Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they tell the story; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. These are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Praying to God based on the glory displayed in His Creation. This Psalm is a poetic look at the incredible complexity of our universe. It also identifies the author of our universe: YAHWEH! The universe testifies to HIS greatness and power; it reveals who HE is!
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
I have heard people argue you can be a Christian and not believe in what the Bible says about the creation of the world… I don’t think you can be a ‘Biblical Christian’ if you don’t believe that the Bible is true!
Memorial Day: We honor the ultimate sacrifice of those who served in this country’s armed forces. What we are going to do today is memorialize the universe God has created and sustains. We are going to take HIS word about it and we are going to see what HE says about it and we are going to honor HIM based on what HE made.
DO you want to learn how to pray? The basis of prayer is the belief, the absolute conviction that Yahweh / Jesus Christ is who He says He is. He says He created everything knowable.
Why should we pray about Creation? Does it matter to The One True God what we believe about creation? The essential element of True Prayer is the willful and specific agreement with the will of Yahweh / Christ as revealed through Scripture and The Holy Spirit.
Psalm 104
1 Bless Yahweh, my soul! Yahweh, My Elohim, You are very great; You are clothed with glory and majesty, 2 wrapped in light as with a robe. You spread out the heavens like a curtain, 3 You laid the beams of Your palace on the water. You make the clouds Your chariot, You ride on the wings of the wind. 4 You make winds Your messengers, fiery flames Your servants.
- We are to recognize our soul’s need for the blessing of it’s creator
- We are to recognize His surpassing greatness, His indescribable splendor…
- We acknowledge His complete control of all of creation
- We affirm that all creation serves His will (our understanding is not important)
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, never to be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they rushed away, 8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys, down to the place You had fixed for them. 9 You determined a boundary they could not cross; they were never to cover the earth again.
- We believe Yahweh, The Self-Existent God of The Bible, created this planet
- We believe He divided the land from the water by His Word
- Poetic rendering of Genesis 1 and Genesis 7, post flood at the same time
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11 supplying water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests; among the branches they sing. 13 You water the mountains from your palace; the earth is satisfied with how You provide!
- Not only intelligent design, but inspired design…the ultimate in creativity!
- Talk about sustainability!
- The interconnectedness of ecosystem into ecosystem
- Mind boggling complexity… yet not one single thing is unnecessary
- Each aspect of creation is perfectly cared for…by the Provider of all things
14 You grow grass for the cattle; and for people You grow the plants they need to bring forth bread from the earth,15 wine that gladdens the human heart, oil to make faces glow, and food to sustain their strength.
- Things naturally complement each other
- Everything part has a purpose; infinite wisdom has planned it all
- Ultimately all of creation is under the dominion of humans
- Dominion is stewardship and proper use…but sin can prevail in a fallen world
16 Yahweh’s trees are satisfied — the cedars of the Lebanon, which He has planted. 17 In them sparrows build their nests, while storks live in the fir trees.18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains, while the badgers find refuge in the rocks.
- Creation is content…every second everything does what it was made to do
- Except Humans… we are made in God’s image (the only thing)
- No other thing in all creation rebels against the creator,
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. 20 You bring darkness, and it is night, the time when all forest animals prowl. 21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, they slink away and lie down to rest in their dens; 23 while people go out to their work, laboring on till evening.
- God says He controls interstellar bodies, their orbits and such
- God says He controls the habits of creatures
24 What variety there is in your works, O Yahweh! How many of them there are! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of Your creations. 25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small. 26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro; Leviathan which you formed, frolics there.
- The categories of life are unfathomable and then there is complexity within that
- The forethought to design such detail of interconnectedness is WISDOM
- If something exists, Yahweh made it…That is what HE says
27 All of them look to You to give them their food when they need it. 28 When You give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.
- Everything in all creation is dependent on Yahweh (Made & Sustained)
- All creation is satisfied with how Yahweh treats it / them… except some humans
29 If You hide Your face, they vanish; if You take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. 30 If you send out Your Spirit, they are created, so You renew the face of the earth.
- With out His care…there is nothing (Hell)
- Everything in our world enjoys some aspect of God’s presence
- If Yahweh does not provide HIS presence things do not exist
- There is no reality without HIM…He defines reality
31 May the glory of Yahweh last forever! May Yahweh rejoice in his works! 32 When He looks at the earth, it trembles; when He touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.
- Yahweh is to be given all the glory, all the time BECASUE of creation…
- HE perfectly rejoices in what HE creates (We get to rejoice in that with Him!)
- Absolute Sovereignty is what HE says He has… over everything
33 I will sing to Yahweh as long as I live, sing praise to My Elohim all my life. 34 May my meditations be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in Yahweh. 35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more! Bless Yahweh, my soul!
- Singing and praising The I AM, making Him MY God is for all eternity
- Making Him ‘My God’ means I want to think about EVERYTHING as HE does!
- It means I rejoice in Who HE Is! It means I agree with EVERYTHING He says!
- God has declared what verse 35 says about ‘The Wicked’ & ‘Sinners’
- I believe what He says, what He says He is going to do, and I rejoice in all of it!
Questions:
Do you fully believe what Scripture says about the beginnings of our world?
Do you fully believe what Scripture says about the flood?
Do You fully believe our world is as old as God says it is?
Do you fully believe God is in control of our climate / environment?
Do you fully believe that as Jesus Christ’s church we’re to be stewards of God’s creation?
If you believe what Yahweh / Jesus Christ has said about creation and His control of the physical universe we know… then this can be your prayer guideline. Otherwise I suggest you ask God to reveal Himself to you
If we use this psalm correctly, using the truth in it to pattern out thoughts we would pray a prayer like this:
My Lord: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; My soul was made to bless You in Your Self-Existence, in Your being MY God. Your greatness is without limit, Your control of the universe is complete, all reality is shaped by YOU! The only way to begin to describe you is through the majesty of Your creation. Your universe is an amazing monument to Your greatness
You have designed all of creation to be interdependent and to operate within creative and wise ways that YOU establish. It reveals who and what You are. From atoms to planets, You have not only created everything, you continuously sustain everything, every microsecond for all eternity. You provide and creation is content, all things ultimately honor YOU!
You have willed each and every aspect of the universe into being and you sustain each thing in ways that satisfy what you have created. All creation results from YOUR Wisdom. Only YOU spoke all things into existence, You made them what they are and placed them where they are.
Yahweh, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit; Each and every organism looks to You to provide life, only You can breathe the breath of life into things. Only You measure out death by withdrawal of Your Spirit.
Because of the Universe You created, I worship The I AM and live for You as MY God. I desire to believe in and follow Your will, your Word and Your ways. I willfully choose to think only in ways that please You Lord. I fully rejoice in everything about You Yahweh. I believe You will do everything You say You will do, and my soul will be blessed by it!