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
“How can I keep from singing?” Those words from the hymn “My Life Flows On in Endless Song” sprang into my mind with today’s reading. The psalmist considers the amazing diversity of creation and bubbles over with wonder and praise.
The Triune God creates and sustains all. We confess our faith in “God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” Paul witnesses to Jesus, writing, “In him all things in heaven and on earth were created . . . all things have been created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16). Today’s psalm declares, “You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth.”
The psalmist also writes, “When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Inhale slowly. Exhale slowly. Feel the gift. Again. The Spirit renews us with every breath. How can we keep from singing?
Prayer
Gracious God, our creator and sustainer, your works fill us with wonder and awe. In love you care for all you create. Breathe the breath of life into us again today that we may live as you intend, caring for your magnificent creation. Amen.