Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2  Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3  who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4  who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5  who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6  The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7  He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8  The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9  He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10  He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12  as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13  As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14  For he knows our frame;t
he remembers that we are dust.

15  As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16  for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17  But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18  to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19  The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20  Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21  Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22  Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Psalm 104

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2  covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3  He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
4  he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

5  He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6  You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7  At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8  The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
9  You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

10  You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11  they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13  From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14  You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15  and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man's heart.

16  The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17  In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18  The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19  He made the moon to mark the seasons;t
the sun knows its time for setting.
20  You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21  The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22  When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
23  Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.

24  O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25  Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26  There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.t

27  These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
28  When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29  When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30  When you send forth your Spirit,t they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

31  May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works,
32  who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34  May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35  Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 105

Tell of All His Wonderful Works

1  Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2  Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3  Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4  Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5  Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6  O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7  He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8  He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9  the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10  which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11  saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance."

12  When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13  wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14  he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15  saying, "Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!"

16  When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supplyt of bread,
17  he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18  His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19  until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20  The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21  he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22  to bindt his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.

23  Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24  And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25  He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

26  He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27  They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28  He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebelt against his words.
29  He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30  Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31  He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32  He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33  He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34  He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35  which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36  He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.

37  Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38  Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39  He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40  They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41  He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42  For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

43  So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44  And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45  that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!