Psalm 33 – Water

Do you ever think about water? I know I do. When I’m thirsty I want a drink of it. When washing the dishes I fill the sink with it. I shower in it, shave with it, rinse my mouth out with it after brushing my teeth. Combined with soap I use it to wash and rinse my clothes, I water the lawn with it. Sometimes I swim in it, complain about it if too much or not enough of it is falling from the sky. These are just a few of the ways I use water. I’m sure you could easily add to the list. But do you ever stop to really think about water? Consider the following excerpt from Wiki.

Water is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth’s streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms. It is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients. Its chemical formula is H2O, meaning that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. Water is the name of the liquid state of H2O at standard ambient temperature and pressure. It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds are formed from suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid-state. When finely divided, crystalline ice may precipitate in the form of snow. The gaseous state of water is steam or water vapor. Water moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation, transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea.

Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, mostly in seas and oceans. Small portions of water occur as groundwater (1.7%), in the glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland (1.7%), and in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation (0.001%). – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is so much more that could be said about water, its amazing properties, and its varied uses. We could talk at length about water’s ability to sustain life, or its grand power of destruction. Probably the most noteworthy thing about water is it was created by God, and God is the only one who truly has absolute control over it.

Water is the first substance mentioned in the Bible.

Genesis 1:2

      2       Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 

Did you know that there is exactly the same amount of water on (and in) the earth as there has been since Noah’s flood? It was actually God’s flood, but we associate it with Noah because he’s the one who built the ark, but I digress. 

Why am I spending so much time talking about water? Because I think if we stop to consider the marvelous nature of water we will notice the marvelous creator of that water, Yahweh God!

What verse seven says about God and His ability to gather the water of the sea like a heap and put the deeps in storehouses could be said of no one else. Sure man has dammed up water and stored it, but not even close to the same scale as what God has done.

Psalms 33:6-9

           6       By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, 

     and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 

           7       He gathered the waters of the sea like a heap. 

     He put the deeps in storehouses. 

           8       Let all the earth fear Yahweh. 

     Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 

           9       For he himself spoke and it came to pass. 

     He himself commanded and it stood firm. 

How did God create, gather, store water? The same way He has done with everything else in creation, by the power of His word! 

Verse nine tells us the whole world should fear Yahweh. Why? Because (verse 9) He Himself spoke and it came to pass.

There is obviously much more packed into these four verses worthy of our observation, but I feel so little time is spent considering the amazing gift of water given by an even more amazing giver, God that we should spend a few minutes drinking it in (sorry, couldn’t resist). 

Let me suggest one more thought about God and water. God demonstrated His power over water. He can:

• Move along the face of the waters in the creation account
• Cause it to rise from the ground and water it in the form of a mist before it rained the first time
• Use it to Judge mankind during Noah’s time
• Part the Red Sea and later the Jordan River
• Cause it to flow from a Rock at Moses’ command
• Walk on it in the person of Jesus

If God can command water and if He has such total control over it, why not trust Him to control the circumstances and situations of your life? I’m not saying things will always work out the way you desire. What I am saying is trust Him to be Lord of your life just like He is Lord over water.

God is truly worthy of all our praise, worship, adoration, service, and obedience!

All Scripture Quotations from Harris, W. Hall, III et al., eds. The Lexham English Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Print.