Word For Life Says...



“God Created All”Psalm 104:5-9, 24-30 September 1, 2013Introduction“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And God saw every thing that he made, and, behold, it was very good . . .” Genesis 1:1, 31When was the last time you really stopped to appreciate the beauty of all that God created? Once I was in the car going on a long trip. In the car I had my laptop fully charged and ready to go. I had my smart phone fully charged and ready to go. I had a bag full of books and magazines, all ready to entertain me in case I got bored. Yet, the main thing that held my attention was the beauty of all that God made. I couldn’t take my eyes off of what was outside my window.“In the beginning God created . . .” At the speaking of His word, that which was “without form, and void; and dark . . .” (Gen. 1:2), began to take on new characteristics. That which was uninhabitable began to be a place where life could thrive. That which was void was made full. Darkness gave way to light. Chaos to order. The world, in essence, was shaped by God, made for us. That in itself is a beautiful thought because what it tells me about His character, is that everything that was put in order was put there because He had us in mind first. With man being the last thing He created, all other aspects of creation had to take their rightful place and start performing the life God designed for it so that we could thrive. One day I was thinking about my own neighborhood and what it would look like if there were no trees or grass. If all that was left were man-made structures. Guess what? It would be down-right ugly! There is no building or structure that man can design that can match the beauty of just one of God’s trees or flowers. Have you ever had that longing to get outside and get some fresh air? Or, had the desire to take a walk in the park on a glorious day pulled at you so hard you just had to go? You just had to get in the great outdoors where you can relish in the beauty of what God designed – breaking free from man-made stuff. Nobody can do it like God can. As part of His creation I believe we have a deeply embedded longing to be closer to that original design, to experience it as He made it for us. After a cooped-up winter, let a nice spring day come. We start taking lunches outside instead of in the office. We take jackets off to feel the warmth of the sun on our skin. We breathe in deeper than usual so that we can take in the freshness of the air that God is offering us. You just can’t help it. You feel drawn to experience it like He made it. So, let’s get into this lesson to read how the writer of Psalm appreciated and reverenced God for His power in the Creation.Psalm 104:5 “Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”Notice that this verse begins with “Who” but ends with a period. The “Who” is not asking a question, but rather making a statement of the one responsible for the events that are being talked about. The “who” here is God Himself, for at the beginning of this particular psalm in verse one, the writer is commanding his soul to bless the Lord, Psalm 104:1. As with the introduction, here it is stating that God is sole owner and solely responsible for the earth being “laid.” No other is a part of His divine creation plan. The world’s “foundations” are secured “not to be removed for ever,” because of the source of the builder which is God Himself who is “from everlasting to everlasting,” (Psalm 90:2). Psalm 104:6 “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.”When I think of this verse it reminds me of a mother tucking a child into bed at night. Gently they pull the covers up around the child to tuck them in for the evening’s sleep. Here, God “coveredst” the foundations of what He created with water. This aptly portrays His activity at the beginning of creation when nothing was there, but out of the nothing He called forth something, “the mountains.” Out of the “waters” the “mountains” peaked and poked their summits out.Psalm 104:7-8 “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.”There are specifics in God’s creations. In these specifics every area of creation has to obey the limits that God placed on them. Even Jesus, when He came on the scene, did He not display the same power in controlling the forces of nature? Matthew 8:26 says, “He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” As Creator, God tells all aspects of nature where their assignment is, be it “they go up by the mountains” or “they go down by the valleys.” Wherever it is, it is where God “hast founded for them.”Psalm 104:9 “Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”In her song “My Redeemer Lives,” Nicole C. Mullen asks the question, “Who told the ocean you can only come this far,” (). In Proverbs 8:29 it says, “He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commands.” All of creation is obligated to fall in line with God’s plan of design for it. It cannot go past the “bound” or boundary as we would call it today. It has to follow it’s path that was ordained for it. Psalm 104:24 “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”“In wisdom hast thou made them all.” Going back to Proverbs 8, “wisdom” testifies of itself, speaking in the first person, as being at the beginning when God created everything. “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was,” (vss. 22-23). All that the “earth is full” of was brought forth with “wisdom.” Before the mountains, before the hills, before the fields, before the heavens . . . before anything and everything, there was “wisdom.” And, with “wisdom hast thou made them all.” All the many or “manifold” aspects of creation and all the “riches” of the earth God made “in wisdom.” “The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens,” Proverbs 3:19.Psalm 104:25-26 “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”In 2008, an article on Purple Slinky states this “I cannot imagine that there is still life under the deepest part of the ocean, here is the list of some newest discovered creature down under the ocean.” In that list were some strange things noted such as: Dumbo Octopus, a Flower Hat Jelly and a Jewel Squid, just to name a few. “The Mysterious Deep Sea” is referred to as Earth’s Final Frontier on Science on . There it says, “Basically, we know so little about the deep sea that we don't know what we don't know,” quoting Michael Vecchione. “We don’t know what we don’t know,” is an awe-striking statement because it shows that there is a limit that man can understand on the unlimitless nature of God. Here in our lesson we are told that they are “innumberable.” To me, that implies past finding out. Psalm 104:27-28 “These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”Every creature, human or beast, is dependent upon God for sustainability whether they acknowledge it or not. “These wait all upon thee” gives the picture in my head of baby birds waiting for the mother bird to return to the nest with food at the ready to supply. There is an expectation that comes from waiting on the source of their supply. This too is how man ought to view their relationship with God. Unfortunately, man too often takes the credit for himself of bringing home the bread and the bacon, so to speak. Philippians 4:19 says, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” It is by His “hand” we are sustained and maintained. Psalm 104:29-30 “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest foth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.”All life begins and ends with God. Acts 17:24, 28 says, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” We live because He that created us caused it to be so. We move because He that is “Lord of heaven and earth” commands it. All of our very being is in existence because of God. No accidents. No cosmic collision, but because God ordained life. And, He that ordained life can also recant it at a moment’s notice if He “takest away their breath.” ConclusionAll of creation, man and beast, is here because God made it so. In the book of Genesis we see a day by day detailed account of creation and psalmist here is reiterating to his readers God’s sovereignty over all. Man cannot take credit for any of it. Rather, he should with humbleness of heart appreciate and reverence God for it. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download