Bless affectionately, gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul!
Black-eyed Susan & Butterfly
Photograph courtesy/Marcio Faustino/Pixels.com
O Lord, my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty-
You are the One Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent.
Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode
in the waters above the firmament,
Who makes the clouds His chariots, Who walks on the wings of the wind.
Who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.
You laid the foundation of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place which You appointed for them.
You have set a boundary for the waters
which they may not pass over,
that they turn not again to deluge the earth.
He sends forth springs into the valleys;
their waters run among the mountains.
They give drink to every wild beast of the field;
the wild asses quench their thirst there.
Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper rooms;
the earth is satisfied and abounds with the fruit of His works.
He causes vegetation to grow for the cattle,
and all that the earth produces for man to cultivate
that he may bring forth fruit out of the earth-
And wine that gladdens the heart of man,
to make his face shine more than oil,
and bread to support, refresh, and strengthen man's heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap,
the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted.
Where the birds make their nests;
as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the conies and badgers,
The Lord appointed the moon for the seasons;
the sun knows the exact time of its setting.
You, O Lord, make darkness and it becomes night;
in which creeps forth every wild beast of the forest.
The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.
When the sun arises, they withdraw themselves and lie down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work and remains at his task until evening.
O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, in which are swarms of
innumerable creeping things, creatures both small and great.
There go the ships of the sea, and Leviathan, the sea monster,
which You have formed to sport in it.
These all wait and are dependent upon You,
that You may give them food in due season.
When You give it to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, and they are filled with good things.
When You hide Your face, they are troubled and dismayed;
when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
When You send forth Your Spirit and give them breath,
they are created and You replenish the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works-
Who looks on the earth, and it quakes and trembles,
Who touches the mountains, and they smoke!
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have any being.
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless, affectionately, gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Psalm 104
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