Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Majesty of God in Creation (Psalm 104) | Charles Spurgeon

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The Majesty of God in Creation (Psalm 104) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we have a truly remarkable
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subject set before us, a deep dive into one of the most
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magnificent passages of Scripture, guided by one of the
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greatest preachers in history. We are looking at Charles
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Spurgeon's exposition of Psalm One O 4, taken from his
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monumental work The Treasury of David.
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Our mission for you as you listen to this deep dive is to
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walk alongside us through what has been called the Oratorio of
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Creation. We want to uncover the sheer
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magnitude of God's daily Providence, looking at the
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cosmos through strictly reformed lens, where God is the active,
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deliberate sustainer of every single atom in the universe.
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This is not a view of a clockmaker God who wound up the
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universe and, you know, stepped back into the shadows.
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This is a vision of the Almighty King whose hand is actively
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holding the oceans in their boundaries and feeding the
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smallest bird. OK, let's unpack this by
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starting right at the very beginning of the Psalm, verses
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one through 4 where we are introduced to the divine monarch
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and his cosmos. The Psalm opens with the phrase
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Bless the Lord O my school and it ends with the self.
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Same words Spurgeon points out. The true praise must begin
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internally. It is completely idle to try and
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stir up others to praise the Lord if we are ungratefully
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silent within our own hearts. You see, the psalmist is
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actively calling upon his inmost being to awake and bestir
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itself. It is a deliberate action of the
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will and intentional gathering of 1's faculties to focus
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entirely on the Creator. Then, immediately after
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addressing his own soul, the psalmist addresses God directly,
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crying out, Oh Lord my God, thou art very great.
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What is so striking here is the blending of the boldness of
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faith with the awe of holy fear. He claims the infinite Jehovah
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as my God, stepping into a posture of intimate covenant
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relationship. Yet he is utterly prostate in
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amazement at the divine greatness.
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He does not look at the mountains or the stars and say,
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The universe is very graces. Thou art very great.
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To stop at the creation and fail to praise the Creator is pure
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idolatry. The universe is glorious,
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absolutely, but its glory is a reflection of the monarch who
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rules it. Yeah, that distinction is
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crucial for our understanding of Reformed theology, which insists
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that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him
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forever. When we look at creation, we are
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looking at the visible manifestations of an invisible
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God. The natural world is not an end
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unto itself. It is a grand theater designed
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for the display of God's glory. The psalmist describes God as
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being clothed with light, as with a garment stretching out
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the heavens like a curtain. John Calvin offers a brilliant
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insight on this specific imagery of light as a garment.
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Calvin explains that God, in his essence, dwells in inaccessible
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light. If we were to look upon His
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naked majesty, we would be utterly blinded, consumed by His
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infinite holiness. Therefore, God condescends to
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our weakness. He uses the created universe,
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the physical light, the expanse of the heavens as a garment so
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that we can perceive His glory without being destroyed by it.
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The garment conceals the blinding fullness of His
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essence, but it also reveals His character.
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Just as you recognize a human monarch by his royal robes, we
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recognize the Creator by the beautiful fabric of the physical
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world in which He chooses to make himself visible.
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This aligns perfectly with the teaching of the Westminster
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Confession, which declares that the light of nature and the
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works of creation and Providence manifest the goodness, wisdom,
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and might of God so clearly that men are left without excuse.
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We are surrounded by this garment every single day.
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The psalmist continues with architectural imagery stating
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that God lays the beams of His chambers in the waters.
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Think about the spiritual physics of this statement.
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A human builder needs solid oak joists, heavy iron girders, and
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stone foundations to sustain the structure.
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A human builder requires rigid, unyielding materials to
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construct. A palace God takes the
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unsubstantial, fluid waters above the firmament, the
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shifting clouds and atmospheric moisture, and uses them to frame
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his lofty halls. He grants total stability to
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that which has no inherent structure.
