Sep 28, 2022
How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time (Psalm 104:24, 27).
Psalm 104 is a creation hymn weaving together several complimentary themes. Thus, it speaks into today's environmental fears. It may not dispel our fears, but it will challenge God's people to enter the conversation with a distinctly hopeful perspective.
The first theme is that of the Lord as once-and-ongoing Creator. The creation story does not end with Genesis 2. God's fingers remain constantly immersed in the clay, shaping and moulding. Listen to some of the phrases: “He waters the mountains…He makes grass grow…You bring darkness…”
In summary the singer writes, “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time…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 (27,29,30).
We are compelled to look for the Lord in creation and find His fingerprints in the trustworthy order, joyful nature, and ongoing wonder of re-creation. Being renewed spiritually by the Spirit of God does not remove us from His creation but sends us back to it with full anticipation that we will see much of and learn much from our redeemer as we dwell in this creation.
A second theme is that of the creation's trustworthiness. Genesis 1:2 tells us that the earth was 'formless'. The Hebrew word here is more dramatic because it suggests 'chaos'. The rest of Genesis 1 tells how God created order out of this chaos.
Throughout scripture evil is portrayed as attempting to push the world back into this chaos. But God's presence keeps things in order. Much of western scientific development is predicated on the belief that God created order and maintains it. Our delight is to find that order and use is for the good of humankind.
Of course, there is evidence of chaos, such as storms like Fiona and Ian. We must note that, as destructive as these are, they are the exception. Most of the natural order carries on in an orderly fashion. We see the creation's trustworthiness is the daily, seasonal, and generational cycles. It is observable every time we plant a seed, and it grows, producing a new crop of food and/or beauty. God promised it would be so, and it is. God will not allow chaos to engulf his creation. He will hold chaos at bay until it if finally banished altogether.
Thirdly, this psalm celebrates the sufficiency of creation. The Lord provides enough to satisfy the earth, the trees of the field, the wild animals, and indeed satisfies every living being with good things.
In an age in which we fear that we cannot feed the people on earth, this psalm offers a necessary corrective. It gives motivation to all those who ponder the issues of food distribution. The problem is not lack of sustainability but human greed and avarice which hordes food and wastes it. Economic and political systems tend to be controlled by those who already have more than enough.
For this reason, before the psalm closes, we read “but may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more” (35). Evil is perpetrated by people who do evil things. When we pray for God’s shalom, we pray for an end to evil and those who refuse to turn away from chaos bringing acts. We grieve these destructive actions recognizing God’s own sorrow when his creatures are extinguished by human selfishness.
Finally, Psalm 104 celebrates God's joy in His creation. The Lord delights in Leviathan, creates wine to gladden the human heart, and rejoices in all His works. The psalmist himself rejoices in the song of praise, ending with “Praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord.” God’s gift of Sabbath to us is the gift to enjoy the creation. So let us sing this psalm and keep sabbath.