The Importance of Christians Knowing and Appreciating God’s Marvellously Created Universe!

Psalm 104:33.         I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Well, thankfully, unlike Wednesday, Thursday has opened bright and sunshiny, though somewhat cool. For the sparkling rays of the sun always tend to lift our spirits even in the most difficult of times. That’s because they are the miraculous rays of LOVE, grace, mercy and compassion emanating from the depths of our heavenly Father’s heart, who created it to shine down on us and provide light  during the day time so that we could walk without fear of the darkness. It’s the same way He created the moon and the stars to watch over us with a quiet and peaceful sense of comfort and safety when we’re at rest during the night.

That’s the kind of wonderful God we serve my people! One who’s only had our best interests at heart, right from the very beginning of creation. Just look at all the great things He’s created in His universe basically for our use and enjoyment. It’s like the palmist explains in Psalm 104 – God’s Marvellous Creation. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his (upper) chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers (servants) a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys (the mountains rise up; the valleys sink down) unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound (boundary) that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.’ (Ps. 104:1-9)

Oh, what wonderful things our God has created my people! And I like that last comment about putting up a boundary for the waters so that they would not overrun the earth. That reminds us of God’s promise never to overrun the earth again with water (Gen. 9:11) like He’d done through the flood that destroyed mankind because of his abominable and overbearing iniquity, with only Noah and his family surviving in the Ark to populate the earth afterwards. (Gen. 6-9) At that time, God also made a sign of His covenant with all flesh of the earth; that’s the presence of the rainbow in the sky. (Gen. 9:12-17)  

And the wisdom and compassion of our God shows up further in how He arranges for everything to enjoy the blessedness of His creation. Listen to the psalmist explain: ‘He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses (donkeys) quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his (upper) chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb (vegetation) for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. The high hills are refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks (cliffs) for the conies (rock badgers).’ (Ps. 104:10-18)

Wow friends! Everything God made, He provided for! And we spoke about the sun, moon and stars earlier on, now hear what the psalmist says about them. ‘He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until evening.’ (Ps. 104:19-23)

Yes mih bredrin; everything has it’s place and purpose. No wonder the psalmist could declare: ‘O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches (possessions). So is this great and wise sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable (teeming things), both small and great beasts (living creatures). There go the ships: there is that leviathan (a large sea creature of unknown identity, but usually refers to whales) whom thou hast made (formed) to play therein. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That (what) thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.’ (Ps. 104:24-30)

The Lord has it all planned out, from birth to death and then renewal of His universe. Consequently the psalmist concludes: ‘The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.’ (Ps. 104:31-32) And we see that in the earthquakes and volcano activity. However, despite all of that, he still assures: ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah).’ (Ps. 104:33-35)

And that’s exactly how it ought to be with us my fellow believers; words of praise and blessings are what ought to emanate from our hearts and mouths. And to encourage us even further in that direction, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings, undeserved, but nonetheless generously bestowed upon us by the Lord so that we can do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Hin like we do! Much LOVE!

…only Jehovah God…could build such a magnificent, interwoven universe…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2019 Psalm 103:1.

Psalm 103:1.    ​Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
 

And another bright, sunshiny and beautiful morning has dawned! Glory to God! And when you add the promises and LOVING-kindness of Jesus to the mix, one is forced to assuredly proclaim: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) As well as: ‘The Lord will supply ALL of my needs through his riches in glory, through Christ our Lord and Saviour.’ (Phil.4:19) 

And that will just strengthen our resolve to declare: ‘As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15)  And that can only mean that ‘If God be for us, who can be against us eh?’ (Rom.8:31) Not a single, solitary soul! So from all of that assurance and confidence in the name of Jesus Christ, I therefore expect something good to happen to me today, and that something good is also going to happen through me today! 

Oh friends, what a wonderful God we serve, I can’t help but exalt His holy name and sing His awesome praise for His everlasting mercy, grace and faithfulness to us undeserving children of men! And if we truly believe all of that, then we have to exalt the Lord like Bruh David did in Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.’ 

Wow friends! We can’t go wrong if we follow Bruh David’s words, though not necessarily his actions, (smile) because he was a mortal man just like us and made mistakes. But his words and his reflection and dependence on the God of his forefathers were most excellent. 

Hear how he continues exalting the Lord in the psalm nuh. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:2-5) 

And please note there my brethren that Bruh David is not thanking God for fanciful, dreamy, ephemeral stuff, but solid, down to earth, day-to-day necessities for living. And He’s not talking from hearsay either, but from real and practical experience with God! Likewise, if we are in good relationship with our heavenly Father, we will also enjoy the fruit of his mercy and goodness! 

Consequently, we should also appreciate and give thanks for it all. But unfortunately, the word ‘thanks’ is fading fast from our vocabulary in this current world, just like the word ‘God.’ And even when we say thanks, it’s often not heartfelt, but a simple mouthing of a word, something that’s expected of us. 

Ah friends, the standards of our world have fallen so low and keep falling lower everyday, that I can’t comprehend what they will be like fifty years from now. Just look at what they were fifty years ago, and what they are now nuh. As different as day from night. And certainly not better…at least in my humble opinion. But enough of me, (smile) let’s continue singing God’s praises. 

Hear how the psalmist exalts the Lord in Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty: Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 

Who layeth the beams of his (upper) chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers (servants) a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.’ (Ps.104:1-5) 

Yes my fellow saints of God, that’s how the old timers reverenced their God! Do we even come close to that sort of thing in this supposedly enlightened age? Of course not! We’re too busy to take the time to get down and dirty with our wonderful God, and too often just pay Him a quick ‘thank you’ in passing, or mouth a ‘how great is our God,’ without the necessary heartfelt sentiment. 

But please remember and note Bruh David’s words my people: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ (Ps.103:2) Yes friends, WE are the ones who benefit when we remember and pay attention to and praise and live obediently to the will of God! We not doing God anything, except break His heart, when we refuse to honour and obey Him. 

He might be unhappy with our choice of the devil over Him, but in the long run, He’s not going to suffer damnation and hell fire. It’s us, mere foolish and prideful, obstinate and arrogant mortals who will be thrown into the lake of fire with the oh so foolish Lucifer, who had it all going for him, like we do, but instead chose to try and overthrow God. What a fool! 

Anyway, now that we know better, (smile) let’s go home this beautiful Wednesday morning, bursting with joy and thanksgiving in the Lord, as we truthfully declare our position in Him, through our Wednesday Wail. What a mouthful! (smile) All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! 

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And believe me friends, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! So please hang tough in Christ! It will be well worth it! Much LOVE!

…if you believe God created all there is…then you ought to give Him plenty thanks…