Psalms 104:24-34, 35b (NRSV)
Read Psalms 104:24-34, 35b on biblegateway.com
Verse 24O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
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
“There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.” God and sports? Perhaps God created the sea monster for his own amusement; or for the sea dragon to wreck havoc on its own. Regardless, Psalm 104 is truth to power when it proclaims that all of creation is dependent on life from the hand of the Almighty.
This is good news for a people and a church that are constantly striving to bring to fruition the latest technology. For all our smarts, tragic events like the Virginia Tech massacre happen and our “cultural resources” for coping are bankrupt. Far from being absent, God is in the throes of such human suffering. It isn’t our brain power that can make things right, it’s only the hand of the Almighty. Even Leviathan will find his place in God’s plan for salvation.
Prayer
Lord, pour out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Help me to surrender the tragic places of my life to your plan of salvation and trust in your gracious hand. Amen.