Pentecost
Worship
Aids To The Psalms
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth 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 -
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands high on the cliff face and surveys the formidable landscape and marvels in its beauty. Then he leaps out into space and plummets toward the sea below. He sucks in a huge breath before his body breaks the sea surface. Driven deep into the water by the force of his dive, the Singer observes the startled fish. So many varieties, so many colors, so many sizes of fish. A monstrous fish appears huge, bigger than a whale, awesome but with the funniest smile upon its face, a fish that might play with God. The Singer surfaces, walks the beach to the cliff and climbs to its summit. His eyes pass over a plain filled with creatures of all sizes, huge and miniscule. The vegetation sways in the breeze. The Singer imagines the change of seasons, the variations of flora and fauna that follow, the cycle of life. The Singer considers the vastness of creation and his own wee life without sorrow but joy, delighting in God's providence and design. The Singer wants nothing but to sing God's praises always. The Singer commits his life to that one purpose. That will give him joy.
Reflection
When we are privileged to view the panorama of nature even the worst cynic cannot help expressing awe and joy. Nature, God's creation evokes such expressions from us. When we see creatures great and small, the unfolding of the seasons, the magnificence of space, we are awestruck and songs of praise come easily to our lips. Then there is the last verse of the psalm, verse 35: "Let sinners be consumed from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!" Order seems to exist in all of God's creation except in us. Homo sapiens, wise beings are corrupters of peace and harmony. We, like the psalmist, consider that we, our corrupt part, our immense egos, our sin needs to be struck from the earth as a discordant note in nature's harmonious chord. And so our sin is destroyed, not by nature's violence of earthquake, volcano's fire, or flood's devastation but by the creator's love made incarnate and killed for us on the cross. His resurrection wins for us harmony with all nature. Our souls are blessed, our songs are sung.
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth 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 -
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands high on the cliff face and surveys the formidable landscape and marvels in its beauty. Then he leaps out into space and plummets toward the sea below. He sucks in a huge breath before his body breaks the sea surface. Driven deep into the water by the force of his dive, the Singer observes the startled fish. So many varieties, so many colors, so many sizes of fish. A monstrous fish appears huge, bigger than a whale, awesome but with the funniest smile upon its face, a fish that might play with God. The Singer surfaces, walks the beach to the cliff and climbs to its summit. His eyes pass over a plain filled with creatures of all sizes, huge and miniscule. The vegetation sways in the breeze. The Singer imagines the change of seasons, the variations of flora and fauna that follow, the cycle of life. The Singer considers the vastness of creation and his own wee life without sorrow but joy, delighting in God's providence and design. The Singer wants nothing but to sing God's praises always. The Singer commits his life to that one purpose. That will give him joy.
Reflection
When we are privileged to view the panorama of nature even the worst cynic cannot help expressing awe and joy. Nature, God's creation evokes such expressions from us. When we see creatures great and small, the unfolding of the seasons, the magnificence of space, we are awestruck and songs of praise come easily to our lips. Then there is the last verse of the psalm, verse 35: "Let sinners be consumed from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!" Order seems to exist in all of God's creation except in us. Homo sapiens, wise beings are corrupters of peace and harmony. We, like the psalmist, consider that we, our corrupt part, our immense egos, our sin needs to be struck from the earth as a discordant note in nature's harmonious chord. And so our sin is destroyed, not by nature's violence of earthquake, volcano's fire, or flood's devastation but by the creator's love made incarnate and killed for us on the cross. His resurrection wins for us harmony with all nature. Our souls are blessed, our songs are sung.
