GOD’S MASTERPIECE –

We know from previous psalms that David and other writers loved to spend time looking up into the sky, especially at night, and marvel at God’s creative power. They knew that some men believed they could duplicate whatever had been attributed to God’s handiwork here on earth, but when it came to what man saw in the heavens, there was little doubt that this lay beyond anything humankind could replicate. To these psalmists, the beauty of the stars in the universe was indicative of God’s majesty and splendor. No wonder this is the first psalm in which we find the word, “Hallelujah.”

“I want to magnify my LORD Eternal with all my heart; yes, sing to my LORD Eternal and One True God, ‘How great Thou art.’ For You are dressed in splendor and majesty that cover You in brilliant lights, spreading out Your mantle in the sky. And may the splendor of the LORD Eternal last forever; let Him always be proud of His handiwork. One glance at the earth and it quakes; yes, one touch on the mountains make them erupt. There will be no stopping me, for I plan to keep on singing hymns of praise to my One True God as long as I’m alive. I want every thought I have of Him to make Him glad, and cause the LORD Eternal to fill my heart with joy. And after sinners and evil doers are long gone, I will still be shouting, ‘Hallelujah!’ to the LORD Eternal with all my heart.” Psalm 104:1-2, 31-35

Reflection: As far back as the 1980’s, before the ensuing debate between evolution and intelligent design, molecular biologists like Dr. Michael Denton, who himself was a not a creationist thinker, questioned Darwinian evolution. He stated that to grasp the reality of life as revealed by molecular biology we must magnify a single cell a billion times until it’s about twelve miles in diameter resembling a giant airship large enough to cover New York City. Once that is done, we would see an object of unparalleled complexity and adaptive design. On the cell’s surface we’d see millions of pores, like the port holes of a vast space ship, opening and closing to allow a continual stream of materials to flow in and out. If we entered one of these openings we’d find ourselves in a world of supreme technology and bewildering complexity. Denton states, that this small element contains intricacies beyond our creative capacities, a reality that offers the strongest antithesis of this happening by accident or chance. He goes on to say, that practically every field of fundamental biological research continues to reveal ever-increasing levels of design and complexity at an ever-accelerating rate of discovery. We doubt that David or any other psalmist qualified as a molecular biologist, but one thing they never doubted for a second: God created the heavens and the earth. If the Almighty had decided to dictate His creative design methods in Genesis, detailing everything down to the smallest DNA and RNA, Moses would still be writing, causing the volume to rise above the tallest mountain peak, and beyond the ability of man’s brain to comprehend even the introductory portion. It is only by faith we can assimilate and embrace all of this wonder (cf. Isaiah 40:12-14).