Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Let them praise Yahweh’s name,
    for his name alone is exalted.
    His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
He has lifted up the horn of his people,
    the praise of all his saints,
    even of the children of Israel, a people near to him.
Praise Yah!“

(Psalm 148:13-14)

Praise starts right at the Throne of God and reverberates throughout all creation (Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 6:3). The heavens are perceived as multi-layered and the psalmist goes through the various levels (Jewish tradition says there are seven levels), stating exactly which elements are to praise God. They praise Him for two main reasons: first, they thank Him for the fact that He commanded and they were created; second, they praise Him for their very existence – a slight, but distinct difference. Then the earth adds their praises. First the elements that make up the earth (winds, plants, etc) praise Him, and then the animals praise, and then the humans praise. The great and the common, the old and the young, all are called to praise the Lord. They praise Him because God’s glory illuminates the heavens and the earth and therefore call all to praise the One who Created All. Creation is why we can praise and evidence for the One whom we praise. “For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse” (Romans 1:20). This One (plural), Elohim or Mighty God, is the ONLY one worthy of worship and adoration. He is the One who creates. Creating is an integral part of God’s nature and He is the ONLY one who does it (human creation is really more human ingenuity, a reflection of God’s nature, or the application of an idea that originated with God – James 1:17; Genesis 1:16-28).

“This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens. No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.“

(Genesis 2:4-8)

God created everything. He started with the heavens (the unseen by us) and continued with the earth (the seen by us). Out of this stuff He formed all things. He created them as they are (or were at that time). He gave them form, He assigned them their place, and He set the systems and laws of nature in place. Science has again and again proven scripture (not just Genesis, but comments and observations throughout the Word) correct. Genesis may have been written down by Moses after the Exodus from Egypt and before the entrance into the Land of Promise, but it was revealed to him. Moses saw God’s GOODNESS – which is both creation and the works of God (Exodus 33:19). Moses communed with God for over eighty days on Sinai (in two forty-day sessions). Moses made a regular practise of going to the tabernacle and meeting with God (Exodus 33:11). Holy Spirit showed Moses exactly what to write and Moses wrote it down. Word for word, concept upon concept, and it all accorded with the oral tradition that had been handed down from their forefathers Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham. The Jews didn’t pick up concepts and ideas from the nations around them. All the peoples of Earth have a common ancestry and a knowledge of the God who created them and shepherded them – it is only that the peoples of Earth turned their backs from their shepherd and insisted on their own way (Amos 9:7; Romans 1:18–32).

“The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course. His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat. Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:1-7). Creation is a picture of the glory of God – as He made it, not as it is now (Sin entered creation, death was the fruit of sin, and all creation is fallen and groaning to get back to what it is supposed to be – Romans 8:19-23). He made it GOOD and it was good. The Father imagined it, designing it in His heart; The Son spoke it, sending out the vibration of His Word; and Holy Spirit imbued it with power, the energy that brought things that were not into reality. He shaped all things and spoke them into being. From that moment of speaking up to now and into all the expanses of the time after eternity, He upholds them by the power of His Word (Hebrews 1:3). They are a reflection of His glory, even as we are (Genesis 1:26). From the chaos of nothing, of darkness into the Light of His Life, this is how He created. Unlike the fallen creation that suffers with entropy – diminishment over time and forced evolution to survive those degrading circumstances – God’s creation and His Kingdom operate according to the principle of endless increase (Isaiah 9:6-7). Everything was meant to multiply, expand, and sing of the glory of the Lord who created them. Who set them into motion. Who revealed their purpose and form and being. Endless praise in endless increase for and endless Creator God.

“For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you have toward all the saints, don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.“

(Ephesians 1:15-23)

The works of God, whether they are creative or redemptive, cause us to give thanks. The works of God draw praise out from us. He is worthy of it and it is both right and good to give Him praise for what He has done, is doing, and will do. Even redemption is an act of creation within the work Jesus’ accomplished on and through the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17). Before God started creating, He had decided on us. He chose us then AND Jesus volunteered to be the sacrificial offering that would be necessary to pay the price of Sin (Genesis 2:16-17) and of our individual sins (Romans 6:23). These works proclaim His glory. His glory revealed draws out from us praise for Him. It is the purpose of our lives – both life now and the eternal life which is our relationship with God (John 17:3). This is what the world struggles to find. This is the MEANING of life: to bring praise to the God who deserves it completely and totally. “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:4-6, emphasis mine).

Summary

God’s creative works create in us the desire to and good work of praising Him for creating us, for our existence, and in worship of His glory, His grace, His mercy, His love, and His goodness.