God Is Awesome

God is Awesome (Ps. 104:1-5, 13-15, 24, 27-30) Creator God creates ex nihilio (out of nothing) Man can only reconfigure/transform what God has already created In the 1960's, Chairman Mao, the ruler of China, decided that some of the laws of biology were arbitrary impositions of Western bourgeois imperialism. He decreed that crops should be planted very close together, so as to give a greater yield for a large population. The crops failed that year, and millions of people died in the famine that resulted. Whenever people try to claim power over nature, we need to hear again what God says to Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? ... Who determined its measurements? who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?" Job 38 and 39. Laying the beams = hands on, intelligent design Dr. Werner Von Braun (the scientist who helped our nation launch its space program) once wrote: "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 found to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based.” And he concluded that this all pointed to a marvelous creator. According to an article in U.S. News & World Report back in 1991, "In the West, early science grew out of a decidedly religious impulse: to understand God and his relationship with man. The biblical picture of an orderly creation by a dependable God gave impetus to scientific inquiry. The universe "made sense" because it was overseen by a Supreme Intelligence who made mathematical description and prediction possible." "since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen…"(Rom. 1:20-21) God’s creation reflects His glory!

Sustainer God is no absentee landlord. He is not someone who observes his creation from afar. If wild donkeys find water to drink, it's because God put it there for them. If a badger on a mountainside finds a crag in which to build a home for himself, it's because God cares for that critter just as surely as he cares for any one of us. Implied throughout this psalm is the doctrine of what in theology is called creatio continua or the "continuing act of creation." (See Matt. 6:25-33,10:29-31) Foundations of the earth will never be shaken? God’s provision is not just for bare necessities (Ps. 104:15, see also John 10:10) Wine to make the heart glad, Oil to make the face shine, etc. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17) To “wait” upon God = to rely/depend upon Him (Ps. 104:27) God provides, but we must gather (Ps. 104:28, see also Exodus 16, Quail & Manna, each needs to gather his own daily, and not more than is needed for that day, double on day prior to Sabbath)