"God's Grace in Nature" By Rev. Neal Neuenschwander Grace Presbyterian Church January 21, 2018 More than any other psalm in Scripture, this morning s text is filled with images beautiful images from the natural world around us. Thus, we re going to pause a bit today between each verse that is read to enjoy the scene that it describes. SCRIPTURE Psalm 104:1-30 (Pastor s Translation) 1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. This poem starts in a sort of reverie, thinking of God's great work in nature. But there is also a pedagogical purpose--teaching us to do what Christ commanded: notice, look, see. That's why it shifts to third person now. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. Even fire has its place in nature 5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. Winds may sweep across it, and fire may singe its face, nonetheless, the earth stays firm--much like this rocky cliff that you can see. Something about that solidity amidst a world of chaotic change moves the poet back to reverie. Pedagogy is over, and prayer begins again--talking directly to our lord and God 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. The mountains in this picture lie beneath the Atlantic Ocean. There's a similar range of mountains in the Pacific. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; The sound of thunder is always arresting--and lighting is impressive, too
8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. The poet clearly knew all about Noah and the ark. But he wasn't sure that we knew all about the natural world all around us. He wasn't sure that we noticed that way that God provides. So, he takes some time to show us in the next verses that we will read. 10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; they flow between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. Notice all the ways our God provides not just for animals but for us-- especially those of us in wine country! There's food--all kinds of food--for beasts and birds and flocks and us. That, in itself, is great. But each animal also needs shelter if that species is to survive. That's why shelter is the focus of the next verses we shall read. 16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. Those cedars were rather legendary in the ancient world. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; This picture reminds me of the Sawtooth range in Idaho. Those high mountains are just teeming with wild goats. the crags are a refuge for the Coney s. Coneys are little mammals like that who need crags in which to hide. But so does every creature that our God has made. We need geographic separation from those who can do us harm and temporal separation too. That's what this next section is about. 19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. Thanks to the fall of night, even the mountains in Southern California can hold a few cats like that.
21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. 23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. Notice that we are creatures, too, protected by God's division of day and night, hill and plain, land and sea--we have our safe place, too. We can visit outside our habitat, as this psalmist did, but the purpose of his visit was not to displace the other creatures--his purpose was to appreciate all our God has made. 24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Like these angelfish 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. We can't be completely sure, but the word leviathan probably referred to some sort of ancient whale
27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. I love the gentleness in that picture 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. I love the joy in that shot as well. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. That's part of life as well. Death is as natural as the dawn. But it's not the final word in Scripture, in nature, and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the psalmist knew that. For him, as for us, death is just a pause in the majestic song of life. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. This the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Thus ends this mornings from a truly gorgeous poem. But what do we do with it? Having contemplated all God works in land and sea and sky. Having thought about God's provision of water, food, and shelter, what lessons can we apply to our world today? 6 lessons are quite central, I believe. 1. Biblically speaking, we are just a part-a small part--of the world that God has made. We have the privilege of beholding its majesty and wonder, but we do not have the privilege to destroy it... 2. We have a distinctive role to play in God s world: to keep it and to till it (Gen 2:15). From the very beginning of time, we were one part of creation but we were given a very distinctive role within it. Balance must be kept.... 3. One way to keep that balance is to preserve places where human beings do not permanently reside. Places like Yosemite National Park....
4. Another step is changing habits that are destructive How many of you know what that is? (a fish wheel). That single device almost made two species of Pacific Salmon go extinct 100 years ago. How many of you know what that is? Aquanet hair spray. It was like super glue! Even if you were standing in a tornado, your hair wouldn t move an inch! My mom used that stuff all the time. But, during the 1970s, we learned that the fluorocarbons in that product were puncturing a hole in the Ozone layer. That s a key part of our atmosphere that keeps us from getting fried by the sun. So, we banned it. Every nation on this planet banned it. If you still use that product, it s not the same as it was in 1970. 5. Another step is to make places for those who must foul our environment just to survive. Do you know what that is? It s group of Slash and burn farmers who are gradually taking down the rain forest in Central America. They don t have anything against the rain forest. But they need a place to grow food in order to survive. That creates an enormous problem both for them and us!
Do you know what that is? That s a homeless encampment just outside the city where we live. If it gets cold enough, the people who live there will build a fire to stay warm on these winter nights. If a great big wind blows up while that fire is burning, this camp becomes a danger to us all. That s why it s in your interest and my interest to provide safe shelter for these people. It s in your interest and my interest to provide housing for us all. Given the cost of living here, this is not an easy problem to solve, but it is soluble if enough folks like you and me get involved. That s one reason I m going (with several of you, I think) to city hall tomorrow night. We need a humane solution to this problem. 6. There are also some simple things that we can do to make this world a better place What's that one? (Picking up trash) What's that one? Reuse that grocery bag....
What s that one? Lowering the thermostat (to reduce our use of fossil fuels) What's that one? (Reducing our use of water) You know the drill. What you may not have known before now is that this isn t just a matter of selfinterest. It s a matter of stewardship. It s a matter of reverence. It s a matter of respect for God s world. Why do this? It s not our planet to use up or destroy. It s God s planet. And God asked us to keep it well. With that thought in mind, let us pray. Gracious and Holy God, thank you for this planet and for every single creature you have made. Thank you for the duty you gave us to keep it and to till it. Thank you for this morning s psalm that reminds us what a privilege this duty really is. And thank you for the progress we ve made along the way. In your mercy and your grace, help us be good stewards for all that you have made, and help find a place for every creature on this planet including those human beings who are displaced--for we ask it in our savior s precious name. Amen.