His Creation Reveals God

“The heavens declare the glory of God And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.” -Psalm 119:1-4 (NKJV)

Psalm 119, a Psalm of David, begins with a song of praise for God’s magnificent creation. Both the heavens and the earth in His created order reveal the handiwork of Creator God. David sees day and night as revealing, speaking out, about Almighty God who created them. A remarkable benefit of the creation is that in all places in the world the created order testifies to the power and glory of God.

I can recall as a young child looking up to the beautiful mountains that surrounded the valley where I lived. The sky above and the azure line of mountains made me wonder about God’s creation and appreciate the beautiful world in which I lived. I especially liked to see the night sky with the moon and stars. I marveled at the beauty I saw all about me in nature. It turned my thoughts to God the Creator.

Some people worship nature. But nature is a part of the remarkable creation God made, a place He created for man whom He made in His own image. We are not to worship nature and its beauty, but the God who created the beauty for us to enjoy. In John 4:23-24 Jesus taught us: “But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (NKJV).

I enjoy singing “This Is My Father’s World” with words by Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901) and the music, “Terra Patris” by Franklin L. Sheppard (1852-1930 ):

“This is my Father’s world, And to my list’ning ears,

All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought,

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.

“This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world, The battle is not done;

Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and heaven be one.”

May the beauty of nature remind us of God who created the heavens and earth and the people who dwell in the place He made for us. “The morning light, the lily white Declare their Maker’s praise.” And so should we! And so do we! Amen! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.07.2017

Worship

“You are worthy, O LORD, to receive honor and glory and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11, NKJV).  “Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering and come before Him.  Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (I Chronicles 16:29 (NKJV).  “God is Spirit:  and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24, KJV).

How do you worship God?  The Sunday School lesson my class studied for January 27, 2013, challenged us to examine our personal experience of worship to see if we are simply going through a ritual or do we encounter the presence of the living God, meet and communicate with Him, and then as a result have changes in attitude, action and life?

To me, the idea of evaluating my worship experience both in corporate worship in our church service and in my private worship times was something I wanted to do.  Am  I, indeed, only offering shallow “presence” at the worship service of my church, or am I aware of meeting the LORD Himself and giving glory due Him?  With an expectancy of going into the presence of God, I felt as though I was “walking on holy ground.”  Preparation for worship involved confession of my sins, for only then could I worship Him “in the beauty of holiness.”  “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 

How can I worship God in spirit?  To me, it means ridding my mind (spirit) of things that detract me from concentrating on God.  I deliberately fill my mind with thoughts of His majesty, glory, power, dominion, Lordship of my life.  Last Sunday I imagined a host from all lands worshiping in Heaven at the very throne of God.  I imagined my dear husband and other departed loved ones already there, in that throng of worshipers. We are promised that glorious experience as the redeemed, and for a moment I had a marvelous vision of that time. Other acts of my corporate worship included concentrating on the words of hymns and making them my heart’s message to God: listening to the prayers led by others and making them my heart’s prayer.  I listened  as the Word was expounded for truths that I need to learn, remember and live by.  I also sought to know needs that call for positive action on my part as I depart from worship to serve.

Awareness of God’s divine presence is absolutely necessary to worship. What about  worship, both public and private?  Do I meet God?  Do I praise and adore God, stand in awe of His majesty, power and glory?  And does the experience of worship make a difference in how I think, how I react, how I serve, how I live?  If so, then I have worshiped, I have come into the presence of Almighty God.