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"In Praise of the Creator"
Psalm 104.1-10, 26 and 35
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 Praise the Lord, my soul! O Lord, my God,
how great you are! You are clothed with
majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light. You have spread
out the heavens like a tent
3 and built your home on the waters above. [a]
You use the clouds as your chariot and ride on
the wings of the wind.
4 You use the winds as your messengers and
flashes of lightning as your servants.
5 You have set the earth firmly on its
foundations, and it will never be moved.
6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe, and
the water covered the mountains.
7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled; they
rushed away when they heard your shout of
command.
8 They flowed over the mountains and into
the valleys, to the place you had made for
them.
9 You set a boundary they can never pass, to
keep them from covering the earth again.
10 You make springs flow in the valleys, and
rivers run between the hills.
26 The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,
that sea monster which you made. (b)
35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth;
may the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
Psalm 104:3 A reference to the waters above
the celestial dome (Gn 1.6, 7).
Psalm 104:26 in it plays ... made;
or
Leviathan is there, that sea monster you made
to amuse you.
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Commentary taken from the 'word-on-the-web'
supplied by the Scripture Union
'In Praise of the Creator'
Psalm 104.1-10, 26 and 35
What's the point of wasps?
This is a question many of us ask on a hot summer's day when these insects are flying around our food and drink harassing us.
A BBC news report answered this question by explaining that they play an invaluable role in keeping down pests and pollinating plants.
This reminds us that even those creatures for which we can see little purpose have a role to play.
Of course, this should not surprise us as Christians, for we believe that all life has been created by God.
Today's psalm touches upon the remarkably modern theme of the interdependency of life.
It reminds us of the ongoing balance of nature and how through it God provides food and habitat for life to flourish.
The psalmist describes streams supplying water for animals and birds; grass that provides food for cattle together with plants that feed us and trees that act as nesting habitats for birds.
God's creation even provides the materials to make non-essentials like wine, the purpose of which is simply to gladden the heart (v 15).
It is incredible to think that everything we need and everything humanity has fashioned has come from this Earth.
God has indeed made it abundantly fruitful.
However, concern for God's creation has not always been at the forefront of Christian thinking, for many reasons.
God's instruction to 'fill the earth and subdue it' and 'rule over' every living creature,
for instance, has been misunderstood as a licence to exploit the Earth.
This psalm, then, acts as an apt reminder that God has designed a carefully balanced world on which humans, as well as the rest of creation, depend for our wellbeing and survival.
Surely, then, as Christians it is our responsibility to protect it.
How concerned are we about our planet?
What prevents us from caring more?
Ask God to guide us about any further actions we can take to protect his world.
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