Thoughts for the Day

Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty. To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The glorious psalm is often sing at Harvest time, but it could be used at other times, perhaps after a drought or too much rain. God is our Creator, Redeemer, and our Provider, and at times of hardship we can make vows to God. We say "Help me, Lord, and I will .......!" and we make promises to Him. Sometimes though these desperate prayers get forgotten when life returns to normal. We should remember that our Baptism is also a vow to God - a vow that we need to fulfill regularly as the people of God.

Listen to the sound of the poetry:

• The roaring of the seas and its waves.
• The tumult of the peoples.
• The shout of the rising and setting sun.
• The singing of the valleys.

And look at the beautiful picture-images of the earth:

• God waters the furrows of the ploughed field with soft showers making them fertile and ready to receive the seed.
• God's harvest sees heavily ladened harvest wagons overflowing onto the tracks below.
• God's bounty extends to the hills that gird themselves with grass, herbs, and flowers after rain
• God's gifts to his people include meadows clothed with sheep and valleys decked with grain.

↠ God provides, but often we interfere! May we fervently ask God's help, and then act to make changes in our life to help sustain nature.

Heavenly Father,
as Creator, Saviour and Provider
of us and of our world,
we thank You for Your care.
Help us to play our part
in sustaining all creation,
and when we make mistakes
we ask Your forgiveness.
Teach us how to care for our world
and to put right what we have broken.
Amen.