(Psalm 104:1-35)
1 Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks on the wings of the wind;
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.
5 He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your rebuke,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9 You set a boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every animal of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky dwell beside them;
They lift up their voices from among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of mankind,
So that they may produce food from the earth,
15 And wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And food, which sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the juniper trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the rock hyrax.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the animals of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their dens.
23 A person goes out to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The ships move along there,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.
27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are terrified;
You take away their breath, they perish
And return to their dust.
30 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 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He 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 my being.
34 May my praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be removed from the earth
And may the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
Praise the Lord!
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks on the wings of the wind;
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.
5 He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your rebuke,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9 You set a boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every animal of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky dwell beside them;
They lift up their voices from among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of mankind,
So that they may produce food from the earth,
15 And wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And food, which sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the juniper trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the rock hyrax.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the animals of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their dens.
23 A person goes out to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The ships move along there,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.
27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are terrified;
You take away their breath, they perish
And return to their dust.
30 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 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He 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 my being.
34 May my praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be removed from the earth
And may the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
Praise the Lord!
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
So many people around the world are frantic in their efforts to control the climate. Many are experiencing depression and anxiety because of their fear that some countries and governments and many other people are not listening or aren't doing enough. Don't get me wrong, in His word, God asks us to look after the environment and be good stewards of all that He has given us. But we, being human, can only do what we can do.
To keep the peace, let us not hate anyone over these things, and let us be careful about how we judge others, or how we decide to manage things at higher levels. For example, while going all EV might seem like a better plan, to hastily force everyone to comply - without having the necessary infrastructure in place - is not reasonable. Not everyone will be able to afford an all-electric vehicle (at least, not at this point). And, depending on logistics and/or requirements, it might not even be possible. As well, to hastily shut down all coal mining or oil production without having viable, alternative resources and sources of energy is also unreasonable. Just do an internet search for a complete list of all oil-byproduct items produced. We cannot do without oil and gas (at least, not at this point).
Individually, we can make better choices and efforts. Do we rely on "retail therapy" to make us happy? The more we consume, the more semi trucks we put on the road. Instead of having 2 to 4 cars per family, are we willing to have fewer cars? Do we car pool or try to do all our weekly errands within one trip? Are we willing to use public transit for the most part? How often do we fly somewhere? Are we willing to get rid of all our devices and the internet? Do people know how much power is required to run and support the internet and AI? Many people are opposed to nuclear energy, but this is the only plausible solution to sustain our ever-growing device-dependency (at least, at this point).
As for the polar icecaps that are melting... when the great flood happened, the firmament fell to the earth, exposing the north and south poles which created instant freezing over large portions of the earth. The ice began to melt, and it is still melting. God's word gives us His plans and prophecies, which lets us know what will happen and why. If we trust the Lord, then we do not have to worry or fear climate change. Even though we live in a fallen, broken and messed up world, we can pray and ask the Lord how to wisely manage our relationships and the environments around us, in His wisdom. And then, we can rest in Him, knowing that God's got this!
The omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent Lord has created all things, and He is sovereign overall. Everything that happens is because He has allowed it, or He has done it. As He takes care of nature, and His children, so will He take care of all sin. One day, He will judge and put away all evil and wickedness, and the earth will be fully replenished. After the Tribulation, everyone who has chosen to become believers, will join Jesus as He sets up His Millennial kingdom. Regarding believers of the past and right now, we will be spared the Tribulation (God's wrath to come).
The best and most important help for our planet is to look to God and embrace His love and salvation! For anyone repenting and putting their faith in Jesus Christ, He forgives all our sins, past, present and future. For all those who believe, it is pleasing to the Lord when we strive together in His will, strength and wisdom in all things. For all that the Lord has done, and is doing, and will do, we can bless, rejoice and praise the Lord! He will look after the planet and the climate! He will look after us, His children, and guide us in His truth and light! God, and God alone, deserves all the glory!
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