Majestic Praise #
Psalm 104:1-5
Introduction While our last Psalm was a Praise to the Lord for his Mercy, the entirety of this Psalm is a Praise to the Lord for his Majesty in creation! There are a lot of similarities in style between this Psalm and Psalm 103. They build to a great closing! These are powerful Psalms that are focused primarily on God! What a great focus! I cannot think of a greater place to focus our attention! • While I was studying, I think I stumbled across a golden nugget in the verse 5:
Psalm 104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Ecclesiastes 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
• In reading that, I instantly was reminded of Revelation 21:1
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 Peter 3:10–11 —10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
• Then in Hebrews:
Hebrews 1:10–12 —10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
• Hebrews quotes Psalm 102:24-26, the simple thought is this… it would seem as though we will die and be placed in the ground, our bodies will decompose to dust, however they will be resurrected, and transformed into a new, incorruptible body, so the earth with undergo the same transformation!
I.The Creator (Psalm 104:2-5) #
• There is a poetic overtone of Creation in these first few verses of Psalm 104. Poetry is like a water color painting, versus a detailed sharp pencil drawing. It is there, but not detailed.
A. Light (Psalm 104:1-2) #
• 1 – “Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.” • 2 – “Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment” • We will not go through every one of these, because we could spend all our time just here, but I want to point this out on our way through the creation water color….
i. God is light! #
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
B. Heavens (Psalm 104:2) #
• God spoke them into existance
C. Waters & Clouds & wind (Psalm 104:3) #
• Each one of those items is interesting, and deserving of time… waters, perhaps there was a canopy of water around the earth, prior to the flood, clouds, are moisture in the air! • Wind that you cannot see, moves the clouds!
D. Angels (Psalm 104:4) #
• Angels are not God, are not eternal, are a created being!
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
E. Earth (Psalm 104:5) #
II. The Commander (Psalm 104:6-9) #
• After creation, God, covered it with water! • Verse 9 clarifies that this is certainly a reference to the world wide flood!
A. God is in charge #
Genesis 6:5–6 —5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
• Sin grieves God… and for his creation to be consumed with wickedness and sin, greatly pained him. • Punishment for sin!
B. Waters covered the mountains! (Psalm 104:6) #
• There was a literal world wide flood, in which the mountains were covered. • To this day, we find fossils of shells in the mountains that the evolutionist, anti-God people cannot explain.
C. God receded the waters! (Psalm 104:7) #
D. Promise not to flood the earth again! (Psalm 104:9, Gen 9;13-16) #
III. The Caregiver (Psalm 104:10-18) #
• The same waters which cursed the earth, and drown wicked sinful unrepentant men, are the same waters that nourish the earth!!! Caregiver – provider!
A. Beasts drink of water (Psalm 104:11) #
B. Birds sit in the trees which grow by the water! (Psalm 104:12) #
C. Bread for man (Psalm 104:14-15) #
• Not just sustenance, but joy in it! (15) ◦ Wine being fresh grape juice, and oil, man loves olive oil!
IV. The Coordinator (Psalm 104:19-30) #
A. Homes for the birds (Psalm 104:16-18) #
• Conies – kind of like a gopher in the mountains, not quite as big.
B. Night and Day serves it’s purpose (Psalm 104:19-24) #
i. Night - The night season, has it’s ‘night light’ the moon #
◦ The nocturnal beasts are well designed for night life! ◦ These creatures were designed for night life, not adapted to it. ◦ Lions hunt their prey at night… and many predators do!
ii. Day! (verse 23) #
C. The Psalmist burst out in praise (Psalm 104:24) #
D. Sea (Psalm 104:25-26) #
i. Grandeur of the Ocean #
• I mentioned this before, but the Oceans have not been fully explored!
ii. Small and large beasts! #
• From tiny plankton, to large whales • Leviathan – some form of a large sea dragon that is incredibly powerful and dreadful to man… there is a name association with the dragon, and serpent being Satan. Dreadful, powerful, but not too powerful for God!
E. Provider (Psalm 104:27-29) #
• God in this portion, is literally described as the coordinator, or sustainer of all that is in the earth!