Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty. (Psalm 104:1)

This psalm is considered to be a continuation of the previous composition seeing that it begins where the other left off — it echoes the refrain, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” David then continues to extol the Creator and declare that “You are very great.” The fact that he used the word “very” prompts Jewish commentators to make the following observation. Because He is the Almighty God, He was great before the dawn of Creation, however, there was no one to recognize and acknowledge His greatness. So He spoke the worlds into existence, and created all the living things that could appreciate His majesty and thus He became “very great.”

Whether or not this is an accurate interpretation of David’s words is open to discussion, but it is true that God designed Creation to honor Him and to declare His glory. As it is written, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1); “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness (Psalm 24:1). Paul adds that, “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). Throughout history, earthly kings have had their portraits painted on larger than life canvases; they have commissioned sculptures so that their legacy might endure for centuries. The God of Heaven forbid such when it came to representing Himself to the world. Instead, He embedded His image and likeness into the Creation itself — the heavens, the earth and all that is within, including mankind.

In short, everything that is created fashions a picture of the Almighty; the myriad of components that make up the universe form a symphony that declares His glory and greatness. The apostle Paul reminds us, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20). And so, let us not be silent in this matter but join with David and all the others who have served Him through the millennia and declare that our God is “very great … and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill