Nature in Upheaval

When God wants to do something, nothing can stand in His way. Psalm 114 talks about when God rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt. In fact, the psalm doesn't even tell the whole story. God did some pretty amazing things through the time of the exodus, and most of them are not mentioned in this psalm. Nature was quite obviously under God's control and manipulated by His great power, and the psalm reveals that general principle.

          Reflection on Psalm 114 (God Versus Nature)

There’s knowledge sure that nature’s laws instill -

The seas lie flat and rivers flow downhill,
While mountains stand erect and hills are still.

When God performs with power strong and deep,

Away seas run and rivers form a heap.
The mountains skip; like lambs the hills do leap.

The earth should quake at God’s events so strange,

When He makes nature work outside its range;
For He can even rocks to water change.

What impact should this concept have on me,

Of His law-breaking capability?
I must submit in great humility.

The psalm clearly reveals God's power, and it also gives an application. "Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob" (v. 7). God has such remarkable control over nature, causing it to respond in totally unnatural ways if that is His desire. The earth itself is to stand in awe and fear of Him. How much more should people?

As presented in this psalm, the fact that God is so powerful is not primarily a source of inspiration and encouragement. It isn't designed to instill confidence that God will move heaven and earth on behalf of an individual. The point isn't that God will do miraculous or even incredible things for His children. Those things are possible and they might happen in some cases, but this psalm is written to instill awe in all who are aware of His great power.

If God can do the things described in this psalm, there is no way anyone should want to put himself in opposition to God. No one should have the audacity to lift himself up before God or try to exercise his own strength against God. It would be pointless to try, and it would also be foolish.

Because God has such incredible ability, the correct response of man is to humbly recognize God as the authority and to trust Him as the facilitator of all that must be done. It was true for Israel that when God chose to exercise Himself on their behalf, He did so in an extraordinary way. He may not perform such extreme actions today, but it is still true that He can do great things for His children. He is pleased when those children humbly and confidently rely on Him.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time" (I Peter 5:6).