“O LORD, how many are your works!”
[Psalm 104]
We should focus not on what we have done for God, but on what God has done for us. In other words, we should live meditating on the works that God performs on our behalf. That is why the psalmist says in Psalm 77:12,
“I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.”
We must meditate deeply on the works the Lord has done, not only those done for you and me but also those He has done in this world and continues to do.
Among the many works our God has done, He created the heavens and the earth and also sustains them (Psalm 104). Our great, mighty, and glorious God (v.1) is the Creator God. He made the heavens (v.2) and founded the earth on its foundations so that it would never be moved (v.5). The Creator God made the heavens, the earth, and all creation with wisdom (v.24). Therefore, through creation we see the wisdom of God.
This Creator God governs and sustains all creation. In Question 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism, the question is asked: “What is the providence of God?” The answer is: “Providence is God’s almighty and ever-present power by which, as if with His own hand, He still upholds, supports, and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures.”
In Article 13 of the Belgic Confession, it states:
“We believe that this good God, after He had created all things, did not abandon or forsake them nor give them up to chance, but governs and directs them by His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without His appointment.” (Internet)
That is, the God who created the heavens and the earth governs and sustains all things through His providence. God makes streams flow through the valleys so that the wild animals and birds can drink (vv.10-11), and He provides shelter for the birds near these waters (v.12). As a result, “the earth is full of the fruit of your works” (v.13).
God causes grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use (v.14). Also, our God gives wine to gladden the heart, oil to make the face shine, and food to strengthen the soul (v.15).
God sends rain, so we obtain the vegetables, grain, fruit, and oil that we need. People who see these foods cannot deny, with a clear conscience, that they are the handiwork of the Creator (Park Yoon Sun).
God governs the moon and the sun, as well as the night and day (vv.19-20), and He rules over all the beasts of the forest (vv.21-22). He created the sea and all the creatures in it, great and small, with His wisdom (vv.24-25).
The God who created, governs, and sustains all things also preserves and cares for His creatures. He provides all they need. This is our God. He opens His hand and satisfies all living things with good (v.28).
Ultimately, God’s glory endures forever, and He rejoices in His works (v.31).
As we look at the many works that the Creator God has done, what should we do? The psalmist, seeing the many works of God, made this resolution:
“I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will praise my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the Lord...
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 104:33-35).
The psalmist decided to sing and praise God throughout his life. He committed to praise God with joy and to worship Him all his days. Knowing the greatness, wonder, and mighty power of God’s actions, it is impossible not to praise God all one’s life.
We sing Hymn 40, verses 1 and 2:
(1) “All the worlds created by the Lord God,
when I imagine them in my heart,
the stars of heaven, the resounding thunder,
the Lord’s power fills the universe.”
(2) “In the forest or the rugged mountain valley,
the chirping birds and the quietly flowing streams,
all sing the work of the Lord.”
(Chorus) “My soul praises the Lord’s majesty and greatness,
my soul praises the Lord’s majesty and greatness.”
As the psalmist pictured all the worlds created by God in his heart, he decided to praise the Lord’s majesty and greatness throughout his life. He also prayed that sinners and evildoers would be wiped from the earth and never exist again (v. 35). He desired for sinners to vanish from this world and prayed that the curse on this world would be reversed (MacArthur).
In other words, the psalmist longed for the “new heaven and new earth” prophesied in Revelation 21:1.
We sing Hymn 40, verse 4:
“When my Lord Jesus returns to the world,
He will lead me to that heaven.
Humbly I will bow in worship,
and praise the Lord forever.”
He wanted to praise the Lord forever in that new heaven and new earth.
Like the psalmist, we too should picture all the worlds created by the Lord God in our hearts, and while longing for the passing of the old and the coming of the new heaven and new earth, we must praise the Lord’s majesty and greatness forever.
Let us forever praise the God who created, governs, and rules over all creation; the God who wisely upholds all things by His providence; the great, mighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful Creator God.
Praising the Lord’s majesty and greatness,
Pastor James Kim
(Longing for the “new heaven and new earth”)