A text – Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
104:24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
104:25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.
104:26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
104:27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
104:28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
104:29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
104:30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
104:31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works–
104:32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
104:33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
104:35b Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!
A reflection:
Here is a psalm of praise involving all of creation. The earth and the sea and all the creatures are here, depending upon God for their very life. The connection between creature and Creator is strong; when God hides, they are dismayed, but when God’s Spirit is sent forth, new life begins. The power of God is clear as well – a mere touch and the mountains smoke, a look makes the earth tremble. God is great and powerful – the author of life.
The psalmist is resolved to sing praises forever. It may be out of fear of the mighty power of God, but it is also because the psalmist is certain that from God come all good things. He hopes that his praises please God, because he rejoices in the Lord.
Is this a psalm that fits only in the centuries long ago, way before the birth of Christ, even? Or can we imagine singing these words in praise to God today? How do we think about the Creator God, who made the mountains and the seas, who made life sprout on land and rise from the ocean depths? Who tenderly sculpted human beings from dust and breathed life into them, and who has been in relationship with them ever since?
If this is God, our Creator, the Lord who walked and talked with Abraham, the Lord and Father Jesus spoke of so often in loving terms, what would happen, I wonder, if we ourselves took the time each day to praise God for the whole creation and for our lives? And wouldn’t such a meditation be pleasing to our Lord?
A prayer:
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for creating the world and the life in and upon it. Thank you for giving us this experience of life in the world for however long we are alive. Help us to appreciate our earthly home and to appreciate you, the author of our life. Help us to make our living worthy of our relationship with you. Amen.
Short Dwellings in the Word by Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison 