Oh Lord, My God, You Are Very Great

In this season of grey, where I do not have many answers, and I am desperately grasping for some small sense of assurance, I keep returning to Psalm 104. This psalm depicts God as the creator and sustainer of all living things. It begins with praise and follows with an outline of God's creation closely reflecting God's work in Genesis when He created the world. Verse 2 explains the "light" and "outstretch of heavens." Verse 3 follows with the "waters" and "clouds," and verse 4 celebrates the "earth's foundations." The Psalter continues with mountains, rivers, springs, and valleys, which the Lord put into "the place that [He] appointed for them" (v. 8). With each aspect of the earth God's masterful detail is present. The following verses explain further what fills the earth and its purpose in God's design for provision. The springs "give drink to every beast of the field" (v. 11), the birds dwell in the trees and "sing among the branches" (v. 12), the rain "waters the mountains" (v.13), the "grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate" (v.14). In all of this, the "earth is satisfied." The earth is satisfied by its creator, an intentional provider of needs. God is not simply a provider of the fundamentals for life, He provides that which brings enjoyment and delight. Wine, oil, and bread are the vessels in which God displays His generosity. His gifts are given generously. Creation delights in God; man's heart is glad, his face shines, and his heart is strengthened. God's design provides for the necessities of living and the sustenance for a thriving life, fulfilled in the creator. God's created order goes beyond the basics and provides for happiness. Verse 16 describes the "abundance" of God's hand. "Abundance" is translated as "satisfied," "to be filled to the full," and "to have in excess" (Strong). God displays His character in the generosity of His abundance. God's character is further revealed as the text continues with details of God's order. The galaxy holds the sun and moon, providing the structures of day and night. With every sunrise man and beast lives and labors. With the setting of the sun, they rest. The wisdom of God is full of the vastness of His creation, "living creatures both small and great," "creatures innumerable" (v.25). In this order, all of creation trusts God. The psalmist explains, "These all look to you" (v. 27) . They know God provides, they trust His design, and the result is to be "filled with good things" (v.28). Oh that my heart would trust as this psalm depicts. Lord, may I rest in this assurance of your sovereignty. May I trust in the goodness of you, my creator, and the wisdom of your order. May I believe in the goodness of your design and trust the fulfillment you have purposed. And may my response to life be ass the psalters, who bookends their psalm with praise, "Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!"

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. 19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;[a] the sun knows its time for setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.[b] 27 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!