The Power of Seeking - February 23, 2020

Psalm 104: 33-34 This is a psalm of praise. Lynn read 2 verses of 35 because to really read this psalm, you have to imagine it, you have to visualize with the psalmist. It’s full of awe and wonder, appreciation and praise. But sometimes when we approach the scriptures, we hear it like the teacher in Charlie Brown (Wah, wah, wah), or the teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day off: (monotone) “Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord, you are very great.

But to appreciate the perspective, to be drawn into praise and worship with the author, we have to transport ourselves and look at creation. So I’m going to read it in full, but with images on the screen to help us see and

feel the power of the words.

Psalm 104 (NRSV)
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[a] chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your[b] chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your[c] messengers,
fire and flame your[d] ministers.
5 You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
11 giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By the streams[e] the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,[f]
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
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 its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
19 You have 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 animals of the forest come creeping out.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give 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,[g] 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!

 

In some ways, we could look at these and just see pictures. But there’s so much more here. There’s beauty and awe and wonder. There are the marvels of creation..big and small…earth and water, animals and insects, babies and adults…all at the hand of the creator.

We are invited to see God as an artist, and an inventor, one who sculpts and shapes, one who plants and harvests and provides. And if we can marvel at that, then we can marvel at God. A God who loves color and pays attention to detail. A God who has infinite imagination. And we can praise God.

Each time we read the scriptures we are invited to step into the story. To find ourselves there, looking around, smelling, touching, tasting, and experiencing what the people we read about experienced. We are invited to find our story in theirs and theirs in ours. And the discipline of meditation helps us do that. It invites us into the beauty of creation if we want to be out and about in it—at the beach or in the forest, or simply walking down the street. It also invites us to imagine the beauty the authors saw and experienced and to join our story with theirs.
This week you are invited to try the practice of meditation. It’s not the quiet listening of contemplative prayer. It’s an intentional engagement with the scriptures and other sacred texts—scriptures, prayers, and creeds. Much like we did this morning, meditation invites us to slow down and savor the scriptures. Take time to enter into the story. Study the details. Take a deep breath. Look at the people. Walk around the cities. Imagine the places. It might be visual, or auditory, it might require your sense of taste or smell. It’s a sort of full-body experience and it can be glorious.
Obviously, some sacred texts lend themselves to this better than others. The Psalms, the Gospels, the letters, Genesis, Esther, Ruth… there are many to choose from. So, dive in, find yourself there…looking at what God has done, wondering at where God is in the story, connecting with the people named in these pages.