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He uses the clouds as his royal chariot and walks upon the wings
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of the wind. This is a magnificent
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elaboration of a king making his royal progress through his
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domain. I love that that imagery of the
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tent and the architecture is so striking because it shifts our
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view of the night sky entirely. When you look up at the stars,
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you aren't just staring into a cold, empty void, you are
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looking at the roof of a pavilion set up for fatherly
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hospitality. The imagery of stretching out
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the heavens like a curtain brings to mind the Oriental
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Princess of antiquity. During the scorching summer
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months, those ancient monarchs would set up vast, gorgeous
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tents made of the finest fabrics to receive guests and hold
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court. The Azure sky studded with
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countless stars is the breathtaking tent of safety
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under which God allows His creatures to dwell.
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It is a canopy of grace. Francis Bacon captured the
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progression of God's work beautifully when he noted that
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the first creation was the light of sense, the last was the light
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of reason, and the Sabbath work is the illumination of the
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Spirit. He recognized a divine sequence.
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God began by illuminating the physical cosmos so that there
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could be life. He culminated his creative work
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by creating humanity with the light of reason, the capacity to
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think, categorize, and understand the world.
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But the highest goal, the Sabbath rest, this whole grand
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design, is the spiritual elimination of the soul, where
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man communes with his Maker. Every element of this cosmos is
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actively directed by the sovereign decree of the Almighty
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to facilitate that final illumination.
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And the retinue of this great King is just as staggering as
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his palace. The text says he makes his
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angels, spirits, and his ministers A flaming fire.
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When you consider the wind, you realize it is invisible, it is
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mysterious, and it possesses incredible force.
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You cannot see the wind itself. You only see its effects as it
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bends the trees or drives the ships across the sea.
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Angels are compared to the winds for those very reasons.
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They are swift in obeying divine commands, moving invisibly
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through the world to execute God's sovereign will.
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And his ministers are like a flaming fire, terrible, potent,
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swift and completely irresistible.
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What's fascinating here is how this connects to Hebrews chapter
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one, verse 7, which quotes this very Psalm.
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The Apostle Paul uses this exact imagery to demonstrate the vast
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difference between the angels, who are created servants, and
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the Son of God who is eternal. The angels are mighty, yes, but
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their might is communicated to them by the Creator.
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They are simply messengers. They weighed upon the unseen
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Spirit in His Royal Courts, ready to be dispatched as a
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gentle breeze of comfort to a suffering St. or as a flaming
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fire of judgment against the wicked.
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They possess no independent authority.
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Now that image of God commanding the angels as swift winds
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naturally brings us down from the heavens to the earth itself.
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As we move into verses 5 through 9, the scene shifts from the
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celestial courts to the taming of the earthly chaos.
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The psalmist writes that God laid the foundations of the
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earth that should not be removed forever.
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We know, physically speaking, that the earth is a globe
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suspended in the vacuum of space, carrying out its orbit
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around the sun. But the poetic truth here
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highlights a staggering physical reality.
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The earth is poised with such delicacy by the great artificer
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that it remains as stable as if it were fixed upon solid granite
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pillars. The speed at which our planet
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moves through space is vast, 10s of thousands of mph, yet it has
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carried on so noiselessly and evenly that we do not even
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perceive the movement. If that rotation were to
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experience a single jerk or friction, it would cause a
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catastrophe beyond human imagination.
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The oceans would wash over the continents in an instant.
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Yet God has laid it so fast by His Word that man can never move
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it. It is held entirely by the word
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of His might. Right.
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And that concept of the earth's absolute stability resting
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solely on God's invisible decree.
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It brings to mind an old anecdote about Archimedes, the
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great mathematician of ancient Syracuse.
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He was studying the principles of mechanical advantage, looking
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at how levers and fulcrums could multiply human strength.
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In a moment of sheer intellectual pride, Archimedes
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famously bragged that if someone gave him a place to stand and a
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long enough lever, he could move the earth.
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It is the absolute peak of human hubris, the belief that human
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engineering could manipulate the cosmos.
