The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.

  - Psalm 74.16, 17

The King who rules over cold and heat,
my true King watches over me:
it is he who has established every division,
the King beyond reckoning, beyond telling.

   - Saltair na Rann, Irish, 9^th-10^th century

Scientists posit that four primary forces provide all the order in the universe. These forces are descriptions of the ways matter interacts with other matter and energy, and of how the molecules that make up all matter interact with and within themselves.
To summarize: The four forces are the strong and weak force in the atom (which hold the parts of the atom together but allow it to decay over time), gravity, and electromagnetism. Everything that is, all matter, depends on and can be described in terms of these four forces. Boil the whole cosmos down to its essence, and this is what’s left. Four impersonal forces.

Again, to repeat: These are descriptions of interactions. They describe regular patterns of interactions, but they only describe. They do not explain.

Some researchers suspect that even these four forces can be further reduced. In fact, the idea is still current and widely speculated about regarding what’s referred to as the Grand Unifying Theory of everything. Everything in the universe – all matter and every force – ultimately reduces to one thing. There is one overarching, all-pervading and all-present Explanation for everything.

Of course, no one knows what that is. No one bound to a materialistic worldview, that is.

Think for a moment of all the intricate, incessant interactions taking place even as you are reading this. Electrons are orbiting around atoms, which are bonding to form molecules, which unite to comprise, arrange, order, and maintain the stuff of everything you are and see. Light waves consisting of photons traveling in wave patterns bring the words of this column to your eyes, where they are electro-chemically translated into bursts of electricity and conveyed to the appropriate locale in your brain, where they are reproduced in their original form and interpreted (agreeably, we trust).

As this is going on, gravity keeps you from floating off into space, and electricity makes it possible for you to light up your room and engage your computer, as well as for your heart to continue pumping blood to the rest of your body.

Electricity is also useful, I have found, for making coffee.

All that, explained by four impersonal forces? Yeah, I don’t think so.

Christians know that the Word of God upholds the universe and all things in it by some infinitely powerful and wise means that humans will never fully understand (Heb. 1.3; Is. 55.8, 9; Eccl. 3.11). All the power holding all the stuff and substance of the entire cosmos in place, is power that comes from God. It is spiritual power, what the psalmists poetically refer to as His steadfast love and faithfulness. And though this is spiritual power, it is real power, power emanating from the Word of God, and touching and moving everything.

It is as if our King of Mysteries, the Lord Jesus Christ, somehow speaks to every creature, particle, thing, and process of the whole vast cosmos, every moment, saying, “Do that again!”

And it all does.

How much power is that? Let’s just say, A lot.

The King of Mysteries wields power beyond all reckoning, beyond what anyone can tell or control. He is God Almighty, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His rule is coming on earth as it is in heaven, and where we who know Him seek and advance it as our highest priority.

And He – this God, our God – watches over us like a faithful Shepherd.

That’s a lot of power going to bat for you moment-by-moment, my friend.

Psalm 74.12-19 (Old Rockingham: O Lord Most High, with All My Heart)
Our God is King from long ago, Who works deliv’rance in the land;
He split the sea, He crushed His foes; against Him none can ever stand.

You opened the springs, fresh water flowed; to You belong both day and night.
You bound the seasons and the earth, and gave the sun its glorious light.

Remember this, O Lord, our God: a foolish people spurns Your Name;
Deliver not Your flock to them, nor leave Your holy ones to shame.

Thank You, Lord, for watching over me and bending Your power to give me life.

What in heaven is Jesus doing on earth?
More than you might expect, in fact. To find out more about what our King Jesus is up to, and where you fit into His ongoing work, order our book, The Kingship of Jesus (click here).

Your gifts help to support this ministry. God supplies our needs, and He may be pleased to do so, at least in part, through you. Please seek Him in prayer concerning this matter. You can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction VT 05452.

T. M. Moore
Principal
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.