WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:03.680 Psalm 104. I'll read out loud. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:08.419 If you follow along with me, it's a lengthier psalm than usual. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.980 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:21.179 You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, 00:00:21.900 --> 00:00:23.519 stretching out the heavens like a tent. 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.300 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters. 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:32.100 He makes the clouds his chariot. He rides on the wings of the wind. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:36.640 He makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.299 He set the earth on its foundation so that he should never be moved. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:43.120 You covered it with the deep as with a garment. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:45.480 The waters stood above the mountains. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.900 At your rebuke, they fled. 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:51.060 At the sound of your thunder, they took to flight. 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:56.480 The mountains rose. The valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:01.759 You set a boundary that they may not pass so that they might not again cover the earth. 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.140 You make springs gush forth in the valleys. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.500 They flow between the hills. 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:08.979 They give drink to every beast of the field. 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.039 The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.679 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:15.479 They sing among the branches. 00:01:16.259 --> 00:01:18.780 From your lofty abode, you water the mountains. 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:21.459 The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:26.559 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:30.859 that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, 00:01:31.399 --> 00:01:35.099 oil to make his face shine, and breath to strengthen man's heart. 00:01:36.219 --> 00:01:40.560 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.099 In them the birds build their nests. 00:01:43.339 --> 00:01:45.780 The stork has her home in the fir trees. 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:48.320 The high mountains are for the wild goats. 00:01:48.460 --> 00:01:50.820 The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:53.640 He made the moon to mark the seasons. 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:55.960 The sun knows it's time for setting. 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:01.040 You make darkness and it is night when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:05.280 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:09.240 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:12.740 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:16.060 O Lord, how manifold are your works! 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:18.420 In wisdom have you made them all. 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:20.680 The earth is full of your creatures. 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:26.000 Here is a sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, 00:02:26.540 --> 00:02:28.719 living things both small and great. 00:02:29.260 --> 00:02:32.900 There go the ships and Leviathan, which you formed to play in. 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:36.460 These all look to you to give them their food and do season. 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:38.700 When you give it to them, they gather it up. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.640 When you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:44.500 When you hide your face, they are dismayed. 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:48.399 When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:52.799 When you send forth your spirit, they are created and you renew the face of the ground. 00:02:53.859 --> 00:02:55.719 May the glory of the Lord endure forever. 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:57.759 May the Lord rejoice in his works. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.500 Who looks on the earth and it trembles. 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:02.839 Who touches the mountains and they smoke. 00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:05.979 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:08.699 I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:13.979 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 00:03:14.299 --> 00:03:18.179 Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:20.599 Bless the Lord, O my soul. 00:03:21.119 --> 00:03:22.379 Praise the Lord. 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:23.579 Amen. 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:30.440 So this psalm begins and ends with the exhortation to bless the Lord. 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:36.320 And really everything in between is kind of a reason why you should bless the Lord and praise the Lord. 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:41.900 And it kind of follows, this is what you might call, I guess a commentary almost. 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.640 It follows the days of creation in Genesis 1. 00:03:45.639 --> 00:03:49.539 Actually, before I get into that, let me ask you guys this question. 00:03:49.699 --> 00:03:51.199 Have you guys ever seen Bob Ross? 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:52.839 Yeah, of course. 00:03:52.859 --> 00:03:53.019 Okay. 00:03:53.619 --> 00:03:56.619 So, are you joking? 00:03:57.739 --> 00:03:58.579 No, you're not joking? 00:03:59.219 --> 00:03:59.699 No, he's not. 00:03:59.739 --> 00:04:00.079 Oh, really? 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:01.059 Pretty little trees. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:01.739 Pretty little trees. 00:04:01.739 --> 00:04:02.179 There's a fro. 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:04.259 I've never seen a pole. 00:04:05.119 --> 00:04:07.679 So, he was like a 20th century American painter. 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:11.240 And he got famous because of his show, The Joy of Painting. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:15.120 He ran for like over a decade on PBS in the 1990s or something like that. 