Weekly Devotional 16th of August, 2024
by Bruce Billington
Weekly Devotional 16th of August, 2024
We are continuing to explore the knowledge of God as expressed in the Psalms. This week we will continue with Psalm 104 by an unknown author.
Psalm 104:5-9 – “5 He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried a way. 8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.”
God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me if you have understanding.” He went on to say, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:5-7.
I love what Spurgeon says here so I have included a rather lengthy passage from him.
The earth is so placed in space that it remains as stable as if it were a fixture. The several motions of our planet are carried on so noiselessly and evenly that, as far as we are concerned, all things are as permanent and peaceful as if the old notion of its resting upon pillars were literally true. With what delicacy has the great Artificer poised our globe! What power must there be in that hand which has caused so vast a body to know its orbit, and to move so smoothly in it! What engineer can save every part of his machinery from an occasional jar, jerk, or friction? yet to our great world in its complicated motions, no such thing has ever occurred. “O Lord, my God, thou art very great.”
Wow. What a statement! Such a marvellous, complex universe requires a Creator who is greater than the creation itself. Hence, the psalmist declared that the Lord is very great – exceedingly great, greater than anyone or anything else that exists. Nothing in the world is stable except to the degree that it is sustained by the hand of God.
The comment we made when looking at the beginning of this Psalm is worth making again – like the psalmist, we should take time to observe the beauty and wonder all around us. Doing so will fill us with a sense of awe for God’s glory and power, stirring us to fall before Him in worship.
In a world full of worry and despair, we can face a future full of confidence because God has testified that He has given the earth for habitation to His people. We can live our lives here with undisturbed minds because we have the assurance that the past, present and future are established upon His everlasting pillars.
As Jesus warned us, in Matthew 24, we will hear of wars and rumours of wars and famines and earthquakes, but despite all of this, the body of the earth will remain. No actions of humanity such as nuclear powers and the like can destroy the earth because has never given humanity that power. Although it may not seem like it sometimes the world is in His hands alone, and no power can refute that.
The shorelines of the seas, which scientists warn us are greatly advancing through global warming and ice melting, have been set long ago by God and the water cannot transgress His command (Proverbs 8:29).
As a result of all of this, we should not join the world in its anxiety and fear – on the contrary, as the sons and daughters of the Living God, we carry a joy in all of creation, knowing God sets its boundaries and its bounty and the future gives us such a different vision than the so-called, ultimate destruction of this planet. We are the people of hope – knowing how all of this ends, as John describes in the last few chapters of the book of Revelation. Here is an excerpt.
Revelation 21:1 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
Revelation 21:2 – “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:3 – “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”
May God bless you.
Bruce Billington.