Psalm 104

Did you receive any Christmas cards this year? Did you send any? Regardless, you’ll chuckle at this story.

Waiting until the last minute to send cards to 49 of her friends, a woman rushed into Wal-Mart picked up a pack of 50 cards with a cheery “Merry Christmas” greeting.

In her haste to get them mailed, she hurriedly signed the cards without closely reading the message inside.

A few days after Christmas, she was straightening up her desk, when she spied the lone card from the pack. She opened it up and much to her chagrin, the message read. “This card is just to say a little gift is on the way!”

Her 49 friends were still waiting on a gift they never were going to get.

Fortunately, God is not like that woman. The Bible says that God is the giver of “every good and every perfect gift” (Jas. 1:18). Our passage today, Psalm 104, speaks to God’s goodness in His gifts of creation. It is a Psalm of praise for His sovereignty, providence and creation.

Take a minute to read Psalm 104 and then consider these three points.

#1 God is Great.

God is beyond good, He is great. The Psalmist begins with “O Lord my God, You are very great.”

God is poetically pictured as the majestic King. The clouds serve as His chariot. He “walks on the wings of the wind.” He work is powerful. He “laid the foundations of the earth.” He voice thunders and creation responds.

The creation proclaims God’s glory and is a visible testament to His greatness and genius.

Dr. Wernher von Braun, known as the father of modern space flight, once wrote in a private letter, “For me, the idea of a creation is not conceivable without invoking the necessity of design. One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all.”

The scientist also conceded “the admission of a design for the universe ultimately raises the question of a Designer.” God is the great Designer.

#2 God is Generous.

The Psalmist reminds that God created the world for the enjoyment of and to meet the needs of His creation. Water, oil, food, wine, and bread were basics in Bible days. God supplied them all.

The beauty of the seasons. The birds that fly. The magnetic mountains. The scenic valleys. The vegetation. The animals. The sun. The moon. The stars. All of these “gladden the heart of man.”

Planet earth is uniquely made and suited to meet our needs but also given for our enjoyment and pleasure. Indeed God is the giver of good gifts.

#3 God is all wise.

Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe offers this insight.

“Whether we study invisible microscopic life, visible plant and animal life, human life, or the myriad of things that have no life, the diversity in creation is amazing. God could have made a drab colorless world, one season everywhere, only one variety of each plant and animal, cookie-cutter humans, no musical sounds, and a few minimal kinds of food but He did not, and how grateful we are! Only a wise God could have planned so many different things, and only a powerful God could have brought them into being.”

God’s wisdom is on display daily in the miracle of creation. Look around you. Look up. Take it all in. Don’t miss the wonder of it all. Remember it’s the product of all wise Creator. And don’t forget to give God thanks.

In the words of the hymnist Maltbie D. Babcock

This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman