Psalm 104 begins with the Psalmist singing to himself. He tells himself to “Bless the LORD, O my soul!” Then he looks up into the skies and sings, “O LORD my God, You are very great.” The rest of the song is about the marvels of the universe. The glories in the heavens as well as all the animals of earth, in the sea, in the air, and every other created thing just shout out the tremendous greatness of our God.
The interesting thing to me is that the Psalmist exhorts himself. In the Old Testament, meditation is self-exhortation, so the singer is meditating in his song. He’s looking at the world around him and seeing God’s hand in it all. We need to exhort ourselves to this end also. We can get so wrapped up with the little problems of our own lives that we miss the bigger picture.
M. R. DeHann tells of a preacher who took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it. He held the paper up and asked them what they saw. One person replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything other than the dot?” he asked. A chorus of no’s came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.” When we focus on the little details we are apt to miss the bigger picture.
We must exhort ourselves like the Psalmist did. We should remember as we travel down lif’es pathway, may this be our goal; let’s keep out eyes upon the doughnut and not upon the hole!
Chuck
“My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass. But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.” (Psalm 102:11-12)