“The truth of creation should stop us in our tracks, fill us with awe and wonder, humble us, and drop us to our knees,” writes Paul Tripp. Few places fill my heart with reverent awe and glad amazement like the Rocky Mountains.
Estes Park, Colorado has been a special place for my family for generations. My great-grandparents began taking my grandfather out to hike and ride his horse in the Rocky Mountains about a hundred years ago. I recently traveled to Colorado with my wife and children to hike and ride on some of those same trails along Glacier Creek, Bible Point, Moraine Park, and Trail Ridge Road. It is glorious to stand above the tree line, feel the powerful winds across the vast tundra, and gaze in every direction at majestic mountains like Longs Peak towering above the other summits in Rocky Mountain National Park at over 14,000 feet. These massive peaks are truly spectacular and, if we have eyes to see, they lead us to marvel at the Maker of the mountains.
Psalm 104 is one of my favorite meditations on God’s glory revealed in his creation. The psalm fittingly begins with adoration:
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great!
Five times, this psalm refers specifically to the mountains that God formed:
- Verse 6: “You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.”
- Verse 8: “The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.”
- Verse 13: “From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.”
- Verse 18: “The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.”
- Verses 31–32: May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!
When I consider the majestic Maker of the mountains, my soul is stirred to sing, “How great Thou art!” Meditating on God’s might and majesty brings me to my knees and also stirs me to pray to the powerful, creative, glorious Sovereign who stands behind such wonders as “my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Of course, we do not need to travel to the Rockies to stand in awe of our wise and wonderful Creator. Every colorful sunset, budding flower, busy squirrel, and crying baby should remind us of God’s might and majesty. Paul Tripp puts it well: “Open your eyes and your heart to the glory that is everywhere around you. Every glorious created thing is designed by God to be a finger that points to his glory.” So magnify the Maker of the mountains with me.
Brian Tabb, Ph.D.
Interim President and Professor of Biblical Studies
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that we each would see the glory around us and praise the Lord for his work.
- Pray for the incoming seminarians who are working hard in their Greek intensive.
- Pray for all our incoming students as they make final preparations for the school year.
- Pray for our returning students as they enjoy the last weeks of summer and travel back to Minnesota.
- Pray for the staff and faculty as they prepare for the new school year.
- Pray for the funding of the Alex Steddom International Student Fund to support the current grantees for the next year.