A Psalm of Water for Thanksgiving

This week-end I will be in New England to celebrate an early Christmas with my three children and six grand-children.

We will have turkey and potatoes and an abundance of food – and, no doubt, a glass of wine to mark the occasion. And we will pause before we eat to do something very important.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Tomorrow is All Saints Day, when the church remembers and pays tribute to its spiritual ancestors.

In Hebrews 12 they are called “a cloud of witnesses”, a great throng that grows larger every day and that provides huge motivation for us who are still alive and struggling to finish our race.

Hallowe’en is the secular precursor where kids dress up to impersonate (or scare off) the ghosts of the departed - or simply to play make-believe for a night.

Unruly Child

Imagine a womb large enough to hold the oceans of the world until it was time for them 'to burst forth from the womb'!  That is the bizarre but graphic image God uses in The Book of Job in speaking of the birth of creation.

Then, expanding on the birth metaphor, God describes wrapping the new-born Sea-child as a mother swaddles an infant: 'I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness.' 

Imagine thick ocean fog - Who can see through it? Who can see beyond the horizon or penetrate the silence of all that lies in the deep darkness of the sea? What a rich metaphor for the mystery of the oceans, their vast distances, beyond our sight and knowledge!

Listen Up!

If only Peter could capture the magic of this moment. Jesus had brought them up on this mountain to give them new perspective – and what a sight opened up in front of them!

Peter had often seen Jesus deep in prayer, but this time, without explanation, Jesus’ appearance began glistening with sunlight. Lightning lingered about his face, searing light. Ancient history came to life before their eyes as Moses and Elijah emerged out of thin air and joined the conversation.

Unaccustomed to paranormal things, Peter quivered with perplexity and dismay. He always felt more comfortable when he was at the center of things and influencing outcomes. Instinctively he grasped for something he could do or some way he could contribute to the discussion. His mind engineered tents of hospitality and he proposed his plan.

Ocean Vents

Solomon was an astute observer of nature. In his Song of Wisdom in Proverbs 8 he celebrates the intelligent design he sees in the very fabric of our complex world.

He particularly singles out the wonders of water – and how consistently it functions.

► Oceans are enormous but measurable and well-regulated. Despite tidal variations and gale-force winds, gravity holds the sea in place.

► Above us, clouds, which are the epitome of freedom in motion, are nevertheless ‘established’.

► Below us, the 'fountains of the deep' are 'securely fixed'. This doesn’t mean that geological fissures never shift, but that laws of hydrology are constant and reliable. Aquifers store water and release their stores to the world above in ways that well-drillers can rely on.

If it weren't for the Sky . . .

Day two and three of the Great Creation Story witness two stunning wonder-of-water events – the emergence of the atmosphere and the separation of dry land from surrounding oceans.

Two crucial environmental events that define the Earth as we know it! Today we’ll consider the first – and in the next post, the second.

The troposphere – what we commonly call Sky, but including the air around us – is a fragile and invisible membrane between us and the cold dark. A mere 15 kilometers of space between sea-level and the highest clouds holds most of our air. It’s where most of our weather happens.

Even the 50 kilometers out to the ozone layer is proportionately thinner than the skin of an apple, but it is a complex and highly functional domain.

A Fruitful Vine Climbing over a Wall

The dying old man whispered his words blessing upon each of his sons. At last he came to Joseph – the one who had made the whole family proud.

Joseph will be a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.”
See Genesis 49:22-26 for the full text of this blessing

Joseph’s great mission in life had been the preserving of life, but it had not been an easy mission. God had preserved him from a dry cistern in the desert, from the schemes of treacherous brothers and slave-traders, from dark forgotten dungeons of Egypt. Joseph came into fame, fortune and economic power, but used these not for private advantage, but to be the saviour of his generation.

Tipping Point

Hurricane Igor slammed into Newfoundland this week with ferocious winds and rain.

They saw it coming but were powerless to stop it or steer it out to sea.

An 80 year old man was swept away in the flood along with bridges, roads and homes.

We wonder. . . and we ask Why?

Job and his friends wore themselves out pondering the 'Why?' question. Sometimes our best explanations don’t fit.
Eventually God steps into their conversation and asks more questions:

Clouds

It’s overcast and rainy today; the sky is gray.

But last week under a clear sky and the setting sun, I watched magnificent clouds for half an hour. They curled and curved under the flow of wind and shifted through red, violet and purple shades.

Nature’s poetry in motion.

I remember last year flying through a lightening storm over the Appalachians, as electricity forked from one cloud to another, lighting up the sky in an exhilarating display of power and surprise.

Into Thin Air

NOTE - This particular post by far the most popular entry for 2010 on this Wonder of Water blog. I'd love to know why. Please add your thoughts below.

It happens in coffee shops day and night around the world . . . 

It wafts from the breath of every person on the planet . . .    

Mist rises from golf courses and wetlands ... Steam soars from industry stacks and tree-tops ... 

Water evaporates from the Bay of Bengal and transpires from plants.

Evapo-transpiration feeds the hydrologic cycle – that process that circulates water, purges the air and nourishes life on earth.

“What a Wonderful World!”

Centuries before Louis Armstrong painted “skies of blue and clouds of white” with his gravelly voice, artists and poets, children, lovers and scientists have stood speechless at the beauty of our elegant world.

Psalm 104 is a majestic ancient song, a melodic re-telling of the Genesis creation story. (For the text, see "Today's Water Word" sidebar.) This psalm describes God as Earth-maker, robed in sunlight, setting up tent in the blue sky with clouds-chariots and wind-couriers at the ready. Ocean depths below reflect the grandeur of Sky above. The physical world mirrors the glory of its Creator.

God wraps the planet with an ocean robe, the way a mother enfolds a newborn. Then as Earth emerges from infancy, vibrant mountain springs spill out of the ground and course down through streams and rivers, lakes and wetlands. The song describes animals of every kind nesting by these waters and bird-songs whistling from the trees. It sings about forests, grain-fields and vineyards nourished and nourishing because of the rains that fall from the sky.

Psalm 104 celebrates the beauty and fruitfulness of the earth, and attributes it all to God. It prays that this glory will endure for all time and that God will find as much pleasure and joy in it as we do –

The glory of GOD—let it last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation!
(v.31 The Message)

Wonder . . . Reflect for a moment on the stunning visual beauty of our world and the dynamic power of nature – either around you right now or depicted in this song.
Pause and be restful; sense the joy throbbing in creation – and an ache behind the joy - and thank God for the immense privilege of being part of it.

Psalm 104 – Part One