Sunday, August 26, 2007

Psalm 104:1-18

104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
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 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man's heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

The first way you describe a celebrity these days is how they dress. Just think of the red carpet events and how much time, energy and money is spent on them. No when the Psalmist here is praising God and talks about he is dressed he says he is clothed in splendor, not his clothes or splendid. He is clothed in majesty, not his clothes are majestic. The are the truest form of these not a mere reflection of them.

His surrounding sounds pretty science fiction. Beams that stand on water (how about the physics of that), clouds his chariot, the winds provide his locomotion. With some research I am sure that it would be found that some of this imagery is borrow from other worship in the region at the time this Psalm was writen and the Psalmist is saying, yeah you might have good poetry but our God is better.

Then after talking about his power, we look at his provision. He cares for everything. Each animal in his creation is important to him. The trees have enough water. Even the rock badger is taken care of.


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