Psalm 104:24-34 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 104:24-34 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.
Devotion
The familiar hymn invites our praise: "My God How Wonderful Thou Art thy Majesty how Bright." I didn't understand this God as my creator until I was eleven years old and went camping in a desert where we slept in the dirt and played with snakes and saw for the first time the bright stars I had ignored in the big city. Lying outdoors on my sleeping bag I meditated on the stars and planets and the cosmic universe. From my Scout leader, Henry, a wise engineer scientist, I learned of the wonderful One who in wisdom is the creator of it all. From studying and loving all of God’s creatures I have come to celebrate the diverse human community, all created in the image of God, as my brothers and sisters. Everything created is dependent on God.
The Bible tells us that out of the ground God brings forth life and it is very good. This immensely intelligent and wise God is like my mother who creates with complexity and purpose. With the passage of time I haven't been satisfied to be with just a few of the wonders of creation or a few from my own culture; I have stepped out in faith and found courage to travel out of my comfort zones—by ship and high speed train and airplane and computers. We are blessed to live in a time when we can spend more of our lengthening life span singing God’s praises along with people of faith in all of creation and in all the circumstances of life. God is good.
Prayer
We pray using the words of Psalm 104
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all.
When you open your hand they are filled with good things.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to God while I have being. Amen.