Today’s Reading: Psalm 104
Today,
we pause for a moment to consider what a wildly wonderful and extravagant world
God has made! The earth overflows with His genius creative works.
The theme of today’s
psalm of praise is the wisdom and power of God as seen in nature. The song
begins by considering the splendor of the heavens. The light of the sun, the
expanse of sky reaching down to meet the earth on the horizon, the movement of
clouds blown by the wind, the flashes of lightning - all these things speak of
the magnificence of our awe-inspiring God who dwells in, and rules over, the
universe.
Land and sea also display
the greatness of God. He determined where they should be and how far they
should extend. Mountains and rivers show God’s complete control over the powers
of nature, so that the land is well watered and able to support life. Because
of God’s control, the earth supplies people and animals with food, and with all
the other materials necessary for them to live in safety and security. He
arranges seasons and weather, night and day, so that the natural world can meet
the needs of the various forms of life. The vast seas speak further of God’s
greatness. They are full of the most wonderful and strange creatures of every
size, shape, and design. Ships sail on the seas for distances farther than the
eye can see or the mind imagine.
The
word “manifold” in verse 24 means many and various. The Hebrew root word means to increase, be many, be
more, multiply. The Psalmist here proclaims, “how many and various are your
works!” The uncounted millions of species in the animate creation include not
merely the larger units of the creation, but innumerable beings that are almost
infinitely small, not merely insects, and the tiniest creatures of the sea and the
sub-microscopic beings. All of this great host of creatures both great and
small that God made are fitted into an ecological system so great and so
complicated that no man has ever, nor ever could understand all of it.
The earth is not merely suited for one class of inhabitants, but for an almost endless variety; and
the wisdom of God is manifested alike in the number and in the variety. No one
can estimate the “number” of beings God has made on the earth; no one can
comprehend the richness of the variety. No one can comprehend the
limitless brilliance of our Creator who masterminded the whole thing.
Take some time today to
consider God’s amazing world and His creative acts. Step back from your
routines and focus on the amazing capacity of your Heavenly Father as
demonstrated by his wildly wonderful world. As you do. like the Psalmist you
will be moved to declare “O my soul, bless God!” (Psalm 104:1)
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