Psalm 104

Dependence

Posted on by Betsy

Can dogs tell time? I think they can. Every evening at exactly 6:00 my very large Labrador Retriever named Georgia arises from her nap and stares me down until I get up and feed her dinner. Exactly at 6:00! Georgia and I have a mutually dependent relationship. I depend on her for her unconditional love expressed through tail wags, and she depends on me for everything in her life: her health and well-being, her sustenance, her shelter, her playtime … just as I depend on God for these things. The first line of Psalm 104, attributed to David, says it all. “All your creations wait for you to give them their food on time.” David was a keen observer of the nature that surrounded him. This verse made me laugh, thinking of how our pets know it’s time to eat. Does your pet do that?

Psalm 104 (Common English Bible)

All your creations wait for you
    to give them their food on time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!
29 But when you hide your face, they are terrified;
    when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to dust.
30 When you let loose your breath, they are created,
    and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.

A better translation of “on time” in verse 1 is “in God’s timing.” This alludes to the fact that we are completely dependent on God to provide for us, and it only happens in God’s time. That is an important concept to understand as we mature in our faith. Our daily bread will always be offered to keep us going, but there are other things that we need to wait on God to provide, such as resolutions to our conflicts, answers to prayer, and receiving provision only when we are able to manage it. And sometimes that provision comes in ways we didn’t expect. In those moments we must allow God to be God and give us what we need rather than what we want. When we pray for healing and it comes in the form of death, this is a bitter pill to take. When we pray for help with a marriage that is falling apart and God delivers us through divorce, we have to accept God’s wisdom. When we pray for things we can’t handle, God’s withholding is for our own good.

Verse 28 reminds us that when God provides, we are called to “gather it up.” Like chickens in the barnyard who scatter at the farmer’s feet to receive the corn, we have to come to God in an attitude of humble gratitude for whatever God sees fit to provide. We need both wisdom and effort when it comes to receiving our Lord’s merciful gifts, knowing that everything we are being given comes from God’s goodness and God’s wisdom, which is much higher than our own.

Recognizing our dependance on God is a reason to sing. The Spirit is ready and able to create new things in us and for us with every breath. May we sing to the Lord as long as we live, and may our whole beings bless the Lord.

31 Let the Lord’s glory last forever!
    Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
    God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
34 Let my praise be pleasing to him;
    I’m rejoicing in the Lord!
35 Let sinners be wiped clean from the earth;
    let the wicked be no more.
But let my whole being bless the Lord!
    Praise the Lord!

God Provides by Michelle Robertson

Boundaries

Posted on by Betsy

Hurricane season in 2021 began in June and is forecast to end on November 30th. Living on the coastal waters of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, I pay attention to this. We continue to have ”red flag days,” where swimming is prohibited due to dangerous surf conditions brought by passing off-shore storms. The key part of that sentence is ”off-shore storms.” It is not over yet, but we are beginning to exhale just a tiny bit as the season winds down with no direct impact this year. (Please Lord, make it so.) Our friends in Louisiana took a double portion of hurricanes this year, and I know that they are also anxiously awaiting the end of hurricane season.

People in other parts of the country probably think that the worst devastation from a storm comes when it makes a direct hit on the shore. I spoke with a woman from Michigan last week who thought it would be safer to live on the sound than the beach. In truth, there can just as much devastation when the west-side sounds flood as a result of the hurricane’s ability to displace tons of water in a short amount of time. When the sound returns, it returns with a vengeance.

Today’s Psalm offers a word of comfort for those times when we feel a storm coming and we fear for our safety. Those storms can be weather-related or situational. Storms of anger, betrayal, depression, confusion, and hopelessness can feel just as damaging to your spirit as a full-on Cat 5.

The psalmist begins with beautiful praise language:

Psalm 104 (Common English Bible)

 Let my whole being bless the Lord!
    Lord my God, how fantastic you are!
    You are clothed in glory and grandeur!
2 You wear light like a robe;
    you open the skies like a curtain.
3 You build your lofty house on the waters;
    you make the clouds your chariot,
    going around on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
    you make fire and flame your ministers.
5 You established the earth on its foundations
    so that it will never ever fall.

Let the image of God wearing light like a robe and going around in a chariot of clouds sit with you for a moment. Isn’t that beautiful? Breathe it in.

