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Apologetics
Psalms

Lord Of All Creation
Psalm 104

2. 

Lord Of All Creation

I've been privileged my whole adult life to work in science across various disciplines like engineering. One of the things that has always amazed me is how you can look out into the world—creation and nature—and not see that there is an intelligent designer behind it. After decades of observation, I conclude that those who don't believe in a Creator choose not to.

One of the greatest Psalms, the 104th Psalm, is about God being the Lord of all creation. Psalm 104 is thrilling; it essentially follows creation week, highlighting God's creation and showing His power and majesty. After reading, studying, and examining this Psalm, you really feel a sense of wonder and praise for God as our Creator.

 I divided it into three sections. The first section, in verses 1 through 13, I call "God Creates the Heavens and the Earth." We begin with day one. Notice verses one and two of Psalm 104: "Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with honor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a curtain."

First, the psalmist in Psalm 104 worships Jehovah as his God, which is an excellent point. It might seem kind of minor, but notice he says, "O Lord my God." It's not just an impersonal deity; the psalmist emphasizes it's his God—my God, my Lord, my creator. I think that's how we need to think about God: as my God, my creator, my Lord.

The majesty and honor of Jehovah are clearly seen, much like a person's clothing. Notice how he uses the phrase, "you are clothed with honor and majesty." The universe is, in a sense, God's garment. That’s how we should perceive it. When we look at the universe, we see God's power, majesty, and honor. The more we study the universe and everything in it, the more we see God's power and majesty.

He says, "You cover yourself with light." We know the Bible talks about God being light, and Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 6:16 that God dwells in unapproachable light. When did God create light? On day one—"Let there be light," and it was created. Light is vital to life, and here we see God's power at the very beginning as the one who created the vast heavens. He is the one who stretched out the heavens like a curtain. He did that.

He moves on in verses three and four. We still see God creating the heavens and the earth. He lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters, who makes the clouds his chariot, who walks on the wings of the wind, who makes his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire. Here, we see God enthroned; he's on his throne above the waters of the firmament. That's why we say God dwells in heaven. That's his home; that's his throne.

These verses reveal two key points: God's involvement in the world and His separation from it. Let's take a moment to look at Amos, specifically chapter 9, verse 6. This verse is significant as it parallels what the psalmist expresses in Psalm 104. Amos 9:6 states that the Lord God builds His layers in the sky and is found in His strata on the earth; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth's surface. The Lord is His name—who accomplished all this? It was God.

These verses in Psalm say that God is the one that controls the clouds. Why are there a few clouds in the sky today? God determined; he's the one that controls them. He controls this world; he controls nature. I hate it when people studying the sciences discuss what nature did. Nature doesn't do anything. Nature describes how the world operates; nature has no power. It's God who does this. God is the one; he's the one that controls the world, the one that controls the sky, and the one that drives the clouds. He's the one that is in control of them. He walks on the wings of the wind, it says. Again, it expresses his power over nature. Jehovah even rules over angels; it says he makes his angels, who are his angels. He's the one that controls them and then sends them as he sees fit.

He goes on talking about God creating the heavens and the Earth. Verse 5: You who laid the earth's foundations so it should not be moved forever. The waters stood above the mountains—that's your review. They fled at the voice of your thunder. They went up over the mountains and down to the valleys, to the place you founded for them. You’ve set a boundary that they may not pass over or return to cover the Earth. See, the psalmist is already considering day one of creation, then day two of creation. What does he do now? He considers day three the formation of land. And it says it's not to be moved. What God built; He built well. He did a good job; He knew what He was doing. He built it right, and it won't be shaken until He decides to shake it, until He decides to move it, until He decides this is the end of the world.

Man is not going to destroy this world. You know, you hear all the time that the way people behave in this world will lead to the destruction of our planet. But we can't destroy our planet; we don't have the power to do that. Regardless of what we do, we could set up all the nuclear bombs we wanted and everything else, but we can't destroy this planet. God can do it, and God will do it. God's going to annihilate this planet someday completely, but He's the one who will do it. You and I don't have the power; He will decide.

These verses indicate that He is the one who separates the waters. He is the one appointed to these places for the waters. It states that He set a boundary for them in Job 38, aligning with what the psalmist discusses. In Job 38, beginning in verse 8, this is how the Lord answers Job out of the whirlwind. Job talks about what he has done and what God may not have done, and then God responds to him out of the whirlwind, starting in verse 4: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth? Tell me if you have understanding." Notice verse 8: "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth and issued from the womb? When I made the clouds, was it its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band? When I fixed limits for it, set bars and doors, and said, 'This far you may come, but no further; here your proud waves must stop.'" That is what the psalmist is also saying.

God has appointed places for the waters and set a boundary for them. They’re no threat to God, not at all. They threaten us because we lack the power to control them—God does. He concludes this first section. In verses 10-13, He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills, providing drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst there, while the birds of the heavens have their homes, singing among the branches. He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

It's God who provides the needs and moisture for the Earth. This shows God's care—His great care—for His creation. He created the animals and the plants; He's the one who sustains them. All the plants and animals find their place in God's plan and order. What does the water do? It supplies the birds' needs and supports the trees' growth. What do the birds do in response? They express their gratitude by singing in the branches. See, it's God who does this. God's the one who taught the birds how to sing; they didn't all evolve the ability. God gave them the ability to sing. Well, the next section in our song I call "God's Wonderful World of Nature."

Notice verses 14 and 15. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the service of man so that he may bring forth food from the earth, wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that would strengthen man's heart. God provides for people. He does it directly and indirectly. He’s the one that feeds the cattle; he's the one that supplies food to us.

No wonder the disciples' prayer there in the Sermon on the Mount talks about giving us this day our daily bread. We say we go out to earn our bread, but we don't earn it at all; God gives it to us. More on that later when he discusses how he provides for us. But God designed the world this way—it’s how he set it up so mankind could cultivate the land, work the land, and bring forth food. Again, this is found in Genesis 1:29. This food is God's gift to us, showcasing his goodness and power. In 1 Timothy 6:17, we discussed the previous verse, 1 Timothy 6:16, which states that he gives us these things to enjoy.

The next three verses still discuss God's wonderful world of nature. The Lord's trees are full of sap, and the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted, are where the birds make their nests. The stork is home in the fir trees, and the high hills are for the wild goats. The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

God didn't just create His creatures; He made homes for them—trees for birds, places in the hills, and rocks for various creatures to live. Why? because He loves His creation and takes care of it.

In verse 19, He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows when it's going down. You make darkness, and it becomes night, in which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they come out of their dens; man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are all Your works! In wisdom, You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions.

See the moon and the sun—who made them? God did! And He didn't just place them in the sky; He made them function as markers for days, weeks, months, and years. That's what God has done for us; He governs them.

There will come a day—the last day—when God will no longer govern them because He is going to destroy them all. That will be the end. But until that time, He is governing how the moon and the sun operate.

You know, in many ancient cultures, they worship the Moon and Sun gods. Of course, there's no such thing. There's the God who sustains and operates the Moon and the Sun. We know that many creatures seek their food at night, just like he mentions. What does man do? Man typically works during the day. Then, in the last two verses of this section, we see this gray and vast sea in which countless living things, both small and great, exist. There, the ships sail about, and there is Leviathan, which you have made to play there. The psalmist now turns his attention to the wonders of the seas. We go back to Day Five of creation and observe the vastness of the oceans. We're still amazed at how vast the oceans are, and we're constantly discovering new creatures in them. God wants to put them there, and I'm sure He's amazed and amused when mankind finds some new creature that He has known about since the beginning. But that's what we do.

One of them mentions Leviathan. This is the same word that Job refers to in Job 41. I love how he describes Leviathan as something you have made to play there. Leviathan plays in the oceans. The third and final section of this I call "Bob: God's Glory Endures," covering verses 27 through 30. These all wait for you to give them their food in due season. Once you give it to them, they gather it in. You open your hand, and they are filled with good. When you hide your face, they are troubled. You take away their breath; they perish and return to the dust. You send forth your spirit, and they are created; you renew the face of the earth.

