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Hallelujah! O My Soul!
Psalm 104:24-35
Andy Nagahara
A. Human conscience and morals cannot save
1. Both us and the leviathan (24-26)
24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number– living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
2. God gives and God takes away (27-30)
27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
B. Rejoice in the LORD
1. Rejoice with the LORD and sing (31-33)
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works–
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
2. The goal for those who follow the LORD (34-35)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.
Summary
Just as we take air and water for granted, so do we take God’s blessings for granted, choosing instead to focus on the difficulties of our lives. Our hearts grow heavy as God’s voice is drowned out by the other noise around us. Yet, no one can take away God’s sovereignty over the world. Let us rejoice that we can walk with God for eternity and say to each other and to ourselves when the need arises: Hallelujah (Praise the LORD)!
For Discussion
- What is a wonderful aspect of creation you’ve experienced recently?
- What does it mean to “rejoice in the LORD”?