How Beautiful Is The One Who Made Us!

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

January 30, 2024

How Beautiful Is The One Who Made Us!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

    for his name alone is exalted;

    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Psalm 148:13 

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowd was shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:38-40). What do you suppose the stones would have said?

Saint Francis suggested this: “How beautiful is the one who made us!” I think both Jesus and Saint Francis may have taken their inspiration for the notion of creation praising their Creator from Psalm 148. Among the psalmist’ exhaustive list of those who praise God are all God’s angels, all the armies of heaven, the sun and moon, all the twinkling stars, the skies above, the vapors high above the clouds, the creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, as well as kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children. Whew!

Included within the psalmist’ call for all creation to praise God is the virtue of unity within God’s creation. This reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s assertion that “creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:21-22 NLT). Someday the lion and the lamb, all creation, even the “small scurrying animals” will sing praise to God in perfect unity and perfect harmony.

As I hear the call of the psalmist for all creation to praise our Creator, I find Saint Francis’ suggestion quite compelling. My tendency has been to praise God for ____ (fill in the blank). The blank could be for specific things I feel are blessings in my life, or it could be the beauty of God’s creation. Saint Francis is asking me to consider simply praising my Maker, not for the wonders He has performed, but because He is God.

My Takeaway: “How beautiful is the one who made us!”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.