May 19, 2002—The Day of Pentecost
Psalm 104:25-35, 37.
Color: Red
Title: “A Psalm of symmetry, ecological balance and majesty of creation.”
This is an individual Hymn of Praise, offered in the course of Temple worship, probably at the Autumnal harvest festival, given its theme of creation. It comprises “reflections,” upon Yahweh’s mighty power and loving care. It is a poem celebrating the order, symmetry, ecological balance and majesty of creation.
This psalm has much in common with the first account of creation in Genesis 1-2:4a with its “seven day,” structure. Compare the first day, the creation of light, with verses one and two (a); the second day, the creation of the firmament, with verses two(b) to verse four; the third day, the separation of heaven and earth, with verses five to nine; the fourth day, the creation of sun, moon and stars, with verses nineteen to twenty; the fifth day, the creation of fish, with verses twenty-five to twenty-six; and the sixth day, the creation of animals and humans, with verses twenty-one to twenty-three and verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight. Compare the seventh day, the day of rest, with verses thirty-one to thirty-five. The psalmist did not copy from Genesis or have a copy of it in front of him. In fact, his reflections are much more profound and poetic, reflecting not the facts of what God made in the past, but how he continues to act in the present. Psalm 104 stresses and addresses God the Creator more than creation itself, his compassion more than his omnipotence.
The Jewish people sung this psalm on Yom Kippur as they began a new year in repentance for past sins. The Church sings it on Pentecost, as she begins a new year, celebrating the forgiveness of sins.
Text
THE CREATION OF THE HEAVENS
Verses one to four 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
The psalmist expresses his wonder and awe at the greatness of the God he worships. He paints a picture of Yahweh, clothed in the royal finery of his creation-light, clouds, wind, fire, creating the heavens like a tent covering the earth. In verse three, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,you make the clouds your chariot,you ride on the wings of the wind,
The Hebrews pictured the world as a three-storied house. The first floor was the earth, surrounded by water; the second floor, the heavens, a firmament keeping the waters above it in check; and the third floor, more water. God lived above that, in his palace, and Sheol, the abode of the dead, was in the basement.
THE CREATION OF THE EARTH
The creation of the earth is seen in terms of the ancient myth of the battle between order and chaos, good and evil. The primeval waters, chaos, are commanded by the “roar,” thunder, of Yahweh to retreat to their assigned boundaries, thus enabling the dry land, based on foundations sunk into the cosmic sea, to subsist. Earth is surrounded by water, the potential enemy of terrestrial life, on all sides, above and below. Yahweh harnesses these powers, once only destructive, for his own purposes, enabling them to be a means of life and sustenance. Instead of overwhelming the earth, they are now made to serve the creatures of God.
THE CREATION OF LIVING BEINGS in verses ten to eighteen.
Yahweh, having conquered the deadly water-chaos and turned it into fountains of life that refresh the animals of the field and birds of the air, has graciously arranged it that this water produces growth of trees and plants. The plants provide food for living beings, animal and human. He did not just create them; he sustains them in being and life by nourishment and breath.
In verse fifteen, wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
Oil, but one of God’s many wise gifts, is used for a variety of purposes. It could be applied for the skin’s protection, or for healing. It could be used in sacrifices, in anointing, as a sign of gladness, as fuel for lamps, and for cooking. Along with grain bread and grapes wine, oil was considered one of the staples of life.
In verse eighteen, high mountain…wild goats: God has found a use for even the most inaccessible places, useless to humans, but a home for wild animals. In God’s creation there is a purpose and a place for everything and everyone.
THE CREATION OF TIMES AND SEASONS Verses nineteen to twenty-three.
The sun, moon, stars, day and night are under Yahweh’s administrative governance. Humans and animals must observe the sun clock and moon calendar in living their lives. At dawn the night-prowling animals return to their dens and humans begin their work, both species sharing the divinely programmed cycle of activity. In Hebraic thought night was not merely the absence of day but an independent entity according to Genesis 1:4.
IN PRAISE OF GOD’S WISDOM AND CREATION’S VARIETY Verses twenty-four to twenty-six.
The sea, teeming with life, with all kinds of creatures great and small, with ships of all stripes, provides an example of the variety of God’s works and the ecological interdependence of all life upon other forms of life. Even the sea, traditional source and object of dread, with all its contents is subject to Yahweh’s dominion and bears witness to his wisdom.
Leviathan: A.k.a Rahab, this sea monster, this dragon, this symbol of chaos to humans is a mere plaything of God, like a frisky puppy before its master.
IN PRAISE OF GOD’S POWER AND CONSTANT RECREATING Verses twenty-seven to thirty.
