If you are doubting how loved you are, take this journey with me through Psalm 104. This reading adventure is worth your time, not because my words are meaningful, but because God’s Word is powerful. Listen to what he speaks to us through Psalm 104 as he communicates his love for his creation.
Psalm 104 beautifully correlates to the six days of creation God tells us about in Genesis 1. Let’s briefly look at Genesis 1 first (listed in the left column below). In Genesis 1, we learn God created realms on Days 1-3. On Day 1, he created day and night; Day 2, he separated atmosphere from the waters; Day 3, he separated land with vegetation from the waters. Then God filled those realms with rulers on Days 4-6. He created the sun, moon, and stars on Day 4 to rule the realms day and night of Day 1. Birds and sea creatures on Day 5 rule the sky and waters of Day 2. Land animals and humanity on Day 6 rule the land of Day 3, and God gives humanity dominion over everything. The Creator God of the Bible is the first source for all of life and the only consistent and logical explanation for all the details we see in creation. The intelligent communication and intelligent design in all of creation comes from the Intelligent Designer. Everything has meaning because God gave it meaning. He is behind every intricate detail, every sequencing, every arrangement, and every repetition in creation. Genesis 1-2, John 1, Romans 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, Psalm 19, and Psalm 139 are just a few places God self-proclaims he is the origin of all things. We also learn about the Creator God in Psalm 104. We see his majesty and his love in caring for his creation. Notice (from the right column below) how Psalm 104 gloriously expands on the days of creation laid out for us in Genesis 1.
Genesis 1
And God said, ‘Let there be light’ . . . And God separated the light from the darkness . . . the first day (vv.3-5)
And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters . . . and he called the expanse sky’ . . . the second day (vv.6-8)
And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear . . . and let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit’ . . . the third day (vv.9-13)
And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from night’ . . . And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night . . . the fourth day (vv.14-19)
And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens’ . . . And God blessed them saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’ . . . the fifth day (vv.20-23)
And God made the beasts of the earth . . . then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over [everything] . . . the sixth day (vv.24-31)
Psalm 104
God is clothed with splendor and majesty, covering himself in light and stretching out the heavens like a tent (v.2)
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind (v.3)
He set the earth on its foundations; The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place he appointed for them. He set a boundary for the waters that they may not pass, so that they would not again cover the earth (vv.5-9)
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. God makes darkness, and it is night when the beasts of the forest creep about . . . when the sun rises, they steal away (vv.19-22)
The sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great (v.25); Beside [the springs] the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches (v.12); In [the trees of the Lord] the birds build their nests (v.16-17)
Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening (v.23); How many are the works of the Lord! In wisdom God has made everything; the earth is full of his creatures (v.24)
Now read Psalm 139:15-16 against this backdrop of creation from Psalm 104 and Genesis 1 .
“My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.”
The days we are living were formed for us before one of them came to be. Before God created days, he knew you, and he knew exactly when he would place you in his story! You have purpose and are so deeply loved that God was thinking about you before the foundation of the world. Listen to what he says in Ephesians 1:4-5.
“[He] chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
In love, he chose his people before the foundation of the world. Before there was light on Day 1, our Triune God was hanging out in perfect harmony, not needing anything, and he chose his people in love and then he created, already having us in mind (Psalm 139).
God chose his people in love . . . according to his purposes. He chose us to live according to the purpose of his will, not to the purpose of our own wills. I’m so grateful I’m living for the purpose of God’s will and not my will. He is God. I am not. He is the author of this love story. I am not.
Psalm 104:28-30 reminds me of my position, a creature dependent on God. “When you [God] open your hand, [your creatures] are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” These verses are humbling and remind us of our limits. We are not the reason we are breathing and have life. Our breath and death are in God’s hands. And, we do not have to worry. We will live in the days he formed for us (Psalm 139) until his purposes are accomplished through us (Ephesians 1).
Here is the best part of being God’s creation and being chosen by God in love – it was all done through the person of Jesus! God adopts us as sons and daughters through Jesus (Ephesians 1:5), the one through whom all things were made (John 1:3). The one who hung on the cross in our place was there before Day 1 of creation. He is part of the Trinity. He has always existed and before the foundation of the world, he knew his mission was to rescue his people in love. In love, we were made. In love, we were saved. Please rest in that perfect love.