Jump Start # 3922
Psalm 136:5 “To Him who made the heavens with skill, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
This Psalm is interesting in how it lays in our English Bibles. All twenty-six verses follow the same pattern. There is a line about the works of God, followed by “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Many think that this is a Psalm that involved the response from the audience. Someone would say the front part of the verse, and the audience would respond with, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
This is a Psalm that reflects upon the goodness of God. It brings thankfulness to our hearts. The final three verses seem to catch up to the times that the audience were living in. There we find “our low estate,” “our adversaries,” and “food given to all flesh.”
But, notice in our verse, Him who made the heavens with skill. Others translate this as made with “understanding.” That brings the image of planning, thinking, forethought and careful precision. We understand that with our atmosphere. We watch the local weather on TV and see a map of the country with large H and large L moving across the plains. That H and L interact with each other. Storms come from them when they collide. Our country is made up of dry deserts and snowy mountains. With skill God made the heavens.
If we expand the “heavens” to outer space, the movement of planets and stars interact with each other. The moon, which seems so far away from us, influences our ocean tides. Orbits are such that these heavenly bodies do not collide. The moon is littered with craters but the earth is not. Skill. Right orbits. Right distances. Right speeds. Right degrees of tilt. So much to think about. So many moving parts. One mistake in space and a colossal unlivable disaster could take place. With skill.
Some thoughts:
First, it shows the precision, exactness and care that went into creation. God didn’t just throw things together. Major principles of speed, gravity, weight all went into the construction of space. God didn’t have protypes to work off of. He didn’t have smaller scale models in Heaven to tinker with. He didn’t need those things. It is with understanding or skill that God said and it was. There are so many things we have yet to learn about space that God knew in making the world.
Second, the same skill in making the universe God used in making you. How everything fits, operates and functions in our bodies is amazing. How the heart and blood works is amazing. How nerves work is amazing. Our eyes can focus upon the smallest little thing and then gaze deep into the sky. Amazing how that works. Running through all of this is the skill and understanding that God had in making us.
It is baffling to think some people believe all of this came about by trial and error and chance. There is no way. Simply impossible to think no design, no skill, no understanding and here we are.
Third, the same skill in making the universe God used in making His kingdom and in giving us His word. Those that appreciate the skill of God realize that no one can improve upon those things. Perfect. Exact. So, we can’t improve upon His word. We can’t improve upon His church. And, when we get that concept, we become thankful and content. God has given the best. Don’t try to hitch the church to the business world. Are you not content with what God has done? Don’t try to bring in marketing skills that violate Scriptures. Are you not content with what God has done?
Skill…understanding…all because He loves us. All an extension of His perfection.
Makes you thankful, doesn’t it?
Roger