How Great is our god!

September 29, 2009

How Great is our god!

Psalm 104:1-12

David Fultz

Central Truth

God's power, authority, provision, and splendor displayed throughout creation should be a catalyst for our praise.

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
(Psalm 104:1)

O LORD My God, You Are Very Great

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
    O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.

Since I was a boy, I've had a strange preoccupation with God's creation. Whether it involved digging in and eating the backyard dirt, climbing trees, or just looking up at the clouds, I've always been amazed at everything God created.

I remember one occasion when the beauty and vastness of creation had a profound impact not only on the moment I was observing it, but my life as a whole. One night in high school, I found myself staring up at the stars during a friend's party. Eventually, I was the only one outside after everyone else headed inside (conveniently forgetting to tell me while I was staring up into the darkness). After standing there for few minutes, I couldn't help but think that I had been missing so much of who God was. Though it was just a small glimpse at the beauty and vastness of creation, I started to cry, knowing that a God who created all of this MUST be worth and desire so much more than just my half-hearted words of belief. That night started a gradual realization that the Christian life is more about running hard after the Lord and bringing Him glory versus just going through the motions in my faith.

In the beginning of Psalm 104, the psalmist exhorts himself to praise God. He uses the story of creation (Genesis 1) as a starting point for praise. From the creation of the heavens and the earth, the waters that gush forth, the land and mountains, and the beasts of the field, God has made evident His authority and control of creation. "For since the creation of the world," the "eternal power and divine nature" of God "have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made." (Romans 1:20)

How can we not be moved by the splendor and the majesty of our sovereign Father?! May the beauty and power in creation captivate our hearts as they did the psalmist. May they be a catalyst for our very souls to praise the greatness and majesty of our glorious King!

1. In what ways am I praising God and thanking Him for His creation and provision?

2. What keeps me from seeing the beauty all around me in creation? What keeps this beauty from leading directly to praising God?

3. How can I, as part of God's creation, reflect God's glory and majesty to others?