Dave's Diary

Daily Reading: Psalm 104

“¹ Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendour and majesty.”

As we read Psalm 104, we should bear in mind that psalms are poetry. They are not history, books of law, scientific theories, letters or Gospels. The psalmist is expressing deep truth in poetic imagery. In this particular instance, Psalm 104 invites us to see that all the majesty and splendour of creation is a cloak, clothing the magnificence and greatness of God.

We’re invited to see that light is not just light, but a garment for the presence of God. Is it light as you read this? And I don’t only mean the light of the sun, I mean any light at all. If there is light present, even the faintest glimmer, Psalm 104 says it’s a reminder that God is present. It is as a garment to Him. And clouds are not just collections of water vapour, wind is not merely air on the move, and lightning is not simply a great transfer of energy. All are signs and reminders of God’s presence and power. In the “Windy City” of Gqeberha, where I live, the virtually constant movement of air should be welcomed as a reminder of the constant presence and work of God.

As Psalm 104 unfolds, we discover that everything observable in the natural world is somehow a sign and a reminder of God’s presence, power, and providence. Science correctly observes that water flows because of gravity. But behind gravity is the decree of God’s creative will. The same is true of the instincts that drive animal behaviour, the cycle that drives the provision of rain, the photosynthesis that drives the life of plants, the rotation and orbiting of the earth that drive the perceived movement of the sun around the earth and the waxing and waning of the moon. The list goes on and on. Everything observable in the natural world is somehow a sign and a reminder of God’s presence, power, and providence.

Nature is not God and God is not nature, but all of nature is a revelation of the glory and magnificence of its Creator!

And how should we respond? It’s simple really. Praise! As v.33 says:

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”