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:15.640 Huh? 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.240 He was actually a drill sergeant. 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:18.439 He was actually a drill sergeant. 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:18.639 Yeah. 00:04:18.900 --> 00:04:19.620 He was actually a drill sergeant. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:25.480 And he kind of, like, the reason why some of you know him is because he kind of became famous again in the 21st century after he died. 00:04:25.840 --> 00:04:28.740 Like, because after he died, he became this, like, internal sensation on YouTube and whatnot. 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:30.019 He was like a famous man. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:30.519 Yeah. 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:30.920 Yeah. 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:31.199 Yeah. 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:35.639 But, like, I actually remember watching him, like, growing up, like, on TV. 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.319 And it was just, like, awe-inspiring, right? 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.599 Because, like, he's just talking to you casual. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.919 Like, he just, like, takes a brush and, like, puts on a little paint and then paints stuff. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:47.319 And it looks so simple. 00:04:47.419 --> 00:04:51.199 But with those simple strokes of the brush, like, he paints these magnificent landscapes. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.599 And it's just like, you know you can't do the same thing. 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:56.939 Even if you try to imitate him exactly, it just doesn't work. 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.620 You know, he's just a masterful painter, right? 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:08.579 And so that, even though he made it look easy, like, it was really quite awe-inspiring to watch someone create something like that from scratch, right? 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:12.480 And then, and now, like, imagine, I want to ask you a question. 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:25.780 If watching a painter paint a landscape could be that amazing and inspiring, imagine what it would be like to, if you were on the scene when God was creating the universe, right? 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:31.259 Like, he's creating the everything, literally, and now we get to watch it. 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:33.779 Like, what kind of effect would that have on us? 00:05:33.859 --> 00:05:42.679 I mean, if he saw our inspiring, he would make us feel so small, so humbled, we'd be able to, we'd be really just be forever worshiping him, right? 00:05:42.739 --> 00:05:47.299 I mean, that's, and that's really kind of the effect that Psalm 104 is going for. 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:54.219 It's trying to teach us that seeing the Lord of creation and his sovereign power should humble us to worship him. 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:57.940 So that's kind of the painting of Psalm 104. 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:01.460 And in verses 1 to 9, we see the Lord who creates. 00:06:02.020 --> 00:06:05.700 In verses 10 to 30, we see the Lord who sustains his creation. 00:06:06.580 --> 00:06:11.060 And then in verses 31 to 35, we see the Lord who rejoices over his creation. 00:06:11.260 --> 00:06:12.640 And so we're going to see that part. 00:06:12.880 --> 00:06:19.500 And so if you look at verses 1 to 9, it's an account of how the Lord creates the habitats of earth. 00:06:19.880 --> 00:06:23.360 And it follows the first three days of creation in Genesis 1. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:26.720 So in day one of creation, God separates the light from the darkness. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.460 And that's what we see in verses 1 to 2. 00:06:28.980 --> 00:06:29.180 It says, 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:30.860 O Lord my God, you are very great. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:35.960 You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with the garment, right? 00:06:36.580 --> 00:06:38.040 Stretching out the heavens like a tent. 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:39.580 So that's day one of creation. 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:43.560 1 Timothy 6.16 says God dwells in unapproachable light. 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:49.460 And so he pictures the light as kind of God's dazzling clothes that he's wearing. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:55.500 Day of two of creation, God separates the waters below from the waters above, which is the clouds. 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.579 And then the expanse between the two waters he calls the clouds. 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:00.899 He calls the heaven. 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:05.899 And then in verses 3 to 4 of this psalm, we see God creating heaven as his home. 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:06.579 It says, 00:07:06.659 --> 00:07:10.560 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters, the water above. 00:07:10.679 --> 00:07:11.159 That's the clouds. 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:13.240 He makes the clouds his chariot. 00:07:13.299 --> 00:07:14.539 He rides on the wings of the wind. 00:07:14.599 --> 00:07:17.339 He makes his messengers winds, his ministers of flaming fire. 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:21.619 So obviously it's using metaphorical language to describe God's dwelling place. 00:07:22.159 --> 00:07:24.479 But it's really a spectacular picture, right? 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:30.939 He's riding on the clouds, the winds and flaming fire, which I don't know what that's really a reference to, 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:32.839 but those are his servants. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:34.419 They serve and they do his bidding. 00:07:36.159 --> 00:07:38.379 So I'm just trying to try to picture this as we go, 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.539 because it's supposed to kind of put you in that state of awe. 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:47.240 And day 3 of creation, God gathers the waters on the ground into one place and calls it sea. 