“Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of His chambers on the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He rides on the wings of the wind; He makes His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire.” Psalm 104:1-4
Devotional Thought For The Day
One has to have some inkling as to the unimaginable immensity of God, the only True and Living God, to reflect upon the things the psalmist writes about in this psalm. Likewise, the psalmist as a poet utilizes imagery that is good for us to reflect upon but difficult to fully fathom. We will be contemplating these things in the next few weeks. Ultimately, however, the psalmist is fixated upon God’s immense love for us and for all of creation, and His intimate care and connectedness to all creatures here on earth.
All too often we hear people making comments about God – and about the Word He has given us, the Holy Scripture – which reveal an amazing and impious underestimation of God. Much study and learning, the acquisition of state of the art “knowledge,” often confuses our great scholars with a puffed up arrogance and delusion as to their capabilities and limitations [and the same can be said of some “theologians” and “religious thinkers” – 1 Cor. 8:1]. We hear this pitifully pompous attitude in classrooms, on television programs that deal with nature, with the fossil record, and with speculations about the origin of things in nature and the changes that have taken place on earth in the past. All of this is speculation in that no human being[s] has been present to observe the whole process. Much of the speculation is baffling, which must give God amusement. But none of it is baffling if produced and managed by a Being Who “covers” Himself with “light as with a garment.” Pondering the physics of this – and allowing for at least the possibility that such a Being exists – would be a very humbling thing. It would also help us to understand and accept our place in relationship to such a magnificent, majestic, and splendid Being.
Now, the highly educated but confused thinkers of our day might immediately reject the thought of the heavens stretched out like a tent, or God laying “the beams of His chambers on the waters.” Again, all of this is absurd to those limited by the current understanding of physics and without knowledge of the almighty and infinite power of the Creator of all things. And we too may be tempted to view these statements as “mere poetry,” not descriptive of reality. Yes, these are poetic utterances utilizing what is seen to help us understand what is unseen, however, they are also assertions of fact in regard to God and His majesty, and we do well to ponder them for the sake of obtaining and keeping a sane perspective on God.
These descriptions are of Christ – Who is God [Jn. 1:1-5] and Who is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature,” and Who “upholds the universe by the word of His power.” [Heb. 1:3] He is the One Who in love took on human being and made purification for our sins as the blood atonement for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. [Heb. 1:3; 1 Jn. 2:2] He is human – so that we can draw near to Him and “see” the glory of God; but we must also keep in mind that He is also “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made.” [Nicene Creed] Dim-witted and myopically arrogant people cannot even ponder these glorious realities of God’s great love for us – and yet they would teach us? Lord, have mercy! But while keeping in mind all of the power and majesty of God, we dare never forget that “God is love.” [1 Jn. 4:8,16] These are the happy meditations that the psalmist provides for us and invites us to participate in!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, You have imbued us with great intellectual powers and prowess, yet we are nothing in comparison to You. The temptation to trust in ourselves, to ignore, reject, or even despise You is a terribly dark, wicked, and ignorant aspect of our fallen nature. Forgive us our doubts and our impious thoughts about You. Help us to keep in mind Your majesty and also Your complete and intimate love for us. Help us to be properly humble and grateful for everything You are and do for us. Amen.