Ecclesiastes: A disillusioned king?

Solomon's Kingdom

In 1 Kings 3:9-12,  King Solomon asked for and received wisdom from God and because God was so pleased with this humble request, in 1 Kings 3:13 God said,

"And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days."

King Solomon's wealth was unrivaled, his knowledge was known the world over. 1 Kings 4:32 says,

"(Solomon) spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs were one thousand and five." We know that royals visited him from all over the world to test his great knowledge, including the Queen of Sheba, who according to 1 Kings 10:7 said,

"...Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard."

1 Kings 5:4-5 tells us that his reign was peaceful and he built the Temple first envisioned by his father, David. Even Jesus, many generations later, talks about Solomon's great splendor in

 Matthew 6:28-29:
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin: 29. and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Jesus also referred to Solomon in describing Himself, saying, "a greater Solomon is here,"
in Matthew 5:42
^" The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

and in Luke 11:31
The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

The King Disillusioned?
So this king, honored by God, given a long peaceful reign, untold riches and splendor, and untold wisdom, referred to by Jesus,  wrote the "wisdom book of the bible, the book of proverbs," turned around in Ecclesiastes and said life was all "a vanity" and meaningless. The reader's response is "what ?" I heard a minister say that Ecclesiastes was written later in Solomon's life, after his heart had been turned from God by his many foreign wives. (See 1 Kings, 11:41.) Solomon himself reflected on how life changes as you get older. In Eccl. 12:1, he wrote, "Remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come."

Even though the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes are really "down" portions of scripture, and indeed the tone of the book could be summed up with Eccl. 9:11 when he laments that "time and chance happens to us all," Solomon has not truly given up on encouraging reader to find contentment in God.

In fairness to all the writers of the Old Testament, we have to remember that they didn't have the risen savior as a source of hope. We have to view the "down parts" of the bible through the lens of the hope we have in Christ. It's only while keeping this hope in the forefront of our minds that we can even try to understand how Solomon may have felt when he wrote that life had become boring and repetitive. In Eccl. 1:9, he wrote,

"...that which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun."

In Eccl. 1:14, he goes further, saying, " I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind." In verse 16, he says all the wisdom he had obtained was "grasping for the wind." Remember he had asked God for that wisdom, and he was world renowned because of his great wisdom, but here he says it was "grasping for the wind." In other words, it was a futile exercise.

He goes on to say he sought all kinds of entertainment, and it ended up being nothing. Then he sought to collect all kinds of things and it ended up being nothing, but near the end of Eccl. 2, specifically in verses 24 and 26 he comes out of his negative reflections to say that there is contentment in God.

Eccl.2:24-26
²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?  ²⁶ For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

It's funny that he ends that statement with, "This also is vanity and grasping for wind." Is it futile because the sinner wasted his time gathering and collecting or is it so unfair that those collections will be given to us who are good before God?


The most popular passage in Ecclesiastes is chapter 3 verses 1-8: Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace

 

Verse 11  says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Eat and Drink and Enjoy Life

 

At four different points in Ecclesiastes Solomon wrote. "...every man should eat and drink and enjoy the goods of all his labor, it is the gift of God."  Perhaps these passages should be the overall tone of the book. Certainly they are more spread throughout the book than the "grasping for the wind passages" with which the book begins.

 

 

Eccl.2:²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.


Eccl.2: ¹² I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Eccl. 5: ¹⁸ Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. ¹⁹ As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Verse 20 above implies that too much time for introspection leads to disillusionment in life. Note that Solomon writes "God keeps us busy." Truly it is one of God's gifts to us that we enjoy our families and our blessings.

Eccl. 8:15  So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Avoid Greed, Avoid Anger, Use Moderation, Don't Become Easily Offended, Clean and Groom Your Clothes and Body, Avoid Immorality
 

 

Later Solomon starts to write the truisms recalling the kinds of things he wrote in the book of Proverbs. He talks about greed: 

 Eccl. 5:10:
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

Prov. 1:19:
 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

Prov.23:4-5
4 Do not overwork to be rich;
Because of your own understanding, cease!
⁵ Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.



 He talks about anger:

 Eccl. 7:9:  "anger rests in the bosoms of fools."

Proverbs 14:17

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of wicked intentions is hated

 

Proverbs 14:29

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁹ He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is impulsive^[a] exalts folly

 

Proverbs 15:18

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ A wrathful man stirs up strife,
But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solomon urges moderation in Eccl. 7:16

There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
¹⁶ Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
Why should you die before your time?



 and gives practical advice about not being easily offended. Eccl. 7: 21-22.
21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
²² For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others

 

He also revisits his warnings from the book of proverbs concerning deceitful women. For example, Eccl. 7:26:

 "And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her."

 

Prov. 5:3: "For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. 4. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell."

 

King Solomon wrote a very interesting commentary concerning how the lack of speedy punishment causes criminals to not fear punishment in Ec. 8:11.
¹¹ Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

 

He  tells us to groom ourselves and take care of ourselves with joy. (This doesn't really sound like a disillusioned king to me.)

 

Eccl. 9:7-8:
7 Go, eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
⁸ Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.

 

He tells us to speak wisely., a recurrent theme in the book of Proverbs.
 Eccl. 9:17 tells us: 
 ¹⁷ Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.

Prov.12:18 "There is one who speak like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health."

Prov. 15:1 "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

"The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Eccl.1:1) may have begun this book with "Vanity of vanities," but the end is not vanity at all. Chapter 12 verses 13 and 14 sums it all up:

¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

 

Proverbs: The Wisdom Book

The Book of Proverbs – The Wisdom Book

The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon (also called Song of Songs) were all written by King Solomon, son of King David.

I Kings 4:32-34 says,

³² He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. ³³ Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴ And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

This tells us that all the proverbs were not written at once, but throughout Solomon’s life. They are collected in the book of Proverbs for our instruction. King Solomon wrote about the everyday practical issues in life such as:

 

Thinking twice about becoming a co-signer on a loan: Prov. 6:1-4

1 My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
² if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
and are caught by what you said—
³ follow my advice and save yourself,
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride;
go and beg to have your name erased.
⁴ Don’t put it off; do it now!
Don’t rest until you do.

Warning against laziness:  Prov. 18:9 (New Living Translation)

A lazy person is as bad as
someone who destroys things.

The advantages of speaking (and hearing) kind words: Prov. 16:24

Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Avoiding arguments: Prov. 17:14

Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate,
so stop before a dispute breaks out.

 

Caution against unnecessary borrowing: Prov. 22:7

Just as the rich rule the poor,
so the borrower is servant to the lender.

 

Warning against eating too many sweets and warning against visiting too much:

Prov. 25:16-17

¹⁶ Do you like honey?
Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!

¹⁷ Don’t visit your neighbors too often,
or you will wear out your welcome.

 Even advice on caring for animals: Prov. 12:10

The godly care for their animals,
but the wicked are always cruel.

Aside from (and more important than) the above examples of wisdom for daily living mentioned above, there are also spiritual truths in the book of Proverbs. The most prominent of these the fact that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Prov. 1:7 (New King James Version)

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 

The word “fear” the Hebrew word ‘Yirah’ means reverence: an attitude of deep respect. The New Living Translation of Prov. 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge. “ This line is repeated in Proverbs chapter 9:

Prov. 9:10 (New King James Version)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

In the book preceding the book of Proverbs, it is also written in Psalms 111:10:

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever!

Prov. 3:5-8 tells us that instead of depending on our own intellect (and what we call our own common sense, we need to trust in God. He will lead us down the right paths and will keep us in good health.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
⁸ It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalms: Affirmations, Assurance, and Comfort

Psalm 1:1-3

1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.



Psalm 23 (The entire chapter)

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

 

 

 

 

Psalm 29:11

 

¹¹ The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

 

 

 

Psalm 30:5

 

⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

 

 

 

Psalm 34: 10, 19 (See entire chapter)

 

¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

 

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 37: 4-5

 

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

 

 

 

Psalm 67: 5-6

 

⁵ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁶ Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us

 

 

 

Psalm 68: 6, 19

 

⁶ God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!

 

 

 

Psalm 84: 10-11

 

¹⁰ For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 91:  1,5,7,11-12

1  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.

¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.


 

 

 

Psalms103:1-5, 8-12

 

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
² Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
³ Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹ He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
¹² As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

 

 

 

Psalm 112:1-7

 

Praise the Lord!

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

² His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
⁴ Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
⁵ A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
⁶ Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷ He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

 

 

 

Psalm 113:9

 

⁹ He grants the barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

 

 

 

Psalm 119: 11,36,103,105,116,123,165

 

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

 

³⁶ Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.

 

¹⁰³ How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

 

¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live;
And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

 

¹²³ My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation
And Your righteous word.

 

¹⁶⁵ Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.

 

 

 

 

Psalm 121: 1-8 (This is the entire chapter)

 

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
² My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
⁸ The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

 

 

 

Psalm 122: 1

 

1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

 

 

 

 

Psalm 127: 1

 

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.

 

 

 

 

Psalm 128: 2, 6

 

² When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

 

⁶ Yes, may you see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

 

 

 

Psalm 136: 1

 

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

All 26 verses of Psalms 136 has "For His mercy endures forever as the second sentence."

The verse, "Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His mercy endures forever," was written by David in I Chronicles 16:34. This was part of David's speech after the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. "Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His mercy endures forever," is written in Psalms 106:1, Psalms 107:1, Psalms 118:1 as well as in 136:1





Psalm 138:8

⁸ The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.




Psalm 139:13-14

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;^[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.




Psalm 145:14

¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.



Psalm 146: 8

⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.



Psalm 147: 3-4

³ He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
⁴ He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Majesty of God Expressed in the book of Psalms

As stated in an earlier post concerning Job, we found that some of the most beautiful passages concerning God's creation is found in Job 26:7-14

⁷ He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ He binds up the water in His thick clouds,
Yet the clouds are not broken under it.
⁹ He covers the face of His throne,
And spreads His cloud over it.
¹⁰ He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness.
¹¹ The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are astonished at His rebuke.
¹² He stirs up the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
¹³ By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
¹⁴ Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?”


Although Job suffered tremendously and even questioned God about his trials, Job was still able to see the majesty of God evidenced in the creation. Likewise the writers of Psalms could look to God's creation as proof of His majestic nature. Seventy-three of the 150 Psalms are attributed to David. Some were written after he became king, but many were written during his own trials, especially when he was running for his life. I Samuel chapters 18 through 30 describe the threat on David's life from King Saul. Like us, David had need for God's protection, provision, and favor, yet he could look to the Creator of the universe and still see God's supreme power. In spite of being the strong and mighty God, Creator of the universe and everything in it,  God still cares for man and is concerned about our day to day circumstances. In awe, David asked (in Psalms 8:4) "What is man that you are mindful of him.?"

The answer lies in the first chapter of Genesis. After God created the world, the trees, the plants, and the animals, Genesis 1:25 states, "...God saw that it was good." But after God added man according to His image and His likeness (verse 26,) Genesis 1:31 says, "...Then God saw that everything He had made, and indeed it was very good." We are His most precious creation. Psalms 100:3 says,

³ Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

We are His people. Knowing we would be tempted to go astray, He even provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him through the atoning sacrifice of His Son. Ephesians 1:4 says, "...He chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world."

Throughout the book of Psalms, we see the non-human parts of His creation praising Him:

Psalms 19:1 tells us, "The heavens declare the glory of God..."
Psalms 96: 11-12 tell us, "Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad...Let the field be joyful.."
Psalms 97:6 says, "...the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD."
Psalms 98: 8 goes on to say, "Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the hills be joyful together..."

If the trees and the rivers praise the LORD, I will certainly praise the LORD. I have desperate need for God's protection, provision, and favor, but like Job and like David, I will look to God's marvelous creation and give Him the praise, just for His majesty. Examples taken from the book of Psalms detailing God's awesome works are detailed below: Psalms chapter 104 elaborates not only on how God designed the universe but how He maintains it, even providing food for us and oil for our skin. What an awesome God!



Psalms 8:3-4
³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?


Psalms 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.


Psalms 24: 1-2
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
² For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.


Psalms 33:6
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.


Psalms 65:8-13
⁸ They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
¹⁰ You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

¹¹ You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
¹² They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
¹³ The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

 

 

Psalms 95:4-5

 ⁴ In His hand are the deep places of the earth;

The heights of the hills are His also.
⁵ The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

 

 

Psalms 96:11-12

 ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.

Psalms 97:6
⁶ The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.

Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.

 

  

 

Psalms 98:7-8

 ⁷ Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,

 

 

Psalms 104 5:24

 ⁵ You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
⁶ You clothed the earth with floods of water,
water that covered even the mountains.
⁷ At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
⁸ Mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels you decreed.
⁹ Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
¹¹ They provide water for all the animals,
and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
¹³ You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
¹⁴ You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
¹⁵ wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.
¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ There the birds make their nests,
and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
¹⁸ High in the mountains live the wild goats,
and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.^[b]

¹⁹ You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
²⁰ You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
²¹ Then the young lions roar for their prey,
stalking the food provided by God.
²² At dawn they slink back
into their dens to rest.
²³ Then people go off to their work,
where they labor until evening.

²⁴ O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.

Psalms 147:4

⁴ He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.