The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therin, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.- Psalm 24:1-2
This marvelous hymn of worship begins with an affirmation of Yahweh’s dominion over the whole created order; the world and all of its inhabitants. The dominion of God is found in the fact that it was He Himself who “fixed” it and “established” it. At first glance, it seems as though this verse reflects a very primitive understanding of how the world was founded, like a floating saucer which is anchored upon the seas. Skeptics have misunderstood this verse and used it and others like it to discredit Biblical authority. The language, however, is more profound than one realizes, and is not even a portrayal of ancient cosmology. What is pictured here is what scholars call polemic language. This means that it is a statement of the power of Yahweh in his rule over the gods of the nations. The Hebrew word for sea is “Yam”, and river is “Nahar”. Yam was a Canaanite god who was defeated by another Canaanite God named Baal. According to the tales, Yam, the sea god, demanded that Baal be made his slave. He sent messengers to Baal, asking him to surrender, but Baal attacked the messengers and drove them away. Baal then fought with Yam and using two magic weapons, defeated him and seized control of the waters. In the story, Yam represents the destructive nature of water: rivers and seas flooding the land and ruining crops and killing animals.
Baal represents water's positive powers: rain and dew providing the moisture needed to make crops grow. This defeat by Baal represented his power to subdue chaotic forces, thus establishing Baal’s kingship. David is here using the words "yam" and "nahar" (sea and river) to say that it is none other than Yahweh, not Baal, who has created a world of order “upon” the sea and rivers, thus symbolizing Yahweh’s subduing of these chaotic forces. These chaotic forces are not independent of Yahweh, but fully under His control. Thus, it is Yahweh who is king. He is the creator of all, and all things are His because He has founded and established the earth, and even the violent, chaotic forces of nature are under his control.
The picture given to us is one of the Supremacy of God’s rule under his Omnipotent control. He owns all, and therefore runs His creation as He wishes. He counsels no one, nor or His purposes thwarted by those things that seem to be out of His control. Even the chaotic, disastrous things that take place in life are held in his Omnipotent hand and come about by His providence, just as He intends them to. God is Sovereign, and is not intimidated by the uprising of the wicked, for He is using them to carry out is purpose. He is not worried when things look hopeless, for He has planned the moment of rescue. He is not shocked when disaster comes, for He has ordained it to bring about a greater good.
So what should our response be to God of such magnitude; a God of such Rule and authority; a God of such Power and Grace? The answer is worship. We should bow down before the God of all Creation with humility and the fear of the Lord.
This is just what David invites us to do in the rest of this Psalm - worship. However, as he continues,he gives instructions about acceptable worship to the Creator of the Universe. So, this is what we will look at in the next two post. We will discover what worship is, and in what manner it is to be done.