Intro: Psalm 104 poetically walks through the Genesis 1 days of creation, less interested in the cosmic and theological import of the first chapter of the Bible and dwelling on details.
That’s no completely true. While Psalm 104 is more aesthetic, it’s also theological. It’s impossible to pray without being a theologian. All words to God or about God are themselves theology.
And so, we’ve got this wonderfully exuberant exhalation of poetic theology that never fails to make me smile.
Psalm 104
Praise wells up from the depths
Of my soul.
And Yahweh’s greatness deserves every bit of it.
What we call splendor and majesty
Are merely the clothes he wears.
He is greater still.
[Day 1]
Sunlight is the hat
Yahweh places on his head.
He inhabits the skies above us
Surfing the clouds,
Riding the wind.
Storm winds breathe his truth.
Lightning speeds to run his errands.
[Day 2]
He built the earth to last.
It’s no fragile china doll.
You submerged it in the Flood:
Massive mountains became tiny islands.
But at a word from you,
The water ran away.
Your thunder sent it speeding a hasty retreat.
You drew a line in the sandy beach
And said, “Don’t cross.”
You pointed and the waters went,
Flowing down mountain streams,
Gathering into lakes and seas.
Your rivers water the trees,
Giving perches both lofty and low to birds of all type.
His clouds are like heavenly cisterns,
Storing up water
To quench earth’s thirst
And plump up its fruit with juice, tangy and sweet.
[Day 3]
The ground grows green
With grass for cattle,
With vegetables for humans,
With grapes that ferment into heart-happy wine,
With olives for oil to make faces shine,
With grains to be baked into bread.
The green growth pushes into the skies
And an osprey finds a home in fir branches.
Mountain meadows are reigned by
Mountain goats
And scampering chipmunks.
[Day 4]
The sun sets like clockwork,
With the moon keeping a calendar
That calls us to worship.
You nod,
Darkness descends,
And the night creatures creep and prowl.
Snarls and hoots fill the blackness,
Voices praying for prey.
But then the sun rises
And they’re gone again,
Back to their dens and hidden holes.
Oblivious to it all,
Headfirst humanity rush through city streets,
Chasing elusive dreams till dusk.
And another day is done.
[Day 5]
The volume and variety of your creatures
Speaks of your wisdom and creativity.
How do you come up with all this, God?
The vast oceans and seas are home
To creatures from the sleek
To the slimy,
Massive and miniscule —
Jaws that tear and
Kraken that snare
Ships and people like toys.
[Day 6]
Every creature
Eats from your hand.
When you hand is full,
They feast.
When your hand is empty,
They fast and fade.
Your Spirit
Is the breath in their lungs.
Breathe your life into creation
And land and beast flourish.
Withhold your life
And they crumble into dust.
[Day 7]
Take joy in your creation!
May it bring you pleasure and reveal your glory
Forever.
The earth quakes and volcanoes erupt,
Unable to contain
The abundance of your life within them.
I can’t hold it in either.
My heart and lips burst forth in a song
That has no ending.
Like the rest of your creatures,
I merely want to please you, Yahweh.
So, wash the earth clean
Of those who live contrary to your design,
Whose lives are an ugly song,
That I might join your gorgeous creation
In the loveliest love song ever.