Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

By virtue of first word usage, earth here should be thought of as that which God created, everything, hence the reference to its vast expanse. The fullness is a direct reference to our ability to comprehend. Is the glass have full or half empty? It is only full if you accept that there is substance within the glass that you cannot see, feel or touch. See Colossians 1:16 for validation.

As we discover that vastness we either wonder about its possibilities or are awed by the reach of our God’s capability, majesty and influence. This might be the beginning of that moment of seeking. Will it become an exercise in vanity or seeking God for His truths in all matters.

Then comes: the world and the inhabitants. Much of the universe is uninhabitable even if man has ventured by invention into inhospitable zones of space and lands. So the world should be considered a hospitable zone for life, a place of pleasure and senses, that half full cup. Here we are not yet aware of the other half of the cup which is yet to be discovered. Those things we do not sense with eyes, ears, touch and taste for they are spiritual.

The last observation I would like to make here is ownership, it all belongs to God the creator even if they are unaware of His existence. Their awareness does not alter ownership. Their worship does not alter ownership. In this we are all together, equals in creation.

All men are created equal. Do we treat them as such? Do we honor God’s creation and respect that His love for them is as unwavering as it is for you and me?

Romans 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

A few years ago an associate of mine would take the sounds of words to form unsound doctrine. We tried to correct his thinking unsuccessfully. We must understand that there are translations of Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew that are very difficult and there is more than one way to say things.

When it comes to speaking to the character and quality of personality of our God, we must balance what these translation sound like against what we know about our God.

Here in Romans 8:20 it sounds like God had a hope for mankind that did not work out as planned. Since God is omniscient, knowing all things from the beginning, then it was not God that was hoping here. The key phrasing is “of him who hath subjected the same in hope”

I went back to the Greek to decipher the original intent of the phrasing. This is what I discovered.

Strong’s G1909 “the same is” is a prepositional phrase, ep-ee’; a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (source BLB.ORG)

It is not God’s hope but rather God instilling hope in us, “a relation of distribution”. We were subjected to this hope unwittingly, unwillingly, to create in us a yearning to come to know God without understanding how and why it happened until we came to know Him.

The Phillips translation comes the closest to rendering an interpretation that is in line with that thinking.

“The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope.”  (it, creation, we have been given that hope) 

If your thinking doesn’t sound like the God you know, check your thinking.