-
The Divine Creation
Contributed by Kevin Burden on Nov 6, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: One of the most astonishing things that God has done is – He has created the universe! And there are two questions that I want to try to answer: 1. Does God take pleasure in his creation? 2. If so, “why?
THE MAGNIFICENCE OF DIVINE CREATION
Psalm 104:31 “The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.”
One of the lessons to be learned from true theology is that God is complete in himself. He has no deficiencies. He can not be bribed with something he craves or blackmailed with some secret weakness or coerced by some superior power. And so all that he does, he does, not under constraint, but according to his own good pleasure. He is free, and he takes pleasure in all that he does.
One of the most astonishing things that God has done is – He has created the universe! And there are two questions that I want to try to answer: 1. Does God take pleasure in his creation? 2. If so, “why?
The first question I would answer with a resounding, "Yes!" God does take pleasure in his creation. How do we know this? Genesis 1 tells us that God ordered creation, and that He also responsed to his creation. Five times, God stands back, and comments "And God saw that it was good" (vv 4, 12, 18, 21, 25). And when all was finished and man and woman were created in his own image, it says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."
This means God was delighted with his work of creation. When he looked at it, it gave him pleasure.
Psalm 104 is a song that expresses the joy God has in his creation. The key verse for our purpose is v 31.
So the answer to the first question is YES! God does take pleasure in his creation. He delights in the work of his hands.
Now question #2 is, WHY? I want to share with you Five reasons why God rejoices in his work of creation.
God rejoices in his work of creation because…
#1. CREATION EXPRESSES HIS GLORY – v 1-4. This is what Psalm 19:1 declares: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”
#2. CREATION PRAISES HIM CONTINOUSLY – v 5-11.
#3. CREATION REVEALS HIS UNRIVALED WISDOM – v 24.
#4. CREATION REVEALS HIS UNSURPASSED POWER – v 12-30. In Isaiah 40:26 Isaiah looks up the the star-filled sky and says,… “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.”
#5. CREATION POINTS US TO GOD HIMSELF – v 31-34. God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us always to look at his creation and say: If the work of his hands is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must God himself be like?
CONCLUSION – v 35. In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons or the or the clouds or the great galaxies that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouths with eternal praise. It will be God himself.