Whatever lives does so because God grants it life and breath. If God turns away, hides his face, the symbol of his kindly presence, life leaves the living and the being returns to dust, deprived of the “breath” of Life of God.
When you send forth your breath they are created: Ruah breath, wind, spirit, describes God’s creative power, including the principle of physical life. Here it refers not to a single act of creation as in Genesis, a past event, but to Yahweh’s continued activity in the present. He creates, but he also sustains and promotes life, re-creates if you will.
You renew the face of the earth: Each generation is proof of a renewal of Yahweh’s creative activity, replenishing human and animal stock. The “face,” the look of the earth is constantly changing, yet it is the same Yahweh who creates again and again. This rhythm is apparent in the field, among the livestock, in the human family.
IN PRAISE OF GOD’S MAJESTY Verses thirty-one to thirty-five.
With a single look Yahweh can reduce the created world to trembling earthquake and with a single touch he can cause mountains to break out in smoke -volcano. Sinners, those who turn from Yahweh, disrupt the harmony God has put in creation. Turning from the source of breath and life they return to dust. Yet, even then, God raises that dust again and breathes life into it. God’s spirit is a cleansing force. As God did not destroy chaos but tamed it for his service, so he will re-create the sinner to serve him in harmony with the world’s order. So the psalmist prays that the flaws which humans introduce into the perfect plan of creation by their sins may be removed.
The psalmist closes with a lifelong vow to praise God. He offers his mediations as a sacrifice and an implicit aid to the worshiping congregation, which the appended Alleluia in verse thirty-five makes it explicit.
In verse thirty-one, O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
This calls to mind Genesis 1:31, “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.” It expresses the hope that all God’s creatures continue to be what he meant them to be.
Sermon
This psalm has been called the “pearl of the Psalter” and its author the “Wordsworth of the Ancients.” It would surely hold its own beside any of our American and English Romantic Poetry. It is poetry, but much more than that. It is direct praise of the Lord. He is not a one time, long-ago creator who has long since left his creation to its own devices and designs. He is involved in everything. Nothing can even breathe without his cooperation and consent.
Any reflection on creation, no matter how brief and sketchy, cannot but leave the reflector in awe, even a non-believer. There is just no denying that we live on a planet of inexpressible beauty and endless variety. How account for it all? Some will give an explanation, as though they really knew, other will just stand in awe, and others will proffer an explanation and still stand in awe. Any reflection on creation is breath taking.
And there is the irony! The “breath-giver,” God, not only creator but also sustainer, takes our breath away, so to speak, when we think of him, especially as creator of this and every other universe. The one who caused all this and who keeps it all in existence is content to let us describe his awesome power by the word ruah in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. Both words have the same meaning and semantic range. They both mean “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” This little word describes the majesty of God! It is the word Christ used to describe his sending of himself in non-incarnate, yet powerful, form at Pentecost.
The one negative note in this delightfully magnificent psalm is in the last verse when the psalmist refers to “sinners’ and the “wicked.” What irony! The crown of God’s creation, humanity, is the only part of it which, can mar its beauty and thwart its purpose, the praise of God. Yet, at Pentecost the Church received power over sin, power to forgive it, power to go around it, power to conquer it. This one flaw in the pattern needs to be corrected if the glory of God is to be complete. And how beautifully the psalmist puts it! Should the sinner be reduced to ashes, God will use those very ashes to re-create the sinner, breathe new life into the sinner, renew the sinner. There is more than just one act of creation, God continually re-creates. There is more than one Pentecost. Like creation Pentecost is a process which began with an historical event but it has not ended.
There are two senses to our word “recreate,” both are touched upon in this poem. There is “to create anew.” God is always doing that. Then, there is “to play.” And God is always doing that. In twenty-six we read that God delights in the grotesque leviathan’s play. In Wisdom literature we read that Wisdom was present at creation and “played” at God’s side. Recreation, vacation is really re-creation, play, fun, vacation, rest are all the serious business o f heaven. As we laugh at animals at play we should realize that God is laughing at us as well, the gentle playful laugh of sheer delight in our presence. Underneath and presuming as a backdrop all the poet’s reflections on the beauty of creation and the grandeur of God is the sense of humor necessary to appreciate it all. Beauty, true beauty cannot really be appreciated without a sense of humor, a sense of perspective. Beauty, at least its appreciation, is always a comparative matter, never fully objective. If we have not taken the time, as did this psalmist, to reflect on the beauty and grandeur of God’s creation, perhaps we are also not taking the time to laugh, especially at ourselves, as we see ourselves as this grotesque leviathan delighting God by our antics. Amen.
