Psalm 104:7-18

At Your rebuke they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they took to flight. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that You appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. From Your lofty abode You water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your work. You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

LORD, to sit here each morning and watch the interplay among the various facets of Your creation is a blessing from You. Two gold finches, bright, bouncy flashes of yellow and black, on the thistle feeder. Your hand has provided the thistle, Your wisdom guided a craftsman to make the steel shepherd's crook from which it hangs. You gave a man the love for Your land and the desire to tend its produce that furnished the seed. Because man believed that your creation operated in a predictable manner, the technology that resulted was available to manufacture the thistle feeder, to smelt the iron that became the steel, to transport and make these items available to us. All this and much, much more, so that I could have the pleasure of watching two gold finches bounce about a thistle feeder.

Praise You, LORD