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:51.379 And then lets dry land appear by gathering the waters and he calls it the earth. 00:07:52.640 --> 00:07:57.020 And so, and verses 5, 9 talk about then a very vivid kind of symmetrical poetry. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.240 So they're structured like chiastically. 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.540 I've mentioned this before, like a chiasm, right? 00:08:02.580 --> 00:08:06.580 Where it's two matching elements with one element in the middle that doesn't have a matching element. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:07.800 So it's like an X. 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:11.579 And so they bring attention to what's in the middle. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:17.079 So verses 5 to 6 speak of how the earth and even its mountains were once covered with water 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:18.960 before God let the dry land appear. 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:22.480 And then verses 8 to 9 match that. 00:08:22.540 --> 00:08:26.480 And it talks about how God's set boundaries, limits for the water, 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:28.220 so that he can't cover the earth. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:32.440 And that that brought forth mountains, mountains rose, and valleys sank. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:34.120 So he made those. 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:38.399 And then what's in the middle is the most important point that Psalm is to try to make. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:39.200 And that's verse 7. 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:40.659 How God brought this about. 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:40.980 He says, 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:43.279 At your rebuke they fled. 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:46.340 At the sound of your thunder they took to flight. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.179 So God rebukes the waters that cover the earth. 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:52.460 It's like, I mean, that reminds you of something, right? 00:08:52.560 --> 00:08:54.200 Jesus rebuked in the seas, right? 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:55.779 So that's, again, mentioned it. 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.600 It's a reference to how Jesus is basically God, the Son of God. 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:04.040 And so God rebukes the water that covered the earth so that they fled, 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:07.800 so that they flee to the boundaries that God set for it. 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.940 And according to kind of the Canaanite, it's kind of engineers through mythology, 00:09:13.920 --> 00:09:17.360 Baal, their kind of creator God, almighty God, 00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:23.259 kind of fights with this god of chaos called sea, the water sea. 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:26.220 And it's an epic battle to the death. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.360 And Baal finally prevails. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.379 And from the carcass of the god of sea, he creates the world. 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:32.659 Is that Rahab? 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:33.259 Right, huh? 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:33.939 Rahab? 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:36.600 The sea monster? 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:37.220 Yeah. 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:40.220 Yeah, so there's a lot of related ideas there. 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:45.240 But Baal basically was the Canaanite god of the clouds. 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:51.259 So here, the psalmist who's writing this is intentionally kind of almost, 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.799 not parodying it, but they're really, it's a polemical argument. 00:09:55.980 --> 00:09:58.879 They're trying to say that, no, Baal is not the god who rides in the clouds. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:00.539 It's actually Yahweh, the Lord. 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:02.000 So they're using his name, the Lord. 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:06.940 Baal's not the one who created the world by prevailing over the sea god. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:09.379 Actually, there is no sea god at all. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:10.899 It's just his creatures. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.820 It's just God's act of God's creation. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:15.180 And all he had to do was speak. 00:10:15.660 --> 00:10:17.460 And he rebuked the seas and they fled. 00:10:17.920 --> 00:10:20.760 Unlike this cosmic contest between Baal and sea, right? 00:10:20.800 --> 00:10:23.100 So he's painting this picture of God's power. 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:24.020 He's mighty. 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.900 There's no equal, no one that can actually compete with him. 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:35.660 And then we see in verses 5 to 9. 00:10:38.420 --> 00:10:40.020 Oh, we actually just talked about that. 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:47.120 And then in verses 10 and following, we see kind of his sustaining the inhabitants of earth. 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:51.299 So days 4 to 6, we see in verses 10 to 30. 00:10:52.699 --> 00:10:54.480 So first in 10 to 13, it says, 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:56.399 You make springs gush forth in the valleys. 00:10:56.500 --> 00:10:57.539 They flow between the hills. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:10:59.439 They give drink to every beast of the field. 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:01.179 The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.720 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell. 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:04.939 They sing among the branches. 00:11:04.939 --> 00:11:06.860 From your lofty abode you water the mountains. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:08.460 The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:13.360 So it actually kind of overlaps with day 3 when God brings vegetations forth to feed the animals. 