“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.” (v1-6)
The author of this psalm reminds us that all of creation praises God’s name. The sun, moon, stars, creatures, weather, mountains, trees, and people all praise His name. (Note: I recommend reading the entire psalm, it’s worthwhile).
There are additional passages that remind us creation shows the glory of God: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps 19:1) “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Ro 1:20)
That verse (Ro 1:20) is especially powerful. In other words, it is saying that all of creation proclaims God as an all-powerful creator, so nobody in this world has an excuse for not realizing there is a Creator God. The author of Psalm 148 clearly agrees with this philosophy: creation declares there is a creator.
Do we look at a car and think: “Hmmm, I wonder what random set of events converged to create such an intricate design?” Do we believe that car exists by accident? No, clearly we can tell there’s a designer who decided what the car would look like and another who decided how it would function, and another who created the process to manufacture it. Clearly a car is not a random occurrence.
My challenge for today is to celebrate and praise God for who He is – the all-powerful, all-knowing, brilliant Lord and Creator who carefully designed us to be who we are. Just as a car isn’t created by accident, neither were we – we are lovingly shaped and formed by God according to His purpose (see Ps 139). Let’s praise Him, because if we don’t, even the rocks will cry out to Him, for they too testify to His glory (Lk 19:40 par).
Father God, O Great and Awesome Creator, we lift up Your holy name. We exalt You far above all others, for You are truly worthy of our praise. Father to You be all glory and honor, for all of creation declares Your sovereignty and magnificence. To You be the glory, the honor and the praise, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training