James Mays, no not the top gear presenter, says ‘Contemporary
people have a variety of ways of viewing and speaking of the world and the
forms of life it sustains-scientific, economic, aesthetic, re-creational. This
Psalm (Psalm 104) offers the view and language that is appropriate for faith.”
It’s insistence that creation calls forth awe and wonder transcends the barrier
of time and is as relevant to moderns and post moderns today as it was for
those who heard it so long ago. Our understanding of how it all fits together
and works may be fuller and more mechanical, but I don’t know about you but it
simply increases the wow factor.
More than any other, Psalm 104, stimulates ecological
awareness, it paints the picture of our interdependence and how it all works.
That the world with all its bio- diversity, its life giving elements, all its
habitats and food is a gift of God’s creative power and a sign of his prevenient grace: that he cares
and provides for the whole of creation. Leslie Allen says “Divine activity
systematically integrates every aspect of life on this planet, including
trudging to work in the morning.’ In the psalm humans are not above creation,
but like all creation dependant on God for our life and sustenance, Allen
continues “human preoccupations are framed with an enormous landscape and seascape
designed by God”… and can I add for which he cares and in which he delights.
Historically the psalm was seen as a solo song of praise,
the worship leader would sing it, Which is why It starts with the personal
‘Praise the Lord O my Soul’ and the congregation would add the hallelujah or
Praise the Lord! that seems to sit out of place at the end of the psalm.
It is seen as an enthronement Psalm, possibly used at New
Year festivals, to acknowledge and reaffirm YHWH’s sovereignty over all the
earth, over all he had made. The opening verses are full of royal imagery, God
clothed in light, establishing his dwelling pitching his royal tent above the
heavens and that the elements are simply his household staff. Like a conquering
King he has vanquished his enemies and bought peace and order. For the people
of the ancient near east water was a sign of chaos, and in ancient near eastern
religions it was the battle between forces of chaos that resulted in the world
being created but the Psalmist acknowledges that this was not the case it was
God who created everything, who bought order. The psalm tells the story of how
God changed water from being a force of chaos to be a life giving source,
fulfilling his purposes for it. That like a benevolent ruler, God has provided
for all his subjects.
The psalm speaks of God’s provision shown in habitats being
created for different creatures. There was Land that can be used for human
purposes, crops and grazing, wine and oil. But also land that was for other
creatures to live in: The birds have trees in which to roost. The Hebrews were
essentially desert people and for them
trees planted by reliable sources of water were seen as a real blessing from
God. The high mountains were set aside for the mountain goats.
Even this wonderful furry little creature (see right) gets a
mention. The Hyrax, had crags in which to hide. The rock hyrax is a major
source of food for leopards in Africa and the black eagle, so for the ancient
Hebrew’s it was a sign of God’s care that they had shelter from the air.
The hyrax may look like a Guinea pig and you’d be forgiven to think of it as
member of the rodent family, however it is its own genus, and its closest
living relative is the… elephant. Maybe it’s the dim dark secret of the
elephant family, the cousin they never acknowledge, unless it’s to scrape them
off their hooves. The psalmist probably didn’t know the biological stuff about
the hyrax, but it is both a sign of the wonder of the diversity of creation and
God’ providence to see that this insignificant animal is acknowledged as being
gifted a place to live on God’s earth.
Our modern understanding of evolution would want to talk
about mutation and adaptation as to how the hyrax can flourish where it does. I’m
happy to see that as the mechanism by which God has provided for this creature.
This Psalm does not see God as an absentee landlord, or a designer who simply
started it all and walked away but actively involved in the care of his
creation.
Even time says the psalmist is a sign of God’s provision and
grace. In Hebrew thought the day started at dusk, and in verses 19-23 you get,
like time-lapse photography in words and phrases, a portrait of an average
twenty four hours: The sun setting at the time that has been appointed to
it…The forest and countryside becoming alive with creatures that roam and stalk
the night… In the darkness the lion roars, and in the psalmist understanding
this is not something to be feared but rather it is a prayer to God for its
food, its saying grace… giving thanks for its place in God’s created order and that
its an object of Gods care… The psalmist
says the night is thei
r time… In our house we have a saying, “that black cats (our
cat is black) rule the night, except if they sit in the shadows outside the
toilet door.” … The sun rises, again at its appointed times with the seasons,
and those animal give way to the day animals and the trudging labour of
humans. Primarily the Hebrew’s were
rural folk, attuned to the rhythm of creation, in that they saw God’s order and
room for all.
The sea, whose depth was impenetrable till last century, is
also viewed as God’s provision, and under God’s control. WE are still are
discovering new life forms in the waters but unlike the psalm are becoming
aware of the limits of life in the sea. It’s not beyond number. But again there
is a sense that there is a balance between human use, those who go out in
ships, and its enjoyment as a habitat for sea creatures. The word leviathan is
used to denote some sort of sea monster, in canaanite thought they were to be
feared, be it whales or crocodiles or something else, But in this psalm you get
the idea of animals playing and delighting in what God has made for them.
