Thanksgiving for the harvest of a fertile year.
① 1* 2Praise belongs to you, O God, in Zion;
here people come to fulfill their vows.
3All mortals bring to you their evil deeds,
to you, who answer prayers.
4Though our faults prevail over us,
you forgive our sins.
5Blessed is the one you choose to approach you
and take to dwell in your courts.
In your house we are satisfied
with the good things of your holy temple.
6With awesome deeds of righteousness
you answer us, O God our savior,
hope of all the ends of the earth
and of distant islands.
7By your power you set up the mountains.
8By your strength the seas were calmed;
you lull their roaring waves
and the turmoil of the nations.
9Those who dwell at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your marvelous deeds.
You make joyful the dawn
and the coming of dusk.
10You water the land and care for it,
enriching it with natural resources.
God’s stream is filled with water;
so you prepare the earth
to give us its fruits.
11You drench the furrows in the land
and level the ridges,
you soften the soil with showers
and bless its crops.
12You crown the year with your goodness;
abundance flows everywhere.
13The deserts have become pasture land,
the hills are clothed with gladness,
14the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys decked with grain –
they shout and sing for joy.
- This material abundance makes us think of another kind and for which God assured his friends. The Church also knows about spring rains, the summer harvest and songs of happiness.
That should not make us forget that God is at work through seasons and rainfall. If the majority of Christians and Church communities no longer dare to ask God for the weather needed for harvest, that is not a proof that our faith is now more spiritual but that we unfortunately feel at ease with a helpless God.
