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
Love That Creates and Sustains
In love, God created all things and rejoices in sustaining and renewing the whole creation. God created a rhythm of day and night, of seasons, of wind and rain—all bringing renewal to the world. God created a sexual desire in both the human and animal species to bring offspring, and assigned them a lifespan in order to make room for new generations. God saw that it was good and rejoiced in all that God had made.
Now, far down the road, God's good creation is becoming polluted. With good human minds ever inventing and innovating with new techniques and technologies—such as electricity and medical systems—over many years we find that we are polluting what God made good. We depend on it all. And it seems we're not able to retract or return to an earlier state.
While joining the psalmist praising God for the good creation, we puzzle to know how we can now be faithful in preserving what God intended to remain good. We might begin by joining a think tank discussion group where like-minded concerned people gather ideas and move into action.
Prayer
Creating God, bless us with both will and ways to preserve your good creation. Amen.