Let Praise Continue
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Key Verse: “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” Lesson Scripture: Psalm 104:24-35 |
NONE OF US ARE ABLE TO fully comprehend and appreciate the wonderful works of God, our beloved Supreme Creator, performed on our behalf. The author of the one-hundred-fourth Psalm is unknown, but the psalmist tried to convey to us the immensity of God’s glory and majesty as he said in the opening verses of this psalm, “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain.”—Ps. 104:1,2
The other psalm suggested as a part of this lesson, the sixty-fifth, is a Psalm of David, who opens that psalm by saying, “Praise is due to thee, O God, in Zion; and to thee shall vows be performed.” (Ps. 65:1, Revised Standard Version) Most translations of this psalm say “Praise waiteth for thee.” (King James Version) The particular Hebrew word translated ‘waiteth’ (duwmiyah) has the thought of stillness and quietness. It appears that praise is not being sung to God as it should be. In fact, praise to God is overdue.
Both the sixty-fifth and one-hundred-fourth Psalms describe the wonderful works of God and the provisions he makes for our sustenance. The provisions he has made for all of his creatures are detailed, showing his power. Our key verse attributes these works to his wisdom as it also states that the earth is full of God’s riches. The Hebrew word translated ‘riches’ (qulnyan), also is used to translate works of creation, or creatures. Therefore, some translators have chosen to translate this word ‘creatures.’ Both thoughts are proper because the thought of the Hebrew word is that of acquisition, as of wealth, but also of any possession such as his creatures.
In God’s Creation, the crowning feature on earth was the creation of man in his image. Out of all God’s creatures on earth, man is the one capable of giving praise to God in words and song. Such praise is given in the one-hundred-fourth Psalm, when it says, “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.” (Ps. 104:33-35) Sinners in this present evil world are not praising God. In his kingdom, sinners and wicked ones will be no more, and then all men shall praise him!
At present, only God’s people are likely to praise him. For that matter, only man has the capability of making music and voicing phrases of praise to God. The Psalms were the hymns of praise in the Old Testament times. In God’s kingdom, all of his creation will rejoice. It is for that reason that the inanimate creation of God is described as joining in the singing of praise to God, “You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.”—Ps. 65:11-13, New International Version