The Beauty of the Diversity of God's Creation

 

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. (Psalm 104:24-25 ESV).

 

The psalmist uses a particular Hebrew word in our reading today, translated here as “manifold.” The Hebrews word is רָבַב (rahbavh). It is also translated as increase, especially in number; also to multiply by the myriad, or increase, be manifold, be more, and multiply. Thus, we see God’s glory is so diverse as to accurately represent His glory.

 

I am not a “bird-watcher” by any means, although I enjoy watching all the varieties that show up in our yard. I do keep plenty of feed out for them year-round. This year we’ve had three different varieties hatch their brood in various locations in the yard. The list of the types of birds we regularly see is long including birds of prey as well as songbirds. My favorite has been given the name “Beep-Beep.” We’ve seen him running through the neighborhood as well as our yard on many occasions. I’ve captured his picture several times over the years.

 

One of my dear friends is a very accomplished photographer and pursues birds across the nation. I’ve seen some of his work from various parks and other special places. I am amazed at the number of different species of birds that are out there to be seen. This is true across the animal kingdom as well; in fact, scientists say that the number of different types of creatures on the earth is in the millions.

 

This vast diversity is a beautiful part of God’s creation. In his wisdom God made so many different animals and plants that we haven’t been able to count them all. And in his wisdom God made many different cultures and people as well. This psalm uses poetry to tell about the powerful and beautiful way God made the world. It invites us to praise God for such diverse beauty and for creating the world in the best way possible.

 

Each of us brings our own type of beauty to the world. Each little brown sparrow sings just a few notes. And God combines with that the huge variety of sounds and other signs of beauty in this world. In all these ways God displays his love for his creation. Let’s praise God for creating a world that is so beautiful and diverse!