All creatures, including us, depend on God. They live in reliance on Him. Remember what Paul said in part of his sermon on Mars Hill in Acts 17: 'All creatures live and move and have their being in God.' If God decided that all life would be gone, it would be gone—just that simple and quick. We live because God allows us to live, and creatures live because God allows them to live. As he mentioned, this is all done in due season; it happens regularly. There’s a pattern to how God sustains us. The psalmist emphasizes what the Lord does to sustain this world. He feeds the animals and provides for them. But notice: once you give them food, they gather it. God doesn't just put food in the mouths of His creatures, nor does He do that for us. Consider the manna in the Old Testament when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. God provided food for them, but did He put it directly in their stomachs? Nope. They had to gather it every day; that was their job. Of course, they had to gather twice as much before the Sabbath, but they had to gather it. It was a gift from God, but they had their job to do. These verses tell us that if God expresses disfavor on His creation—maybe through disease or drought or whatever—it's trouble. The verse says it's true.

God preserves and restores his creation. Each passing generation is replaced by the next. After my generation is gone, if God decides, there will be another generation. And that's true of animals, plants, and everything else. It's all up to God whether there will be another generation. It's not up to you, me, or everyone in the world; it's up to God. He'll decide if this is the last generation because there will be a last generation. Some generation will be the last.

The last few verses say, "May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works." He looks on the earth and it trembles; he touches the hills and they smoke. God takes pleasure in his creation. Remember what he said after the creation of each day? He saw that it was good, and even very good. That's what he said. He looks on his creation: the waters, the mountains, the animals, the birds—whatever they are—they all declare the glory of God.

Verse 32 speaks of the tremendous power of God, and then the final three verses tell us three things that we need to do. That's how he ends this song. "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." There’s the first thing I need to do: I need to sing songs of praise to him as the God of creation. Not just talking about redemption or salvation, but creation as well. Notice in this Psalm he never mentions forgiveness, redemption, or salvation; he strictly talks about creation. So, we need to praise God for the world he has made.

Verse 34 says, "May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord." I need to meditate and focus on who God is and what He has done—the magnificent world He made and how it all works together.

And then lastly, at first glance, verse 35 may seem to be contrary to what He’s been discussing, but it's not; it’s the final point that kind of brings it all together.

May sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul; praise the Lord!

He says you need to look forward to the time when you'll no longer have to dwell with sinners again. Do you ever get tired of being around sinners? I do all the time. I get tired of evil people; I get tired of wicked people; I get tired of immoral people.

The psalmist indicates here that there's coming a day when you won’t have to do that anymore. You won't have to dwell with sinners whatsoever. You know, we think about the last two chapters of Revelation, 21 and 22, where all the wickedness will be gone. There won't be any; we will dwell in the new heavens and the new earth. There won't be any pain, won't be any sickness, won't be any crying, won't be any death—the paradise of God. And He ends by saying, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; praise the Lord!" It means Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! There won't be any sinners in heaven, nor will there be any sin, pain, sickness, or death. Hallelujah, thank you! As we reflect on this, He wants us to sing, praise God, and contemplate this wonderful world of creation. Romans chapter 1 makes it very clear that there will be no excuses for people not believing in God.

No one will ever be allowed to say on the day of judgment, "There just wasn't enough reason for me to believe in you." God will simply say, "Too bad. Too bad. There is plenty of reason to believe in God and in this creation." Yes, a time is coming when we won't have to dwell with sinners anymore. But we must first live a faithful life. We need to become Christians by repenting and being baptized, and then we must live faithfully so that one day He will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." So, as we reflect on these things, let us stand and sing this invitation song.

March, 2025

Sermon prepared by Bobby Stafford

Prepared by Bobby Stafford

The church of Christ at Granby, MO

Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109

For more lessons and Sermons, please visit

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https://granbychurchofchrist.com/

 

Apologetics

Psalms


Bobby Stafford
March 2025

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The church of Christ in Granby Missouri

516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109

Email: Bobby Stafford
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