Read Psalm 33:1-9. 1Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
God’s words are never empty. They are never impotent. They are never without effect. Everything God says becomes. The universe did not just begin from nothing. No! The heavens were made by the word of the Lord. When God speaks things always happen. He spoke and it came to be. Why? Because, as we will find out in the New Testament, the word of God is God. The Logos. The Son. Jesus.
This is why David can say that God’s word is upright, and faithful, righteous, and just, and thus so is the creation itself as a reflection of Jesus – the whole earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. The earth is full of the character of Christ. The goodness of Christ. The sacrificial love of Christ. The sun gives away its light and heat. The cloud gives away its water. The bee gives away his honey. The plant gives away her seeds. The sacrificial love of creation can be seen all around us, and with it the love of our Savior. Our God is no deity to be appeased so as to keep his favor and earn his kindness. Not at all. His love is built into the very fabric of the universe.
Psalm 33 is saying something quite profound to humanity – we don’t fear our Creator to earn his love. We literally live within his planet of love and so we fear the Lord. We stand in awe of him. And when we look beyond creation to Christ and his cross, and to the new creation that we are in him, we find the same truth – that we are the living, breathing expression of God’s love on earth. That his love produces our fear, not the other way around.
To live is Christ is to find awe and wonder, joy and praise, in every new creation heart, for we are full of the love and fear of the Lord.
Prayer. Jesus, you are upright and faithful, righteous, just, and loving. May I stand in awe of you today as I look both to your creation and your cross. Amen.
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To Live is Christ 