When God does something wonderful and mighty in our life we want to shout for joy. We might be rejoicing so much that we feel that all of nature is rejoicing with us too. In our Psalm reading for today the author remembers one of God’s most mighty miracles of deliverance, and how, not only did the people rejoice, but nature did as well.
The glorious event that the psalmist is recounting here is God’s deliverance of His people from their captivity in Egypt. They had been slaves of the Egyptians for several hundred years. Then, through God’s powerful hand, He brought them forth out of bondage (Exodus 13:3). Then, as the people were making their escape, they come upon a barrier, the Red Sea. This is no problem for God, as He divides the water to the right and left, allowing the people to walk across on dry ground (Exodus 14:21-22). Nature obeys when the Creator speaks.
Shortly afterwards God leads them to the base of Mt. Sinai, where He gives Moses the Law, another momentous event for the people. When the Lord God came down to deliver His Word to Moses, the mountain quaked or trembled at His presence (Exodus 19:18-19). Several times during the wilderness wanderings God miraculously provided the people with water from a rock (Exodus 17:3-7; Numbers 20:11). There was also a second time where God parted the waters for His people to pass over, and this time it was at the Jordan River. Forty years after their deliverance from Egypt, the people were on the banks of the Jordan, ready to enter the Promised Land. God provided another miracle by parting the waters of the river (Joshua 3:1-17).
Nature was going against the natural order at the command of God, in response to His Word. The psalmist spoke out and asked the waters of the sea and river why they acted as they did. He asked the mountains why they moved. It was a rhetorical question, as he knew the response. They moved as they did both in obedience to God’s command, and also they were leaping for joy in response to His great power and glory. The psalmist knew that even the most fixed of geographic features cannot resist God’s power and will. Even with all of our scientific advances, we cannot control nature. Only God can do that. From the mountains to the oceans, all is in His hands. Their majesty is a tribute to His glory and power.
What should our response be when God moves in a mighty way in our life, and we see His majesty displayed in nature? Our psalmist today advises us to not only give Him praise, but to also tremble (vs 7). We should tremble, or show a holy fear before God, both because of the overwhelming glory of His presence, and because of ours and all of mankind’s sinfulness. For born-again believers, there is also joy in His presence. Just as all of nature does, we should fall before Him in adoration and worship.
Hallelujah, Amen!
ReplyDeleteMarsha Z, Bangs TX