Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election

Are You Dumber Than a Beast?

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-11-27

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 104:20-22, focusing on verse 21: 'The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.' He explores the biblical theme that humans are often compared to beasts and found wanting, arguing that many people are 'dumber than a beast' because they fail to acknowledge God's provision or put action to their prayers. The sermon also develops the subtitle 'Inarticulate Prayers,' showing that if God interprets the roar of a lion as a prayer for food, He certainly understands the groanings of His people, as the Holy Spirit intercedes for them. Applications include learning from animals about trust, work ethic, and honoring God, and being encouraged that our feeble prayers are heard.

[John Weaver] Today, to Psalm 104, we're going to be reading verses 20 through 22. And I want you to keep your fingers flexible, because we're going to be looking at some other scriptures. And since this is a 60-minute tape, we have to turn quickly, alright? Psalm 104, notice if you would, verse 20 through 22. The Word of God says, Thou makest darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.

[John Weaver] The sun arises, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens. The title of the message today is actually twofold. The first one is a question. Are you dumber than a beast? The subtitle is, Inarticulate Prayers. Now, you may be wondering about the connection between the question, Are you dumber than a beast? And the subtitle, Inarticulate Prayers. I'm going to answer that question for you before I end the message today. But when I ask the question, Are you dumber than a beast? Interestingly enough, There are several times in the Bible when man is compared to beasts and often stated to be dumber than beasts.

[John Weaver] If you would hold Psalm 104, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 49 and look at verse 12. Psalm 49 and verse 12. Notice what the Scripture says. Psalm 49 verse 12. Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish. So here he's talking about man being like the beast that perish. Skip down to verse 20 in Psalm 49. Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beast that perish. So once again, man is likened into a beast. Someone who's in a position of honor and does not understand, God said he's like the beast that perish. Now, turn over in your Bibles to Psalm 73 because here's an important passage in the sense that This shows us that at times, even Christians may act beastly. For instance, godly Asaph in Psalm 73, when he was a lumen, saw his ignorance and his ignorant way of thinking, and he says in verse 22, Psalm 73 and verse 22, so foolish was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just show you what was happening in Psalm 73. In Psalm 73, Asap has been envious against the workers of iniquity in the sense that they have plenty, their eyes stand out for fatness. And he said, after watching the prosperity of the wicked, surely I've cleansed my hands in vain. I've washed them in vain. In other words, it's the wicked that perish. It's the wicked that prosper.

[John Weaver] And here I am, a righteous man, and I'm suffering into and without. Well, look in verse 16. What happens in Psalm 73 verse 16? He said, When I thought to know this, that is the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. He said, When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end.

[John Weaver] Surely thou did set them in slippery places, and castest them down into destruction. How they are brought into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awakens, so, Lord, when thou awakenest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, I was pricked in my reins, so foolish was I, and ignorant I was as a beast before thee."

[John Weaver] So he says, when God opened my eyes and showed me the end of the wicked, he said, I'd rather be righteous than suffer. And I was envious of them, he said, I was ignorant as a beast before thee. So very obviously there are times that Christians may act beastly. He certainly did. If you would turn very quickly to Isaiah chapter 1, everyone should be aware of this passage. I've quoted this before.

[John Weaver] Just showing you how that oftentimes individuals are indeed dumber than beasts. Notice Isaiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 2. God says, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. For the Lord has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider, a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, they provoke the Lord, they provoke the Holy One of Israel into anger, they are going away backwards. Now I want you to notice, if you would, he said in verse 3, the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass is master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." So in this passage, God is saying that men are dumber than animals. At least animals know where they are fed and they know who feeds them. Men oftentimes eat at the troth of God's mercies and then immediately deny Him and deny His mercies.

[John Weaver] At least animals look to their owners for their nourishment and for their sustenance. Every time I go out into the pasture or every time I go to the barn, it's amazing how those cows, every one of them lift up their eyes and look at you and follow you. They'll watch everything that you do because they know who feeds them and they know where they are fed. At least they have sense enough to look to their owner and to look to their master. But God says, My people don't have the sense of an animal. in the fact that they don't look to Me. Unhappily, men seldom look to their divine owner and master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] And yet the truth of the matter is, without Him, we would perish. Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. Believe it or not, I'm going to be expounding this passage just shortly. But, I want you to see the verse that caught my eye. In Psalm 104 and verse 21, the Scripture just says this, the young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God. As I looked at that verse, I had to ask a few questions. First, do animals really seek their meat from God? If so, how? Secondly, is there a connection between the lion roaring and seeking His meat from God. Thirdly, how are we to understand this verse in light of the overall teaching of the Word of God?

[John Weaver] Well, I believe that in order to even begin understanding our text, we have to review and rehearse a number of fundamental truths. We know that God has sovereignly created every animal. He is the Creator and by virtue of His creatorship, all animals, everything belongs to Him. Not only do animals belong to the Lord, He is the one that has designed their bodies, their appetites, and placed them in their respective environments. Have you ever wondered why animals live where they live?

[John Weaver] Just stop and think about this for a moment. Have you ever stopped to think about that? In Psalm 104, look in verse 18, he says, the high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies. Why are the mountain peaks the home for the wild goats? If you want to go wild goat hunting, you're going to have to do a lot of climbing because that's where they live. Wild sheep as well. And why are the conies in the rocks? I mean, if you want to go rabbit hunting, you're going in a briar patch. You're not going to go up on top of a mountain somewhere.

[John Weaver] God has sovereignly designed all of these animals, and He's placed them sovereignly and providentially in their respective environments. I want you to hold someone for, but turn over to Jeremiah chapter 27. Jeremiah 27. And look at verses 5 and 6. Just showing you God's divine ownership of everything. Jeremiah chapter 27 verses 5 and 6. God has given everything in this particular passage into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. When he sent Nebuchadnezzar to attack Jerusalem and Judah. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 27 verse 5. God says, I have made the earth, the man, and the beasts that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemeth meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. And the beasts of the field have I given also to serve him."

[John Weaver] Now very obviously, one cannot give what he does not possess. And the very fact that God gave the beasts of the field into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar to serve Him, meant, therefore, that they were His creation and His property. If you will turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 50. I told you we were going to be looking at a number of passages. But look in Psalm 50 at verses 10 and 12. Showing you how God claims divine ownership over every animal. Psalm 50, notice verse 10. God says, for every beast of the forest is Mine.

[John Weaver] and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof." Note, if you would, what God says. He says, everything is mine. Every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills is mine." Everything belongs to God. God has so ordered and so ordained the animal kingdom in their respective natures and habitats that they honor Him. You say, what? Animals honor God?

[John Weaver] Well, look in Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. In fact, you're going to see a number of verses before we get through today that may astound you. Look in Isaiah 43, and notice if you would, verses 19 and 20. Isaiah 43, verse 19. Look what God says, how He's going to bless His people. Isaiah 43, verse 19. God says, Behold, I will do a new thing.

[John Weaver] Now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Now watch. The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen.

[John Weaver] Now the sense of this passage is plain and the image is very highly poetical but beautiful as well. What the Bible is teaching here is that God will pour out such copious floods of water upon the sandy waste deserts to supply His people that even the wild beasts will be sensible to the fact that God has abundantly supplied it. And He says, they will honor Me. Let me give you a quick quote. John Calvin said, It was proper that magnificent language should be employed in extolling the power of God, that words might supply that which seemed to be wanting in the reality. The meaning is that the power of God will be so visible and manifest that the very beast impressed with the feeling of it shall acknowledge and worship God. Wow! Someone is going to object and say, But animals cannot honor, praise or worship God.

[John Weaver] My question is, how do you know? God who created them may have given them some rudimentary knowledge or at least some rudimentary ability in some way to recognize Him and honor Him. In one sense of the word, they do honor Him in the sense that they fulfill the purpose for which God created them. You don't see animals running around trying to change their nature, or their calling, or their habitat. No, no, no. They're willing to stay right exactly where God placed them and the way God created them.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Because I want you to see that animals do indeed function the way God created them to function. And I want you to note what the Bible says in Psalm 148. And I want to read the entire psalm because the entire psalm deals with praising God. And so once someone objects and says, well, animals can't praise God, well, I want you to look at this. Psalm 148 verse 1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise you Him, all His hosts. Praise you Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all you stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. Stop right there. Do you see what He's saying so far? God created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the waters above the heaven, and now He says, let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created.

[John Weaver] So somehow, in God's creation, there is a way that His creation redounds to His honor, His glory, and His praise. But let's go on. He says in verse 5, Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree which shall not pass. Now watch. Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind fulfilling His words, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all the judges of the earth, both

[John Weaver] young men and maidens, old men and the children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all of His saints, even of the children of Israel, of people near unto Him. Praise ye the Lord." It's interesting how in this passage, God is telling that even the beast and the cattle, and the flying fowl and creeping things to praise Him.

[John Weaver] Well, in a sense they do. In a sense they do because they were created by God and God commands them.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Job. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Job, if you would, chapter 12. And let me answer and ask a question. Job chapter 12, and notice if you would please, verse 7. Job 12, verse 7. Do you realize that there are numerous times in the scripture that you and I are bidden to go to the animals and the insects to learn? Look in Job 12 and verse 7. Job says, But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee.

[John Weaver] Now just stop right there. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee. So Job here sends his friends to the beasts and the birds for instructions.

[John Weaver] Now obviously the beast and the birds did not create themselves, nor do they provide for themselves or sustain themselves. It is God who supports, sustains, and provides for them. Moreover, all the animals, all the beasts, all the fowls, all the insects are governed and directed and disposed of as God pleases. And so all of the animals, insects, and fowls then furnish an illustration of God's sovereignty God's power, God's wisdom, and God's providence.

[John Weaver] Now Job bids his friends, go to the beasts, and they shall teach thee. And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee. What is it that we can learn from God's animal creation? And the answer is, there's plenty that we can learn. In fact, if you will turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 6, let me just show you. God here sends individuals to the ants so that they may learn and understand godly preparation and a biblical work ethic. Notice in Proverbs chapter 6, beginning there in verse 6, God says, Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise.

[John Weaver] Stop and watch the ants, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provided her meat in the summer, and gathered her food in the harvest. Now watch. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and by one is an armed man."

[John Weaver] Now what does God say? God says you need to go to the ant, you need to learn some things. What does the ant do? The ant prepares for itself during the summer. It puts up while the putting up is good. It gets while the getting is good. And what is the ant doing? It's preparing for when there is no food available, when there is nothing to eat, the ant is going to have something. And the ant doesn't have an overseer, doesn't have a guide. God said, just go to the ant and you will learn to put up, you will learn to prepare, you will learn to put things back and to save. Moreover, you can also learn from the ant a biblical work ethic. What does the ant do? The ant works while it can work and gets while it can get.

[John Weaver] Do you know what most people do? Most people are willing, if they've got just a little money in their pocket, to go play. It doesn't matter if work is available or not. They have money for the moment and they're happy. And they're not going to work. Well, the ant is teaching us this. There comes a time when work may not be available. You have to get it while the getting is good. What is it?

[John Weaver] Make hay while the sun shines? One thing I learned growing up on the farm is this. When harvest comes in, you don't piddle around. You don't have time to play. When the harvest comes in, you have to work and you have to get it while you can get it. If not, it's going to rot in the field.

[John Weaver] Now, this is what God is saying. Go to the aunt thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. Learn to prepare, learn to put up. Learn a biblical work ethic. Work while you can work. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 8, because here's something else that we can learn from the fowls. Jeremiah chapter 8, this may shock you. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8.

[John Weaver] Let's begin with verse 6. Watch this. Jeremiah 8, verse 6. Do you realize that we can even learn concerning the judgment of God from the fowls of the air? Jeremiah 8, verse 6. I hearken and heard, and they spake not aright. He's talking about his people now. Watch. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turneth to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle.

[John Weaver] Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle, that is the turtle dove, and the crane, and the swallow, observe their time of their coming. But my people know not the judgment of the Lord." Now wait a minute. Look at verse 6 again. He says, No man spoke a rite. No man repented him of the wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle. Then he says, The stork and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observed the time of their coming. Then he adds this, But my people know not the judgment of the Lord. Now what in the world is God saying?

[John Weaver] Jeremiah here is appealing to the obedience which migratory birds render to the law of their natures. Do you realize the stork knows when it's time to migrate from one country to the other? So does the swallow, so does the crane. In other words, they know when to seek a warmer climate to escape the adversity and the severity of winter. They know how to get out of danger. They know how to get out of the way. But God says, watch it in verse 7, but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. In other words, God says, my people are dumb. Look what he said, verse 6, I hearkened and heard, and they spake not aright.

[John Weaver] No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? In other words, nobody is willing to get out of the way of adversity. Nobody is willing to get out of the way of judgment. And when God says in verse 7, but my people know not, He is pointing out the fact that the people did not have the sense of the birds. The birds knew how to get out of adversity. They knew how to get out of the severity of the winter. But what did God's people do?

