Creation Through the Psalms
By: Stacy Rogers, Arlington, TX
God’s creation is a labor of love. Psalm 19 states, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” All around us, we can see the grandeur of God’s creation, and this creation shows us the intricacies of who God is. Genesis paints a picture that shows the creativity of God. He not only builds a “home” (the world) but also fills it with all sorts of living things to inhabit that home. The plants, the abundance of diverse creatures, and finally His pinnacle of creation, humans.
In Psalms, the psalmists use creation to show varying personal aspects of God’s character. Psalm 29 describes the power that God wields over creation. Verses three through five describe how, by voice alone, God’s strength can break into pieces the cedars of Lebanon. The psalm is using a powerful thunderstorm to illustrate God’s might. His voice equates to thunder. The power of that thunder is used on the cedars of Lebanon. The cedars were the tree of choice that Solomon used to build both the temple and his palace. The wood in these trees is immensely strong, and yet the thunder of God’s voice can break into pieces the majestic trees.
Psalm 65 speaks of Yahweh’s generous nature. He visits the earth and enriches it. He causes it to greatly overflow (9). We see both God’s might and His gentleness in this psalm. Verse 7 demonstrates His strength over His creation by speaking to His ability to reign in chaos - the chaos of both nature and the “tumult of the peoples.” Once God has reigned in that chaos, His generosity flows like a stream from Him. Soft showers fall on an abundant harvest meant to sustain His people. The poem exudes the benevolence of God.
Moving through the book, we see another characteristic of God is Psalm 147. Yes, we see God’s strength here, but we also see His desire to nurture and protect His creation. The psalm praises God for His blessings of rain on the earth and His willingness to care for even the lowest of His creation. But the psalm goes on to note that God is not impressed with “the strength of the horse” nor does he “take pleasure in the legs of man” (10). The psalmist praises God for providing peace for Israel because it is He who provides the victory. It is God who sustains His creation. It is not man.
God not only wants us to benefit from His strength, His generosity, and His protection, He also wants to show His trust in us. Psalm 8 makes strong distinctions between God and man. In the grand scheme of creation “what is man that You take thought of him? And the son of man that You care for him?” (4). But this psalm goes on to state that God has made us only a little lower than Himself and that He crowns us with glory! (5). The royal imagery here harkens back to passages that talk of how humans are made in the image of God. In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth.” Psalm 8 echoes the responsibility given us in Genesis: “You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (6). What a tremendous amount of responsibility this is. A responsibility I have a difficult time fully wrapping my mind around.
Did God, in part, create the earth and all that is in it as a gift to sustain us? Yes, of course He did! However, the Bible also speaks about God’s creation as something that He loves. Genesis 1:31 tells us God looked out over all His creation and saw that it was very good. With this thought in mind, we need to consider what it means as followers of God that we have been “made to rule over” the works of His hands.
If you live anywhere near other human beings, you see first-hand the effects we have on God’s creation. Some of these things are good. Humans have crafted amazing architecture not only to give us shelter but also to showcase the talents God has blessed us with. There are many beautiful buildings that showcase man’s ingenuity, amazing bridges constructed to bring people together, and wonders carved to help tell the stories of the places surrounding them. Humans have also assembled some of God’s most beautiful plant life and planned and planted them into gorgeous gardens.
Although we have done many wonderful things in the world, we can also look around us at the sometimes negative impact man has on God’s world. Landfills piled high with our left-over trash and war-torn landscapes that show evidence of humans fighting over the varied resources God has blessed us with. It’s not hard to argue that the most beautiful parts of this world are those that have been untouched by human hands. Often, we humans have done a poor job caring for God’s creation, and much more than the physical creation of the earth, we often do a poor job of caring for its inhabitants - those we come into contact with daily. Noting the state of the earth and its unavoidable decay, we should be prompted to focus on sharing God’s ultimate gift of salvation.
In Hebrews 2, we see Psalm 8 being quoted. The passage here is used to describe Jesus as being the perfect model of a caring overseer. He is able to have dominion over all of creation in a perfect way. He used the natural world to reveal spiritual truths and to reveal the mysteries of God’s kingdom. And in doing so, Jesus confirmed that man can never truly understand God’s creation. It acts as He wills it and according to His timetable. The farmer cannot make the seed grow; in fact, he doesn’t understand how it happens.
Understanding that God is in control of the natural world, how can we make change? Man often treats God’s creation as something to exploit for personal gain. The instant access, culture of convenience seen in many Western countries can play havoc with the resources God gives if we aren’t paying attention. We understand that the souls of men are the Christian’s focus when it comes to salvation, but shouldn’t we also be good stewards over the creation that God so lovingly prepared for us - that He uses to provide for the natural world including mankind? Lest you think I’m perfect regarding this teaching, I’ve lost count of how many Amazon packages have been delivered to my door in the past month. Worldly thought will always tell us we need more, regardless of how that affects the creation or the people around us. We need to be good stewards of what God has given, but we also must remember that we are not in control: “For creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20-21). Paul is explaining to the Christians in Rome that even the creation waits to be set free from its state of decay. It is only a shadow of the glorious freedom we will see when Christ returns.
Until then, God tells us to set our discontent aside, teach the souls around us who don’t know their Creator, and allow Him and His glorious creation to satisfy our needs and declare to all His marvelous, powerful, benevolent nature: “Oh LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions…Animals both small and great…They all wait for You to give them their food in due season. You give to them; they gather it up. You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good” (Psalm 104:24-28).