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But the reality is that the Lord has laid the earth far too fast
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for man's removing. Man cannot find a place to stand
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outside of God's domain, and man possesses no lever that can
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counteract the sovereign will of the Almighty.
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Only God can make the earthquake.
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He simply looks at it and it trembles.
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Initially, as the text describes, this newly formed
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earth was wrapped in aqueous swaddling bands.
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It was covered by the deep as with a garment.
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There was no dry land visible anywhere.
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The proud waters ruled the whole face of the globe.
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It was a watery chaos. Geologists have noted the state
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of a completely water covered earth as a scientific
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observation based on the fossil record and sedimentary rock
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layers. They point to evidence that the
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oceans once dominated the highest land masses.
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But the Holy Spirit revealed this reality to the psalmist
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long before human science recorded it or understood the
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geological strata. The Scriptures declare that the
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waters stood above the mountains.
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Exactly. Well, spot on.
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The description of how God handles those proud, chaotic
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waters is a phenomenal demonstration of His sovereign
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decree. The text tells us that at God's
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rebuke, the waters fled. At the voice of his Thunder,
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they hasted away. The waters are vividly
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personified here. They're depicted as intelligent
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agents who hear the stern, thundering voice of their master
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and run off with great precipitants, like a terrified
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servant fleeing from a master's wrath.
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The waves hurried to their appointed deeps, allowing the
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mountains to lift their heads in the dry land to appear.
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God simply spoke, and the chaotic deluge obeyed instantly.
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There was no struggle, no cosmic battle between equal forces of
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order and chaos. There was only the voice of the
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Creator and the immediate submission of the creation.
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Then we read that God set a boundary for the sea that it
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cannot pass over, uses a narrow belt of sand to confine the
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mighty ocean. Think of the immense pressure
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and the natural propensity of the waters to return and cover
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the earth. The ocean surges with tremendous
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tidal fury, driven by the gravitational pull of the moon
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and the fierce winds of the atmosphere.
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It crashes against the shoreline as if it intends to swallow the
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continents whole. Yet it knows precisely where to
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stop, drawing a delicate line of moisture on the beach and
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pulling its forces back into the deep.
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It obeys the immutable law impressed upon it by the
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Creator. Why do the waters not return to
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swallow us up? It's strictly because God's Word
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holds them back. This daily active restraint of
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the ocean is a beautiful reflection of God's restraining
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grace against chaos and sin in the spiritual realm.
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Just as the waters would naturally deluge the continents
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if left to their own devices, the human heart would be
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completely flooded by sin, malice and destruction were it
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not for the invisible, gracious boundaries established by God's
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sovereign Providence. He speaks the commandment and
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the spiritual chaos is subdued, allowing human society to
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function. The Westminster Confession
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teaches that God, the great Creator of all things, doth
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uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions
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and things from the greatest even to the least.
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We see that reality vividly when we look at the shoreline.
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The vanquished waters are now completely obedient, going up by
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the mountains in the form of evaporated clouds, and
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descending by the valleys as gentle rain streams and rivers.
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There is willing to descend in quiet brooks, as they were eager
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to ascend in mists, perfectly fulfilling the assignments given
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by their King. Yeah, that complete obedience of
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the elements leads us naturally into verses 10 through 18.
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Here we see God acting as the divine almoner, the great
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provider of ecology. And almoner is an official who
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distributes charity to the poor on behalf of a king.
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And here God herself distributes the riches of the earth to his
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dependent creatures. The psalmist notes that God
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sends the springs into the valleys which run among the
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hills. He waters the wild beasts, the
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wild asses quench their thirst, the birds of heavens sing among
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the branches, and he causes the grass to grow for the cattle.
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We often fall into the trap of thinking that everything in
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creation exists solely for human utility.
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We assume that if a flower blooms in a dense jungle where
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no human eye ever sees it, its beauty is wasted.
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We think that if an animal provides no economic benefit to
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humanity, it has no real purpose.
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But this passage shatters human pride.
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God provides for the wild asses in the desolate, dry deserts far
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from human habitation. There's a fascinating anecdote
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from the explorer Henry Austin Laird, who was travelling
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through the Middle East in the 19th century.
