Psalm 104:29

Psalm 104:29

Dependent creatures

I’m struggling with this verse! It suggests that there is direct interaction between the living creatures and the Lord God, that they are as aware of Him and His actions as we are! The idea that God hides His face from humans is not new, we have come across it before in the Psalms. In moments of need the psalmists want to know why God has turned away. David writes in Psalm 30:7, “Lord, when You favoured me, You made my royal mountain stand firm; but when You hid Your face, I was dismayed.” God hiding His face is associated with rejection and it causes despair and hopelessness, on the other hand, when His face shines, blessing and deliverance come. 

This Psalm writer seems to suggest here that the creatures of the world undergo similar despair and blessing, that they too are encompassed by the actions of the Lord and that they suffer when He turns His face away. I suppose that is obvious, but I’m challenged by the concept that all living things are aware of their dependency on the Creator, just as we are, and that they don’t just exist in a non-human vacuum.  

Despite the teachings of some, and the wishful thinking of others, there is no evidence in Scripture that creatures, other than man, have souls or spirits. The verse before us is quite brutal, when God takes away their breath, they die and return to the dust. However, the Bible is clear that we humans also come from the dust, and it is to the dust that we will all return! Genesis 3:19. If the Lord interacts with the created world in the ways that this verse suggests, maybe we are arrogant to just dismiss the value and purpose of the creatures around us in the way that many people do? 

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