DAILY BREAD READING (Published Daily by Our Daily Bread Ministries)
MAY 15, 2026
READ: Psalm 104 (Focus vs. 1-7, 10-16)
MEMORY VERSE
“The Lord wraps himself in light.” Psalm 104:2
BACKGROUND
In nineteenth-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins’ sonnet “God’s Grandeur,” this literary artist celebrates the countless ways creation is “charged”—intensely filled—with “the grandeur of God.”
Hopkins describes God’s breathtaking glory flaming and glistening “like shining from shook foil.” But if God’s beauty is so vibrant, why do so many people miss it? Hopkins suggested one reason is that humanity has covered everything with “man’s smudge” and “man’s smell”—leaving many unable to see anything beyond themselves.
Psalm 104 is also a celebration of God’s beauty in creation. Using vivid imagery, the poet describes God “clothed with splendor and majesty” (v. 1), revealing His beauty, power, and care in wind and fire (v. 4), thunder and waves (v. 7), water, grass, and trees (vv. 10-16).
Countless gifts sustaining both body and soul (v. 15) point to “the glory of the Lord” (v. 31) whether we always realize it or not. In his poem, Hopkins concluded that, even when humanity is blind to God’s glory, because of His goodness, there always “lives the dearest freshness deep down things.”
If only we’ll stop to see and wonder, there are countless reasons to see, believe in, and celebrate God’s beauty and goodness “as long as [we] live” (v. 33).
Monica La Rose
INSIGHT
When God finished creating on the sixth day, He declared creation “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The psalmist David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).
When we gaze at the stars at night, we’re reminded of Him (8:1-4; Isaiah 40:26). When we observe animals, birds, and fish (Psalm 104:24-25), we see the “the hand of the Lord” (Job 12:9).
Theologians call God’s revelation of Himself to us through nature “general revelation.” The apostle Paul declared: “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20).
Today, as we spend time in nature, we can respond in worship as we celebrate God’s beauty, goodness, and love for us.
*K.T. Sim
APPLICATION
What dulls your awareness of God’s glory? What helps you see and experience His beauty?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“…if God’s beauty is so vibrant, why do so many people miss it? Gerald Hopkins (suggests) one reason is that humanity has covered everything with “man’s smudge” and “man’s smell”—leaving many unable to see anything beyond themselves.
PR’s TAKE
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.” Saint John of Damascus
PRAYER
“Dear God, thank You for the ways Your beauty fills the world. Please help me see and celebrate Your beauty and the work of Your Spirit all around us.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD”
O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hands hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!…
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!…
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim: “My God, how great thou art!”
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