6 You covered it with the watery deep like a piece of clothing;
    the waters were higher than the mountains!
7 But at your rebuke they ran away;
    they fled in fear at the sound of your thunder.
8 They flowed over the mountains,
    streaming down the valleys
    to the place you established for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross
    so they’ll never again cover the earth.

This is where I find comfort. God set a boundary for the waters that they cannot cross, so they’ll never again cover the earth. Even when the worst storm is raging, God is still in control. Even when the winds of change are assaulting us and the waters of despair are rising, God is still in control. Even when the husband leaves, the baby gets sick, the business fails, the job is lost, the parent dies … even then, God is still in control.

I hope this brings you comfort today. God has set a boundary around your life and has wrapped you in a robe of eternity. The resurrection guarantees that no storm can permanently harm you, even when you are in the midst of one and it feels like there is no way out.

There is. His name is Jesus.

Stormy Weather by Michelle Robertson

Creeping Things

Posted on by Betsy

You might imagine that with a website called At Water’s Edge, I love anything that has to do with water. When we purchased our house on a small island on the Outer Banks I was immediately attracted to the listing description that boasted “water views from every room.” I had a hard time imagining this!!!!!! But on the point of land where I live, surrounded by canals on two sides and a harbor at the front, it turned out to be true. Water, water everywhere! There is something quite calming and peaceful about water. Unless it’s hurricane season. Or Nor’easter season. Or January.

Our beautiful Psalm today takes place at the water’s edge. The psalmist calls us “yonder to the sea,” and contemplates the innumerable creeping things that reside there. I find it more peaceful to NOT contemplate the innumerable creepy things that are in the water with me, but to each his own.

Psalm 104 (New Revised Standard Version)

24O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.

The reference to ships in the next section is so ancient and yet modern at the same time. Those who live on the coast know that ships are always present in our communities. Indeed, the Outer Banks is a community full of boats and ships. Many people here make their living on the sea.

26There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

27These all look to you to give them their food in due season;

28when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

The psalmist correctly points out that the inhabitants of the water depend on God for their sustenance. Without God, all of creation would simply return to dust.

29When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

30When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

From the sea we now turn our attention to the land and the mountains, which also rely on God’s goodness.

31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—

32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

May the meditation of our hearts and the rejoicing from our lips be pleasing to the God on high today! Let us praise the Lord.

Yonder is the Sea by Michelle Robertson

Slaying the Leviathan

Posted on by Betsy

I have been fascinated by the word Leviathan ever since I was a child in Sunday School and heard it for the first time. According to Merriam-Webster, a Leviathan is defined as a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptures; a large sea animal; a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy; or something large and formidable.

Formidable, like a two-year-old having a tantrum. Or a pandemic. Or a terminal diagnosis. Or an angry church member.

I was surprised to see the way Leviathan is used in this Psalm. Here we see a playful image of a sea creature splashing around and romping among the ships. What a delightful picture!

Psalm 104 (Common English Bible)

Lord, you have done so many things!
    You made them all so wisely!
The earth is full of your creations!
25 And then there’s the sea, wide and deep,
    with its countless creatures—
    living things both small and large.
26 There go the ships on it,
    and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it!

I love this twist of meaning. It serves to remind us today that no matter what large and formidable thing is confronting us, it is all under God’s command, and he can turn something threatening into something placid in an instant. Indeed, everything and everyone waits for God for sustenance, fulfillment, and even life itself.

27 All your creations wait for you
    to give them their food on time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!
29 But when you hide your face, they are terrified;
    when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to dust.
30 When you let loose your breath, they are created,
    and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.

Did you need to be reminded today that God is in control of his creation, even when everything you see seems to be saying otherwise? I did. Viruses, riots, protests, fear, violence, hatred, judgment, slander…all of it falls under his power and purview. Yes, it seems large and formidable to us. But God touches the mountains and they smoke.

31 Let the Lord’s glory last forever!
    Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
    God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.

So let us sing to the Lord and be pleasing to him, and him alone. And may he slay the Leviathan in your life, whatever that may be. Rejoice in the Lord, always.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
34 Let my praise be pleasing to him;
    I’m rejoicing in the Lord!

Spouting Leviathan by Karen McCauley