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord! for He hath spoken;
Worlds His mighty voice obeyed;
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance He hath made.

("Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him"
   by Edward Osler, 1798-1863).

"The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

The Apostle Paul gave a similar statement to that found in Psalm 19:1. He wrote:

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

Why is it that people don't believe in God - even with all the evidence for a Creator in our wonderful, precise universe? The Bible gives us the answer:

"Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways" (Job 21:14).

Wicked people have rejected God - and His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools"

(Romans 1:21-22).

This old world has become a dark and lonely place for you young people. The older generation, your parents' generation, pushed God out of their lives for the most part. That's why you are often lonely. It's lonely in a world without God. There's no hope in a world without God. But we say to you, Why be lonely? Come home - to church!

And one more thing. At the beginning of this service you saw a video-taped interview I made with the late Dr. W. A. Criswell back in 1981. Dr. Criswell died a week ago. He was a great preacher, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, for 57 years. What Dr. Criswell said in that interview was true. A thinking man can realize that there is a God by looking at His creation. But you can never really know God personally without the Scriptures. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, that He died on the Cross to pay for your sins, that He rose physically from the dead, and that He is alive in Heaven at the right hand of God. And the Bible tells us what to do to be saved. It says:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"

(Acts 16:31).

Why not do that? Why not put your whole faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Why not come back to church here next Sunday? Why be lonely? Come home - to Jesus Christ - and to this church - next Sunday!

Praise the Lord! Ye heavens, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him,
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord! for He hath spoken;
Worlds His mighty voice obeyed;
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance He hath made.

Praise the Lord! for He is glorious,
Never shall His promise fail,
God hath made His saints victorious,
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation!
Hosts on high, His power proclaim;
Heaven, and earth, and all creation,
Laud and magnify His name.

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto Thee;
Young and old, Thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.
All the saints in Heaven adore thee;
We would bow before Thy throne:
As Thine angels serve before Thee,
So on earth Thy will be done.

("Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him"
   by Edward Osler, 1798-1863).

(END OF SERMON)


Scripture Read Before the Sermon: Romans 1:19-20.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:

"Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him" by Edward Osler (1798-1863).

You can read Dr. Hymers' sermons each week on the Internet
at www.rlhymersjr.com. Click on "Sermon Manuscripts."




THE OUTLINE OF

THE WATCHMAKER GOD

by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.

"The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

I.   The argument of William Paley for the existence of God,
Psalm 19:2-3.

II.  The laws of the universe are exact - precision reflects
the faithfulness of God, Romans 1:20;
Job 21:14; Romans 1:21-22; Acts 16:31.