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He was riding near a stream in the arid desert when he saw what
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looked like a large company of dismounted Arabs with their
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horses in the distance. Approaching cautiously,
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expecting a hostile encounter or a robbery, he suddenly realized
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the horses had no riders, no saddles, and no bridles.
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They soon galloped off into the desert with incredible speed.
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They were wild asses. These creatures will not brook
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the bit or bridle of man. They cannot be tamed for human
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labor. Yet they know their Heavenly
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Father's crib perfectly. He guides them to the cooling
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crystal streams hidden in the barren wasteland.
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Creation exists primarily for God's glory, not human
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consumption. The wild ass glorifies God
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simply by drinking the water God provides in the hidden desert
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Oasis, demonstrating the reach of divine Providence.
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Martin Luther had a beautiful insight regarding the valleys
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mentioned in this passage. He pointed out that just as
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water naturally collects in the deepest hollows of the earth,
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running off the high peaks together in the low places, so
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too does divine grace collect in the most humble hearts.
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The lower the valley, the more the water flows into it.
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The more a person is brought low in their own estimation, the
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more they become a receptacle for God's grace.
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Beyond the wild beast, God also provides for man, bringing forth
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food out of the earth, but he goes far beyond bare survival.
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He provides wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make
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his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart.
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These physiological provisions have psychological benefits.
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I agree completely. There is a wonderful observation
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about the lavishness of God's provision.
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Wine is given for joy, to lift the spirits during times of
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celebration or sorrow. Oil is given for beauty and
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refreshment, particularly in the hot, arid climates of the
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ancient Near East where skin would crack and blister without
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it. And bread is given for courage
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and endurance, providing the staple energy required for daily
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labor. The ancient Greek poet Homer
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even called bread the marrow of men, recognizing its vital role
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in sustaining human strength. God furnishes the earth not as a
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bear hungry ruin, but as a lavishly supplied storehouse,
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providing luxuries, beauties and treasures to gladden the hearts
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of His creatures. It is a phenomenal display of
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Providence that extends to every corner of the globe.
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The text then shifts its focus to the nobler species of
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vegetation, the massive trees of the forest.
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Here's where it gets really interesting.
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The Cedars of Lebanon are explicitly described as trees
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which he had planted. These massive, majestic trees
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grow high up on the rugged mountains, completely
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independent of human agriculture or forestry.
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Man does not plant them, man does not water them, and man
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cannot prune them. They stained far above the reach
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of human cultivation. They are sustained entirely by
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the direct care of the Almighty. They are full of SAP, flowing
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with life and verdant all year round, defying the hurricane and
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the drought alike. This is a glorious picture of
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the believer who relies on grace alone, planted by God through
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elections, sustained by the Heavenly Father's care through
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sanctification. The believer can withstand the
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harshest spiritual climates in the most violent storms of life.
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But notice that these towering trees do not exist purely for
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their own majesty. Right.
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The psalmist says that the birds make their nests in them, And As
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for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
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The stroke requires a tall, strong tree with wide horizontal
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boughs to support its enormous, heavy nest, and God has
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engineered the fir tree to provide precisely that
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accommodation. The trees receive their moisture
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from God's clouds, and in return they offer a secure home to the
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birds. Every Lincoln creation draws on
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its fellow, creating a massive chain of dependency that hangs
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entirely on God. The high hills are declared A
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refuge for the wild goats and the rocks of the coneys.
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When we look at the wild goat, the ibex, we see a creature
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capable of reckless agility. It can fling itself down
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perpendicular precipices, landing safely on a tiny
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projection of rock just large enough to hold its hooves.
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Its eyes, its balance, and its musculature are perfectly
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designed for the craggy, dangerous heights where
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predators cannot follow. Then you have the Coney or the
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hyrax. This is a shy, defenseless
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little creature that completely lacks the agility of the goat or
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the strength of a predator. It cannot fight, and it cannot
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run fast. Yet God has provided the deep
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hollows and narrow crevices of the rocks as an impenetrable
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fortress for it. Once the Tony slips into the
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rock, no predator can reach it. Whether agile or weak, God has
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provided a specific, perfectly engineered refuge for his
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creatures. Nothing is empty, void, or waste
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in God's economy. Every creature so fills its
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appointed sphere and gives glory to the Maker by living precisely
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as it was designed to live. Yeah, that perfect provision
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carries over seamlessly into the rhythm of creation, which brings
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us to verses 19 through 23. We see the appointment of time,
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labor, and rest. The psalmist says God appointed
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the moon for seasons, and the sun knoweth his going down.
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We look at the celestial bodies and sometimes think of them as
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mindless products of inanimate physical law.
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We view gravity and momentum as independent forces, but they are
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the explicit appointments of our God, functioning strictly by his
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ongoing decree. The sun does not need a
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mechanical clock to know when it is time to set.
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It never loiters on its way across the sky, or pauses an
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indecision without a time piece to consult.
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It hides itself in the western sky at the accurate second
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appointed by the Creator, bringing the day to a close.
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And when the sun sets, the psalmist says, Thou makest
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darkness, and it is night wherein all the beasts of the
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forest do creep forth. This is the time for the
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nocturnal predators. The Young Lions roar after their
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prey, and the text says they seek their meat from God.
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This is a staggering theological concept when you pause to
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consider it. To whom do the lions roar?
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They aren't roaring at their prey.
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That would only scare the antelope away and leave the
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lions starving. The roar of a wild beast echoing
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through the dark jungle is interpreted by the Holy Spirit
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as a prayer to God for food. God translates the voice of
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brute nature, the half stifled growl of a hungry predator, into
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a petition, and he actively answers it by providing the
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catch. As one commentator noted, if God
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put such a favorable construction upon the
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inarticulate, animalistic language of a wild beast, how
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much more will he favorably interpret the weak, broken
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groanings of his own people when they attempt to pray?
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When you lack the vocabulary to express your sorrow or your
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need, God hears the groaning of your spirit just as clearly as
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he hears the lions roar. But notice the rhythm here.
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The lions roar and seek. They do not just roar and wait
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passively in their dens. They go forth to hunt using the
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physical means God has provided their claws, their stealth,
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their speed to gain the object of their petition.
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This is a beautiful picture of Providence working through
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secondary causes. God provides the meat, but the
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lion must hunt. However, their time for hunting
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is strictly limited by divine decree.
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When the sun arises, the wild beasts gather themselves
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together and lay them down in their dens.
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God uses the simple light of the sun as the ultimate lion tamer.
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The ferocious creatures retreat from the dawn, making the world
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safe for man. And then man goes forth unto his
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work and to his labor until the evening.
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We are made for work. Labor was instituted in the
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Garden of Eden before the fall. It is an ordinance of God.
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Day is appointed for labor and Night is appointed for rest.
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That rhythm of Labor and rest is physically vital for humanity.
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You brought to mind Doctor Weeble's observations on the 24
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hour cycle, which are incredibly insightful.
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He pointed out that both animals and vegetables have biological
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functions tied strictly to this diurnal succession.
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Our circadian rhythms are not arbitrary.
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They are hard wired into our biology by the Creator.
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He highlighted the voyages of Arctic sailors who found
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themselves navigating regions near the poles where the sun did
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not rise or set for months at a time.
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The environment provided no natural cues for sleeping or
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waking. Despite the complete absence of
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the sun to guide them, the ship captains maintain strict
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adherence to a 24 hour cycle, forcing the crews to retire to
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rest and rise at specific hours as if they were back in England.
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By keeping to this God ordained rhythm, they maintained
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remarkable health and morale in an incredibly trying,
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disorienting environment. God's design for our well-being
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is embedded into the very rotation of the earth.
