Encouraged To Endure Sermon Vii: Focus On The Wonder Of It All Series

The Wonder of It All Is Worthy of Praise by All!

Widely known as the leading theologian of the 20th Century, Karl Barth was asked to summarize years of research and volumes of writings, and he responded: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Simply profound!

Perhaps taking a cue from Dr. Barth, a great historian responded to a similar question put to him with regard to the history of mankind. His answer: “They were born, they lived, they died.” Simply profound!

Of all the prayers I have prayed in my life, the one I reflect upon most is the prayer of thanks I learned as a child: “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread.” Simply profound!

More often than not the most profound expressions of our understanding of the things of God, especially as they pertain to everyday life, are the simplest and the obvious.

But you know? In our lifetime of studying the Bible and its application to how we relate to God, and to people, one of the very important lessons we learned was that “simply profound” revelations of God occur through meditation based upon observation.

Picture David sitting on a hillside - tending sheep grazing in the green grass, surrounded by a canopy of floral displays, feeling the ocean breeze in his face, watching a few trees sway in the wind, having a “whale of a time” looking down at the Mediterranean, viewing mountains in the distance, catching a glimpse of clouds drifting by against a back drop of blue skies.

Indelibly engraved on his brain as a shepherd lad, this never-to-be-forgotten panoramic view of nature is brought to mind in his old age as he composes a hymn of praise to God – Psalm 104 . . . (selected verses)

Simply yet profoundly, this Psalm extols God’s greatness and His goodness that can be observed in creation by anyone who takes the time to pay attention, as so aptly put by Dr. Werner Von Braun (the scientist whose vast knowledge and expertise helped our nation launch its space program).

In Christianity Today Dr. Von Braun was quoted as saying: “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 better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all it harbors, the more reason we have to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based.”

It was in the “law and order of the universe” that he, like David, saw God’s handiwork. However, as a spokesman for God and writer of poetry to be used as a hymn of praise, David went further - using metaphorical language as if God had a body, to describe God’s power over creation plus His provision for all living things.

David depicts God as having an “open hand” (v28) . . . “hidden face” (v29). He says that God “looks on the earth . . . touches the mountains” (v32) – language similar to the Genesis account of creation in which God shapes dirt into human form . . . breathes life into His creation . . . takes a walk through the garden.

Notice how this psalm emphasizes order, limits, and separation; for example, waters stay within boundaries, the sun and moon mark times and seasons (v19) – again, reminiscent of the Genesis story of God’s separation of light from darkness . . . waters above from waters below . . . the waters of the earth from dry land.

With the vastness of our knowledge, and with our ability to see the marvels of the universe as never seen before, who in their right mind would not agree with the psalmist that we ought to praise the greatness and goodness of God!?

Obviously, creation bears the indelible mark of a wise master designer – countless works and wonders . . . creatures of all kinds, sizes, shapes – in the sky, on the land, in the sea – creatures that work - and play . . . living things that grow and go . . . human beings that likewise do so – everything in its season, in cycles, in sync with God’s grand scheme of things.

We cannot begin to imagine the intricately balanced ecosystem teeming with plant and animal life - the minutest detail of which has not escaped the attention pf Almighty God! Did you see the movie “Lion King” with its theme song “The Circle of Life”?

Whereas this animated film depicts nature’s process of “birth, life, and death” only to be followed by yet another cycle of the same, the Bible reveals that God, as planned, interrupted the natural cycle when He introduced the process of a new creation that begins with a new spiritual birth, continues with a new life in Christ with whom we shall spend eternity beyond the grave.