LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
27 All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
Praise the LORD.[b]
Key Verse:
24 How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Key Observation:
A psalm of creation, praising the Creator.
Memory Verse:
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Devotion:
McGee: “This is a psalm of nature, or as The New Scofeld Reference Bible puts it, “Praise to the God of creation.”” While contemplating this psalm, I found myself wondering how much of the Bible would a scholar do away with, if he did away with anything that says God created the earth. We live in an age under the blinders of evolution, a doctrine started by a famous atheist who studied nature and found no God in it. Each age has its areas of blindness; not so long ago people were being sacrificed to appease their gods. Many people believed in Zeus and Poseidon, and lived their lives in fear of inadvertently offending a god. Some believed the sun revolved around the earth—perhaps a more natural belief since it was based on observation. Our blindness in our age is not limited to evolution, but evolution is certainly a starting point for much of our blindness.
This week a prominent aspirant to the presidency was soundly ridiculed in the press for talking about creationism and evolution being taught together in his state. The state assumes that evolution is a science, and therefore must logically be believed. However, the creed of evolution has basically stayed the same for the last 160 years. Dating systems must show an old earth; hence all systems which do not show an old earth are dispensed with. Evolution cannot be demonstrated in the short term; variations, or mutations, do not produce changed species. Therefore we are told to believe that in the “longer term” evolution does take place. I would hold that, if it cannot be demonstrated and replicated in the lab, it has no place in legitimate science. It certainly cannot be a hard science, such as we find in mathematics or chemistry. Instead it is much softer, based on the presuppositions of atheism of its founder, and which it cannot divorce itself from even today.
Genesis would be the first book to go; Exodus, confirming the one week of creation, would be next to follow. Psalms would be cast out because it affirms the Creator/God. In the New Testament all such eradications of the Creator would abolish most, if not all, of the books. In such an atmosphere as this, Psalm 104 appears. “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Choose whom you will believe, but choose wisely and swiftly, for the days of Grace are already coming to a close. As for me and my house, we have chosen to believe God, and it is reckoned unto us as salvation.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
1. Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee:
Israel's Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the saints Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
2. Born, Thy people to deliver;
Born a child, and yet a King!
Born to reign in us for ever,
Now Thy precious kingdom bring:
By Thine own eternal Spirit,
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-suficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
Charles Wesley
No comments:
Post a Comment