Psalm 104:24-34, 35b (NRSV)
Read Psalm 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
Some say that they have never been able to worship God on a mountain, or by a stream, or anywhere in nature. I cannot understand why not! The psalmist sees God's handiwork in every facet of our world and life: the earth, the sea, creatures and creeping things, ships and the sporting Leviathan. God's works are manifest in the good things provided for all of creation. But most of all, in the Spirit—the breath of God, the ruach—all things are created and renewed. The psalmist prays, "May the LORD rejoice in his works!" and then imagines, "If the LORD rejoices, so shall I." "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being ... for I rejoice in the LORD." Sounds like worship to me! Where there is evidence of God's footprint, there is cause for worship. May our voices join the psalmist: "May my meditation be pleasing to the LORD. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!"
Prayer
Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may see you and your gifts in all that we encounter in your wondrous creation. Amen.