Psalm Meditation 600
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 18, 2011

Psalm 104:1-11,24,29-35
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)

This psalm celebrates both the creativity and providence of God. God is praised for having made all that is, and then praised for the ways God sees fit to provide for each part of creation. While I left out, for space considerations, many of the parts of creation mentioned by the psalmist I commend the whole psalm as it celebrates various animals and the way God has provided for that animal as far as food and water. Vs 24 encapsulates the whole psalm as a celebration of the wide ranging creativity of God.

In addition to the celebration of creativity God’s providence is praised at the same time. Not only did God create this wondrous planet and all the animals with which it is populated, God also provides a place and a means of sustenance for each creature. I notice in various congregations, and am sure it happens other places as well, that we are not always officially aware of the need to maintain many of the things we buy or have provided for us. Since we didn’t plan for maintenance we have to string things along until we can afford to buy a new one. God has actually planned for the sustenance and maintenance of the earth and the creatures who are a part of the earth.

God is not simply the Creator, who set the world in motion and walked away to see how this piece of work would fare. God also sees that the world is sustained as each part of creation is provided a means to survive and thrive. As we look at the creative providence of God can we perhaps see an area in our lives in need of maintenance, especially one in which what is required is a tweak or two rather than a major repair/replacement issue.

© December 12, 2010