Rev. Doug Floyd

Pentecost +6 – The Works of God
Rev. Doug Floyd
Psalm 145

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

When preaching on 2 Corinthians 3, JB Lightfoot proclaimed, “Already the New Jerusalem, is seen by the eye of faith coming down from heaven ablaze with the glory of the Almighty; already the tabernacle of God has descended and is pitched among men; already we are permitted to gaze on the jewelled walls and the gates of pearl, and the pavement of pure gold; to bathe in the brightness of that Eternal City, which knows not either sunlight or moonlight, ‘for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”^[1] He continues, “The true Shekinah, the Person of Christ, shines forth in all the glory of its unapproachable beauty and brightness. And we—we feeble, unworthy, sin-stained, death-stricken men—are suffered, are invited, are entreated, nay, are compelled to come in, and to gaze on the peerless sight, till our own nature is changed by the absorption of its rays, and we are ‘transformed into the same image from glory to glory.”’^[2]

We live in a world radiating with God’s glory. But so often we fail to see. As GK Chesterton wrote, “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”[3] Step outside in the evening and gaze upon the sunset. One moment, you behold the end of the day. Look again, and suddenly you behold a world ablaze with the glory of God.

Today our psalmist wants us to look, to reflect, to mediate upon the works of God and to give praise. Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem of praise to God, meaning that each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Like many ancient Hebrew acrostic poems, this poem is missing a couple letters, and yet it still gives us a sense of comprehensive praise to God.

The theologian Douglas Webster said that this psalmist is calling us into his fervor of praise to God. Webster writes, “The forceful and declarative “I will” statements from the psalmist overshadow whatever lingering malaise we might bring to the psalm. His enthusiasm shakes us out of our lethargy and apathy.”[4] These “I will” statements echo through the Psalm: I will extol you, I will bless you, one generation shall commend your works to another, I will meditate, they shall speak, they shall pour forth, all your works shall/saints shall, my mouth will speak.

This is not simply praise to God because we feel warm and content. This is a choice to shout God’s praises up into the heavens no matter what we face. We choose to praise God, to meditate upon God, to shout His praises.

The psalmist invites us to consider the works of God and then suggests that those works teach us about the character of God.

What are the works of God? This would refer to both God’s creation and to God’s redemption. Ancient Israel would rehearse the story of God redeeming their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land. Even as we remember the story of Moses, we see it brought to fulfillment in the story of Jesus.

God comes and rescues us from slavery to sin and death and is leading us to the fullness of Himself. As we heard earlier, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

Even as we remember God’s saving grace in our world and our own lives, we are invited to consider the works of creation. The psalmist declares, “On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” (Psalm 145:5, ESV) And again, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:15–16, ESV)

It is a good thing to enjoy this glorious creation. The novelist Marilynne Robinson writes, “We live in a time when many religious people feel fiercely threatened by science. “O ye of little faith. Let them subscribe to Scientific American for a year and then tell me if their sense of the grandeur of God is not greatly enlarged by what they have learned from it.”[5] She acknowledges that many scientists have materialist presuppositions and make no room for God, and yet even as they explore the world and describe their discoveries, we are treated to glories and wonder within our creation.

Recently, we watched a NOVA episode on “Secrets of the Forest.”[6] We discovered that, “There are more trees in Earth’s forests than stars in our galaxy.” The episode explored how the complex biodiverse forests of trees, fungi, and more play a key role in creating and maintaining a healthy climate around the world.

John Calvin saw creation filled with colors and wonder that give us joy while also pointing us to God. He writes, “For our salvation was a matter of concern to God in such a way that, not forgetful of himself, he kept his glory primarily in view, and therefore created the whole world for this end, that it may be a theater of his glory.”[7]

Everywhere we look, we might find occasion for joy and praise. GK Chesterton looks down at his feet and declares,

Once I looked at my bootlaces
Who gave me my bootlaces?
The bookmaker? Bah!
Who gave the bootmaker himself?
What did I ever do that I should be given bootlaces?[8]

Meditating upon creation might be as simple as taking a walk outside, sitting on the porch, smelling the flowers, and listening to the birds. We are attuning our senses to this glorious world that God has created. When Kelly and I traveled to Glacier National Park several years ago, we were amazed at all the colors of rocks in the water. We saw blue, red, and purple, green, and gray rocks.

I tell my students that it takes time to behold the world around us. Sometimes you must sit and wait and watch, listen, touch and smell. Gradually, we adjust to what we are observing and soon we begin to see more color, more texture, hear more variation in the sounds, smell more distinct scents. This is an important aspect of science: slow and careful observation. It is amazing what we discover when we slow down.

We might respond to creation by writing a reflection or a poem, drawing a sketch, painting a watercolor or even composing a song (even if it is just a song for our ears). We are honoring the works of God even as we are learning to praise Him in all things.

There is another aspect of creation that we may tend to overlook: humans and the things humans create. James Houston told the story of a young man heading into the city, and he said, “Well I’m off to discover God’s creation.” Ted Wright who came to St. Brendan’s when he lived here, often posts pictures online of all the amazing architecture he observes. It is a thing of glory.

The Jewish scholar Amy-Jill Levine says that when she was in college, she would step out of the show, look at herself in the mirror, and proclaim, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” At 70 years old, she continues to step out of the shower, look at herself in the mirror and declare, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” We give praise to God for our bodies, our hands, our feet, our eyes, our ears. Instead of putting down what we don’t like about our bodies, we give praise to God for how He has made us.

God has created us and given us a world to enjoy. We give praise to Him in all things. If I am watching a good movie, I may give thanks to God for the film and the filmmaker. Raymond Ortland tells the story of Theodore L. Cuyler, an American minister from Brooklyn, visiting Charles Spurgeon. After a long day, the two men were walking through the fields and enjoying the outdoors. Dr. Cuyler told a story that made Spurgeon laugh uproariously. Suddenly Spurgeon turned to Cuyler and said, “Theodore, let’s kneel down and thank God for laughter!”[9]

I think in seeking to be faithful disciples of Christ, some believers have become too serious for God. They fail to see His gracious love all around them and to enjoy His goodness and grace.

Our psalmist today suggests that as we pause over the great works of God, we begin to learn of His character. He declares, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:3, ESV)

His greatness is unsearchable. We can never plumb the depths of His greatness, and yet we can have fun exploring! In verses 8-20, the psalmist declares the following characteristics of God: He is righteous, gracious, merciful, good to all, mercy over all that he has made, He has dominion over all, is faithful, upholds all who are falling down, raises up those who are bowed down, the eyes of all look to Him, He is near to all who call on him, and all flesh shall bless his name.

Let us behold God’s wondrous works and give our lives to bless His holy name.

^[1] Joseph Barber Lightfoot, Cambridge Sermons (London; New York: MacMillan and Co., 1890), 101–102.

^[2] Ibid,.

[3] Chesterton, G.K.. Tremendous Trifles (p. 7). (Function). Kindle Edition..”

[4] Douglas D. Webster, The Psalms: Jesus’s Prayer Book, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2023), 277.

[5] Robinson, Marilynne. When I Was a Child I Read Books: Essays (pp. 8-9). (Function). Kindle Edition.

[6] See NOVA on PBS <https://www.pbs.org/video/secrets-of-the-forest-preview-pc9ryn/>

[7] John Calvin, “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, I.v.8.

[8] G.K. Chesterton, GK Chesterton Collected Works, Volume X, Collected Poetry Volume 1, Ignatius Press: 1994, p. 197.

[9] Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom That Works, ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 119–120.