Psalm 104:25-35 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 104:25-35 on biblegateway.com
Verse 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.
Verse 26There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
Verse 27These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
Verse 28when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
Verse 29When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
Verse 30When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
Verse 31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works-
Verse 32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
Verse 33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Verse 34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
Verse 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
Devotion
Twenty-two months ago, the doctor took the respirator out of my throat. I was never conscious of it being there because I lost awareness of the accident, the rescue and the surgery.
But enough time had elapsed for my children to gather from several states away and they were well aware that my breath had been taken away. Yet I had not died. When the Psalmist writes that the Lord sends forth his Spirit and that new things then occur, I take this to heart. For me there was a new chance, for me there was a new life. I was able to hold on to life and love. What a gift! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
Prayer
Spirit of God, we thank you for the gift of life. Amen.