GOD AS CREATOR: GRACIOUS SUSTAINER
Originally posted by lunadanipog at GOD AS CREATOR: GRACIOUS SUSTAINER
I have been dealing with the topic God as Creator in my previous posts. I started with GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted. The article simply says that we should always go back to the truth that all we see with our naked eyes belong to God and are from from God (even we, ourselves). Next is GOD AS CREATOR: Isaiah Amused by the Creator King. Here we saw how Isaiah praised the God of Israel and how he emphasized how imporabale their God is (our God is)...how He sustains His creation. No one is like our God. I posted a song entitled "My Creator King" at the end of the article.
Today, we'll see another amazing character of God as the Creator of all. Since He created all the things in heaven and on earth, He also graciously sustains everything. Let us look at some verses which support this.
Again, from the book of Isaiah, it says in chapter 51:12-13, 15-16
12 The Lord says, "I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?
13 Have you forgotten the Lord who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations? Why should you live in constant fear of the fury of those who oppress you, of those who are ready to destroy you? Their fury can no longer touch you.
15 "I am the Lord you God; I stir up the sea and make its waves roar. My name is the Lord Almighty!
16 I stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations; I say to Jerusalem, 'You are my people! I have given you my teaching,
and I protect you with my hand'"
This is how God cares for His creation. As for his concern for humans (to those whom He has chosen together with the Israel), He won't let any fury touch them. His very own hands will protect them.
Let us see what the New Testament has to say with this. It is said in Acts 14:17
"But He has always given evidence of His existence by the good things he does: he gives you rain from heaven and crops at the right times; he gives you food and fills your hearts with happiness."
God purposely sustains his creation to show His glory, His existence. It's for his glory! You can also see in this verse that He does and designs things to happen in order. He knows when to pour out rain, so the crops may be for harvest 'at the right times' (He knows their time). He gives us food (I believe this is not only for our physical bodies but for spiritual also).
Also in Matthew 6:25-34 (the famous passage about Worrying), Jesus (himself) testifies how God sustains everything - from the flowers, to wild grasses, to the birds,..and to us humans.
I would like to include here Psalm 104 because the whole chapter explains it all. How God put His creations in order, how they are interdependent with one another and how He sustains all of them.
Psalm 104 "In Praise of the Creator"
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent
3 and built your home on the waters above.a]">[a]
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.
5 You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and it will never be moved.
6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and the water covered the mountains.
7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
8 They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to the place you had made for them.
9 You set a boundary they can never pass,
to keep them from covering the earth again.
10 You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
11 They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 In the trees near by,
the birds make their nests and sing.
13 From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings.
14 You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for us to use,
so that we can grow our crops
15 and produce wine to make us happy,
olive oil to make us cheerful,
and bread to give us strength.
16 The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rainâ
the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.
19 You created the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time to set.
20 You made the night, and in the darkness
all the wild animals come out.
21 The young lions roar while they hunt,
looking for the food that God provides.
22 When the sun rises, they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to do their work
and keep working until evening.
24 Lord, you have made so many things!
How wisely you made them all!
The earth is filled with your creatures.
25 There is the ocean, large and wide,
where countless creatures live,
large and small alike.
26 The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,
that sea monster which you made.b]">[b]
27 All of them depend on you
to give them food when they need it.
28 You give it to them, and they eat it;
you provide food, and they are satisfied.
29 When you turn away, they are afraid;
when you take away your breath, they die
and go back to the dust from which they came.
30 But when you give them breath,c]">[c] they are created;
you give new life to the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.
34 May he be pleased with my song,
for my gladness comes from him.
35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth;
may the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Verses 27-31 are very powerful. The psalmist gave emphasis on the total dependence of the whole creation to the great Creator. Our lives come from HIm. If He withhold his sustaining grace, WE'RE LOST! We die!
And in response to this, our sould shall forever praise His name! (verses 33-35).
Let me quote again Isaiah 40:26. I really love it how Isaiah put it in astronomical language:
Soli Deo Gloria!
I have been dealing with the topic God as Creator in my previous posts. I started with GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted. The article simply says that we should always go back to the truth that all we see with our naked eyes belong to God and are from from God (even we, ourselves). Next is GOD AS CREATOR: Isaiah Amused by the Creator King. Here we saw how Isaiah praised the God of Israel and how he emphasized how imporabale their God is (our God is)...how He sustains His creation. No one is like our God. I posted a song entitled "My Creator King" at the end of the article.
Today, we'll see another amazing character of God as the Creator of all. Since He created all the things in heaven and on earth, He also graciously sustains everything. Let us look at some verses which support this.
Again, from the book of Isaiah, it says in chapter 51:12-13, 15-16
12 The Lord says, "I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?
13 Have you forgotten the Lord who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations? Why should you live in constant fear of the fury of those who oppress you, of those who are ready to destroy you? Their fury can no longer touch you.
15 "I am the Lord you God; I stir up the sea and make its waves roar. My name is the Lord Almighty!
16 I stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations; I say to Jerusalem, 'You are my people! I have given you my teaching,
and I protect you with my hand'"
This is how God cares for His creation. As for his concern for humans (to those whom He has chosen together with the Israel), He won't let any fury touch them. His very own hands will protect them.
Let us see what the New Testament has to say with this. It is said in Acts 14:17
"But He has always given evidence of His existence by the good things he does: he gives you rain from heaven and crops at the right times; he gives you food and fills your hearts with happiness."
God purposely sustains his creation to show His glory, His existence. It's for his glory! You can also see in this verse that He does and designs things to happen in order. He knows when to pour out rain, so the crops may be for harvest 'at the right times' (He knows their time). He gives us food (I believe this is not only for our physical bodies but for spiritual also).
Also in Matthew 6:25-34 (the famous passage about Worrying), Jesus (himself) testifies how God sustains everything - from the flowers, to wild grasses, to the birds,..and to us humans.
I would like to include here Psalm 104 because the whole chapter explains it all. How God put His creations in order, how they are interdependent with one another and how He sustains all of them.
Psalm 104 "In Praise of the Creator"
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent
3 and built your home on the waters above.a]">[a]
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.
5 You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and it will never be moved.
6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and the water covered the mountains.
7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
8 They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to the place you had made for them.
9 You set a boundary they can never pass,
to keep them from covering the earth again.
10 You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
11 They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 In the trees near by,
the birds make their nests and sing.
13 From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings.
14 You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for us to use,
so that we can grow our crops
15 and produce wine to make us happy,
olive oil to make us cheerful,
and bread to give us strength.
16 The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rainâ
the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.
19 You created the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time to set.
20 You made the night, and in the darkness
all the wild animals come out.
21 The young lions roar while they hunt,
looking for the food that God provides.
22 When the sun rises, they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to do their work
and keep working until evening.
24 Lord, you have made so many things!
How wisely you made them all!
The earth is filled with your creatures.
25 There is the ocean, large and wide,
where countless creatures live,
large and small alike.
26 The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,
that sea monster which you made.b]">[b]
27 All of them depend on you
to give them food when they need it.
28 You give it to them, and they eat it;
you provide food, and they are satisfied.
29 When you turn away, they are afraid;
when you take away your breath, they die
and go back to the dust from which they came.
30 But when you give them breath,c]">[c] they are created;
you give new life to the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.
34 May he be pleased with my song,
for my gladness comes from him.
35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth;
may the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Verses 27-31 are very powerful. The psalmist gave emphasis on the total dependence of the whole creation to the great Creator. Our lives come from HIm. If He withhold his sustaining grace, WE'RE LOST! We die!
And in response to this, our sould shall forever praise His name! (verses 33-35).
Let me quote again Isaiah 40:26. I really love it how Isaiah put it in astronomical language:
Soli Deo Gloria!