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And ignoring it leads to physical and mental breakdown.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, the spiritual
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implications are magnificent. The physical sunrise chases away
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the wild beasts, sending them back to their dark lairs so that
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man can labor in safety. In the exact same manner, the
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Sun of Righteousness arises to chase away the spiritual
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darkness of the world. When the light of the gospel
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breaks upon a Pagan nation, the roaring demons, the cruel
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superstitions, the human sacrifices, and the vices that
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flourish in the dark are chased out of the public square.
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They are forced to seek their hiding places among the moles
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and the bats. Christ's light makes it possible
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for the Christian to go forth into society to do the work of
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salvation, the labor of love, and the building of civilization
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without being devoured by the beasts of spiritual darkness.
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The rhythm of the day also points to the brevity of our
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time here on earth. We have a brief daytime of life
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to do our labor to glorify God. Knowing that the evening of old
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age approaches rapidly, that evening warns us to prepare for
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our final repose and the faith of a joyful resurrection.
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Every single sunrise is a call to diligent labor for God's
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glory, and every single sunset is a gracious provision of rest
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from our toils. I mean, that is a beautiful way
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to view our daily routines, and it transitions us naturally from
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the land to the massive expanse of the waters.
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As we look at verses 24 through 30, the psalmist has been
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surveying the earth, the mountains, the valleys, and the
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forests, and he is so overwhelmed by the sheer variety
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of creation that he bursts out in pure adoration.
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O Lord, how manifold are thy works in wisdom?
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Has thou made them all? The earth is full of thy riches.
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He recognizes that human language is insufficient to
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catalog the inventory of God's wealth.
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He then turns his eyes away from the land and looks out over the
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great and wide sea. He notes that the ocean teems
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with creeping things innumerable, both small and
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great beasts. We often view the ocean as a
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barren waste, a terrifying expanse of empty water that
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separates the continents. But beneath its churning surface
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it is a teeming palace of life, far more densely populated than
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the land. From the microscopic infusoria
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gathering around a fragment of coral reef to the gigantic
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mammals navigating the deep trenches, the ocean holds
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myriads of living beings, all sustained by the same hand that
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feeds the lion. And right in the middle of this
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vast marine Kingdom is the Leviathan, The psalmist says God
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made this huge, terrifying creature to play therein.
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Think about the perspective shift that requires The vast,
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tempestuous ocean, which strikes sheer terror into the hearts of
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human sailors, which swallows massive steel ships as if they
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were toys, is nothing but a playground for God's massive
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marine monsters. They disport themselves in the
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crushing depths, leaping clear out of the water, reveling in
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the environment God designed for them.
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What is a terrifying abyss to us is simply a Bowling Green for
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God's pets. But the text then provides what
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Spurgeon brilliantly calls the Commissariat of Creation.
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Verse 27 says these wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give
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them their meat in due season. The logistical problem of
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feeding the millions of creatures in the sea, the air,
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and on land every single day is solved effortlessly by the
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infinite worker. They wait, God opens his hand,
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and they are filled with good. There is an incredible interplay
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here between divine sovereignty and creaturely action.
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The text says that thou givest them, they gather.
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God freely gives the provision, but the creatures must actively
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gather it. The fish must leap for the fly.
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The lion must hunt the antelope. The bird must seek the seed on
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the ground. It calls to mind the imagery of
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a flock of chickens eagerly picking up the corn scattered by
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a housewife from her apron. God provides the absolute
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bounty, but the creature must receive it through action.
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That dynamic is a stunning illustration of the mechanics of
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grace and how we apprehend salvation.
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The provision of salvation is entirely a free gift from the
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open hand of the Almighty. Man can do absolutely nothing to
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earn it, purchase it, or manufacture it.
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Christ's atoning work is finished and complete, yet the
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human soul must actively gather what God has given by exercising
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faith. We must believe, we must repent,
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and we must lay hold of the promises.
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God does not believe for us. He grants us the gift of faith
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so that we might believe. But the text does not stop at
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the joyful provision of food. It addresses the stark realities
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of life and death, demonstrating that both are entirely dependent
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on God's active moment by moment will.
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The psalmist writes, Thou hidest thy face.
