Week 8: Post-Post

Psalm 104- Ok, this is a super long passage, but i think it is really a great one because it just captures who we are as members of creation. This is also the Message paraphrase, but I think for the Psalms sometimes it can be a great way to wade through some of the metaphors, poetry, similes, and other literary rapids.


    O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are! 
      beautifully, gloriously robed, 
   Dressed up in sunshine, 
      and all heaven stretched out for your tent. 
   You built your palace on the ocean deeps, 
      made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. 
   You commandeered winds as messengers,
      appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. 
   You set earth on a firm foundation 
      so that nothing can shake it, ever. 
   You blanketed earth with ocean, 
      covered the mountains with deep waters; 
   Then you roared and the water ran away— 
      your thunder crash put it to flight. 
   Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out 
      in the places you assigned them. 
   You set boundaries between earth and sea; 
      never again will earth be flooded. 
   You started the springs and rivers, 
      sent them flowing among the hills. 
   All the wild animals now drink their fill, 
      wild donkeys quench their thirst. 
   Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, 
      ravens make their voices heard. 
   You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; 
      earth is supplied with plenty of water. 
   You make grass grow for the livestock, 
      hay for the animals that plow the ground. 

 ^14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, 
      wine to make people happy, 
   Their faces glowing with health, 
      a people well-fed and hearty. 
   God's trees are well-watered— 
      the Lebanon cedars he planted. 
   Birds build their nests in those trees; 
      look—the stork at home in the treetop. 
   Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; 
      badgers burrow among the rocks. 
   The moon keeps track of the seasons,
      the sun is in charge of each day. 
   When it's dark and night takes over, 
      all the forest creatures come out. 
   The young lions roar for their prey, 
      clamoring to God for their supper. 
   When the sun comes up, they vanish, 
      lazily stretched out in their dens. 
   Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, 
      busy at their jobs until evening. 

 ^24-30 What a wildly wonderful world, God!
      You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
      made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. 
   Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, 
      brimming with fish past counting, 
      sardines and sharks and salmon. 
   Ships plow those waters, 
      and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. 
   All the creatures look expectantly to you 
      to give them their meals on time. 
   You come, and they gather around; 
      you open your hand and they eat from it. 
   If you turned your back,
      they'd die in a minute— 
   Take back your Spirit and they die, 
      revert to original mud; 
   Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
      the whole countryside in bloom and blossom. 

 ^31-32 The glory of God—let it last forever! 
      Let God enjoy his creation! 
   He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, 
      points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. 

 ^33-35 Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, 
      sing hymns to my God as long as I live! 
   Oh, let my song please him; 
      I'm so pleased to be singing to God. 
   But clear the ground of sinners— 
      no more godless men and women!

   O my soul, bless God!

I really love the phrase found in verse 25: If you turned your back for a minute, they would die. We would die. Our very life is so dependent on Him. Every breath, every thought, every moment is wrapped up in the sole status of being His. 


I also really love the power that is spoken through this whole passage, but an idea emerges in verses 31-32, which give the idea that all of these natural disasters that we fear so much and ask "God how could this happen," is at the sole whim of the creator enjoying his creation. He can exercise his power to simply point and a volcano and it will erupt, but more than that, he enjoys the power that his creation can exude. A characteristic of pride and building that can be found in the male spirit even now.