Creation: A Reflection of God's Glory and Love
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"Today I want to talk about one of the most astonishing things God has ever done: the creation of the universe. And what a universe it is! What a universe it is, and what a God! What a God must be behind this universe. I want to ask two questions: one, does God take pleasure in the works of creation? And secondly, if so, why does He?" [00:01:02]
"The psalmist is not praying for an uncertainty that might come true; he's exalting in a certainty. He's shouting, 'The glory of the Lord, let it endure forever. I agree, may it happen. It is sure.' And the same thing in the second verse or the second line of the verse: 'May the glory of the Lord endure forever, and may the Lord go on rejoicing in his Works forever.'" [00:02:09]
"God rejoices in his works because his works are an expression of his glory. It's like Psalm 19—you all know Psalm 19: 'The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament, the sky, proclaims his handiwork.' So the most basic reason I think that God delights in his creation is that his creation reflects his glory." [00:04:06]
"Creation is the overflow of divine abundance, not the effort of God to satisfy a deficiency. And so my first statement in answer to the question why God delights in the created world is that it expresses his glory. It is the overflow of the glory of the Father and the Son, and there is no competition, and both are equally glorified in the work of creation." [00:07:01]
"God rejoices in the creation because creation praises him. And I'm talking here about nonpersonal creation. Now, animals, rocks, water—Psalm 148 is a great psalm for calling the created order to praise God. Let me read a few verses of it, starting at verse three: 'Praise Him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.'" [00:07:42]
"Thomas Gray was stunned by the fact that at the bottom of the ocean there are gems more beautiful than any gem you'll ever see, and no man will ever see them. Only God sees them and enjoys them. And there are flowers... millions of flowers blooming and blood flinging in vivid colors and giving off fragrance, and no man will ever touch, see, or smell them at all. Only God will enjoy them." [00:09:45]
"Why did God make blue whales, or why did God make giant squid? I don't know what a leviathan is; nobody does. It's just a big monster that these seen came back with terrible tales about, and they're out there just rolling over in the ocean. And when the psalmist, the theologian in the Bible, ponders why there are such things, they give profound answers like, 'so that they can play in the ocean.'" [00:14:41]
"God rejoices in his works of creation because they reveal his incomparable wisdom. Verse 24 in our Psalm 104, verse 24: 'The Lord, oh Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom thou hast made them all; the Earth is full of thy creatures.' Don't you feel that when you look at the Universe? I mean, we can't see much of it, but when you look at this universe, I am just so moved with what a work of wisdom it is." [00:16:22]
"God rejoices in his works of creation because they reveal his incomparable power, not just his wisdom but also his power. I'm going to take you now to one of the greatest hymns to God's power in all the Bible, Isaiah chapter 40. If you want to go with me to verse 26, and we're going to see something that many of you have seen and perhaps not thought about as deeply as Isaiah has thought about." [00:19:57]
"Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these. He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one of them is missing. What a God! He has called every star by name, and if Isaiah was moved by what he could see, what would he feel today knowing what we know?" [00:21:40]
"God does mean for us to be stunned and awed by his creation, but not for its own sake. He means for us to say, if the work of God's hands is so abundant with power and wisdom and majesty and grandeur and beauty, what must God be like? What must the Creator be like if the flinging out of his fingers is so majestic and grand and great and glorious?" [00:23:45]
"In the end, it's not going to be the seas, it's not going to be the ocean, it's not going to be the deserts or the flowers or the mountains, it's not going to be spiders, it's not going to be the grand galaxies, it's going to be God himself that satisfies the soul. Nothing short of God will do. The infinite expanses of the galaxies will not satisfy my longing for grandeur, only the maker himself." [00:25:11]
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"The psalmist is not praying for an uncertainty that might come true; he's exalting in a certainty. He's shouting, 'The glory of the Lord, let it endure forever. I agree, may it happen. It is sure.' And the same thing in the second verse or the second line of the verse: 'May the glory of the Lord endure forever, and may the Lord go on rejoicing in his Works forever.'" [00:02:09]
"God rejoices in his works because his works are an expression of his glory. It's like Psalm 19—you all know Psalm 19: 'The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament, the sky, proclaims his handiwork.' So the most basic reason I think that God delights in his creation is that his creation reflects his glory." [00:04:06]
"Creation is the overflow of divine abundance, not the effort of God to satisfy a deficiency. And so my first statement in answer to the question why God delights in the created world is that it expresses his glory. It is the overflow of the glory of the Father and the Son, and there is no competition, and both are equally glorified in the work of creation." [00:07:01]
"God rejoices in the creation because creation praises him. And I'm talking here about nonpersonal creation. Now, animals, rocks, water—Psalm 148 is a great psalm for calling the created order to praise God. Let me read a few verses of it, starting at verse three: 'Praise Him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.'" [00:07:42]
"Thomas Gray was stunned by the fact that at the bottom of the ocean there are gems more beautiful than any gem you'll ever see, and no man will ever see them. Only God sees them and enjoys them. And there are flowers... millions of flowers blooming and blood flinging in vivid colors and giving off fragrance, and no man will ever touch, see, or smell them at all. Only God will enjoy them." [00:09:45]
"Why did God make blue whales, or why did God make giant squid? I don't know what a leviathan is; nobody does. It's just a big monster that these seen came back with terrible tales about, and they're out there just rolling over in the ocean. And when the psalmist, the theologian in the Bible, ponders why there are such things, they give profound answers like, 'so that they can play in the ocean.'" [00:14:41]
"God rejoices in his works of creation because they reveal his incomparable wisdom. Verse 24 in our Psalm 104, verse 24: 'The Lord, oh Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom thou hast made them all; the Earth is full of thy creatures.' Don't you feel that when you look at the Universe? I mean, we can't see much of it, but when you look at this universe, I am just so moved with what a work of wisdom it is." [00:16:22]
"God rejoices in his works of creation because they reveal his incomparable power, not just his wisdom but also his power. I'm going to take you now to one of the greatest hymns to God's power in all the Bible, Isaiah chapter 40. If you want to go with me to verse 26, and we're going to see something that many of you have seen and perhaps not thought about as deeply as Isaiah has thought about." [00:19:57]
"Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these. He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one of them is missing. What a God! He has called every star by name, and if Isaiah was moved by what he could see, what would he feel today knowing what we know?" [00:21:40]
"God does mean for us to be stunned and awed by his creation, but not for its own sake. He means for us to say, if the work of God's hands is so abundant with power and wisdom and majesty and grandeur and beauty, what must God be like? What must the Creator be like if the flinging out of his fingers is so majestic and grand and great and glorious?" [00:23:45]
"In the end, it's not going to be the seas, it's not going to be the ocean, it's not going to be the deserts or the flowers or the mountains, it's not going to be spiders, it's not going to be the grand galaxies, it's going to be God himself that satisfies the soul. Nothing short of God will do. The infinite expanses of the galaxies will not satisfy my longing for grandeur, only the maker himself." [00:25:11]
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