O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—this great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great. (Psalm 104:24-25)

Throughout this psalm, David acknowledged time and again that everything God created is with purpose and is magnificent to behold. In these verses, he continues to laud the genius and wisdom of the Creator by pointing out the might of the sea and the living space it provides for other created things “both great and small.” He begins by saying, “How manifold (abundant) are Your works.” The Hebrew word translated as “manifold” has a double meaning; it conveys the idea of something that is great in number and also something that is great in purpose, hence the declaration, “in wisdom You have made them all.”

Consider the great land creatures such as the “young lions” mentioned in the previous devotion and contrast them with the great creatures that fill the oceans. If the sea creatures were to come onto the land, they would soon perish; likewise if the land creatures were to go into the sea, they would perish as well. In other words, in His wisdom God fashioned a complex world filled with creatures whose nature and environment is completely different. The environment essential to one is fatal to another and visa versa. I realize this is common knowledge but how often do we stop and meditate on just how magnificently designed is the world in which we live?

The point is that there is nothing in the universe that evolved by chance; nothing in this world is without purpose. Every fish that swims, every creeping thing that moves upon the ground is the result of God’s wisdom and purpose. In fact, there is no speck of dirt or little pebble in the sand that is outside of His sovereignty and will; everything, everywhere testifies of His absolute mastery of that which He has created. As it is written: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).

Because this is so we, His people, should honor Him by committing ourselves to fulfilling His will for our lives. Each day, let us strive to do what He has called us to do — that is, to testify of His greatness and His goodness that others may come to know Him and acknowledge His sovereignty over all.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill