Psalm | Psalm 104:24-35 (with Tom Gastil)

Opening Song:
Rejoice in All Your Works (Psalm 104) by Wendell Kimbrough

Lyrics:
Every mouth that cries for food
Every lung that yearns for breath
Every eye that searches through the dark for light
All creation looks to You
For its breath and for its food
From the goodness of Your hand we're satisfied

Oh rejoice in all Your works
King of heaven King of earth
Every creature You have made declares Your praise
We rejoice in all You've made
God of all-sustaining grace
With the mountain sky and sea we sing Your praise

Every tree that thirsts for rain
Every bird that seeks its nest
Every heart that waits in hope to be made glad
All creation looks to You
For its breath and for its food
From the goodness of Your hand we're satisfied

May the pond'rings of my heart
And the song upon my lips
With the chorus of creation join in praise
To the God who made all things
To the Spirit who sustains
To the Son who over all creation reigns

Passage:
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.[a]

27 These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it 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,[b] 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!

Ps 104:24-35

Musical Reflection:
“Air on the G String” from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major by J.S. Bach

Reflection Notes:
The slow, descending bass line creates musical “steps” in an elegant fashion while a suspended melody several octaves above creates a satisfying combination of sound registers.

Prayer:
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.