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They are troubled. They'll take us to weigh their
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breath. They die and return to their
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dust. The Hebrew word used for
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troubled indicates a state of absolute terror, panic, and
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consternation. When the Lord withdraws his
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supporting hand, the creature is instantly overwhelmed by its own
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frailty. A creature's breath seems like
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such a tiny, impalpable thing, just a puff of air.
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But once God decides to withdraw it, the intricate physical body
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instantly begins to decay, crumbling back to the earth from
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which it was formed. We are immortal until God bids
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us die. Not even a Sparrow falls to the
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ground without our Father's specific decree.
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And then the very next verse says, Thou send us forth thy
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Spirit. They are created, and thou renew
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us, the face of the earth. This cycle of life and death
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demonstrates that Providence is in reality creation continued.
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God is constantly sending forth His might to renew the earth,
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whether it is the revival of spring after a dead, frozen
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winter, or the birth of a new generation of animals to replace
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those that have returned to dust.
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Theologically, this is the perfect illustration of total
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depravity and irresistible grace.
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Total depravity does not mean that every human being is as
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evil as they could possibly be. It means that the spiritual
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deadness is total, affecting every single faculty of the
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soul, the mind, the will, and the affections.
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Just as physical life ceases the very fraction of a second, God
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withdraws his breath, leaving nothing but dust.
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Spiritual life is an absolute impossibility without the
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active, regenerating breath of the Holy Spirit.
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The natural man is dead in trespasses and sins, crumbled
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into spiritual dust. Dust cannot organize itself into
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a living, breathing body. The spiritually dead man cannot
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revive himself or generate his own faith.
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It requires the Spirit of God to be sent forth to create a new
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heart, to renew the face of the soul, to breathe life into dry
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bones. Salvation belongs entirely to
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the Lord, from the initial breath of physical life in the
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womb to the vitalizing breath of eternal life in the new birth.
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I think that deep theological reality brings us beautifully to
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our final segment of the Psalm, verses 31 through 35, which
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focuses on the ultimate Sabbath rest and the eradication of sin
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from this beautiful cosmos. The psalmist, having surveyed
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the entirety of creation and Providence, declares that the
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glory of the Lord shall endure forever, and the Lord shall
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rejoice in His works. God rejoiced at the first
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creation when he rested on the 7th day, looked at everything he
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had made, and declared that it was very good.
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He rejoices now on the staggering beauty that survives
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the fall, sustaining it by His word, and he will rejoice fully
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when the earth is finally renovated by fire and cleansed
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from the Philly trail of the serpent.
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But this rejoicing is paired with a description of terrifying
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majesty. He looketh on the earth, and it
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trembleth. He toucheth the hills, and they
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smoke. This is a clear, undeniable
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reference to God descending on Mount Sinai and fire and smoke
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to deliver the law. A mere glance from the Creator
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causes the solid earth to rock with fear.
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A touch from his hand sets the ancient mountains ablaze.
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The secular philosopher or the natural scientist might look for
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the natural causes of volcanoes and earthquakes, shifting
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tectonic plates, magma chambers, and fault lines.
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But the Scripture points us to the primary cause.
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God works in these tremendous operations.
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The tectonic plates shift because he commands them to
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shift. In response to this terrifying,
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glorious God, the psalmist resolves to sing unto the Lord.
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As long as he lives, he says, my meditation of him shall be
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sweet. We never sing so well or so
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earnestly as when we know we have a reconciled relationship
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with the God we are praising. That brings to mind Henry
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Martin, the brilliant missionary and translator who died utterly
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alone among the Muhammadans in Persia.
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He wrote in his journal about this very concept.
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In his final days, dying of consumption, far from home and
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surrounded by hostility. He wrote about sitting alone in
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an orchard. He thought with sweet comfort
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and peace of his God, finding in total solitude his company, his
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friend and his comforter. Yeah, that is the sweet
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meditation the psalmist describes, a joy that transcends
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physical circumstances. Right.