[John Weaver] They just sat back lax, lazily. did not see the judgment coming, did not prepare, did not get out of the way. God says there's more stupid than birds. May I suggest that being called a bird brain might actually be a compliment. At least the birds know how to get out of danger. That's what God is saying. And He sends us to the fowls of the air. He says that they'll tell you if you'll just ask.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. Here's something else that we can learn from the fowls of the air. Look in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26. Not only can we learn a biblical work ethic from the ants and preparation from the ants, we can learn about the judgment of God from birds, but in Matthew chapter 6, we can also learn about God's sovereign providence. Notice in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26, our Lord says this, Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns.

[John Weaver] Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?" You know, at least the ant prepares. And a bird can build a nest, but a bird can't sow and reap and put in a barn. So what do the birds do? They just trust God every day to give them their food. And He gives it. He takes care of them. He provides them. There is not a billionaire in this country that could feed every bird every day for one year.

[John Weaver] Stop and think about that. And yet God feeds them all the time, every day. They look to Him. They trust in Him. So these fowls of the air are content with God's sovereign provision and God's sovereign providence. What can we learn? What does He say in Hebrews chapter 13? Be content with whatsoever things that you have. You can learn contentment. I use that verse on Alice many times.

[John Weaver] She tells me she needs a new dress. I say, well, we're biblical. Let's see what the Bible says. And I'll turn to Hebrews 13 verse 5. Be content with such things as you have. I said, that's what the Bible says. You don't need a new dress. But that's what the Bible does teach. It does teach contentment. And that's what he said. We can learn contentment from the birds.

[John Weaver] We just have to do it. Now, with all this in mind, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. I told you I was going to come back to this passage. I'm going to explain it. But I wanted you to keep all this in mind because Psalm 104 and verse 21 does need some explaining in light of what we just reviewed and rehearsed. So, in Psalm 104 and verse 21, the young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God. Now, lions roar probably for various reasons. But our text details the roar of the lion for one specific reason here, and that is hunger. Let me just give you a little bit of information, one paragraph of something that I researched about the roar of a lion.

[John Weaver] And it's amazing to me. But here is the answer that I came up with from research on why lions roar. Since the roar of a male lion is known to have the power to reach up to five miles to the human ear. But it is still not clear how far a lion can hear the roar. It is observed that lions are able to communicate among themselves even beyond that distance. Hence it is clear that lions have a better hearing capacity than humans. Lions are noticed to be roaring mostly at night time when they are most active. It is also surprising to know that lions roar only if they're in their own territory. If a lion goes into another territory, it remains silent until it is sure that it's reached its own territory. Isn't that amazing? The human ear can hear a lion's roar up to five miles. A lion can probably hear that roar much further. But the thing that got me was this, as I read verse 21, the young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.

[John Weaver] So the lion's roar then is indicative of his hunger and is part of the seeking and capture of his prey. It is said that a lion's roar is so unnerving and so terrible that it astonishes the beast which it pursues. It terrifies that beast. And although whatever the lion is chasing may be faster and fleeter of foot, the roar so terrifies it that it almost falls down and becomes an easy prey. I have seen lions roar in a zoo right as the man fed them. And although the meat was pushed in, it was there, no other lion was around, yet the lion roared and pounced upon the meat. Prior to his feeding, I saw the man reach in and pet the lion like a little kitten.

[John Weaver] But when he went to feed him, he said, you stand back. Because he roared and jumped on that prey.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look. in Psalm 147 and verse 9. Remember now, we're reading about the lion roaring and seeking his meat from God. Notice if you would, Psalm 147 and verse 9. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 6. Look in Psalm 147 and verse 6. The Lord lifted up the meek, He casted the wicked down to the ground, singing to the Lord with thanksgiving, singing praise upon the harp of our God, who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass grow upon the mountains.

[John Weaver] He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." Notice, God gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens who cry, indicating that even birds cry out to God for food. Turn right on over to the book of Joel, which is one of the minor prophets. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Joel chapter 1, at verses 18 through 20. I'm going to be tying this together for us shortly, but look in Joel chapter 1, beginning there with verse 18.

[John Weaver] Joel 1 verse 18, watch. How do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to Thee will I cry, for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Look, the beasts of the field cry also unto Thee. For the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." Not only the ravens cry unto God, but also the beasts cry unto God as well.

[John Weaver] Now, since you're so close, turn right over just a few pages to Amos chapter 3 and look at verse 4. Look in Amos chapter 3 verse 4. Look at the question that is asked. Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing? Remember our text, the young lions do roar and seek their prey from God. So here's the question, will a lion roar in the forest when he has taken no prey? In other words, somehow the roaring is connected with the taking of the prey. Will a young lion cry out of his den if he's taken nothing? And so the answer would be obviously, no, they're not going to roar. The lion's roar brings fear to the lion's prey. Now look in verse 8 of Amos chapter 3. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy? So, without me going into explanation of this text, but note if you would the first part.

[John Weaver] The lion hath roared, who will not fear? So the roar of the lion does indeed produce fear into the praise.

[John Weaver] Now, turn back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5 and look at verse 29. Isaiah 5 and verse 29.

[John Weaver] Remember now, we're talking about the roar of the lion. The young lions do roar and seek their meat from God. Look in Isaiah 5 and verse 29. Now, God is talking here about the enemy He's going to come and judge His people, but I want you to look at the analogy that He uses. He says, their roaring shall be like a lion. They shall roar like young lions, yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it." So when lions roar then, it is connected with their catching of their prey and taking it away. Now remember the young lions roar and seek their meat from God. So obviously there is a connection then between the lions roaring and seeking his meat from God. It is a fact that God must give them their food. The roar suggests that even brute creation calls upon God to supply their needs.

[John Weaver] Go back to Psalm 104. Psalm 104, verse 21 first. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God. Now skip down to verse 27. After he talks about all the animals and everything, Even the fish of the seas, verse 25. He says in verse 27, These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather. Thou openest Thine hand, and they are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled. Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to dust. Now note what God says concerning even all the animals, even all the fishes. These all wait upon Thee. When He opens their hand, they have food. They're filled with good. If God does not open His hand, if God turns His face away, then He says, they all die. It's just that simple. Now look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 145. Psalm 145, at verses 15 and 16. And then I want to give you some quotes and begin to tie this together for us.

[John Weaver] Psalm 145, verse 15. Again, Scripture says this, The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. It is God who not only feeds us, but feeds all the animals as well.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you about four quotes, and then I'm going to start making some applications and tying things together for us. And these quotes are based upon Psalm 104 and verse 21, the young lions do roar and seek their meat from God. Matthew Poole says this, seek their meat from God. This is a figurative and poetical expression. Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief. As the cries of infants are a kind of prayers to their mothers for the breast.

[John Weaver] And this is justly noted as an act of God's special providence. Because the lions are very ravenous and need much prey. Here's what Spurgeon says. This is the poetic interpretation of a roar. To whom do the lions roar? They, after their own fashion, express their desires for food, and the expression of desire is a kind of prayer. Out of this fact comes the devout thought of the wild beast appealing to its maker for its food. But neither with lions nor men will the seeking of prayer suffice. There must be a practical seeking, and the lions are well aware of it. What they have in their own language ask for, they go forth to seek. Being in this thing far wiser than many men who offer formal prayers, not half so earnest as those of the young lions, and then neglect the means and the use of which the object of their petitions might be gained. The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek. I'll explain that.

[John Weaver] Here's what Joseph Carl said. How comforting is the thought that the Spirit translates the voice of a lion and finds it to be a seeking of meat from God. May we not hope that our poor broken cries and groans, which in our sorrow we have called the voice of our roaring, will be understood by Him and interpreted in our favor. Evidently, he considers the meaning rather than the music of the utterance, and puts the best construction upon it. The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs, but wolves and lions."

[John Weaver] Now let me stop there. I don't watch too many movies. But one Western that I've watched, probably 20 times, is the outlaw Josie Wales. And you remember when he killed the two bushwhackers that were trying to kill him and the wounded boy. The wounded boys, he helped them up and he said to Josie, aren't you going to bury them? And he spat his tobacco juice on the forehead of one of them and said, nope, buzzards got to eat too. Well, listen to this. Just stop and think about this.

[John Weaver] The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs but wolves and lions. Even the lions, even the buzzards have to eat. He goes on to say, it is a strange expression that young lions, when they roar after their prey, should be said to seek their meat of God, implying that neither their own strength nor craft could feed them without the help of God. The strongest creatures left to themselves cannot help themselves. And they who fear God are fed by special providence of God. So all creatures are fed and nourished by the general providence. The lion, though he be strong and subtle, yet cannot get his own prey. We think a lion might shift for himself.

[John Weaver] No, it is the Lord that provides for him. The young lions seek their meat from God. Surely then, the mightiest of men cannot live upon themselves, as it is of God that we receive life and breath. So all things needful for the maintenance of this life. One more. Matthew Henry. He says, The roaring of young lions, like the crying of the ravens, is interpreted, asking their meat of God. Both God put this construction upon the language of mere nature, even in venomous creatures, and shall not He much more interpret favorably the language of grace in His own people, though it be weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered?

[John Weaver] Here is why I gave the two titles of this message. The first one, a question, are you dumber than a beast? And the second one, inarticulate prayers. And inarticulate just simply means that which cannot be uttered, that which cannot be spoken. So let me answer it like this. Here's why I gave the two titles. First, it should be obvious that most people are indeed dumber than animals.

[John Weaver] When I say that, I'm not trying to be ugly or unkind. I'm just simply saying they're dumber than the animals in the sense that they refuse to seek their meat from God, and when God does feed them, when God does supply their need, they refuse to honor Him and thank Him and acknowledge Him. Moreover, Many who pray for something refuse to put feet to their prayers. They refuse to work. They abhor a biblical work ethic. They refuse to believe that God will judge laziness and slothfulness and wickedness. In that sense of the word, they are less than bird brains because birds at least look to God and trust God to feed them on a daily basis. You look at the people across this country, many who profess to be Christians, who live their lives in absolute, total, I don't want to say ignorance, total stupidity maybe. In the sense that they refuse to acknowledge and honor God for everything they are and everything they have. Let me tell you something. We may not be the richest people in the world.

[John Weaver] We may not be the best looking people in the world. We may not be the slimmest people in the world. But whatever we are, we are by the grace of God. And whatever we have, we have by the grace of God. And we need to thank Him and honor Him. And if we don't, God says we're dumber than animals because even the ox knoweth his crib. and the ass knoweth his stall."

[John Weaver] Secondly, in articulate prayers, if God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird and the cries of so-called dumb animals, do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered? I want you to look in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27. Romans 8, verses 26 and 27. There have been times in my life, and I'm sure there have been times in your life, that I've been so burdened and so stressed that I've been unable to pray.

[John Weaver] And when I say that, all I can do is just lay before the Lord and groan. Oh Lord, oh Lord. You don't know which way to turn. You don't know what to pray. You don't know what to say. I'm dealing with a situation right now. It's that. I mean, I want to take the person and slap them upside the head and say, what's wrong with you? Are you absolutely stupid? You know better than this. You've been taught better all your life. What's wrong with you? But I can't reason with the person. And it is one of those incidents where it's very distressing and very grievous.

[John Weaver] And what do you do? You just say, Lord, if you don't take care of it, it'll never be taken care of. So look in Romans 8 in verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities. Now watch this. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." So when you and I are so burdened, and all we can do is groan and just say, Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh Lord help, oh Lord work it out. Guess what? It's the Holy Spirit who's making intercession for us. according to the will of God.

[John Weaver] If God can interpret the roar of a lion, and the shriek of an animal, and the cry of a bird, He can certainly interpret our prayers. Which tells us this, it places upon us a greater responsibility to cry unto Him. It does not matter that we are unable to phrase our thoughts or orient our words or control our tongues. The truth of the matter is He knows, He understands, and He prays for us according to the will of God.

[John Weaver] We are of far more value, He said, than many spare us. He's going to supply our needs. He's going to take care of us. What we need is grace to cry unto Him, and once He supplies our needs and answers our prayer, we need grace to turn around and thank Him and honor Him and worship Him and glorify Him. Do you remember the ten lepers? One turned around and came back and kneeled and thanked our Lord. And our Lord said, where are the nine? Were there not ten healed? Where are the other nine? Just this one has come back to give honor and glory to Me.

[John Weaver] I want to tell you something, folks. In that instance, I'd rather be in the minority. I want to be the one who acknowledges God's grace and God's mercy. The young lions roar and seek their meat from God. Here's my question, do you roar in prayer unto God? Are you seeking Him? Are you seeking your daily provision from Him? Do you put feet to your prayers? Do you not know that God has not only ordained the end, He's also ordained the means to the end.

