Psalm 104
Praise the LORD, my soul.
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
it can never be moved.
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
it flows between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
Praise the LORD.
I stumbled upon these verses when in the paradisaical landscapes of the Puerto Vallarta beach. We went to visit for 5 days for Alejandro's dad and step-mom's wedding. They have been married for twenty years, but wanted to commit their vows to one another in a church setting, which they had not originally done. It was beautiful and so meaningful with the palm trees flickering their silhouette on the latticed ceiling of the small but ornate chapel as they re-committed their love to one another through the love of the One who gave ultimate love. The beach was so close and the waters of the Pacific captivating in an entirely different way than they are in Washington as the sun set with every glorious color a photographer or painter would wish to capture. The foliage and animal life were wonderfully tropical...little lizards (salamanders) all over the walls of the outdoor hallway after dark catching bugs for us, birds of paradise flowers boasting their appearance of the tropics, and an array of birds providing the music of the outdoors as we lavished in the pool.
I had several nights I was able to actually sit and journal and do my Bible devotional reading with more effort than I usually take as I nod off past bedtime. An additional night with Alejandro offered a chance to read about 6 chapters of Revelation (so romantic, I know) snuggled in our sheets and eating some room service fruit. My feelings were a combination of spoiled and blessed, content and unsettled (I had a few tricksy bad dreams from our apocalyptic readings that night cause we read about Hell and I worried about those with a ticket there, though usually Revelation invokes triumphant emotions of Jesus' return on a stallion, wearing white and conquering the world that is His own).
A strong urge came over me that at some point I must capture, if even only one phrase, the vivid imagery penned in the above psalm. The words are too colorful to be left to simply writing. The words are such that they vibrantly come alive in my head. The Lord has made all of creation for us to enjoy. How cool is that? :-) Through blessings of staying a few days in paradise and other experiences such as watching the fall leaves turn firework shades of autumnal colors and the silvery yet golden glimmer overwhelming my eyes at sunset, I see God. I see Him in nature. There are many other ways which I connect with the Lord, but nature is surely one main and clear avenue.
I hope that others see Him this way. God made creation and the first thing He did after each day of creating land, sea, animals, man, heavens, earth, light, etc was report to Himself--which is just kinda comical cause I guess God talks to Himself--that what He had accomplished was good. He made good things for us. FOR US!
When you view His creation in all its beautiful splendor you can know that your soul welling up with joy and gratitude for the fantastic show before you is trying to say "praise the Lord!" That's what it wants to say. So, try to say it in your head, whisper it, speak it, sing it, write it, art it, or shout it from the rooftops. He is worthy to be praised for the lovely things He created for us. And I need to crack open my paints and capture in a definitely not accurate way His beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment