Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: From the Beginning | Part 3: The Flood | Part 4: The Sabbath | Part 5: Deliverance | Part 6: Isaiah | Part 7: Jeremiah | Part 8: Minor Prophets | Part 9: The Gospels | Part 10: Acts | Pauline Epistles 1 | Part 12: Pauline Epistles 2 | Part 13: Hebrews | Part 14: General Epistles | Part 15: Revelation | Part 16: Job
This post isn’t about Psalm 1; if it were, “Psalms 1” would be a barbarism. Rather it is one of several posts on the Psalms—”Psalms, Episode 1,” if you will.
The book of Psalms contains the largest collection of creation theology in the Scripture, even more that we should expect proportionally from the longest book in the Bible. By my count, there are 16 references, appearing in all but one of the collection’s 5 “books,” with Book 5, Psalms 107-150, being the most densely populated.
As we might expect from the relatively high numbers, these references develop several applicational themes. I’d like to take a few posts to cover them.
Deliverance
The most obvious deduction about the Creator, I think, is his power, evident from the vastness of the heavens and the evident power of earthly forces. It would make sense for God’s people, then, to call on his power for their protection and deliverance:
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter. … 19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: Forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever (Ps 74).
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: As for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon [significant mountains] shall rejoice in thy name. 13 Thou hast a mighty arm: Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. 14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance (Ps 89).
2 My help cometh from the Lord, Which made heaven and earth (Ps 121).
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, The sea, and all that therein is: Which keepeth truth for ever: 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: Which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: The Lord loveth the righteous: (Ps 146).
Blessing
A second, related theme is that of blessing, which I suppose we could consider the positive side of deliverance, or perhaps an extension of it:
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, Both small and great. 14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, You and your children. 15 Ye are blessed of the Lord Which made heaven and earth (Ps 115).
1 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, Which by night stand in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.3 The Lord that made heaven and earth Bless thee out of Zion (Ps 134).
I note that this last passage speaks of reciprocity: we bless him, and he blesses us. This is not to say that we bless him in order to evoke his blessing, or that he blesses us because we bless him; this isn’t about back-scratching. But it does demonstrate that the Creator and his people are in relationship; they love and communicate with and respond to one another.
Our consideration of the creation should affect us in these ways as well. We should be convinced of his power to deliver and to bless, and we should seek and respond to him in appropriate ways.
Next time: Psalms 2, which will not be about Psalm 2.
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
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