Immense & Immediate Hands

In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 95:4-5

The hands of the Lord are a thing to behold. With them he fashioned the world and the fullness thereof. As a potter fashions clay, the Lord fashioned the world, molding it in accordance with his creative heart and love. As the only infinite being and person, everything finite can be found in his hands. Living in the PNW, we are blessed to see a diversity of his creative work in the mountain ranges that flank us to the East and West. We also enjoy the blessing of the expansive waters of our seas, which invite adventure and contemplation.

In Psalm 95–a well-known Psalm in its own right and one which we pray in the Morning Office–the psalmist summons us to praise the Lord because of his greatness as seen in the world which he created. But not only is this the world which he created, these mountains and seas are found within the folds and crevices of his hand. As we humans cup water or soil in our hand, so the Lord cups the world's oceans and the world's mountain peaks in his. This aspect of his hands conveys his immensity, his transcendence, his power, and his might. And yet this is not the only occurrence of his hands in this Psalm.

Later, in verse 7, we read of another aspect of his hands. The focus is no longer the immensity of God–though that is still present–but it has shifted to his imminent and immediate care for his own: He is our God and we are the people He tends and the flock of His hand.* And it is precisely this contrast that we are to keep in our minds and hearts. The hands in which are found the seas and mountains, are the same hands that care for you as a shepherd tends sheep. The hands that gave you life by forming you in the image of God, are the same hands that were pierced for your transgressions, that you might have true life. The hands that defeated our great enemy are the same hands that welcome you into the kingdom of God, prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Entrust yourself to those hands; rest in those hands.

– Matthew+

*Translation by Robert Alter