Good Morning, LORD! I was just reading Psalm 24 (back in February), and observed David is often mentioning about Your creation as to how wonderful and almighty it is. How You created it. The Earth is Yours and everything in it. How You founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. So who has the right to ascend Your hill to Your holy place? Only those with clean hands and pure hearts.
I was also thinking David often, in many of his Psalms, mentions You, the Creator, and how majestic Your mountain are, about the vast number of stars, or other aspects thereof. He must have laid on his back, often at night while guarding his sheep, making note of the skies. In the daytime, the mountains and rocks were his vista in the areas he traversed and pastured his sheep.
How he must have used them as protection against wind, rain, wild beasts and later on, even for himself when chased and hunted by King Saul, and in later years, by his own son Absalom. He had discovered so many nooks, niches and crannies in which to hide and shield himself in those rocks and hills.
He was always very close to nature, so he could then see, relate about and observe Your creation and how very marvelous it all is, Father. However, he didn't worship any of it. He mentions those who can ascend Your hill and stand in Your holy place are those with clean hands and pure hearts and the soul that never lifted up nor prostrated himself to an idol.
He did not worship the sun, moon, the stars, the hills, flowers or the grass; NO! The creation, he knew and believed, had a creator and that Creator, is You!
So, when we read in another part of Scripture (Romans 1:19-20), that even though those who haven't had the message of Jesus Christ, come to them, that they too, can know through Your wonderful creation. Those many gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, You 'paint' day after day; the way of insects, and just the whole vast swathe of creation. They can make that "jump of thought" from Your creation, to...there must be a Supreme Being. There must be! In such cogitations then, they turn to You, and worship and honor You.
Father, help such unreached people groups, who have not heard your message of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to make that connection and jump from creation to Creator, until some one of Your children can get to them to explain more fully, Your plan of salvation for them. In addition to that, to give them Your Words in their own mother tongue.
Indeed there are missionary stories to that fact of tribal peoples who believed that. Perhaps even their other, own tribal members did not believe it but one or two here and there did get that connection in their soul and tried to tell the others. Latently, a missionary, of Your Good News of Jesus Christ, came and discovered this. Then the message of Jesus made good sense to them.
I cannot pinpoint and reference this story because it was a very long time ago since reading about it and it only just popped into my head's recall system. However, Lord, people in our time are still without excuse.
I used to be skeptical, sorry Lord, about what You even said about this; that people are without excuse. Nevertheless, as I read and pray the Psalms over and over again, I can see how this one man, King David, did relate creation to the Creator and worshiped You.
It so tempts people to worship the creation though because its so absolutely beautiful and dangerous-no doubt David had to wrestle with the elements of weather out there in Your wide-wide world. The intricacies and monumental design of it all is so difficult to NOT be enthused and imbued with it all, that we forget the Creator.
Lord, keep our hearts clean and pure so that our souls do NOT worship the creation, rather, You, the Creator. You, the almighty One, my God and my Father.
Thank-You for Your wondrous creation which You have made for Your own pleasure and delight and share with us. You have put the earth into our hands. What a wondrous gift!! Yet mankind has made rather a tragic mess of it.
Help us, Lord, to turn to You in all the chaos of the world. One day, You will make a brand new heaven and earth and we will come together in Your glory, and be able to praise You in the purest of pure worship, just the way we should.
I thank and praise You, oh God and King of glory, Creator, Lord God Almighty, to You we lift up our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies, and give You thanks.
In Jesus most precious Name we praise and pray.
~ERC July 2020~
(originally prayer February 2020)
Based on Psalm 24
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