What Does the Book of Psalms Teach About the Creation?

Student Number: 201728536

Course: B.Th.

Unit: OT302

Title: What does the book of Psalms teach about the creation?

Date due: 10/9/2018

Prescribed word count: 1,800

Actual word count: 1,834

Abstract:

While investigating what the book of Psalms teaches about creation, I learned that its emphasis leaned heavily toward reinforcing the bigness of God, his supreme Majesty, his glory, his grace, and his unfathomable wisdom. I also learned that to describe the power of his voice is difficult because it is louder and mightier than any force of nature that we can imagine, and yet we can hear it with our own eyes by observing his wonderful creation all around us in its beauty and splendour. I also learned that we should fear and revere his creative power and that the creative word of the Lord is for everyone, everywhere. The book of Psalms reinforced my understanding that the Lord has a plan and that it is relevant in the present and for the future. Most of all the book of psalms teaches us that we should get excited about creation because God delights in everything he has created.

Introduction:

The book of Psalms contains many different references to creation and it has been my intention within this essay to take a closer look at a selection of them in order to learn what the book of Psalms teaches me about creation. After a bit of research about creation Psalms, I have been looking at each one individually and I have chosen a selection that speak to me about the answer to the question asked: What does the book of Psalms teach about the creation? My research has taught me about the unfathomable majesty and power of our God and it reinforces my understanding of the authority of our Creator, Christ who is the Word of God.

Creation Psalms- What do they teach?

The book of Psalms is filled with many references that speak about creation, thirty that I could identify, but there are fewer than ten of the 150 Psalms that are often referred to as Creation Psalms and ‘there are at least five Psalms that invoke creation imagery: Psalms 8; 19A; 33; 104; 136.’ Of all of the 150 Psalms available there are five that I have selected to demonstrate the conclusion that I am arguing, they are: Psalms 8, 19, 29, 33 and 104.

The question asked for this essay is: What does the book of Psalms teach about the creation. This is a difficult question as the many references in the book of Psalms speak about a lot of different aspects but there is one common theme and that is that God is the creator.

Keeping that in mind I will take a closer look at what each of my chosen creation Psalms has to say in order to discover what I believe is the lesson about creation that the Psalmist’s are teaching.

Creation Psalms help us to build a picture of how God wants us to see him in relation to his creative works.

Psalm 8. The Lord’s Supreme Authority.

The first Creation Psalm I have chosen to explore, (8), is familiar because of its use of (2) in (Matthew 21:16) and (4-6) in (Hebrews 2:6-8), and it declares the majesty of our Sovereign Lord, who, with the work of his fingers established the moon and the stars (3). The Psalmist finishes the Psalm in the same way that it was started with the writer’s use of the words Sovereign and majestic as an Inclusio that is formed by (1,9).

We are reminded that the Lord’s authority is from above everything else, all gods and all things. This is a lesson that we must learn well if we are to learn anything about creation.

The use of two different words representing lordship in (1,9), Lord and Sovereign, I believe is a significant emphasis that reminds us of the Lord’s supreme authority.

Psalm 19. The law makes a way that leads to life.

The second creation Psalm (19) that I have looked at reinforces the supreme majesty of the Lord as the heavens declare his glory and as used in (Romans 10:18) have they not heard? Indeed they have;… to the ends of the world.

The heavens, firmament, day and night testify in vision with no sound about the glory of God and his handiwork and ‘there is no articulate, audible speech, sound or words, yet even in the absence of these their voice is heard.’

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