MORE MAJESTIC THAN THE MOUNTAINS

Psalm 76:4  “Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains…”

I read this psalm this morning and this phrase of the psalmist, Asaph in this case, caused me pause.  In our vernacular, Asaph is saying, “Lord!  You are so awesome!  You are more awesome than the mountains!”  For some reason my first thought was, “Huh!  That’s kind of an odd thing to say!”  Then I began to reflect…

I live in the south part of California’s great San Joaquin Valley.  We are surrounded by mountains on three sides, South (Tehachapi Mountains), East (Sierra Nevadas), and West (Southern Coastal Range).  The problem is that we don’t get to see them very often.  Our skies are generally hazy or foggy or dirty and the mountains are obscured.  But some days I get out early and the sky is crystal clear and I feel like I can almost reach out and touch the mountains.  It is inspiring!  They are so beautiful that they fill my heart with joy.  Maybe that is what Asaph had in mind?  I can’t remember one time thinking, “God!  You are more beautiful than these mountains.”  That’s when I realized that something is wrong.

A number of years ago my wife and I went on vacation to Door County, Wisconsin (pictured above) with another couple from church.  The guy we were with, Chris, got his degree in Forestry and he was a well of information on the trees and geography we found there.  Chris was constantly pointing out how beautiful everything around us was.  At some point we started saying to each other, “God made that!  And God made that too!”  It turned out to be a fantastic trip because we were always reminding each other about the glories and beauties of the Lord.

My Grandfather Moorhead also contributed something like this to me.  I remember very well his habit of drawing my attention back to God.  I might admire the beauty or the majesty of something in nature and Grandpa would always say something like, “If you think that is beautiful, just think how beautiful God is!  He thought it up and then he created it!”

I think it’s time for me to draw stronger connections between the beautiful creation that surrounds me here in California and the One who made it.  It’s time for me to carefully and consciously give glory to God and take a moment to worship him because he is surely more majestic than the things he has made.  They are but a reflection of him.

One more thing.  This creation is fallen because of man’s sin.  St. Paul reminds us that all creation is groaning to be released from the bondage that has fallen upon it.  The mountains, the rivers, and the trees long for the appearing of the Son of God.  Oh my!  Think about how beautiful it will all be in the new heavens and the new earth!  It’s beyond imagination!