Sunday of Creation (Ps) September 4th

Psalm 104:16-35
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;
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.
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, 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!
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ps 104:16-35). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Praise be to God our Creator. He is the Creator of all things. He is the one who sent the four rivers to water the trees of the Earth. He is the one who created all the things that creep upon the earth. He is the one who created the Leviathan to play in the seas. To him be all praise and glory forever and ever.

But the psalmist addresses the difference between the works of men and the works of God. God created the sun and the seasons. Man only works during the day. God provides food for all the beasts as well as men. Men are sinners and wicked. Men deserve to find their hands empty and fall dead.

God in his great mercy should be blessed. Man should meditate on God's Word day and night. Man's wickedness should be judged. All of them should be wiped from the face of the ground. But God sends forth his Spirit to renew life. "When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground." Therefore, "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being."

God is the one who kills and makes alive. Christ is the one who died for the wickedness of men. He has provided atonement for the wickedness of the earth and so when he returns will restore Creation.