The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof…
Psalm 24:1
Our lives are often marked by a forgetfulness of these two truths about God: His all-seeing presence, and His ownership of all things. This verse speaks to both, and we will take each in turn.
First, His all-seeing presence. David says the fullness of the earth is God’s. In other words, there is not a square inch where He is not present. He is everywhere at all times, though He is distinct from His creation as the Creator. Theologians call this God’s omnipresence. However, because of sin’s dimming effects in our lives, the natural human tendency is to run away from the Lord’s presence. This is what our first parents did in the Garden of Eden once their sin ruined their innocence and caused great shame (Gn 3:8). They tried to mask their guilt with man-sewed fig leaves, but the Lord, seeing all things, knew their inward rebellion. We are no different from them—trying to cover our sin with good works, excuses, leisure, or pleasure—anything that will keep us one more moment from seriously reflecting on our condition before a holy God. We are afraid that if we stop, we must reflect on the absurdity of our attempts to run away from God. We are like a hamster on a wheel: we run, thinking we are escaping, but in reality we don’t move one inch. This is what we do when we forget God’s presence.
Why do we try to hide? David knew he could not. Elsewhere he asked, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Ps. 139:7). It is only when we bring our sin to the Lord in humble cross-examination, knowing that God sees what we have done, yet has graciously provided our forgiveness in Christ while we were yet enemies (Rm 5:8)—only then can we draw near to God’s all-seeing eye. Amazingly, while he sees the depths of darkness in sinners’ heart, He has chosen to draw near by making Christ the propitiation for our sins. Christ reminds us of God’s nearness to us—even when our sin or feelings attempt to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rm 8:39).
Secondly, this verse teaches us to remember God’s ownership of all things. David says “the earth is the Lord, and the fullness thereof.” He does not limit God’s reign to a geographical boundary. He does not limit God’s possessions to a finite amount of resources. He does not limit God’s control to a select few circumstances. No, the entire globe is under the grip of a sovereign God. He owns all things: the money in your bank account, the palaces of princes, the gold under the earth. He is in control of all things: the movement of the birds, the breath of a child, the heartbeat of the elderly. He moves all things according to His purpose: turning evil to good, suffering into beauty—the cross into salvation. The earth is the Lord’s. As Abraham Kuyper once said, “There’s not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not exclaim, ‘Mine’!”
But we struggle, once again, to remember this truth. Our self-sufficiency dims our view of God’s control over our lives. How easily we believe that life is in our hands, that we turn the wheel, that we sail the boat, so to speak. Our vision is so short-sighted. We grasp onto the limbs of life while forgetting the trunk of God’s power which holds us up. Everything we have therefore is a gift from God, who gives and takes away (Job 1:21). Our time. Our money. Our children. Our physical health. Our future. Either we recognize God’s claim on every domain of our lives (i.e., the fullness) or He does not have any at all. There is no middle ground. You cannot at once say “Jesus is Lord” while hiding how you spend your pennies (Mt 6:24). You cannot at once say “God is first” without an honest audit of your time.
Yet under Christ’s full reign, there is a sweetness when we surrender every part of our lives to say “Lord, what would you have of me in _________?” When we order our lives under the truth that all we have is God’s, we are free to give our best to the Lord. And when we live with the awareness that God Himself is our greatest treasure—that the all-surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus deserves the throne of our hearts—only then will we see that everything in this earth, therefore, is by God, from God, for God, and to His glory.
So daily we are called to recognize these wondrous truths: there is no where you can run from the Lord, and there is nothing you have which is not already His. In Christ we have the privilege of drawing near to the all-seeing One, and in Christ we have our greatest possession of all: God Himself. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.