Text: Psalm 104:1-35
“When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.” —Psalm 104:28
I have a cat that always knows when something good is in my hand. In those times she sits quietly and patiently at my feet, waiting for that moment of delight when I extend that goodness to her. The end result is a steady purr of satisfaction.
In Psalm 104, the writer is “purring” over the works of God as he meditates on the goodness of all His creation. The worshiper is entranced by the notion of the Creator being “clothed with splendor and majesty.” The heavens exist because He has stretched them out like an interior designer hanging a curtain to form an aesthetic charm (v.2). The imagery here is a God full of activity, excitement, and thrills. The clouds are His chariots and the wings of the wind are His roller coaster. God enjoys His creation! As Old Testament scholar Derek Kidner noted, “The metaphor of his taking up its parts and powers as his robe, tent, palace and chariot invites us to see the world as something he delights in, which is charged with his energy and alive with his presence.”
The worshiper considers the earth and its immovable foundations—how the mountains and the valleys have all been carved with divine fingerprints, and their boundaries have been set to His liking. When the psalmist ponders how the thirst of wild animals is quenched, how the trees are watered abundantly, how the moon marks the seasons, how the sun knows its time for setting, and how man’s sustenance comes directly from the hand of God—“wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart”—he is left with a sense of amazement and the compelling conclusion that all the earth is “satisfied with the fruit” of God’s enterprise (Psalm 104:11-24). Nothing in all of creation is alive or sustained apart from the manifold works of God (v.24). He declares…
“These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.” (Psalm 104:27–28)
The verb rendered “gather” means to pick up or collect from the ground. It is used in the history of the manna (Exodus 16:1 , 5 , 16 ), to which there is obvious allusion. The act of gathering from the ground seems to presuppose a previous throwing down from heaven. As Charles Spurgeon explained, “When we see the chickens picking up the corn which the housewife scatters from her lap we have an apt illustration of the manner in which the Lord supplies the needs of all living things—he gives and they gather.”
The psalmist’s meditation of God’s glory in all of earth’s activity fueled in him a spirit of worship—“May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works… I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being” (vv. 31-33).
Has the goodness and sustenance of God over all things in your life caused you to purr lately? Has your meditation been pleasing to Him? Think about that as you seek to abide in a Spirit of worship this week.
PRAYER
God, we don’t always recognize your activity in the things around us. Help us to be more sensitive to this activity with the Holy Spirit as our guide. Remind us that we have nothing apart from your goodness and provision in our lives. Everything has come from your hand of mercy. We sing our praise to you, for your works are awesome! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions for Reflection, Small Group or Family Discussion:
- What is the most beautiful scene or landscape in your memory?
- What did the psalm writer see as the purpose of creation (Psalm 104:1-35)? In what ways does all of living creation depend on God?
- What conclusion did the psalm writer draw from observing and thinking about God’s creation? How does our treatment of nature reflect our beliefs about God?
- In what ways may you have recently been insensitive or even calloused to God’s activity in and around you?
- How does this psalm inspire you to praise God? How would you define worship, and what should that look like in your day-to-day activities?
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