Then the Psalmist turns to talk of Gods provision of food and
that the rise and fall of generations is also part of God’s provision, of
refreshing the earth. If you’re a fan of Disney’s Lion King you may be familiar
with the song’ the circle of life and Mufasa trying to explain to the young
Kimba, that the antelope eat the grass and the lions eat the antelope, but when
the lions die they feed the grass. Again the Psalmist acknowledges this is part
of God’s providence and care.
The psalmist then gives praise to God for all his works.
Even the earthquake and volcano are seen as a manifestation of God’s power. The
wonder of what God has created, the abundance and balance of God’s provision
inspire the psalmist to praise and to give thanks. To lift up his voice and
join creation in singing Gods praise. Bio diversity and the habitat’s for
different animals and interdependence and the splendour of it all are to fill
us with awe and wonder. The secularist will say isn’t nature great, where as we
turn and acknowledge that God is good. In the genesis creation story when God says
that ‘it was good’ you get the idea of the creation showing the mastery of its
creator.
The palmist also responses by desiring that his meditation,
the way that he thinks and acts would be pleasing to God. Worship is not just
song and standing with one’s mouth open in gob smacked amazement, it calls us
to right thought and right action, it is life’s work. Ethics how we live is an
essential part of our worship. It is like that in terms of creation. The
psalmist may be way ahead of his time, he sees that human sin can impact and
unset that balance. That’s the call for all sinners to be removed from the
earth.
How does this psalm speak to us today…
Firstly, It calls us to live thankfully, to see it all as
gift. To see everything we have and use and consume as God’s providence; God’s
provision. To be treasured and used sparingly. Modern western society is built
on consuming and on a particular standard of living that is not sustainable
anymore. That has a negative impact on the balance in nature that was a
reflection of God’s creativity and goodness. To see it as gift, to live knowing
that God provides calls us to simplify our lives. It’s interesting that people often
point to the population explosion as to the main cause of pollution and animals
habitats disappearing into housing and food production. But when you have a
look at food consumption and consuming of energy resources, you see that it is
a few nations that consumer more than their population should. We live in one
of those nations.
It calls us to be part of an alternative vision for life. I
think it’s a vision that the church has often found its self on the wrong side
of. It’s a vision that calls us to see our fellow creatures as objects of God’s
grace and love, that their part in creation is a gift from God. I know a few
Christians who see their Sunday worship as going and being involved in
replanting some of our Hauraki Gulf Islands for example. It calls us to be at
the forefront of movements like the community garden movement. In Europe
monasteries, faith communities were the centre for learning about local food
production, reconnecting us with soil and place..
Secondly, I want to make one comment about how I feel this
psalm speaks to us. Because of the reference to the spirit giving life in verse
30 in the Christian church this psalm is often used at Pentecost. As I was
reflecting on this passage I had a conversation with Forbes Worn who works here
at the presbytery Office. Forbes told me to speak about spring. He’d been up to
Helensville and come down through the kumeu area and seen people whose fields
had been planted. Maybe strawberries, and other wonderful summer fruit. he said
That this, St Peter’s is a spring church, the winter is going and spring is
coming. I wanted to pass that on to you as encouragement, because I know many
of you have been toiling through what must feel like a long winter, and you
have been faithful and planted seeds, and the sovereign God who orders the
seasons is able to bring new life. We are a Spring Church AMEN.
LASTLY, I went to Pukematekeo, on Thursday evening, which is
the northern summit in the Waitakere rangers. I stood there for about forty
minutes. It put things into perspective. My soul again rejoiced, I caught a
glimpse of how awesome and big God is in his creation. The skyscraper canyons
look so small from up there. The sound of traffic was drowned out by wind
sweeping across the bush and the sound of birds, there was the smell of native
clematis (I think) in the air. It was afternoon so the green carpet of the
rangers was lined by the silver gleam of the Tasman Sea. And I caught something of the awe and wonder
of what the psalm 104 says. It invoked a hallelujah. But also I became aware of
just how much impact humans have had. While the bush is tall and full, I know
that the big trees are not there, they’ve been felled. The streams that flow to
the coast are in places choked with the remains of logs that had been flooded
out to the beach as the first step on their journey to the mills. The calm blue
jewel like lake in the bush was behind a damn, and the water fall was the run
off down its face. I got home and a
friend had posted on facebook an article about floating masses of litter in the
pacific and that sullied my view of the pristine nature of the ocean. Along
with Psalm 104 I couldn’t help but think of Paul in Romans talking of creation
groaning as if in pain. I realised that we live in the tension between the
wonder and awe of psalm 104 and the challenge of Romans. And there we need the
grace, provision and renewal of God’ spirit in Christ.
Thank you for explaining clearly. sermon transcription
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