September 4 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 143–145; 1 Corinthians 14:21–40

The Wonders of Creation

You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. Psalm 36:6

READ Psalm 36:5–12

Having finished hosting a meeting at the vicarage, I was contemplating leaving the comfort of my sofa and heading up to bed. Out of the corner of my eye I spied something move. I hope that’s not what I think it is, I thought. My heart sank when I realised that it was, indeed, a dreaded mouse.

The next morning I smiled wryly when I read a social-media post from a friend who wanted to share this wonderful truth: “Your tender care and kindness leave no one forgotten, not a man or even a mouse” (Psalm 36:6, TPT). Even, I wondered, that mouse running around the vicarage?

David may have written this song of love for God from a high place as he looked out at the horizon: “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5). Probably he wasn’t thinking of God’s lovingkindness for even lowly creatures such as mice, but he was exalting God for preserving “both people and animals” (v. 6). Indeed, he continued, because of God’s great love, we can take refuge in the shadow of His wings (v. 7) and find in Him the fountain of life ( v. 9).

We can join David in worshipping God for the wonders of His creation, from the breath-taking views on top of a mountain to the lowly creatures we might find in unexpected places. He is most worthy of our praise!

By Amy Boucher Pye

How does praising God for His creation change the way you view the earth and all that is in it? What could you do today to care for part of God’s creation?

Creator God, thank You for making the world in all of its beauty. Open my eyes to see the wonders You have made.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Psalm 36 is found in Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41), which, along with Book Two (Psalms 42–72), features the majority of David’s biblical psalms. Many of his songs in this portion of the Psalter are laments, cries for God’s mercy and help in the dark and difficult seasons of life. In Psalm 36 , however, the poem’s tone is very different. Here, David saw those who were living apart from God as individuals marked by an absence of the fear of God (vv. 1–4), and their example prompted David to pray for God’s continued lovingkindness to him and those who sought to live in right relationship with Him (vv. 5–10). The singer then concludes with a plea to God to protect him from the dangers of his own pride and the influence of those who’d turned from Him (vv. 11–12).