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But then, right after this beautiful, peaceful reflection,
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we hit what feels to modern ears like a shocking, jarring note.
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Verse 35 says let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and
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let the wicked be no more. After 34 verses praising the
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beauty of nature, the provision of the animals and the majesty
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of the heavens, why does the psalmist suddenly pray for
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sinners to be wiped out? This raises an important
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question regarding how we view the created order and our place
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within it. From the perspective of the
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Westminster framework, man is the only creature that has
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willfully rebelling against the creator.
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Think back through everything we've discussed.
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The birds sing his praises among the branches.
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The mighty ocean stays within its narrow belt of sand.
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The lions seek their meat directly from his hand.
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The sun and moon keep their perfect time without a clock.
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Every single part of creation, from the Leviathan to the
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microscopic confusoria, obeys the mandate of the king.
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Man who was made in the image of God, who is designed to be the
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crowning jewel of creation. The priest of the natural world
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is the only discordant note in this perfectly tuned Symphony.
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As the poet said, every prospect pleases, and only man is vile.
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We read the imprecatory prayer and feel uncomfortable because
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we have a high view of human autonomy and a low view of God's
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holiness. But the psalmist's prayer here
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is not born out of pity, personal vindictiveness, or
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human anger. It is a pure, holy indignation.
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He looks at this exquisite cosmos, sustained daily by a
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loving, providing Father, and he is horrified that being so base
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would rebel against their benefactor.
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He recognizes that wicked men infect the world with their
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pollutions, causing the Creator to be displeased with His own
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workmanship. Therefore, the prayer for the
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wicked to be consumed is a righteous, holy desire for a
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restored cosmos, a world where sin no longer Mars the Creator's
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magnificent work. It is a longing for the final
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Sabbath rest, the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells
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righteousness. We desire the day when there
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will not remain a single traitor or rebel in God's Kingdom to
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grieve his Spirit. The Christian reading this can
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pray that grace will consume the Sinner by turning him into a St.
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thereby riding the earth of the rebel through the regenerating
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blood of Christ. But if the rebel refuses grace,
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the Christian must align with God's justice and desiring A
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purified earth. And it is right after this
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vision of a purified earth that the psalmist cries out.
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Blessed thou the Lord, O my soul, praise thee the Lord.
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The original Hebrew word there for praise ye the Lord, is
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Hallelujah. What is absolutely remarkable is
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that this is the very first time the word Hallelujah appears in
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the entire book of Psalms. It is prompted by looking back
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at the staggering goodness of creation and looking forward to
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the utter destruction of evil in the final Sabbath rest.
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The very first time Hallelujah is sung in the Psalter, it is
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sung over the prospect of a world wiped completely clean of
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sin. So what does this all mean for
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you as you go about your daily life?
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It means that you are living in a universe that is intimately
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managed by a loving, omnipotent God.
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From the microscopic creatures in the ocean drop to the massive
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orbit of the earth, from the Cedars on the high hills of
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Lebanon to the bread on your dinner table, God's absolute
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sovereignty and tender Providence are on full display
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every single second of the day. The cosmos is a Symphony of
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praise, and you are called to align your life with that music.
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You are called to actively gather the grace He freely
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scatters from His open hand, to labor diligently in the daylight
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He provides, and to rest securely in the safety of His
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immutable decrees. Yeah, and we want to leave you
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with a final thought to Mull over as you observe the works of
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the Lord around you today. We noted earlier that when the
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young lion roars in the dark forest, God interprets that raw,
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animalistic sound as a prayer for its daily meal, and he moves
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the vast machinery of nature to answer it.
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If the infinite Creator of the cosmos pays such close, tender
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attention to the roar of a wild beast, how much more does he
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hear the unspoken groaning desires of your own heart when
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you lack the words to speak? If He feeds the lions who cannot
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acknowledge him, will he not much more provide for the soul
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he purchased with the precious blood of his own son?
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the treasury
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of David. May your meditation of him be
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sweet, and may you see his active, loving hand in every
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blade of grass and every shining *.