“He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they took to flight. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that You appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.” Psalm 104:5-9
Devotional Thought For The Day
We are again privileged to meditate upon the awesome majesty and power of the Almighty, the only True and Living God, and the reality that His strength orders things for the benefit and advantage of all living things, especially human beings. It is somewhat interesting that the psalmist knew that the mountains were once covered with water and that they had “risen” in elevation as the valleys sank. These were great geological discoveries of the past century or so, and have been considered inconsistent with the accounts of Holy Scripture and the premise of a relatively “young” earth. The assumption of uniformity in nature and the insistence upon explaining everything within a “natural causal nexus,” without any reference or resort to God’s power in explaining how things got to be as they are, nor even giving thought to God, has led to many errors and much ignorance. Alas, the psalmist, who lived 3,000 years ago, knew more about the history of the earth than many highly educated and modern people today.
It was God Who separated the oceans from the dry land, and God who set boundaries that limit the available water from once again covering up all of the land. This He did for the benefit of all land based life – the plants, the animals, and of course for humans. Christians who still take the biblical accounts seriously will surely remember the accounts of the universal flood recorded in Genesis 6-8. We are also especially appreciative of God’s promise, connected to the rainbow phenomenon, that we need not fear another total inundation of the entire planet. Here the psalmist asserts the same, God’s power over all aspects of the cosmos, including all of the specific but immense dynamics on earth that protect and preserve and enhance life. This too is a reflection of His love and care for His creation, and especially His love for mankind.
Many of the natural disasters, and cost of human life, come as the result of people living and building in dangerous and precarious places [coastlines, canyons, flood plains, near volcanoes, in places known to suffer hurricanes, landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, and tornadoes]. There are few if any places that are immune from any chance of natural disaster, so the fact that they are relatively rare [the vast majority of people live a lifetime without any direct experience of natural disaster] is also evidence of God’s love. The relatively few disasters that do occur are tragic, and they are general reminders of the effect that human sin has had upon the whole of creation [Gen. 3:17-19; Rom. 8:19-23], but the vast preponderance of God’s sovereignty over the conditions on earth demonstrates His continuing love, care, compassion, and blessing upon life, especially human life.
His greatest revelation of His love for us is in the gift of His Son, and His blood atonement for the sins of the world, His cleansing away of all our sin and guilt. His greatest concern for the safety and well-being of humanity is His free gift of salvation and eternal life, and the inner renewal of His powerful love in the hearts and minds of believers. All things work to bring people to repentance, honest confession of our sin, and into the joy of His gracious mercy and love. It is remarkable, a thought too deep to fully fathom, that God Who is immense in power should take such thought and concern, and have such love and care for us – we who are less than tiny specks in the universe. This is the reality, for God is love. And if we know this, we also become aware of just how vast His provident love for us truly is, and we will exult and rejoice with the psalmist in praising God, the only True and Living God, the God of our salvation!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to grasp the wonders and the immensity of Your love for us, so that we truly know You and the Father Whom You reveal to us. Keep us in humble repentance, and in humble faith and trust in Your gracious love and mercy. Help us to properly appreciate what You have enabled mankind to learn and know, but to keep that knowledge consistent and compatible with what You have revealed to us in Your Word. Then our blessedness and joy will be optimal, as You wish for us. Amen.