I found this (linked) blog post earlier and didn't know how to feel. My first reaction to this kind of video, honestly, is to disbelieve that any of it is true. After all, I have been to China for a year myself, and I saw plenty of extra Bibles, still in the plastic wrapper.
That's forgetting something, though: China is a very large country.
So that doesn't mean that the Bible is known or understood there by all, though, and far from that is the truth: the Word has spread rapidly there, praise God, for doors are opening--but there are still millions who haven't heard it preached or taught right. (And by "right," I do not mean my particular interpretation of the Word, but rather, they haven't heard the word taught as the truth).
God "speaks and summons the earth." Right off the bat, The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons. He is the boss, but what kind of boss is he?
Well, we get a picture -- of the sunrise and sunset. The Psalmist is saying that this speaking and summoning is done from dusk 'till dawn, but with the words sunrise and sunset comes a memory of a splendid sight for those who've seen the sun rise and/or set. For any who haven't had working eyesight to see a sunrise or sunset, this must be calling upon the one of the greatest faculties of the human mind: imagination.
Either way, clearly we are invited to get a greater understanding God by mentioning him directly after the sun's radiant rising and setting:
"God shines forth."
He is not a gloomy God. This is not Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The Lord Almighty is righteous, Holy, and just, always loving and using honest weights and scales (Proverbs 16:11). He is not an oppressor. He is the Great Giver. That's why He doesn't need anything from us, nor can we provide much for him past adoration, worship, trust, and thanksgiving.
"I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
(Verses 9-15)
Thankfulness is how I should feel and be toward God. You and I were created to glorify and ENJOY Him -- to bask His radiance, mercy, and forgiveness -- forever. All of that is made possible, of course, by Jesus Christ, who was slain for that purpose, then resurrected: the greatest news in the history of mankind.
