THE HAND OF THE ALMIGHTY (7)

“YOU OPEN YOUR HAND and SATISFY the desire of every living thing” – Psalm 145:16

The HAND of the ALMIGHTY GOD is infinitely large enough to satisfy the desire of every living thing: “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. YOU OPEN YOUR HAND and SATISFY the desire of every living thing” (Psa.145:15-16). What a Hand this is that holds in it all the food that meets the desires and necessities of the universe of creatures! His Hand provides the proper kinds of food for the innumerable species of creatures that swarm on the earth, in the air, and in the waters – people, fowls, beasts, whales, fishes, insects, and plants. By merely opening His Hand all needful gifts are bestowed on all living creatures!  Yesterday’s devotional expressed a similar thought: “What you give them they gather in; YOU OPEN YOUR HAND, they are filled with good” (Psa.104:28).

Psalm 145 preceeds David’s closing hymns of general praise, which begin and end with the words ‘Praise the Lord’. God is great and worthy to be the object of all praise, day and night, for all of eternity (vv.1-3). Those who know God’s greatness should meditate upon it and proclaim it to others (vv.4-7). Not only is God great, but He is full of goodness, showing covenant faithfulness to His people and gracious love to all humankind (vv.8-9). Those who have tasted His love are enjoined to show their gratitude by praising Him and telling others of His mighty works thereby helping to spread His rule to the lives of others (vv.10-13a). His generous help and free gifts are always available to all His creatures (13b-16). In contrast, no matter how stable people may appear to be, they are transient, limited and can never be fully relied upon.

God can be counted upon! He doesn’t relate with His creatures, including humanity, with a closed fist! Rather, His goodness is made apparent in this portrait of Him stretching out His hand to distribute food to all creatures. He is described as opening His Hand to put food into every mouth. This depicts the amazing beneficence and fullness of God in being able and willing to satisfy multitudes; to keep them from perishing by cold, hunger, or nakedness. The Lord takes care of flying birds, roaming beasts, insect tribes, microscopic organisms, and infinite number of inhabitants of the seas, deserts, or vast plains! God consistently sustains the fallen, uplifts the oppressed, and provides for all. Therefore, every person looks to God for provision of their needs. Since God’s dominion is everlasting, He cares for His creatures faithfully and eternally.

Among human beings, close-fistedness is much more the rule than the free, generous impartation of what we have to those who have not. In contrast, God is the God of the open hand; the bounteous Benefactor of all, based on His Love and His Power. God has but to open His hand: He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it comes to pass. Through the divine spontaneity of Omnipotence, God supplies and satisfies the innumerable, varied, ever-recurring, and vast necessities of all His creatures, as long as these align with His Will and Purposes.

Many people think in their hearts, and some openly say, that it is their own efforts that secure to them the satisfaction of their desires; that they earn their daily bread apart from God. Some erroneously describe themselves as “self-made”! What fallacy! God provides both the tools – breath, mind and body – with which we work, and the material on which we work! Without God-given energy and health, we could not work at all! At best, we’ll only accomplish a mere fraction of all that needs to be done. If God did not open His Hand, what could we do to meet the magnitude, variety, and urgency of human needs? It’s the height of arrogant folly to attribute to any other than God the supply of all our wants! To Believers in Christ, Paul wrote: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phi.4:19).