Psalm 33 - Pt 2: God = the Creator of All
Did you know that it has only been since around the 1960s that science finally caught up with the Bible on probably the most important scientific question that could ever be asked? Before the 1960s, there was a belief about the existence of the universe that clearly contradicted the Bible. Prior to the twentieth century, before the Big Bang theory had been developed, philosophers and scientists debated whether the universe had a beginning. Some argued it had always existed: that it was “infinitely old.” This agreed with the worldview of ancient pagan philosophers and then-current atheism. Atheism particularly held to the idea of an “infinitely old” universe as a reason to dismiss God as unnecessary. This situation changed drastically in the first half of the twentieth century as several discoveries were made, leading to the formation of the Big Bang theory. Over several decades, those who preferred the idea of an eternal universe made many attempts to explain away hard evidence, but to no avail. The result was secular science lending tremendous support to the creation account of the Bible.
Einstein’s theory of general relativity, published in 1916, suggested the universe either had to be constantly expanding or constantly contracting. So, Einstein added a “cosmological constant” to his equations, for no other reason than to maintain the possibility of a static, eternal universe in opposition to Christian teaching. Einstein later called this the “biggest blunder” of his career.
The work of Edwin Hubble in the 1920s proved the universe is expanding. This finding contradicted Einstein’s cosmological constant and left non-believing astrophysicists uncomfortable. Their discomfort was made even worse with the contributions of Georges Lemaître, a Roman Catholic priest and astronomer. Lemaître noted that the combination of general relativity theory and Hubble’s discoveries implies a beginning. If the universe is currently expanding, then at some time in the past, the entire universe would have been contained in some infinitesimally small point. This idea is foundational to the Big Bang theory. Over the next several decades, physicists tried to salvage the eternality of the universe by proposing everything from the Milne model (1935) to the steady state theory (1948). In many (if not most) cases, these models were proposed explicitly because the implications of a non-eternal universe were “too religious.”
The year 1964 brought about the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation—something predicted by the earliest Big Bang theorists in the 1940s. For all intents and purposes, that discovery made the “beginning” of the universe an inescapable fact of modern science. The question was no longer “did the universe have a beginning?” but “how did the universe begin?”
Science finally caught up with the Bible. It proves, on the most important scientific question, that the book of Genesis gave us the answer thousands of years earlier: “In the beginning.” And that reveals another reality: that at some point, there was nothing—no gases, no chemicals, no space, no atoms, no matter at all, and, as a result, no time. Since one of the most foundational truths of observational science is that something can never come from nothing, there had to be an impetus for the beginning. Something that transcends time, space, and matter, something that is outside of time, space, and matter, and that has the sufficient ability, force, and energy to bring time, space, and matter into existence. When observing the incredible order, the logical laws of nature, and the consciousness that occupies this universe, it is reasonable to assume that the sufficient force that transcends time, space, and matter would need intellect, logic, and consciousness. This seems to give evidence of a Creator.
Now, why do I bring this up? We are in the middle of a series on Psalm 33, and last week we examined the first five verses that open with “Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!” We explored the reasons the Psalmist David gave for unabandoned worship, and now we pick up Psalm 33 in verse 6:
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Pray
The psalmist makes a declaration about the creation of the world: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made." David, in describing the heavens being made—the sky, the stars, the planets—and then speaking to the depths of the seas having been “gathered” by the hands of God, is creating the imagery of the fullness of creation as the revelation of the greatness and majesty of God. He points to indescribable power and authority that transcends time, space, and matter, that orders the world, breathing life and consciousness as a platform for our response to Him.
He says, "Look at what God has done, look at His majestic work and the power and authority He has." And so, "Let the earth fear the Lord, let all its inhabitants stand in awe." This is an incredibly important truth that, when embraced, provides structure and meaning for our lives and our Christian faith. It puts in proper perspective both the life of the believer and the non-believer. God is the Creator of the world, and as a result, it is incumbent upon us as His creation to respond.
And that is the first truth about humanity in light of God as Creator that you have to see revealed here. If God is the Creator of the universe, it is necessary for us as His created beings to respond to that truth. It is a call to believers for specific actions, but it is also an explanation for why non-believers refuse to even acknowledge the possibility of a Creator God. If God exists, it will be incumbent upon you to respond, and the Bible teaches us that this is exactly why people deny what appears evident. David touches on this idea in Psalm 14 when he says: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good." The word translated here as "fool" implies wickedness or being given to sin. He emphasizes those who desire and seek sinfulness say in their hearts there is no God. This makes sense because if there is no God, there is freedom to allow yourself to sit in His place. Your desires, your passions, your wants become your guiding values. Paul in Romans expounds on this idea even more directly when he writes:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! (Expound: the evidence of God; why throughout time man has asked the question; scientific discoveries have not diminished the evidence.
