Monday 16th January
Read Psalm 104:14-23
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate –
bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labour until evening.” (NIVUK)
This amazing psalm gets to the heart of creation in a novel and poetically brilliant manner. The psalmist deviates from the order of Genesis 1 and, at the heart of the poem, places mankind in the centre. This central passage begins and ends with ‘mankind’, (translated ‘people’ here). The contrast he draws between the animals and humanity is important. Throughout the psalm, the animals are provided for, both home (trees, nests, mountains, crags and dens) and meals (darkness and prey – they ‘seek their food from God’ (v21b)).
Humanity however, though also provided for (plants and light, sun and moon) are different from the animals. They share in the image of God and this is reflected at the beginning and end of the two stanzas. They are active in providing for themselves. Wine, oil and bread are processed foods (from grape, olive and wheat respectively) and the people go out and work and labour whilst it is light in order to create them. They make food for themselves with the provisions supplied by God. In that way we are similar to God, the maker of heaven and earth. We share in that character trait.
Archaeology supports this view – the key thing that the ancient record tells us is that very early humanity was making tools and producing novel and life-sustaining products to survive. They were crafting the landscape to meet their needs. Just as their maker crafted heaven and earth to provide for them. We are truly at the centre of God’s purposes in creation. Just as Psalm 8 affirms.
