God’s Word for You
Psalm 104:31-35 Praise the LORD, O my soul
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, June 1, 2018
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.
The strongest forces of nature, even volcanoes and the movement of the very plates that make up the inner surface of the earth, are all subject to God who made them. Although they may move naturally, according to the physical laws he himself has laid down for the universe, there may be times when he himself chooses to “touch them” so that “they smoke.”
This is the LORD, the one who made everything. He is also the LORD who made promises to his people, and kept every one of them. He promised to send his own Son to be the Savior from our sin—and he did. No one who claims a divinity is “my God” is claiming the true God unless it is the LORD, the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We must also acknowledge that this is the same God who punishes sinners. The final testimony of the creation is that God hates sin and God condemns sinners. That’s what makes the promise of the Savior all the more thrilling. The God who condemns all sinners also became human in order to rescue them—us—from our sins. He loved us, and he saved us. No wonder the Psalm ends with praise! Praise the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD! Praise God, who made heaven and earth for us to enjoy, subdue, and care for, and who saved us from our sins.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.