[John Weaver] I'm of the firm conviction we're about to see problems in this country like we've never seen before in a long time. We had better learn to pray. We had better learn to trust God. We better at least go to the animals and to the birds and to the insects and learn the biblical truths that God has ordained for them to teach us. So are you dumber than a beast? Do you roar and seek your meat from God? Do you trust Him? Do you praise Him? Do you honor Him? Go to the beast, and they shall teach thee. Go to the birds, and they shall tell thee, God is sovereign, and He supplies the needs of His creation and the special needs of His people. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we're so thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His grace and mercy to us. We're thankful for Thy Word, and Father, for the truths of God that we know and understand based upon Your Word. Give us grace that we may trust Thee, look to Thee, learn, Lord, what You have told us to learn. and apply it to our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Are You Dumber Than a Beast?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	Pp3uiVAE3SM
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-11-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 081: Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom - Volume 1 — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	71

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Reading of Psalm 104:20-22

Weaver introduces the sermon, reads the passage, and poses the dual title: 'Are You Dumber Than a Beast?' and 'Inarticulate Prayers.' He promises to explain the connection.

Today, to Psalm 104, we're going to be reading verses 20 through 22. And I want you to keep your fingers flexible, because we're going to be looking at some other scriptures. And since this is a 60-minute tape, we have to turn quickly, alright? Psalm 104, notice if you would, verse 20 through 22. The Word of God says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:20-22

"Thou makest darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God."

The sun arises, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens. The title of the message today is actually twofold. The first one is a question: Are you dumber than a beast? The subtitle is, Inarticulate Prayers. Now, you may be wondering about the connection between the question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" and the subtitle, "Inarticulate Prayers." I'm going to answer that question for you before I end the message today. But when I ask the question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" interestingly enough, there are several times in the Bible when man is compared to beasts and often stated to be dumber than beasts.

Man Compared to Beasts in Scripture

Weaver cites Psalm 49:12,20 and Psalm 73:22 to show that Scripture often compares man to beasts, even godly men like Asaph when they act ignorantly.

If you would hold Psalm 104, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 49 and look at verse 12. Psalm 49 and verse 12. Notice what the Scripture says. Psalm 49 verse 12:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 49:12,20

"Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish."

So here he's talking about man being like the beast that perish. Skip down to verse 20 in Psalm 49: "Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beast that perish." So once again, man is likened unto a beast. Someone who's in a position of honor and does not understand, God said he's like the beast that perish. Now, turn over in your Bibles to Psalm 73 because here's an important passage in the sense that this shows us that at times, even Christians may act beastly. For instance, godly Asaph in Psalm 73, when he was in a moment, saw his ignorance and his ignorant way of thinking, and he says in verse 22, Psalm 73 and verse 22, "So foolish was I and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 73:22

Now, let me just show you what was happening in Psalm 73. In Psalm 73, Asaph has been envious against the workers of iniquity in the sense that they have plenty, their eyes stand out for fatness. And he said, after watching the prosperity of the wicked, "Surely I've cleansed my hands in vain. I've washed them in vain." In other words, it's the wicked that prosper. And here I am, a righteous man, and I'm suffering within and without. Well, look in verse 16. What happens in Psalm 73 verse 16? He said, "When I thought to know this," that is the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous, he said, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end."

"Surely thou did set them in slippery places, and castest them down into destruction. How they are brought into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awakens, so, Lord, when thou awakenest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, I was pricked in my reins, so foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee."

So he says, when God opened my eyes and showed me the end of the wicked, he said, "I'd rather be righteous and suffer. And I was envious of them," he said, "I was ignorant as a beast before thee." So very obviously there are times that Christians may act beastly. He certainly did. If you would turn very quickly to Isaiah chapter 1, everyone should be aware of this passage. I've quoted this before.

Men Are Dumber Than Animals (Isaiah 1:2-3)

Using Isaiah 1:2-3, Weaver argues that animals know their owner and source of food, but Israel (and people today) do not acknowledge God, making them dumber than beasts.

Just showing you how that oftentimes individuals are indeed dumber than beasts. Notice Isaiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 2. God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-3

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. For the Lord has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider, a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, they provoke the Lord, they provoke the Holy One of Israel into anger, they are going away backwards."

Now I want you to notice, if you would, he said in verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-3

"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."

So in this passage, God is saying that men are dumber than animals. At least animals know where they are fed and they know who feeds them. Men oftentimes eat at the trough of God's mercies and then immediately deny Him and deny His mercies.

At least animals look to their owners for their nourishment and for their sustenance. Every time I go out into the pasture or every time I go to the barn, it's amazing how those cows, every one of them lift up their eyes and look at you and follow you. They'll watch everything that you do because they know who feeds them and they know where they are fed. At least they have sense enough to look to their owner and to look to their master. But God says, "My people don't have the sense of an animal in the fact that they don't look to Me." Unhappily, men seldom look to their divine owner and master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's Sovereign Creation and Ownership of Animals

Weaver establishes that God created all animals, designed their habitats, and owns them (Psalm 104:18; Jeremiah 27:5-6; Psalm 50:10-12). Animals honor God by fulfilling their created purpose.

And yet the truth of the matter is, without Him, we would perish. Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. Believe it or not, I'm going to be expounding this passage just shortly. But, I want you to see the verse that caught my eye. In Psalm 104 and verse 21, the Scripture just says this, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." As I looked at that verse, I had to ask a few questions. First, do animals really seek their meat from God? If so, how? Secondly, is there a connection between the lion roaring and seeking his meat from God? Thirdly, how are we to understand this verse in light of the overall teaching of the Word of God?

Well, I believe that in order to even begin understanding our text, we have to review and rehearse a number of fundamental truths. We know that God has sovereignly created every animal. He is the Creator and by virtue of His creatorship, all animals, everything belongs to Him. Not only do animals belong to the Lord, He is the one that has designed their bodies, their appetites, and placed them in their respective environments. Have you ever wondered why animals live where they live? Just stop and think about this for a moment. Have you ever stopped to think about that? In Psalm 104, look in verse 18, he says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:18

"The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies."

Why are the mountain peaks the home for the wild goats? If you want to go wild goat hunting, you're going to have to do a lot of climbing because that's where they live. Wild sheep as well. And why are the conies in the rocks? I mean, if you want to go rabbit hunting, you're going in a briar patch. You're not going to go up on top of a mountain somewhere.

God has sovereignly designed all of these animals, and He's placed them sovereignly and providentially in their respective environments. I want you to hold someone for, but turn over to Jeremiah chapter 27. Jeremiah 27. And look at verses 5 and 6. Just showing you God's divine ownership of everything. Jeremiah chapter 27 verses 5 and 6. God has given everything in this particular passage into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar when He sent Nebuchadnezzar to attack Jerusalem and Judah. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 27 verse 5. God says, "I have made the earth, the man, and the beasts that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemeth meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. And the beasts of the field have I given also to serve him."

Now very obviously, one cannot give what he does not possess. And the very fact that God gave the beasts of the field into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar to serve him, meant, therefore, that they were His creation and His property. If you will turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 50. I told you we were going to be looking at a number of passages. But look in Psalm 50 at verses 10 and 12. Showing you how God claims divine ownership over every animal. Psalm 50, notice verse 10. God says, "For every beast of the forest is Mine."

"and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof." Note, if you would, what God says. He says, "Everything is mine. Every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills is mine." Everything belongs to God. God has so ordered and so ordained the animal kingdom in their respective natures and habitats that they honor Him. You say, "What? Animals honor God?"

Well, look in Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. In fact, you're going to see a number of verses before we get through today that may astound you. Look in Isaiah 43, and notice if you would, verses 19 and 20. Isaiah 43, verse 19. Look what God says, how He's going to bless His people. Isaiah 43, verse 19. God says, "Behold, I will do a new thing."

"Now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Now watch. "The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen."

Now the sense of this passage is plain and the image is very highly poetical but beautiful as well. What the Bible is teaching here is that God will pour out such copious floods of water upon the sandy waste deserts to supply His people that even the wild beasts will be sensible to the fact that God has abundantly supplied it. And He says, "they will honor Me." Let me give you a quick quote. John Calvin said, "It was proper that magnificent language should be employed in extolling the power of God, that words might supply that which seemed to be wanting in the reality. The meaning is that the power of God will be so visible and manifest that the very beast impressed with the feeling of it shall acknowledge and worship God." Wow! Someone is going to object and say, "But animals cannot honor, praise or worship God."

Animals Praise and Teach Us

Psalm 148 calls all creation, including beasts, to praise God. Job 12:7 and Proverbs 6:6-11 show that we are sent to animals and insects to learn wisdom, work ethic, and preparation.

My question is, how do you know? God who created them may have given them some rudimentary knowledge or at least some rudimentary ability in some way to recognize Him and honor Him. In one sense of the word, they do honor Him in the sense that they fulfill the purpose for which God created them. You don't see animals running around trying to change their nature, or their calling, or their habitat. No, no, no. They're willing to stay right exactly where God placed them and the way God created them. I want you to look in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Because I want you to see that animals do indeed function the way God created them to function. And I want you to note what the Bible says in Psalm 148. And I want to read the entire psalm because the entire psalm deals with praising God. And so once someone objects and says, "Well, animals can't praise God," well, I want you to look at this. Psalm 148 verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 148:1-14

"Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise you Him, all His hosts. Praise you Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all you stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created."

Stop right there. Do you see what He's saying so far? God created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the waters above the heaven, and now He says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 148:1-14

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created."

So somehow, in God's creation, there is a way that His creation redounds to His honor, His glory, and His praise. But let's go on. He says in verse 5, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree which shall not pass." Now watch. "Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind fulfilling His words, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all the judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and the children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all of His saints, even of the children of Israel, of people near unto Him. Praise ye the Lord." It's interesting how in this passage, God is telling that even the beast and the cattle, and the flying fowl and creeping things to praise Him.

Well, in a sense they do. In a sense they do because they were created by God and God commands them. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Job. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Job, if you would, chapter 12. And let me answer and ask a question. Job chapter 12, and notice if you would please, verse 7. Job 12, verse 7. Do you realize that there are numerous times in the scripture that you and I are bidden to go to the animals and the insects to learn? Look in Job 12 and verse 7. Job says, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee."

Now just stop right there. "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." So Job here sends his friends to the beasts and the birds for instructions. Now obviously the beast and the birds did not create themselves, nor do they provide for themselves or sustain themselves. It is God who supports, sustains, and provides for them. Moreover, all the animals, all the beasts, all the fowls, all the insects are governed and directed and disposed of as God pleases. And so all of the animals, insects, and fowls then furnish an illustration of God's sovereignty, God's power, God's wisdom, and God's providence.

Now Job bids his friends, "Go to the beasts, and they shall teach thee. And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." What is it that we can learn from God's animal creation? And the answer is, there's plenty that we can learn. In fact, if you will turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 6, let me just show you. God here sends individuals to the ants so that they may learn and understand godly preparation and a biblical work ethic. Notice in Proverbs chapter 6, beginning there in verse 6, God says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise." "Stop and watch the ants, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provided her meat in the summer, and gathered her food in the harvest. Now watch. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man."

Now what does God say? God says you need to go to the ant, you need to learn some things. What does the ant do? The ant prepares for itself during the summer. It puts up while the putting up is good. It gets while the getting is good. And what is the ant doing? It's preparing for when there is no food available, when there is nothing to eat, the ant is going to have something. And the ant doesn't have an overseer, doesn't have a guide. God said, just go to the ant and you will learn to put up, you will learn to prepare, you will learn to put things back and to save. Moreover, you can also learn from the ant a biblical work ethic. What does the ant do? The ant works while it can work and gets while it can get.

Do you know what most people do? Most people are willing, if they've got just a little money in their pocket, to go play. It doesn't matter if work is available or not. They have money for the moment and they're happy. And they're not going to work. Well, the ant is teaching us this. There comes a time when work may not be available. You have to get it while the getting is good. What is it?

Make hay while the sun shines? One thing I learned growing up on the farm is this. When harvest comes in, you don't piddle around. You don't have time to play. When the harvest comes in, you have to work and you have to get it while you can get it. If not, it's going to rot in the field.

Now, this is what God is saying. "Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise." Learn to prepare, learn to put up. Learn a biblical work ethic. Work while you can work. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 8, because here's something else that we can learn from the fowls. Jeremiah chapter 8, this may shock you. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8.

Learning from Birds: Judgment and Providence

Jeremiah 8:6-7 teaches that migratory birds know to escape danger, but God's people do not discern judgment. Matthew 6:26 shows birds trust God for daily provision, teaching contentment.

Let's begin with verse 6. Watch this. Jeremiah 8, verse 6. Do you realize that we can even learn concerning the judgment of God from the fowls of the air? Jeremiah 8, verse 6.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"I hearken and heard, and they spake not aright."

He's talking about his people now. Watch.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turneth to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle." "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle,"

that is the turtle dove,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"and the crane, and the swallow, observe their time of their coming. But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

Now wait a minute. Look at verse 6 again. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"No man spoke aright. No man repented him of the wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"The stork and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observed the time of their coming."

Then he adds this,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

Now what in the world is God saying? Jeremiah here is appealing to the obedience which migratory birds render to the law of their natures. Do you realize the stork knows when it's time to migrate from one country to the other? So does the swallow, so does the crane. In other words, they know when to seek a warmer climate to escape the adversity and the severity of winter. They know how to get out of danger. They know how to get out of the way. But God says, watch it in verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

In other words, God says, "My people are dumb." Look what he said, verse 6, "I hearkened and heard, and they spake not aright."

"No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?" In other words, nobody is willing to get out of the way of adversity. Nobody is willing to get out of the way of judgment. And when God says in verse 7, "But my people know not," He is pointing out the fact that the people did not have the sense of the birds. The birds knew how to get out of adversity. They knew how to get out of the severity of the winter. But what did God's people do? They just sat back lax, lazily, did not see the judgment coming, did not prepare, did not get out of the way. God says they're more stupid than birds. May I suggest that being called a bird brain might actually be a compliment. At least the birds know how to get out of danger. That's what God is saying. And He sends us to the fowls of the air. He says that they'll tell you if you'll just ask.

I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. Here's something else that we can learn from the fowls of the air. Look in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26. Not only can we learn a biblical work ethic from the ants and preparation from the ants, we can learn about the judgment of God from birds, but in Matthew chapter 6, we can also learn about God's sovereign providence. Notice in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26, our Lord says this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:26

"Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns." "Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?"

You know, at least the ant prepares. And a bird can build a nest, but a bird can't sow and reap and put in a barn. So what do the birds do? They just trust God every day to give them their food. And He gives it. He takes care of them. He provides them. There is not a billionaire in this country that could feed every bird every day for one year.

Stop and think about that. And yet God feeds them all the time, every day. They look to Him. They trust in Him. So these fowls of the air are content with God's sovereign provision and God's sovereign providence. What can we learn? What does He say in Hebrews chapter 13? "Be content with whatsoever things that you have." You can learn contentment. I use that verse on Alice many times.

She tells me she needs a new dress. I say, "Well, we're biblical. Let's see what the Bible says." And I'll turn to Hebrews 13 verse 5. "Be content with such things as you have." I said, "That's what the Bible says. You don't need a new dress." But that's what the Bible does teach. It does teach contentment. And that's what he said. We can learn contentment from the birds.

We just have to do it. Now, with all this in mind, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. I told you I was going to come back to this passage. I'm going to explain it. But I wanted you to keep all this in mind because Psalm 104 and verse 21 does need some explaining in light of what we just reviewed and rehearsed. So, in Psalm 104 and verse 21, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." Now, lions roar probably for various reasons. But our text details the roar of the lion for one specific reason here, and that is hunger. Let me just give you a little bit of information, one paragraph of something that I researched about the roar of a lion.

The Lion's Roar as Prayer and Seeking

Weaver explains that a lion's roar is connected to hunger and hunting. Psalm 104:21 poetically interprets the roar as seeking meat from God. Other scriptures (Psalm 147:9; Joel 1:18-20; Amos 3:4) show that beasts cry to God for food.

And it's amazing to me. But here is the answer that I came up with from research on why lions roar. Since the roar of a male lion is known to have the power to reach up to five miles to the human ear. But it is still not clear how far a lion can hear the roar. It is observed that lions are able to communicate among themselves even beyond that distance. Hence it is clear that lions have a better hearing capacity than humans. Lions are noticed to be roaring mostly at night time when they are most active. It is also surprising to know that lions roar only if they're in their own territory. If a lion goes into another territory, it remains silent until it is sure that it's reached its own territory. Isn't that amazing? The human ear can hear a lion's roar up to five miles. A lion can probably hear that roar much further. But the thing that got me was this, as I read verse 21, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God."

So the lion's roar then is indicative of his hunger and is part of the seeking and capture of his prey. It is said that a lion's roar is so unnerving and so terrible that it astonishes the beast which it pursues. It terrifies that beast. And although whatever the lion is chasing may be faster and fleeter of foot, the roar so terrifies it that it almost falls down and becomes an easy prey. I have seen lions roar in a zoo right as the man fed them. And although the meat was pushed in, it was there, no other lion was around, yet the lion roared and pounced upon the meat. Prior to his feeding, I saw the man reach in and pet the lion like a little kitten.

But when he went to feed him, he said, "You stand back." Because he roared and jumped on that prey. Now, I want you to look in Psalm 147 and verse 9. Remember now, we're reading about the lion roaring and seeking his meat from God. Notice if you would, Psalm 147 and verse 9. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 6. Look in Psalm 147 and verse 6. "The Lord lifted up the meek, He casted the wicked down to the ground, singing to the Lord with thanksgiving, singing praise upon the harp of our God, who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass grow upon the mountains."

"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." Notice, God gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens who cry, indicating that even birds cry out to God for food. Turn right on over to the book of Joel, which is one of the minor prophets. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Joel chapter 1, at verses 18 through 20. I'm going to be tying this together for us shortly, but look in Joel chapter 1, beginning there with verse 18.

Joel 1 verse 18, watch.

Scripture Reading — Joel 1:18-20

"How do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to Thee will I cry, for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Look, the beasts of the field cry also unto Thee. For the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness."

Not only the ravens cry unto God, but also the beasts cry unto God as well.

Now, since you're so close, turn right over just a few pages to Amos chapter 3 and look at verse 4. Look in Amos chapter 3 verse 4. Look at the question that is asked.

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:4,8

"Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing?"

Remember our text, the young lions do roar and seek their prey from God. So here's the question, will a lion roar in the forest when he has taken no prey? In other words, somehow the roaring is connected with the taking of the prey. Will a young lion cry out of his den if he's taken nothing? And so the answer would be obviously, no, they're not going to roar. The lion's roar brings fear to the lion's prey. Now look in verse 8 of Amos chapter 3. "The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?" So, without me going into explanation of this text, but note if you would the first part.

"The lion hath roared, who will not fear?" So the roar of the lion does indeed produce fear into the prey. Now, turn back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5 and look at verse 29. Isaiah 5 and verse 29.

Remember now, we're talking about the roar of the lion. The young lions do roar and seek their meat from God. Look in Isaiah 5 and verse 29. Now, God is talking here about the enemy He's going to come and judge His people, but I want you to look at the analogy that He uses. He says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 5:29

"Their roaring shall be like a lion. They shall roar like young lions, yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it."

So when lions roar then, it is connected with their catching of their prey and taking it away. Now remember the young lions roar and seek their meat from God. So obviously there is a connection then between the lions roaring and seeking his meat from God. It is a fact that God must give them their food. The roar suggests that even brute creation calls upon God to supply their needs.

God Feeds All Creatures; Our Responsibility to Pray and Thank

Psalm 104:27 and Psalm 145:15-16 affirm that all creatures wait on God for food. Weaver cites commentators who see the lion's roar as a natural prayer. He applies this: if God hears animals, He hears our inarticulate groanings (Romans 8:26-27). We must roar in prayer, seek God, and thank Him.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:25,27-29

Go back to Psalm 104. Psalm 104, verse 21 first. "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." Now skip down to verse 27. After he talks about all the animals and everything, even the fish of the seas, verse 25. He says in verse 27, "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather. Thou openest Thine hand, and they are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled. Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to dust." Now note what God says concerning even all the animals, even all the fishes. "These all wait upon Thee." When He opens their hand, they have food. They're filled with good. If God does not open His hand, if God turns His face away, then He says, they all die. It's just that simple. Now look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 145. Psalm 145, at verses 15 and 16. And then I want to give you some quotes and begin to tie this together for us.

Psalm 145, verse 15. Again, Scripture says this,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 145:15-16

"The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing."

It is God who not only feeds us, but feeds all the animals as well. Now, I want to give you about four quotes, and then I'm going to start making some applications and tying things together for us. And these quotes are based upon Psalm 104 and verse 21, "The young lions do roar and seek their meat from God." Matthew Poole says this: "Seek their meat from God. This is a figurative and poetical expression. Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief. As the cries of infants are a kind of prayers to their mothers for the breast."

"And this is justly noted as an act of God's special providence. Because the lions are very ravenous and need much prey." Here's what Spurgeon says. "This is the poetic interpretation of a roar. To whom do the lions roar? They, after their own fashion, express their desires for food, and the expression of desire is a kind of prayer. Out of this fact comes the devout thought of the wild beast appealing to its maker for its food. But neither with lions nor men will the seeking of prayer suffice. There must be a practical seeking, and the lions are well aware of it. What they have in their own language ask for, they go forth to seek. Being in this thing far wiser than many men who offer formal prayers, not half so earnest as those of the young lions, and then neglect the means and the use of which the object of their petitions might be gained. The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek." I'll explain that.

Here's what Joseph Carl said. "How comforting is the thought that the Spirit translates the voice of a lion and finds it to be a seeking of meat from God. May we not hope that our poor broken cries and groans, which in our sorrow we have called the voice of our roaring, will be understood by Him and interpreted in our favor. Evidently, he considers the meaning rather than the music of the utterance, and puts the best construction upon it. The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs, but wolves and lions."

Now let me stop there. I don't watch too many movies. But one Western that I've watched, probably 20 times, is "The Outlaw Josie Wales." And you remember when he killed the two bushwhackers that were trying to kill him and the wounded boy. The wounded boy, he helped them up and he said to Josie, "Aren't you going to bury them?" And he spat his tobacco juice on the forehead of one of them and said, "Nope, buzzards got to eat too." Well, listen to this. Just stop and think about this. The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs but wolves and lions. Even the lions, even the buzzards have to eat. He goes on to say, "It is a strange expression that young lions, when they roar after their prey, should be said to seek their meat of God, implying that neither their own strength nor craft could feed them without the help of God. The strongest creatures left to themselves cannot help themselves. And they who fear God are fed by special providence of God. So all creatures are fed and nourished by the general providence. The lion, though he be strong and subtle, yet cannot get his own prey. We think a lion might shift for himself."

"No, it is the Lord that provides for him. The young lions seek their meat from God. Surely then, the mightiest of men cannot live upon themselves, as it is of God that we receive life and breath. So all things needful for the maintenance of this life." One more. Matthew Henry. He says, "The roaring of young lions, like the crying of the ravens, is interpreted, asking their meat of God. Both God put this construction upon the language of mere nature, even in venomous creatures, and shall not He much more interpret favorably the language of grace in His own people, though it be weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered?"

Here is why I gave the two titles of this message. The first one, a question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" And the second one, "Inarticulate Prayers." And inarticulate just simply means that which cannot be uttered, that which cannot be spoken. So let me answer it like this. Here's why I gave the two titles. First, it should be obvious that most people are indeed dumber than animals.

When I say that, I'm not trying to be ugly or unkind. I'm just simply saying they're dumber than the animals in the sense that they refuse to seek their meat from God, and when God does feed them, when God does supply their need, they refuse to honor Him and thank Him and acknowledge Him. Moreover, many who pray for something refuse to put feet to their prayers. They refuse to work. They abhor a biblical work ethic. They refuse to believe that God will judge laziness and slothfulness and wickedness. In that sense of the word, they are less than bird brains because birds at least look to God and trust God to feed them on a daily basis. You look at the people across this country, many who profess to be Christians, who live their lives in absolute, total, I don't want to say ignorance, total stupidity maybe. In the sense that they refuse to acknowledge and honor God for everything they are and everything they have. Let me tell you something. We may not be the richest people in the world.

We may not be the best looking people in the world. We may not be the slimmest people in the world. But whatever we are, we are by the grace of God. And whatever we have, we have by the grace of God. And we need to thank Him and honor Him. And if we don't, God says we're dumber than animals because even "the ox knoweth his crib, and the ass knoweth his stall." Secondly, inarticulate prayers. If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird and the cries of so-called dumb animals, do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered? I want you to look in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27. Romans 8, verses 26 and 27. There have been times in my life, and I'm sure there have been times in your life, that I've been so burdened and so stressed that I've been unable to pray.

And when I say that, all I can do is just lay before the Lord and groan. "Oh Lord, oh Lord." You don't know which way to turn. You don't know what to pray. You don't know what to say. I'm dealing with a situation right now. It's that. I mean, I want to take the person and slap them upside the head and say, "What's wrong with you? Are you absolutely stupid? You know better than this. You've been taught better all your life. What's wrong with you?" But I can't reason with the person. And it is one of those incidents where it's very distressing and very grievous.

And what do you do? You just say, "Lord, if you don't take care of it, it'll never be taken care of." So look in Romans 8 in verse 26. "Likewise, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." Now watch this.

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:26-27

"For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

So when you and I are so burdened, and all we can do is groan and just say, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh Lord help, oh Lord work it out." Guess what? It's the Holy Spirit who's making intercession for us according to the will of God.

If God can interpret the roar of a lion, and the shriek of an animal, and the cry of a bird, He can certainly interpret our prayers. Which tells us this, it places upon us a greater responsibility to cry unto Him. It does not matter that we are unable to phrase our thoughts or orient our words or control our tongues. The truth of the matter is He knows, He understands, and He prays for us according to the will of God. We are of far more value, He said, than many sparrows. He's going to supply our needs. He's going to take care of us. What we need is grace to cry unto Him, and once He supplies our needs and answers our prayer, we need grace to turn around and thank Him and honor Him and worship Him and glorify Him. Do you remember the ten lepers? One turned around and came back and kneeled and thanked our Lord. And our Lord said, "Where are the nine? Were there not ten healed? Where are the other nine? Just this one has come back to give honor and glory to Me."

I want to tell you something, folks. In that instance, I'd rather be in the minority. I want to be the one who acknowledges God's grace and God's mercy. The young lions roar and seek their meat from God. Here's my question, do you roar in prayer unto God? Are you seeking Him? Are you seeking your daily provision from Him? Do you put feet to your prayers? Do you not know that God has not only ordained the end, He's also ordained the means to the end.

I'm of the firm conviction we're about to see problems in this country like we've never seen before in a long time. We had better learn to pray. We had better learn to trust God. We better at least go to the animals and to the birds and to the insects and learn the biblical truths that God has ordained for them to teach us. So are you dumber than a beast? Do you roar and seek your meat from God? Do you trust Him? Do you praise Him? Do you honor Him? Go to the beast, and they shall teach thee. Go to the birds, and they shall tell thee, God is sovereign, and He supplies the needs of His creation and the special needs of His people. Let's pray.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Human Stupidity Compared to Animals

Summary: Scripture repeatedly compares humans unfavorably to beasts, showing that people often lack the sense to acknowledge God as their provider, unlike animals who instinctively look to their master.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 49:12,20; Psalm 73:22; and Isaiah 1:3 to demonstrate that even godly men can act beastly, and that Israel was dumber than an ox or donkey because they did not know their owner.

God's Sovereign Provision for All Creatures

Summary: God owns and provides for every animal, from lions to ravens. Their cries and roars are interpreted as prayers for food, demonstrating God's general providence over creation.

Evidence: Psalm 104:21,27; Psalm 147:9; Joel 1:18-20; and Psalm 145:15-16 are used to show that beasts seek their meat from God and that He opens His hand to satisfy them.

Learning from Animals

Summary: God commands us to observe animals and learn lessons about work ethic, preparation, discernment of judgment, and trust in God's provision.

Evidence: Proverbs 6:6-11 (ants teach preparation and work); Jeremiah 8:6-7 (birds teach discernment of judgment); Matthew 6:26 (birds teach trust in providence); Job 12:7 (beasts and birds teach generally).

Inarticulate Prayers and the Holy Spirit's Intercession

Summary: If God can interpret the roar of a lion as a prayer, He certainly understands the groanings of His people. The Holy Spirit intercedes for believers with groanings that cannot be uttered, according to God's will.

Evidence: Romans 8:26-27 is directly cited to show the Spirit's intercession. Weaver connects this to the lion's roar as a 'natural prayer' and encourages believers that their feeble cries are heard.

The Necessity of Action with Prayer

Summary: True prayer must be accompanied by practical seeking. The lions roar and then seek their prey; many people pray but do not put feet to their prayers, neglecting the means God has ordained.

Evidence: Spurgeon's quote is used: 'The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.' Weaver applies this to the need for a biblical work ethic.

Gratitude and Acknowledgment of God

Summary: Unlike animals that honor God by their dependence, humans often fail to thank God for His provision. The sermon calls for a response of gratitude, like the one leper who returned to give thanks.

Evidence: Weaver references the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) and states that we must honor God for everything we are and have, lest we be dumber than beasts.

Key Arguments

Men are often dumber than beasts because they do not acknowledge God as their provider.

Summary: Isaiah 1:3 shows that oxen and donkeys know their owner, but Israel did not know or consider God. This makes humans dumber than animals.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider... God is saying that men are dumber than animals.'

Animals honor God by fulfilling their created purpose, and we can learn from them.

Summary: Psalm 148 calls all creation to praise God. Animals honor God by staying in their ordained roles. Job 12:7 and Proverbs 6:6 command us to learn from beasts and insects.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'In one sense of the word, they do honor Him in the sense that they fulfill the purpose for which God created them.'

The lion's roar is a natural prayer for food, interpreted by God as seeking meat from Him.

Summary: Psalm 104:21 poetically describes the lion's roar as seeking meat from God. Commentators like Matthew Poole and Spurgeon affirm this as a figurative prayer.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Poole: 'Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.'

If God hears the inarticulate cries of animals, He certainly hears the groanings of His people through the Spirit's intercession.

Summary: Romans 8:26-27 teaches that the Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered. Since God interprets animal cries, He will interpret our weak prayers.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird... do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered?'

Prayer must be accompanied by practical effort; God ordains both the end and the means.

Summary: The lions roar and then seek their prey. Many people pray but do not work or use the means God has provided, making them liars before God.

Evidence: Spurgeon's quote: 'The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.'

We must learn from animals to trust God daily and be content with His provision.

Summary: Birds do not sow or reap, yet God feeds them. We should learn contentment and trust from them, as taught in Matthew 6:26 and Hebrews 13:5.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'These fowls of the air are content with God's sovereign provision... You can learn contentment.'

Scripture References

Psalm 104:20-22

Context: The primary text of the sermon, describing how God makes darkness and night, where beasts creep forth and young lions roar after prey and seek their meat from God.

Psalm 49:12,20

Context: Man in honor is like the beasts that perish; man who does not understand is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 73:22

Context: Asaph confesses he was foolish and ignorant, like a beast before God, when he envied the prosperity of the wicked.

Isaiah 1:2-3

Context: God's children have rebelled; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know or consider.

Psalm 104:18

Context: The high hills are a refuge for wild goats, and the rocks for conies, showing God's design in animal habitats.

Jeremiah 27:5-6

Context: God declares He made the earth, man, and beasts, and gives them to whomever He pleases, including Nebuchadnezzar.

Psalm 50:10-12

Context: Every beast of the forest is God's, and the cattle on a thousand hills; the world and its fullness are His.

Isaiah 43:19-20

Context: God will do a new thing, making a way in the wilderness; the beast of the field will honor Him because He gives water to His people.

Psalm 148:1-14

Context: All creation, including beasts, cattle, creeping things, and flying fowl, are called to praise the Lord.

Job 12:7

Context: Ask the beasts and they will teach you; the birds of the air will tell you.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Context: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. She prepares her food in summer and gathers in harvest.

Jeremiah 8:6-7

Context: The stork, turtledove, crane, and swallow know their appointed times, but God's people do not know the judgment of the Lord.

Matthew 6:26

Context: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?

Psalm 147:6-9

Context: God covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain, makes grass grow, and gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry.

Joel 1:18-20

Context: The beasts groan, herds are perplexed, and the beasts of the field cry to God because the pastures are burned and waters dried up.

Amos 3:4,8

Context: Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? The lion has roared, who will not fear?

Isaiah 5:29

Context: Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions and lay hold of the prey.

Psalm 104:25,27-29

Context: All creatures wait on God to give them food in due season; when He opens His hand they are filled, when He hides His face they are troubled and die.

Psalm 145:15-16

Context: The eyes of all wait upon God, and He gives them their meat in due season; He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.

Romans 8:26-27

Context: The Spirit helps our infirmities; we do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered, according to God's will.

Historical References

John Calvin

Context: Weaver quotes Calvin on Isaiah 43:20, saying that the power of God will be so manifest that even beasts will acknowledge and worship God.

Matthew Poole

Context: Poole is quoted on Psalm 104:21, calling the lion's roar a figurative and poetical expression, a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.

Charles Spurgeon

Context: Spurgeon is quoted on Psalm 104:21, noting that the lions roar and seek, while many men offer formal prayers but neglect the means; they are liars before God.

Joseph Carl

Context: Carl is quoted on Psalm 104:21, emphasizing that God interprets the meaning rather than the music of the utterance, and that God feeds even wolves and lions.

Matthew Henry

Context: Henry is quoted on Psalm 104:21, comparing the roaring of lions to the crying of ravens as interpreted prayers, and that God will much more interpret the language of grace in His people.

The Outlaw Josie Wales (film)

Context: Weaver references the Western film to illustrate that even buzzards must eat, paralleling the idea that God feeds all creatures, even scavengers.

Important Quotes

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Significance: This is the key verse Weaver uses to argue that men are dumber than beasts because they do not acknowledge God as their provider.

The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.

Significance: The central text of the sermon, showing that even the lion's roar is interpreted as a prayer for provision.

Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.

Significance: Matthew Poole's comment that supports the idea of inarticulate prayers from animals.

The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.

Significance: Spurgeon's quote emphasizing that prayer must be accompanied by practical action.

If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird and the cries of so-called dumb animals, do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered?

Significance: Weaver's rhetorical question linking the animal prayers to the Holy Spirit's intercession for believers.

Discussion Questions

In what ways does the Bible compare humans to beasts, and why does God make such comparisons?

Context: Weaver cites Psalm 49, Psalm 73, and Isaiah 1 to show that humans are often called dumber than beasts when they fail to acknowledge God.

What specific lessons does God want us to learn from ants, birds, and other animals?

Context: Proverbs 6, Jeremiah 8, and Matthew 6 are used to teach work ethic, preparation, discernment of judgment, and trust in God's provision.

How can the roar of a lion be considered a prayer, and what does that teach us about our own prayers?

Context: Weaver explains that Psalm 104:21 poetically interprets the lion's roar as seeking meat from God, and commentators call it a natural prayer.

What does it mean to 'put feet to our prayers,' and why is this important?

Context: Spurgeon's quote about lions roaring and seeking is contrasted with those who pray but do not act; Weaver emphasizes that God ordains means as well as ends.

How does the Holy Spirit's intercession with groanings relate to the idea of inarticulate prayers?

Context: Romans 8:26-27 is explained as the Spirit praying for us when we cannot articulate our needs, just as God interprets animal cries.

Why is gratitude and acknowledgment of God essential to avoid being 'dumber than a beast'?

Context: Weaver points to the ten lepers and the example of animals honoring God by their dependence, urging believers to thank God for all things.

Applications

Acknowledge God as your provider and thank Him continually.

Summary: Unlike the ox and donkey that know their owner, we must recognize that everything we are and have comes from God, and we should honor and thank Him.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Whatever we are, we are by the grace of God. And whatever we have, we have by the grace of God. And we need to thank Him and honor Him.'

Learn from animals: work diligently and prepare for the future.

Summary: The ant teaches us to work while we can and store up for times of need, reflecting a biblical work ethic and wisdom in preparation.

Evidence: Proverbs 6:6-8 is applied: 'Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise... provideth her meat in the summer.'

Trust God for daily provision and be content.

Summary: Birds do not sow or reap, yet God feeds them. We should learn to trust God for our needs and be content with what we have.

Evidence: Matthew 6:26 and Hebrews 13:5 are referenced: 'Be content with such things as you have.'

Put action to your prayers; don't just roar, but seek.

Summary: Prayer must be accompanied by practical effort. God ordains both the end and the means, so we must work while we pray.

Evidence: Spurgeon's quote: 'The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.'

Take comfort that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you when you cannot pray.

Summary: When you are so burdened that you can only groan, remember that the Spirit prays for you according to God's will, and God understands your inarticulate cries.

Evidence: Romans 8:26-27 is directly applied: 'The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.'

Discern the times and flee from coming judgment.

Summary: Like migratory birds that know when to escape winter, we should be spiritually alert to God's judgment and take appropriate action.

Evidence: Jeremiah 8:7: 'The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times... but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:08:10Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T23:48:45Z

Clean Transcript

Are You Dumber Than a Beast?

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Today, to Psalm 104, we're going to be reading verses 20 through 22. And I want you to keep your fingers flexible, because we're going to be looking at some other scriptures. And since this is a 60-minute tape, we have to turn quickly, alright? Psalm 104, notice if you would, verse 20 through 22. The Word of God says, "Thou makest darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God."
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The sun arises, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens. The title of the message today is actually twofold. The first one is a question: Are you dumber than a beast? The subtitle is, Inarticulate Prayers. Now, you may be wondering about the connection between the question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" and the subtitle, "Inarticulate Prayers." I'm going to answer that question for you before I end the message today. But when I ask the question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" interestingly enough, there are several times in the Bible when man is compared to beasts and often stated to be dumber than beasts.
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If you would hold Psalm 104, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 49 and look at verse 12. Psalm 49 and verse 12. Notice what the Scripture says. Psalm 49 verse 12: "Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish." So here he's talking about man being like the beast that perish. Skip down to verse 20 in Psalm 49: "Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beast that perish." So once again, man is likened unto a beast. Someone who's in a position of honor and does not understand, God said he's like the beast that perish. Now, turn over in your Bibles to Psalm 73 because here's an important passage in the sense that this shows us that at times, even Christians may act beastly. For instance, godly Asaph in Psalm 73, when he was in a moment, saw his ignorance and his ignorant way of thinking, and he says in verse 22, Psalm 73 and verse 22, "So foolish was I and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee."
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Now, let me just show you what was happening in Psalm 73. In Psalm 73, Asaph has been envious against the workers of iniquity in the sense that they have plenty, their eyes stand out for fatness. And he said, after watching the prosperity of the wicked, "Surely I've cleansed my hands in vain. I've washed them in vain." In other words, it's the wicked that prosper.
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And here I am, a righteous man, and I'm suffering within and without. Well, look in verse 16. What happens in Psalm 73 verse 16? He said, "When I thought to know this," that is the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous, he said, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end."
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"Surely thou did set them in slippery places, and castest them down into destruction. How they are brought into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awakens, so, Lord, when thou awakenest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, I was pricked in my reins, so foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee."
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So he says, when God opened my eyes and showed me the end of the wicked, he said, "I'd rather be righteous and suffer. And I was envious of them," he said, "I was ignorant as a beast before thee." So very obviously there are times that Christians may act beastly. He certainly did. If you would turn very quickly to Isaiah chapter 1, everyone should be aware of this passage. I've quoted this before.
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Just showing you how that oftentimes individuals are indeed dumber than beasts. Notice Isaiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 2. God says, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. For the Lord has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider, a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, they provoke the Lord, they provoke the Holy One of Israel into anger, they are going away backwards." Now I want you to notice, if you would, he said in verse 3, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." So in this passage, God is saying that men are dumber than animals. At least animals know where they are fed and they know who feeds them. Men oftentimes eat at the trough of God's mercies and then immediately deny Him and deny His mercies.
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At least animals look to their owners for their nourishment and for their sustenance. Every time I go out into the pasture or every time I go to the barn, it's amazing how those cows, every one of them lift up their eyes and look at you and follow you. They'll watch everything that you do because they know who feeds them and they know where they are fed. At least they have sense enough to look to their owner and to look to their master. But God says, "My people don't have the sense of an animal in the fact that they don't look to Me." Unhappily, men seldom look to their divine owner and master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And yet the truth of the matter is, without Him, we would perish. Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. Believe it or not, I'm going to be expounding this passage just shortly. But, I want you to see the verse that caught my eye. In Psalm 104 and verse 21, the Scripture just says this, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." As I looked at that verse, I had to ask a few questions. First, do animals really seek their meat from God? If so, how? Secondly, is there a connection between the lion roaring and seeking his meat from God? Thirdly, how are we to understand this verse in light of the overall teaching of the Word of God?
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Well, I believe that in order to even begin understanding our text, we have to review and rehearse a number of fundamental truths. We know that God has sovereignly created every animal. He is the Creator and by virtue of His creatorship, all animals, everything belongs to Him. Not only do animals belong to the Lord, He is the one that has designed their bodies, their appetites, and placed them in their respective environments. Have you ever wondered why animals live where they live?
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Just stop and think about this for a moment. Have you ever stopped to think about that? In Psalm 104, look in verse 18, he says, "The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies." Why are the mountain peaks the home for the wild goats? If you want to go wild goat hunting, you're going to have to do a lot of climbing because that's where they live. Wild sheep as well. And why are the conies in the rocks? I mean, if you want to go rabbit hunting, you're going in a briar patch. You're not going to go up on top of a mountain somewhere.
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God has sovereignly designed all of these animals, and He's placed them sovereignly and providentially in their respective environments. I want you to hold someone for, but turn over to Jeremiah chapter 27. Jeremiah 27. And look at verses 5 and 6. Just showing you God's divine ownership of everything. Jeremiah chapter 27 verses 5 and 6. God has given everything in this particular passage into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar when He sent Nebuchadnezzar to attack Jerusalem and Judah. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 27 verse 5. God says, "I have made the earth, the man, and the beasts that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemeth meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. And the beasts of the field have I given also to serve him."
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Now very obviously, one cannot give what he does not possess. And the very fact that God gave the beasts of the field into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar to serve him, meant, therefore, that they were His creation and His property. If you will turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 50. I told you we were going to be looking at a number of passages. But look in Psalm 50 at verses 10 and 12. Showing you how God claims divine ownership over every animal. Psalm 50, notice verse 10. God says, "For every beast of the forest is Mine."
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"and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof." Note, if you would, what God says. He says, "Everything is mine. Every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills is mine." Everything belongs to God. God has so ordered and so ordained the animal kingdom in their respective natures and habitats that they honor Him. You say, "What? Animals honor God?"
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Well, look in Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. In fact, you're going to see a number of verses before we get through today that may astound you. Look in Isaiah 43, and notice if you would, verses 19 and 20. Isaiah 43, verse 19. Look what God says, how He's going to bless His people. Isaiah 43, verse 19. God says, "Behold, I will do a new thing."
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"Now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Now watch. "The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen."
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Now the sense of this passage is plain and the image is very highly poetical but beautiful as well. What the Bible is teaching here is that God will pour out such copious floods of water upon the sandy waste deserts to supply His people that even the wild beasts will be sensible to the fact that God has abundantly supplied it. And He says, "they will honor Me." Let me give you a quick quote. John Calvin said, "It was proper that magnificent language should be employed in extolling the power of God, that words might supply that which seemed to be wanting in the reality. The meaning is that the power of God will be so visible and manifest that the very beast impressed with the feeling of it shall acknowledge and worship God." Wow! Someone is going to object and say, "But animals cannot honor, praise or worship God."
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My question is, how do you know? God who created them may have given them some rudimentary knowledge or at least some rudimentary ability in some way to recognize Him and honor Him. In one sense of the word, they do honor Him in the sense that they fulfill the purpose for which God created them. You don't see animals running around trying to change their nature, or their calling, or their habitat. No, no, no. They're willing to stay right exactly where God placed them and the way God created them.
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I want you to look in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Because I want you to see that animals do indeed function the way God created them to function. And I want you to note what the Bible says in Psalm 148. And I want to read the entire psalm because the entire psalm deals with praising God. And so once someone objects and says, "Well, animals can't praise God," well, I want you to look at this. Psalm 148 verse 1: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise you Him, all His hosts. Praise you Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all you stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created." Stop right there. Do you see what He's saying so far? God created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the waters above the heaven, and now He says, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created."
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So somehow, in God's creation, there is a way that His creation redounds to His honor, His glory, and His praise. But let's go on. He says in verse 5, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree which shall not pass." Now watch. "Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind fulfilling His words, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all the judges of the earth, both
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young men and maidens, old men and the children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all of His saints, even of the children of Israel, of people near unto Him. Praise ye the Lord." It's interesting how in this passage, God is telling that even the beast and the cattle, and the flying fowl and creeping things to praise Him.
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Well, in a sense they do. In a sense they do because they were created by God and God commands them.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Job. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Job, if you would, chapter 12. And let me answer and ask a question. Job chapter 12, and notice if you would please, verse 7. Job 12, verse 7. Do you realize that there are numerous times in the scripture that you and I are bidden to go to the animals and the insects to learn? Look in Job 12 and verse 7. Job says, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee."
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Now just stop right there. "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." So Job here sends his friends to the beasts and the birds for instructions.
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Now obviously the beast and the birds did not create themselves, nor do they provide for themselves or sustain themselves. It is God who supports, sustains, and provides for them. Moreover, all the animals, all the beasts, all the fowls, all the insects are governed and directed and disposed of as God pleases. And so all of the animals, insects, and fowls then furnish an illustration of God's sovereignty, God's power, God's wisdom, and God's providence.
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Now Job bids his friends, "Go to the beasts, and they shall teach thee. And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." What is it that we can learn from God's animal creation? And the answer is, there's plenty that we can learn. In fact, if you will turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 6, let me just show you. God here sends individuals to the ants so that they may learn and understand godly preparation and a biblical work ethic. Notice in Proverbs chapter 6, beginning there in verse 6, God says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise."
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"Stop and watch the ants, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provided her meat in the summer, and gathered her food in the harvest. Now watch. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man."
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Now what does God say? God says you need to go to the ant, you need to learn some things. What does the ant do? The ant prepares for itself during the summer. It puts up while the putting up is good. It gets while the getting is good. And what is the ant doing? It's preparing for when there is no food available, when there is nothing to eat, the ant is going to have something. And the ant doesn't have an overseer, doesn't have a guide. God said, just go to the ant and you will learn to put up, you will learn to prepare, you will learn to put things back and to save. Moreover, you can also learn from the ant a biblical work ethic. What does the ant do? The ant works while it can work and gets while it can get.
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Do you know what most people do? Most people are willing, if they've got just a little money in their pocket, to go play. It doesn't matter if work is available or not. They have money for the moment and they're happy. And they're not going to work. Well, the ant is teaching us this. There comes a time when work may not be available. You have to get it while the getting is good. What is it?
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Make hay while the sun shines? One thing I learned growing up on the farm is this. When harvest comes in, you don't piddle around. You don't have time to play. When the harvest comes in, you have to work and you have to get it while you can get it. If not, it's going to rot in the field.
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Now, this is what God is saying. "Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise." Learn to prepare, learn to put up. Learn a biblical work ethic. Work while you can work. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 8, because here's something else that we can learn from the fowls. Jeremiah chapter 8, this may shock you. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8.
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Let's begin with verse 6. Watch this. Jeremiah 8, verse 6. Do you realize that we can even learn concerning the judgment of God from the fowls of the air? Jeremiah 8, verse 6. "I hearken and heard, and they spake not aright." He's talking about his people now. Watch. "No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turneth to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle."
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"Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle," that is the turtle dove, "and the crane, and the swallow, observe their time of their coming. But my people know not the judgment of the Lord." Now wait a minute. Look at verse 6 again. He says, "No man spoke aright. No man repented him of the wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle." Then he says, "The stork and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observed the time of their coming." Then he adds this, "But my people know not the judgment of the Lord." Now what in the world is God saying?
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Jeremiah here is appealing to the obedience which migratory birds render to the law of their natures. Do you realize the stork knows when it's time to migrate from one country to the other? So does the swallow, so does the crane. In other words, they know when to seek a warmer climate to escape the adversity and the severity of winter. They know how to get out of danger. They know how to get out of the way. But God says, watch it in verse 7, "But my people know not the judgment of the Lord." In other words, God says, "My people are dumb." Look what he said, verse 6, "I hearkened and heard, and they spake not aright."
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"No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?" In other words, nobody is willing to get out of the way of adversity. Nobody is willing to get out of the way of judgment. And when God says in verse 7, "But my people know not," He is pointing out the fact that the people did not have the sense of the birds. The birds knew how to get out of adversity. They knew how to get out of the severity of the winter. But what did God's people do?
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They just sat back lax, lazily, did not see the judgment coming, did not prepare, did not get out of the way. God says they're more stupid than birds. May I suggest that being called a bird brain might actually be a compliment. At least the birds know how to get out of danger. That's what God is saying. And He sends us to the fowls of the air. He says that they'll tell you if you'll just ask.
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I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. Here's something else that we can learn from the fowls of the air. Look in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26. Not only can we learn a biblical work ethic from the ants and preparation from the ants, we can learn about the judgment of God from birds, but in Matthew chapter 6, we can also learn about God's sovereign providence. Notice in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 26, our Lord says this, "Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns."
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"Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?" You know, at least the ant prepares. And a bird can build a nest, but a bird can't sow and reap and put in a barn. So what do the birds do? They just trust God every day to give them their food. And He gives it. He takes care of them. He provides them. There is not a billionaire in this country that could feed every bird every day for one year.
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Stop and think about that. And yet God feeds them all the time, every day. They look to Him. They trust in Him. So these fowls of the air are content with God's sovereign provision and God's sovereign providence. What can we learn? What does He say in Hebrews chapter 13? "Be content with whatsoever things that you have." You can learn contentment. I use that verse on Alice many times.
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She tells me she needs a new dress. I say, "Well, we're biblical. Let's see what the Bible says." And I'll turn to Hebrews 13 verse 5. "Be content with such things as you have." I said, "That's what the Bible says. You don't need a new dress." But that's what the Bible does teach. It does teach contentment. And that's what he said. We can learn contentment from the birds.
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We just have to do it. Now, with all this in mind, I want you to go back to Psalm 104. I told you I was going to come back to this passage. I'm going to explain it. But I wanted you to keep all this in mind because Psalm 104 and verse 21 does need some explaining in light of what we just reviewed and rehearsed. So, in Psalm 104 and verse 21, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." Now, lions roar probably for various reasons. But our text details the roar of the lion for one specific reason here, and that is hunger. Let me just give you a little bit of information, one paragraph of something that I researched about the roar of a lion.
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And it's amazing to me. But here is the answer that I came up with from research on why lions roar. Since the roar of a male lion is known to have the power to reach up to five miles to the human ear. But it is still not clear how far a lion can hear the roar. It is observed that lions are able to communicate among themselves even beyond that distance. Hence it is clear that lions have a better hearing capacity than humans. Lions are noticed to be roaring mostly at night time when they are most active. It is also surprising to know that lions roar only if they're in their own territory. If a lion goes into another territory, it remains silent until it is sure that it's reached its own territory. Isn't that amazing? The human ear can hear a lion's roar up to five miles. A lion can probably hear that roar much further. But the thing that got me was this, as I read verse 21, "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God."
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So the lion's roar then is indicative of his hunger and is part of the seeking and capture of his prey. It is said that a lion's roar is so unnerving and so terrible that it astonishes the beast which it pursues. It terrifies that beast. And although whatever the lion is chasing may be faster and fleeter of foot, the roar so terrifies it that it almost falls down and becomes an easy prey. I have seen lions roar in a zoo right as the man fed them. And although the meat was pushed in, it was there, no other lion was around, yet the lion roared and pounced upon the meat. Prior to his feeding, I saw the man reach in and pet the lion like a little kitten.
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But when he went to feed him, he said, "You stand back." Because he roared and jumped on that prey.
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Now, I want you to look in Psalm 147 and verse 9. Remember now, we're reading about the lion roaring and seeking his meat from God. Notice if you would, Psalm 147 and verse 9. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 6. Look in Psalm 147 and verse 6. "The Lord lifted up the meek, He casted the wicked down to the ground, singing to the Lord with thanksgiving, singing praise upon the harp of our God, who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass grow upon the mountains."
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"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." Notice, God gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens who cry, indicating that even birds cry out to God for food. Turn right on over to the book of Joel, which is one of the minor prophets. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in Joel chapter 1, at verses 18 through 20. I'm going to be tying this together for us shortly, but look in Joel chapter 1, beginning there with verse 18.
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Joel 1 verse 18, watch. "How do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to Thee will I cry, for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Look, the beasts of the field cry also unto Thee. For the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." Not only the ravens cry unto God, but also the beasts cry unto God as well.
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Now, since you're so close, turn right over just a few pages to Amos chapter 3 and look at verse 4. Look in Amos chapter 3 verse 4. Look at the question that is asked. "Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing?" Remember our text, the young lions do roar and seek their prey from God. So here's the question, will a lion roar in the forest when he has taken no prey? In other words, somehow the roaring is connected with the taking of the prey. Will a young lion cry out of his den if he's taken nothing? And so the answer would be obviously, no, they're not going to roar. The lion's roar brings fear to the lion's prey. Now look in verse 8 of Amos chapter 3. "The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?" So, without me going into explanation of this text, but note if you would the first part.
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"The lion hath roared, who will not fear?" So the roar of the lion does indeed produce fear into the prey.
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Now, turn back in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5 and look at verse 29. Isaiah 5 and verse 29.
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Remember now, we're talking about the roar of the lion. The young lions do roar and seek their meat from God. Look in Isaiah 5 and verse 29. Now, God is talking here about the enemy He's going to come and judge His people, but I want you to look at the analogy that He uses. He says, "Their roaring shall be like a lion. They shall roar like young lions, yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it." So when lions roar then, it is connected with their catching of their prey and taking it away. Now remember the young lions roar and seek their meat from God. So obviously there is a connection then between the lions roaring and seeking his meat from God. It is a fact that God must give them their food. The roar suggests that even brute creation calls upon God to supply their needs.
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Go back to Psalm 104. Psalm 104, verse 21 first. "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." Now skip down to verse 27. After he talks about all the animals and everything, even the fish of the seas, verse 25. He says in verse 27, "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather. Thou openest Thine hand, and they are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled. Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to dust." Now note what God says concerning even all the animals, even all the fishes. "These all wait upon Thee." When He opens their hand, they have food. They're filled with good. If God does not open His hand, if God turns His face away, then He says, they all die. It's just that simple. Now look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 145. Psalm 145, at verses 15 and 16. And then I want to give you some quotes and begin to tie this together for us.
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Psalm 145, verse 15. Again, Scripture says this, "The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing." It is God who not only feeds us, but feeds all the animals as well.
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Now, I want to give you about four quotes, and then I'm going to start making some applications and tying things together for us. And these quotes are based upon Psalm 104 and verse 21, "The young lions do roar and seek their meat from God." Matthew Poole says this: "Seek their meat from God. This is a figurative and poetical expression. Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief. As the cries of infants are a kind of prayers to their mothers for the breast."
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"And this is justly noted as an act of God's special providence. Because the lions are very ravenous and need much prey." Here's what Spurgeon says. "This is the poetic interpretation of a roar. To whom do the lions roar? They, after their own fashion, express their desires for food, and the expression of desire is a kind of prayer. Out of this fact comes the devout thought of the wild beast appealing to its maker for its food. But neither with lions nor men will the seeking of prayer suffice. There must be a practical seeking, and the lions are well aware of it. What they have in their own language ask for, they go forth to seek. Being in this thing far wiser than many men who offer formal prayers, not half so earnest as those of the young lions, and then neglect the means and the use of which the object of their petitions might be gained. The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek." I'll explain that.
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Here's what Joseph Carl said. "How comforting is the thought that the Spirit translates the voice of a lion and finds it to be a seeking of meat from God. May we not hope that our poor broken cries and groans, which in our sorrow we have called the voice of our roaring, will be understood by Him and interpreted in our favor. Evidently, he considers the meaning rather than the music of the utterance, and puts the best construction upon it. The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs, but wolves and lions."
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Now let me stop there. I don't watch too many movies. But one Western that I've watched, probably 20 times, is "The Outlaw Josie Wales." And you remember when he killed the two bushwhackers that were trying to kill him and the wounded boy. The wounded boy, he helped them up and he said to Josie, "Aren't you going to bury them?" And he spat his tobacco juice on the forehead of one of them and said, "Nope, buzzards got to eat too." Well, listen to this. Just stop and think about this.
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The young lions seek their meat from God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs but wolves and lions. Even the lions, even the buzzards have to eat. He goes on to say, "It is a strange expression that young lions, when they roar after their prey, should be said to seek their meat of God, implying that neither their own strength nor craft could feed them without the help of God. The strongest creatures left to themselves cannot help themselves. And they who fear God are fed by special providence of God. So all creatures are fed and nourished by the general providence. The lion, though he be strong and subtle, yet cannot get his own prey. We think a lion might shift for himself."
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"No, it is the Lord that provides for him. The young lions seek their meat from God. Surely then, the mightiest of men cannot live upon themselves, as it is of God that we receive life and breath. So all things needful for the maintenance of this life." One more. Matthew Henry. He says, "The roaring of young lions, like the crying of the ravens, is interpreted, asking their meat of God. Both God put this construction upon the language of mere nature, even in venomous creatures, and shall not He much more interpret favorably the language of grace in His own people, though it be weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered?"
#60 | 42:18 to 42:59 | cleaned
Here is why I gave the two titles of this message. The first one, a question, "Are you dumber than a beast?" And the second one, "Inarticulate Prayers." And inarticulate just simply means that which cannot be uttered, that which cannot be spoken. So let me answer it like this. Here's why I gave the two titles. First, it should be obvious that most people are indeed dumber than animals.
#61 | 43:05 to 43:37 | cleaned
When I say that, I'm not trying to be ugly or unkind. I'm just simply saying they're dumber than the animals in the sense that they refuse to seek their meat from God, and when God does feed them, when God does supply their need, they refuse to honor Him and thank Him and acknowledge Him. Moreover, many who pray for something refuse to put feet to their prayers. They refuse to work. They abhor a biblical work ethic. They refuse to believe that God will judge laziness and slothfulness and wickedness. In that sense of the word, they are less than bird brains because birds at least look to God and trust God to feed them on a daily basis. You look at the people across this country, many who profess to be Christians, who live their lives in absolute, total, I don't want to say ignorance, total stupidity maybe. In the sense that they refuse to acknowledge and honor God for everything they are and everything they have. Let me tell you something. We may not be the richest people in the world.
#62 | 43:39 to 45:01 | cleaned
We may not be the best looking people in the world. We may not be the slimmest people in the world. But whatever we are, we are by the grace of God. And whatever we have, we have by the grace of God. And we need to thank Him and honor Him. And if we don't, God says we're dumber than animals because even "the ox knoweth his crib, and the ass knoweth his stall."
#63 | 45:03 to 45:29 | cleaned
Secondly, inarticulate prayers. If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird and the cries of so-called dumb animals, do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered? I want you to look in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27. Romans 8, verses 26 and 27. There have been times in my life, and I'm sure there have been times in your life, that I've been so burdened and so stressed that I've been unable to pray.
#64 | 45:32 to 46:22 | cleaned
And when I say that, all I can do is just lay before the Lord and groan. "Oh Lord, oh Lord." You don't know which way to turn. You don't know what to pray. You don't know what to say. I'm dealing with a situation right now. It's that. I mean, I want to take the person and slap them upside the head and say, "What's wrong with you? Are you absolutely stupid? You know better than this. You've been taught better all your life. What's wrong with you?" But I can't reason with the person. And it is one of those incidents where it's very distressing and very grievous.
#65 | 46:23 to 47:01 | cleaned
And what do you do? You just say, "Lord, if you don't take care of it, it'll never be taken care of." So look in Romans 8 in verse 26. "Likewise, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." Now watch this. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." So when you and I are so burdened, and all we can do is groan and just say, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh Lord help, oh Lord work it out." Guess what? It's the Holy Spirit who's making intercession for us according to the will of God.
#66 | 47:03 to 47:56 | cleaned
If God can interpret the roar of a lion, and the shriek of an animal, and the cry of a bird, He can certainly interpret our prayers. Which tells us this, it places upon us a greater responsibility to cry unto Him. It does not matter that we are unable to phrase our thoughts or orient our words or control our tongues. The truth of the matter is He knows, He understands, and He prays for us according to the will of God.
#67 | 47:57 to 48:31 | cleaned
We are of far more value, He said, than many sparrows. He's going to supply our needs. He's going to take care of us. What we need is grace to cry unto Him, and once He supplies our needs and answers our prayer, we need grace to turn around and thank Him and honor Him and worship Him and glorify Him. Do you remember the ten lepers? One turned around and came back and kneeled and thanked our Lord. And our Lord said, "Where are the nine? Were there not ten healed? Where are the other nine? Just this one has come back to give honor and glory to Me."
#68 | 48:32 to 49:18 | cleaned
I want to tell you something, folks. In that instance, I'd rather be in the minority. I want to be the one who acknowledges God's grace and God's mercy. The young lions roar and seek their meat from God. Here's my question, do you roar in prayer unto God? Are you seeking Him? Are you seeking your daily provision from Him? Do you put feet to your prayers? Do you not know that God has not only ordained the end, He's also ordained the means to the end.
#69 | 49:18 to 49:50 | cleaned
I'm of the firm conviction we're about to see problems in this country like we've never seen before in a long time. We had better learn to pray. We had better learn to trust God. We better at least go to the animals and to the birds and to the insects and learn the biblical truths that God has ordained for them to teach us. So are you dumber than a beast? Do you roar and seek your meat from God? Do you trust Him? Do you praise Him? Do you honor Him? Go to the beast, and they shall teach thee. Go to the birds, and they shall tell thee, God is sovereign, and He supplies the needs of His creation and the special needs of His people. Let's pray.
#70 | 49:58 to 51:01 | cleaned
Father, we're so thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His grace and mercy to us. We're thankful for Thy Word, and Father, for the truths of God that we know and understand based upon Your Word. Give us grace that we may trust Thee, look to Thee, learn, Lord, what You have told us to learn, and apply it to our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
#71 | 51:02 to 51:32 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:08:10Z

Are You Dumber Than a Beast?

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 104:20-22, focusing on verse 21: 'The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.' He explores the biblical theme that humans are often compared to beasts and found wanting, arguing that many people are 'dumber than a beast' because they fail to acknowledge God's provision or put action to their prayers. The sermon also develops the subtitle 'Inarticulate Prayers,' showing that if God interprets the roar of a lion as a prayer for food, He certainly understands the groanings of His people, as the Holy Spirit intercedes for them. Applications include learning from animals about trust, work ethic, and honoring God, and being encouraged that our feeble prayers are heard.

Introduction and Reading of Psalm 104:20-22

Weaver introduces the sermon, reads the passage, and poses the dual title: 'Are You Dumber Than a Beast?' and 'Inarticulate Prayers.' He promises to explain the connection.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:20-22

"Thou makest darkness and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God."

Man Compared to Beasts in Scripture

Weaver cites Psalm 49:12,20 and Psalm 73:22 to show that Scripture often compares man to beasts, even godly men like Asaph when they act ignorantly.

If you would hold Psalm 104, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 49 and look at verse 12. Psalm 49 and verse 12. Notice what the Scripture says. Psalm 49 verse 12:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 49:12,20

"Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not, he is like the beasts that perish."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 73:22

Now, let me just show you what was happening in Psalm 73. In Psalm 73, Asaph has been envious against the workers of iniquity in the sense that they have plenty, their eyes stand out for fatness. And he said, after watching the prosperity of the wicked, "Surely I've cleansed my hands in vain. I've washed them in vain." In other words, it's the wicked that prosper. And here I am, a righteous man, and I'm suffering within and without. Well, look in verse 16. What happens in Psalm 73 verse 16? He said, "When I thought to know this," that is the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous, he said, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end."

Men Are Dumber Than Animals (Isaiah 1:2-3)

Using Isaiah 1:2-3, Weaver argues that animals know their owner and source of food, but Israel (and people today) do not acknowledge God, making them dumber than beasts.

Just showing you how that oftentimes individuals are indeed dumber than beasts. Notice Isaiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 2. God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-3

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. For the Lord has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider, a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, they provoke the Lord, they provoke the Holy One of Israel into anger, they are going away backwards."

Now I want you to notice, if you would, he said in verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-3

"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."

God's Sovereign Creation and Ownership of Animals

Weaver establishes that God created all animals, designed their habitats, and owns them (Psalm 104:18; Jeremiah 27:5-6; Psalm 50:10-12). Animals honor God by fulfilling their created purpose.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:18

"The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies."

Animals Praise and Teach Us

Psalm 148 calls all creation, including beasts, to praise God. Job 12:7 and Proverbs 6:6-11 show that we are sent to animals and insects to learn wisdom, work ethic, and preparation.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 148:1-14

"Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise you Him, all His hosts. Praise you Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all you stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created."

Stop right there. Do you see what He's saying so far? God created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the waters above the heaven, and now He says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 148:1-14

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created."

Learning from Birds: Judgment and Providence

Jeremiah 8:6-7 teaches that migratory birds know to escape danger, but God's people do not discern judgment. Matthew 6:26 shows birds trust God for daily provision, teaching contentment.

Let's begin with verse 6. Watch this. Jeremiah 8, verse 6. Do you realize that we can even learn concerning the judgment of God from the fowls of the air? Jeremiah 8, verse 6.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"I hearken and heard, and they spake not aright."

He's talking about his people now. Watch.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turneth to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle." "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle,"

that is the turtle dove,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"and the crane, and the swallow, observe their time of their coming. But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

Now wait a minute. Look at verse 6 again. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"No man spoke aright. No man repented him of the wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"The stork and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observed the time of their coming."

Then he adds this,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6-7

"But my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

In other words, God says, "My people are dumb." Look what he said, verse 6, "I hearkened and heard, and they spake not aright."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:26

"Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns." "Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?"

The Lion's Roar as Prayer and Seeking

Joel 1 verse 18, watch.

Scripture Reading — Joel 1:18-20

"How do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to Thee will I cry, for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Look, the beasts of the field cry also unto Thee. For the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness."

Not only the ravens cry unto God, but also the beasts cry unto God as well.

Now, since you're so close, turn right over just a few pages to Amos chapter 3 and look at verse 4. Look in Amos chapter 3 verse 4. Look at the question that is asked.

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:4,8

"Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing?"

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 5:29

"Their roaring shall be like a lion. They shall roar like young lions, yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it."

God Feeds All Creatures; Our Responsibility to Pray and Thank

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:25,27-29

Go back to Psalm 104. Psalm 104, verse 21 first. "The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." Now skip down to verse 27. After he talks about all the animals and everything, even the fish of the seas, verse 25. He says in verse 27, "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather. Thou openest Thine hand, and they are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled. Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to dust." Now note what God says concerning even all the animals, even all the fishes. "These all wait upon Thee." When He opens their hand, they have food. They're filled with good. If God does not open His hand, if God turns His face away, then He says, they all die. It's just that simple. Now look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 145. Psalm 145, at verses 15 and 16. And then I want to give you some quotes and begin to tie this together for us.

Psalm 145, verse 15. Again, Scripture says this,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 145:15-16

"The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing."

And what do you do? You just say, "Lord, if you don't take care of it, it'll never be taken care of." So look in Romans 8 in verse 26. "Likewise, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." Now watch this.

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:26-27

"For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Are You Dumber Than a Beast?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	Pp3uiVAE3SM
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-11-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 081: Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom - Volume 1 — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	71

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Reading of Psalm 104:20-22: Weaver introduces the sermon, reads the passage, and poses the dual title: 'Are You Dumber Than a Beast?' and 'Inarticulate Prayers.' He promises to explain the connection.
Man Compared to Beasts in Scripture: Weaver cites Psalm 49:12,20 and Psalm 73:22 to show that Scripture often compares man to beasts, even godly men like Asaph when they act ignorantly.
Men Are Dumber Than Animals (Isaiah 1:2-3): Using Isaiah 1:2-3, Weaver argues that animals know their owner and source of food, but Israel (and people today) do not acknowledge God, making them dumber than beasts.
God's Sovereign Creation and Ownership of Animals: Weaver establishes that God created all animals, designed their habitats, and owns them (Psalm 104:18; Jeremiah 27:5-6; Psalm 50:10-12). Animals honor God by fulfilling their created purpose.
Animals Praise and Teach Us: Psalm 148 calls all creation, including beasts, to praise God. Job 12:7 and Proverbs 6:6-11 show that we are sent to animals and insects to learn wisdom, work ethic, and preparation.
Learning from Birds: Judgment and Providence: Jeremiah 8:6-7 teaches that migratory birds know to escape danger, but God's people do not discern judgment. Matthew 6:26 shows birds trust God for daily provision, teaching contentment.
The Lion's Roar as Prayer and Seeking: Weaver explains that a lion's roar is connected to hunger and hunting. Psalm 104:21 poetically interprets the roar as seeking meat from God. Other scriptures (Psalm 147:9; Joel 1:18-20; Amos 3:4) show that beasts cry to God for food.
God Feeds All Creatures; Our Responsibility to Pray and Thank: Psalm 104:27 and Psalm 145:15-16 affirm that all creatures wait on God for food. Weaver cites commentators who see the lion's roar as a natural prayer. He applies this: if God hears animals, He hears our inarticulate groanings (Romans 8:26-27). We must roar in prayer, seek God, and thank Him.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Men are often dumber than beasts because they do not acknowledge God as their provider.

Isaiah 1:3 shows that oxen and donkeys know their owner, but Israel did not know or consider God. This makes humans dumber than animals.

Weaver says, 'The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider... God is saying that men are dumber than animals.'

Animals honor God by fulfilling their created purpose, and we can learn from them.

Psalm 148 calls all creation to praise God. Animals honor God by staying in their ordained roles. Job 12:7 and Proverbs 6:6 command us to learn from beasts and insects.

Weaver states, 'In one sense of the word, they do honor Him in the sense that they fulfill the purpose for which God created them.'

The lion's roar is a natural prayer for food, interpreted by God as seeking meat from Him.

Psalm 104:21 poetically describes the lion's roar as seeking meat from God. Commentators like Matthew Poole and Spurgeon affirm this as a figurative prayer.

Weaver quotes Poole: 'Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.'

If God hears the inarticulate cries of animals, He certainly hears the groanings of His people through the Spirit's intercession.

Romans 8:26-27 teaches that the Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered. Since God interprets animal cries, He will interpret our weak prayers.

Weaver says, 'If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird... do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered?'

Prayer must be accompanied by practical effort; God ordains both the end and the means.

The lions roar and then seek their prey. Many people pray but do not work or use the means God has provided, making them liars before God.

Spurgeon's quote: 'The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.'

We must learn from animals to trust God daily and be content with His provision.

Birds do not sow or reap, yet God feeds them. We should learn contentment and trust from them, as taught in Matthew 6:26 and Hebrews 13:5.

Weaver says, 'These fowls of the air are content with God's sovereign provision... You can learn contentment.'

Scripture References

Psalm 104:20-22: The primary text of the sermon, describing how God makes darkness and night, where beasts creep forth and young lions roar after prey and seek their meat from God.
Psalm 49:12,20: Man in honor is like the beasts that perish; man who does not understand is like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 73:22: Asaph confesses he was foolish and ignorant, like a beast before God, when he envied the prosperity of the wicked.
Isaiah 1:2-3: God's children have rebelled; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know or consider.
Psalm 104:18: The high hills are a refuge for wild goats, and the rocks for conies, showing God's design in animal habitats.
Jeremiah 27:5-6: God declares He made the earth, man, and beasts, and gives them to whomever He pleases, including Nebuchadnezzar.
Psalm 50:10-12: Every beast of the forest is God's, and the cattle on a thousand hills; the world and its fullness are His.
Isaiah 43:19-20: God will do a new thing, making a way in the wilderness; the beast of the field will honor Him because He gives water to His people.
Psalm 148:1-14: All creation, including beasts, cattle, creeping things, and flying fowl, are called to praise the Lord.
Job 12:7: Ask the beasts and they will teach you; the birds of the air will tell you.
Proverbs 6:6-11: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. She prepares her food in summer and gathers in harvest.
Jeremiah 8:6-7: The stork, turtledove, crane, and swallow know their appointed times, but God's people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
Matthew 6:26: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?
Psalm 147:6-9: God covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain, makes grass grow, and gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry.
Joel 1:18-20: The beasts groan, herds are perplexed, and the beasts of the field cry to God because the pastures are burned and waters dried up.
Amos 3:4,8: Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? The lion has roared, who will not fear?
Isaiah 5:29: Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions and lay hold of the prey.
Psalm 104:25,27-29: All creatures wait on God to give them food in due season; when He opens His hand they are filled, when He hides His face they are troubled and die.
Psalm 145:15-16: The eyes of all wait upon God, and He gives them their meat in due season; He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.
Romans 8:26-27: The Spirit helps our infirmities; we do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered, according to God's will.

Historical References

John Calvin: Weaver quotes Calvin on Isaiah 43:20, saying that the power of God will be so manifest that even beasts will acknowledge and worship God.
Matthew Poole: Poole is quoted on Psalm 104:21, calling the lion's roar a figurative and poetical expression, a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.
Charles Spurgeon: Spurgeon is quoted on Psalm 104:21, noting that the lions roar and seek, while many men offer formal prayers but neglect the means; they are liars before God.
Joseph Carl: Carl is quoted on Psalm 104:21, emphasizing that God interprets the meaning rather than the music of the utterance, and that God feeds even wolves and lions.
Matthew Henry: Henry is quoted on Psalm 104:21, comparing the roaring of lions to the crying of ravens as interpreted prayers, and that God will much more interpret the language of grace in His people.
The Outlaw Josie Wales (film): Weaver references the Western film to illustrate that even buzzards must eat, paralleling the idea that God feeds all creatures, even scavengers.

Important Quotes

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

This is the key verse Weaver uses to argue that men are dumber than beasts because they do not acknowledge God as their provider.

The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.

The central text of the sermon, showing that even the lion's roar is interpreted as a prayer for provision.

Their roaring is a kind of natural prayer to God for relief.

Matthew Poole's comment that supports the idea of inarticulate prayers from animals.

The lions roar and seek. Too many are liars before God. They roar, but they never seek.

Spurgeon's quote emphasizing that prayer must be accompanied by practical action.

If God is able to interpret the roar of a lion and the shriek of a bird and the cries of so-called dumb animals, do you not think that He's capable of reading our groanings which cannot be uttered?

Weaver's rhetorical question linking the animal prayers to the Holy Spirit's intercession for believers.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways does the Bible compare humans to beasts, and why does God make such comparisons?

[Context]

Weaver cites Psalm 49, Psalm 73, and Isaiah 1 to show that humans are often called dumber than beasts when they fail to acknowledge God.

[Question]

What specific lessons does God want us to learn from ants, birds, and other animals?

[Context]

Proverbs 6, Jeremiah 8, and Matthew 6 are used to teach work ethic, preparation, discernment of judgment, and trust in God's provision.

[Question]

How can the roar of a lion be considered a prayer, and what does that teach us about our own prayers?

[Context]

Weaver explains that Psalm 104:21 poetically interprets the lion's roar as seeking meat from God, and commentators call it a natural prayer.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'put feet to our prayers,' and why is this important?

[Context]

Spurgeon's quote about lions roaring and seeking is contrasted with those who pray but do not act; Weaver emphasizes that God ordains means as well as ends.

[Question]

How does the Holy Spirit's intercession with groanings relate to the idea of inarticulate prayers?

[Context]

Romans 8:26-27 is explained as the Spirit praying for us when we cannot articulate our needs, just as God interprets animal cries.

[Question]

Why is gratitude and acknowledgment of God essential to avoid being 'dumber than a beast'?

[Context]

Weaver points to the ten lepers and the example of animals honoring God by their dependence, urging believers to thank God for all things.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T23:48:45Z