July 7

Worship the Creator and Sustainer

Psalms 65; 104

KEY VERSE: How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

n Psalm 104:24

I have a problem with the thrust of this lesson. At first glance there appears to be nothing wrong with the invitation to “worship the Creator and Sustainer.” God is the Creator of all things. He is indeed the Sustainer of life. Everything in the universe has been created by God.

The “works” of God are amazing. His creative power is too great to comprehend. As more and more discoveries are made, scientists continually enlarge our concept of the universe.

It does us good to consider the creatures of the sea as well as the lilies of the field. The more we learn about God’s handiwork, the more we appreciate life in all its forms.

Our praise of God should indeed include gratitude for “all creatures, great and small.” We should praise God for his faithfulness in sustaining all life, especially our own.

My problem is with the language. I have been so influenced by the teachings of Jesus that I prefer calling God “Father” rather than “Creator and Sustainer.” In John 4:23, Jesus says that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” Jesus said that when we pray, we should say, “Our Father.”

Because of the New Testament we who are Christians know more about the nature of God than the Psalmist knew. Jesus taught us so much more about God than we can ever learn in the Old Testament. So when the Psalmist says “Lord,” I prefer usually to say “Lord Jesus.” When the Psalmist says “God,” I prefer to say “Father.”

Actually, since the New Testament has taught me that “God is love,” I have made a habit of addressing God as “Loving Father.” I believe this is a beautiful, and biblical, way to offer praise to the God who is our Creator and Sustainer.