A poetic picture of the Creator caring for the Earth
Daily Scripture
Psalm 104:1-5, 10-15, 31-33
1 Let my whole being [or soul] bless the LORD!
LORD my God, how fantastic you are!
You are clothed in glory and grandeur!
2 You wear light like a robe;
you open the skies like a curtain.
3 You build your lofty house on the waters;
you make the clouds your chariot,
going around on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
you make fire and flame your ministers.
5 You established the earth on its foundations
so that it will never ever fall.
10 You put gushing springs into dry riverbeds.
They flow between the mountains,
11 providing water for every wild animal—
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Overhead, the birds in the sky make their home,
chirping loudly in the trees.
13 From your lofty house, you water the mountains.
The earth is filled full by the fruit of what you’ve done.
14 You make grass grow for cattle;
you make plants for human farming
in order to get food from the ground,
15 and wine, which cheers people’s hearts,
along with oil, which makes the face shine,
and bread, which sustains the human heart.
31 Let the LORD’s glory last forever!
Let the LORD rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Psalm 104 echoed the shorter Psalm 8 (read in worship last Sunday) in offering praise to God for nearly all parts of creation. A charming poetic image occurred in verse 13. “The psalm’s second section talks about the way that God is active in the world now. God makes the springs come out of the earth. God sits in the heavens with his watering can, watering the slopes where trees and crops grow.” * Instead of an abstract, distant God, the psalmist pictured God as a caring, attentive creator.
- This psalm is basically a prayer as the psalmist addresses praise directly to God. “The psalmist’s attention is always upon God, and different realms of creation come into view in relation to God: the heavens (104:1-4), the earth (104:5-13), people and creatures (104:14-23), and all God’s works (104:24-30).” ** Consider planning a quiet prayer time with your Bible open to Psalm 104. Pray each section as your own offering of praise and worship to your loving Creator.
- When verse 3 said “you make the clouds your chariot,” it was asserting God’s superiority to a Canaanite deity you may have heard about (maybe back in Sunday School). “The Canaanite god Baal was known as the cloud-rider, who caused the rain to fall; but God now assumes this position.” *** What “deities” in your culture and world do you need to replace with God the great Creator, who truly fills the places mistakenly attributed to them?
Prayer
Creator God, how fantastic you are! I see your glory, not in self-serving, self-promoting acts, but in the healing, helping, nurturing and ultimately saving ways you care for all your creation. Amen.
GPS Insights
Sydney Hoskovec
Sydney Hoskovec is serving Resurrection as a Creative Content Intern in Graphic Design and Marketing this summer. She attends the University of Kansas and will be a junior this fall. Sydney is majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Digital Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. She is also obtaining a minor in Design and Psychology. In her free time, Sydney enjoys hammocking with a good book, experimenting with new recipes and playing fetch with her energetic puppies.
I’ll admit that I fall victim to the Generation Z stereotype of someone who would rather be on their phone than engage in conversation with a stranger or check it while walking from one class to another. While I may not have a phone reliance as extreme as some, I see how it impacts other parts of my life. Specifically, I miss out on experiences because I’m either too busy trying to capture them on my phone or I’m engrossed by an app. While technology helps document memories and keep in touch, I find it acting as my deity when I notice myself disconnected from the moment, trying to get the right angle or stimulating my brain with a ten-second video. A Current Issues in Journalism course I took last year helped me realize my dependence on my phone that’s at my side at all times.
This past fall, I traveled to Colorado with my family. While I was excited to hike through the mountains and have a change of scenery, I dreaded the 10-hour car ride consisting of mostly prairie fields. But for one of the first times, I observed God’s beauty in what is typically deemed ordinary and mundane. Psalm 104:5-13 discusses God building the foundations of our Earth and accounting for all aspects of life through careful thought and intention. And while I won’t say the repetitive pastures were my favorite part of the trip, I discovered a newfound appreciation for them. Without my eyes glued to my phone for 10 hours straight, I could recognize that the grassy meadows of Western Kansas are more than miles of grass. They provide nutrients for cattle, materials for birds’ homes and dirt for small mammals to burrow.
Without my camera app open every second of the day, I could enjoy and embrace the ability to appreciate a new environment with my family. I could savor the vast mountain tops at the end of a grueling hike or the careful trickle of a nearby river. I felt like I could fix my eyes on God’s wonderful creations by setting my phone down and rejoicing in all that has been created. Naturally, I still snapped a few photos, but I was much more aware of the beauty surrounding me.
On a vacation to Colorado, it’s easy to see how God’s creations are grand and breathtaking as Psalm 104:32 expresses, but in everyday life, it isn’t always. So start by slowing down, looking around and beginning to admire the glorious place we have been given to live. Be grateful for the ground you walk on, the bright sun that lights your days or look out your window at the plains with a new lens. For it’s all created with God’s attention and care for us.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* John Goldingay, Psalms for Everyone, Part 2: Psalms 73–150. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, p. 101.
** J. Clinton McCann, Jr., study note on Psalm 104:1 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 954 OT.
*** Ibid.
