A Prayer Celebrating God’s Creation
Originally published at: https://shereadstruth.com/a-prayer-celebrating-gods-creation/
OPEN YOUR BIBLE
Psalm 33:1-9, Psalm 147:1-9, Exodus 15:19-21, Acts 16:16-34, Colossians 3:16
I think children often imagine themselves as the center of all things, even the weather. And I think there’s something commendable about their curiosity, how they can attune their hearts and minds to what surrounds them. Psalm 104 gives me the impression that this is a God-inspired curiosity. Here, the psalmist wills his own soul to consider the beauty and majesty of God, and in doing so, his soul is moved to worship our Creator and admire His creation.
How countless are your works, Lord!In wisdom you have made them all;the earth is full of your creatures (v.24).
In truth, it is the Creator who is at the center of creation. God’s glory is revealed in what He has made: in the intricate and majestic beauty of His creation surrounding us. His artistic display is also wrapped up in His very essence, His radiant splendor, and His steadfast character. He wears His creation like a garment and commands it masterfully, setting up the edges between water and land, day and night. His boundaries are loving and lavish. Every green leaf and delicate creek seems full to the brim, right up to the edge of wherever He has ordered it to stop.
God Himself takes pleasure in His own creation because it is an expression of His glory, and as His image-bearers, we too, ought to delight in what He has created (vv.31,33). And just as He is everlasting, His works will never cease to praise Him. “He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken” (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 104:5).
He wraps Himself in the beauty of creation because He is the holy, nourishing, life-giving presence inside the beautiful cup of creation. His Son Jesus was poured out for us that we may be filled with the finest provision of all—our salvation (Isaiah 53; 1 Corinthians 11). When we take communion, we remember with all our senses that He is our nourishment, that He alone gives abundant life. He alone sustains us, forgives us, and makes us new.
In this mystery, we are planted on this earth, given an address, and we also find ourselves wrapped in the beauty of His creation—from the moment we walk out our front door in the morning to feel the fresh air on our faces and hear the birds singing their morning song. Even this is His provision for us, just as we are nourished daily by His Holy Spirit, feed on His Word, and walk in His presence.
Our God makes Himself known to us in the song of creation and has demonstrated His splendor in every wild beast, in the sound the thunder, in the messages of the wind, and in the blue sky canopy above us. In all of this and more, from start to finish, my heart sings out in celebration with the psalmist to say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!” (v.35).