The question is, if there is a God, and I believe the evidence profoundly points in that direction, what does it say about Him and what must we do? Both points are addressed in verse 8 of the 33rd Psalm: "Let all the earth fear the Lord and then let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!"
"Let all the earth fear the Lord." This first statement, I believe, addresses the nature and status of God and us before Him. When the word uses the concept of "fear the Lord," it is meant to emphasize the right understanding of the difference and distance between God and man. The word "fear" means fear—not to be afraid, but to acknowledge the authority and power God has above you. (An imperfect analogy I use often to convey this is my relationship with my dad. He was kind of a scary guy. I knew he loved me and would fight for me and provide for me, but I also knew the respect he deserved, he had, and it required me to live from a posture of obedience and trust and understanding of his place, which was different from my place. God is NOT like us, and one of the greatly lost truths that need to be recaptured is that God is not defined and judged by our ideas, our values, or our morals, but we will FOREVER be defined and judged by His ideas, His values, and His morals. Just that reality should have a sobering effect. (Too often we judge God through our lens of what is loving or not loving, what is forgiving or not forgiving, what is fair or unfair, and He is Creator. He is not like us; He created us.)
To give you an example, I came across someone who professed to be a liberal Christian who took umbrage with the idea that God would punish sinners. His basic argument was that God asks us to forgive—in fact, he said, He asks us to forgive 70x7—and if He is going to expect us to forgive, then God, being more moral than us, will forgive. Setting aside the fact that Jesus prefaces that forgiveness in the Luke 14 account with "as many times as they come to you and REPENT," he prefaces it with repentance. But look at Romans 12 quickly: in verse 17, He says, "never repay evil for evil," and then He says, "never avenge yourself." What does that mean? If we TAKE vengeance, it is MORALLY wrong, right? But then what does it say? "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." God’s authority as Creator and God means He is over us and cannot be judged like us. He has authority that we do not have, and to judge Him based on our standard is to lose sight of who He is and who we are. He is the Creator; He owes man nothing. Every breath we have is His gift.
The heart of sin is the denial of God’s rightful place as Creator. Instead of yielding to Him and His words, you put your own desires above Him. He is Creator; fear the Lord. Do not judge Him by your human standards. Understand the glory that is His, understand the authority that is His. Look to the creation of this world—the majesty of its mountains, the innumerability of its heavens, the complexity of our lives—and do not believe you have a place to judge Him or ignore Him or despise Him, but fear Him and be in awe of Him.
That’s the second statement that gives us our instruction in what we must do: "Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." The first declaration relates directly to God’s position and our place; this relates more directly to our response. Barnes, in his commentary on this passage, describes this as instruction to “reverence or adore him.” The expression is equivalent to “worship,” with reverence entering essentially into the idea of worship. So, in a very real way, this is the continuation of the idea begun in verse 1. (Expound a little: David opens the Psalm imploring us to worship, and he says look at who He is, His worthiness to be adored.)
The heart of worship is born when we discover the nature of God as Creator. (Expound a little: He is not like man; personal nature as Creator.) The verses we looked at last week emphasized the practice of worship, the singing and shouting and playing of instruments, and this idea of God’s incredible nature revealed in His acts as Creator feeds that act of worship. He is worthy; He is majestic; He shows from that place His care.
But it extends even beyond that. Worship is the acknowledgment of Him as God and Savior. It is the response to knowledge of all He is and has done. Where the spiritual discipline of singing and playing is the beautiful and expressive manifestation of that understanding, worship extends to all aspects of our lives. We love as an expression of worship in acknowledgment of His incredible love towards us. We forgive as an expression of worship in acknowledgment of His ongoing forgiveness towards us. We live holy lives as an expression of worship in acknowledgment of His selfless sacrifice to redeem us from our sinfulness. We obey willingly His word as an expression of worship in the acknowledgment of His authority as our Creator.
Conclusion:
God is our Creator, and that is implied as a result. His authority, His majesty, His power leads us to the inescapable truth that He is worthy of our fear and devotion. But it’s not simply that creation reveals His authority and majesty and power. All of that has been leveraged, from a heart of love towards us, His creation, to bring us redemption and reconciliation, and that leads us to worship. A world, a person, who loses sight of His Creator is left to their own judgment, and that denial of the Creator will bring destruction, but those who serve their loving Creator will find nothing but life.