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:17.460 So verses 14 to 18 talk about that. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:19.580 He feeds the livestock with grass. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.120 He feeds men, right? 00:11:22.180 --> 00:11:23.899 By bringing forth food from the earth. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.480 So food to feed their stomach, right? 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.159 The wine to gladden their heart. 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:29.860 Oil to make their face shine, right? 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:31.899 The bread to strengthen the heart. 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:36.139 And he feeds the birds in their nest. 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:40.720 And the mountains he has set aside for the wild goats and the rocks for the rock badgers. 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.899 He creates the moon and the sun to mark the seasons. 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:46.539 So that's day 4 of creation in Genesis. 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.500 And he makes the darkness in his night when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 00:11:51.579 --> 00:11:52.879 So this is actually really fascinating. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:57.460 So in verse 21, it talks about how even the young lions, right? 00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:59.480 They seem so self-sufficient, right? 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:02.200 These beasts, the king of the jungle, so they say. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:03.720 Although they don't really live in the jungle, right? 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:08.360 But so the lions, they don't need help, right? 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:13.060 I mean, they could kill as they want and claim their food. 00:12:13.180 --> 00:12:16.399 But it says that even they seek their food from God. 00:12:16.920 --> 00:12:18.840 God's the one that feeds even the lions. 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.820 And so the lions actually, they rise at night. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.740 And then they steal away and lie down in their dens when the sun rises. 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.220 But that's when men, human beings, go out. 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:32.360 They work during the day when there's light. 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:34.820 So it's like there's this order of creation, right? 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:36.200 There's a time when animals work. 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:38.320 And then there are times when human beings work. 00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:42.480 So that God created this in a way that all works together. 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:44.560 And then he turns to the seas. 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:51.159 Great and wide teams with creatures innumerable, which is really not hyperbole. 00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:53.740 It really is innumerable creatures in the seas. 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:56.220 And they're small and great. 00:12:56.360 --> 00:13:01.039 And he mentions the ships as kind of representing the humans who are fishing, looking for food. 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:07.180 And then he mentions Leviathan, which is, there's a lot I can say about Leviathan. 00:13:07.419 --> 00:13:13.519 But I found this tidbit from a really interesting book. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:19.919 It's called An Instinct for Dragons by an anthropologist named David E. Jones. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:29.620 And he really catalogs all the instances of kind of serpent-like dragons that are in different cultures. 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:37.600 And he says they exist in like pretty much every culture, have this kind of mythical serpent, kind of like dragon-like creature in every culture. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:39.500 I wonder why, right? 00:13:39.680 --> 00:13:45.060 Because Genesis 3 mentions a certain serpent that becomes the foal of humanity and brings him to sin, right? 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:46.820 So I mean, I wonder why there's such a mythical creature. 00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:48.659 There's maybe such a thing that really happened. 00:13:49.820 --> 00:14:02.379 And he cites a study that says that approximately 390 people in 1,000 are afraid of snakes, even in areas where there are no snakes to be found. 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:08.779 And all the earliest instances of dragons, they all have snake-like attributes. 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:15.759 And he concludes that this is because in nearly all cultures, there's this innate fear of snakes in human beings. 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:18.559 And that's fascinating to me. 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:26.460 It's actually, if you look at, if I were to ask you, what's the deadliest animal in the world? 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:28.799 What are some animals that come to mind? 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:30.779 Like animals that cause the most human fatalities. 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:32.179 Mesthetos? 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:33.179 Deer. 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.019 Mosquitoes, that's true. 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:37.899 Mosquitoes are correct. 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:41.980 But mosquitoes are deadly because they carry diseases. 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:47.539 So not insects or animals, like dogs, for example, carry rabies, right? 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:48.799 And then they can kill a lot of humans. 00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:53.620 But not animals that kill people because they have diseases, but animals themselves that kill the most people. 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:53.939 Deer. 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:54.720 Sharks. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.220 Sharks is often mentioned. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.340 There's only about 10 deaths a year because of sharks. 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:02.879 Even the jaws have really kind of over, they can't do it out of proportion. 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:03.580 Sharkweed? 00:15:03.920 --> 00:15:04.100 Huh? 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:05.280 Yeah. 00:15:05.920 --> 00:15:07.899 Wolves, they say about 10 animals a year. 00:15:08.300 --> 00:15:09.340 Deer actually do. 00:15:09.660 --> 00:15:09.800 Huh? 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:10.399 Deer do. 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:14.080 Yeah, I'm sure they do, but they don't make the cut. 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.740 So lion, they say about 100 deaths a year. 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:17.139 Die. 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:18.740 Hippopotamus. 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:19.740 Hippopotamus. 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:20.060 Hippopotamus. 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:21.299 Hippopotamus, 500. 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:22.440 Bears. 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:24.500 Bears don't make the cut. 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:26.259 But the crocodile, 1,000 a year. 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:27.000 Oh, wow. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:32.480 And actually, snake, 50,000 a year. 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:40.419 So, yeah, so snake is still the deadliest animal if you don't count the ones that kill people by diseases that they carry. 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:46.740 So, I mean, there's a, so there's a, so there's a, it kind of explains our fear of snakes in a way, right? 00:15:46.819 --> 00:15:51.740 It's like a, and I think goes all the way back to creation and fall of humanity. 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:57.860 And so Leviathan is described like in Job 41, for example, like a real physical creature. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:08.300 But it's not clear if it's like a real, like, physical creature that people have seen or whether it's a mythical creature that they're describing in real physical terms, right? 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:15.279 So it's like a, but they can be described in physical ways and they take this kind of like metaphorical significance in some parts of scripture. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:20.860 So, for example, in Isaiah 27, 1, it talks about the end times. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:28.019 It says, in that day, the Lord, with his hard and great and strong sword, will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent. 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:33.600 Leviathan, the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:44.940 And, of course, in Revelation, it talks about how the Lord slays and defeats once and for all the serpent, the great, the dragon, the great serpent, right? 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.580 Which is who accuses the people of God. 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:55.980 So I think it's kind of like a physical, kind of this, basically the most powerful creature you can think of. 00:16:56.160 --> 00:17:00.220 And that takes on this kind of metaphorical significance as well because it's so powerful. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:08.100 And in here, here it's described, it's really focusing on the kind of the physical side of it, how big, how strong it is. 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:12.039 And look at the way God describes the Leviathan. 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:17.440 It says, not only the lions get food from him, the people go out in ships to get food from God. 00:17:17.879 --> 00:17:19.960 And he says, here, there go the ships. 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:23.159 And Leviathan, in verse 26, which you form to play in it. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:29.319 It's like God puts the Leviathan, lets him float onto the sea like a little pet, like a little goldfish. 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:30.899 I mean, yeah. 00:17:31.139 --> 00:17:31.180 What? 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:32.359 It was the literature class. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:32.700 Yeah. 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:36.339 And some of the translations said, I thought it said play. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.619 Yeah, yeah, that's actually an ultimate translation. 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:39.240 Yeah. 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:39.839 Yeah. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.819 It's like, isn't that just a crazy image, right? 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.940 It's like this, the most powerful creature you can imagine, this huge thing. 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.900 God's like, oh, go frolic in the sea, like a goldfish, right? 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:51.359 I mean, so that's how powerful God is. 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:52.720 That's the picture. 00:17:53.859 --> 00:17:58.299 And it says, these all look to you, verse 27, to give their food in due season. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.220 When you give it to them, they gather it up. 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:02.279 When you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.920 And look at this, 29 to 30, God's life-giving power. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:09.140 When you hide your face, they are dismayed. 00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:12.539 When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:18.720 When you send forth your spirit, they are created and renew the face of the ground. 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:24.980 And so there's, in 28 to 30, there's this pattern of when God does this, this happens to them. 00:18:25.100 --> 00:18:26.500 When he does this, this happens to them. 00:18:26.580 --> 00:18:30.120 So every power of life is in the hands of the Lord. 00:18:30.360 --> 00:18:34.080 He has the hand to take it away, power to take it away, and the power to give life. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:44.379 And that's kind of, and look at how he, and then he concludes in verse 31 to 35 with, again, focusing on the glory of the Lord and why we should praise him. 00:18:44.899 --> 00:18:47.980 May the glory of the Lord endure forever. 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:49.559 May the Lord rejoice in his works. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:54.500 So this is really day seven of creation when God rests and exalts over, rejoices over his creation. 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:56.960 So God's rejoicing over his creative works. 00:18:57.079 --> 00:18:59.960 Who looks on the earth, he looks on the earth and it trembles. 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:00.960 It's referenced in earthquake. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.160 Who touches the mountains and they smoke volcanoes. 00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:06.980 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. 00:19:07.120 --> 00:19:09.220 I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.500 May my meditation be pleading to him for I rejoice in the Lord. 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:14.120 So picture this. 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:18.759 This is a helpful application point that I was really struck by as I was preparing this message. 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:24.140 So God looks at the earth and it trembles at the earth. 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:26.819 He touches a mountain and there's volcanoes erupt. 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:31.139 He lets a little Levi think frolic in the sea like a little goldfish. 00:19:31.379 --> 00:19:33.139 Like, I mean, he creates the heavens. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:34.500 He's rising in the clouds. 00:19:34.899 --> 00:19:35.720 That's what he does. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.619 And imagine that we were there to watch him do this. 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:44.059 And here we are, worrying about that exam. 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:47.779 Worrying about that green card, right? 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.659 Worrying about that job application. 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:55.659 Worrying about that little conflict we might have with another family member or church member. 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:59.100 Worrying about what our future holds. 00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:02.580 It's a little ridiculous, right? 00:20:02.779 --> 00:20:07.740 I mean, if you really see God as this psalm teaches us to see him. 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:10.660 If you see him in all his glory and power and sovereignty, 00:20:11.080 --> 00:20:15.920 it's a little ridiculous that we tend to think that we are so in control of our lives. 00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:16.740 We're not, right? 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:18.180 God's so powerful. 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:23.240 And that's the irony of it all. 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:33.580 If you look at verse 35, all of these things, they come to the Lord for food and they follow, do his bidding. 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:38.480 In verse 35, let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:48.680 But the one blot in all of creation that refuses to follow the Lord and to work in conjunction with the order of creation is humanity. 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:50.019 There's sin. 00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:52.059 That's sinners. 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:55.779 And so the psalmist is basically seeing this glorious picture of creation. 00:20:55.779 --> 00:20:58.259 He's saying, let the sinners be gone. 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:01.420 Consume them because they're like your one blot. 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:06.559 Like in Bob Ross's painting, he spills paint and there's a blot on his landscape painting. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:07.639 That's humanity, right? 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:09.839 It's like it seems there's sinfulness, there's sin. 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.200 And so that kind of leaves us and points us to Christ, right? 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:23.759 Because there's a need for creation and humanity to be brought into conformity with God's will and to bless the Lord. 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:26.019 And they should be blessing the Lord, but they're not blessing the Lord. 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:33.039 And so that points us to Christ and leads us to him because he's the one that gives life as this passage describes God is doing. 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:34.580 He creates again. 00:21:35.360 --> 00:21:37.279 He gives bread. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:41.059 And in John 6, Jesus says, 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:48.299 Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:53.779 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:56.740 They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:00.119 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.740 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:08.440 So this psalm pictures God as the one who gives life. 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:10.319 He's the one who sustains his creation. 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:15.559 And Jesus comes as the fulfillment of that psalm, as the one who gives eternal life, a resurrection life, 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:21.440 and brings sinful humanity into reconciling with him, into submission to him, and to follow him. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:30.539 And he does that by dying on the cross for our sins and rising again for our victory and vindication. 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:33.839 And so that's the psalm. 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:37.900 And hopefully that enlarges you. 00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:38.660 Thank you. 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:38.720 Thank you. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:38.740 Thank you. 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:38.759 Thank you.