Psalms 104
104
Praise of God the Creator
I
1Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
2robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;#Prv 8:27–28; Jb 9:8; Is 40:22; Gn 1:6–7; Am 9:6.
3setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.#Your chambers upon the waters: God’s heavenly dwelling above the upper waters of the sky, cf. Gn 1:6–7; Ps 29:10.
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
4You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.#Heb 1:7.
II
5#God places the gigantic disk of the earth securely on its foundation and then, as a warrior, chases away the enveloping waters and confines them under, above, and around the earth.You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
6The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.
7At your rebuke they took flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled.#Ps 29:3.
8They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.
9You set a limit they cannot pass;
never again will they cover the earth.#Jer 5:22; Gn 9:11–15.
III
10You made springs flow in wadies
that wind among the mountains.
11They give drink to every beast of the field;#Ps 147:8–9.
here wild asses quench their thirst.
12Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
among the branches they sing.
13You water the mountains from your chambers;
from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.
14You make the grass grow for the cattle
and plants for people’s work
to bring forth food from the earth,
15wine to gladden their hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread to sustain the human heart.
16#Even the exotic flora and fauna of the high mountains of the Lebanon range receive adequate water.The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted.
17There the birds build their nests;
the stork in the junipers, its home.#Ez 31:6.
18The high mountains are for wild goats;
the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.
IV
19You made the moon to mark the seasons,#Sir 43:6.
the sun that knows the hour of its setting.
20You bring darkness and night falls,
then all the animals of the forest wander about.
21Young lions roar for prey;
they seek their food from God.#Jb 38:39.
22When the sun rises, they steal away
and settle down in their dens.
23People go out to their work,
to their labor till evening falls.
V
24How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.#Ps 92:6; Sir 39:16.
25There is the sea, great and wide!
It teems with countless beings,
living things both large and small.#Sir 43:26.
26There ships ply their course
and Leviathan,#Leviathan: a sea monster symbolizing primeval chaos, cf. Ps 74:14; Is 27:1; Jb 40:25. God does not destroy chaos but makes it part of the created order. whom you formed to play with.#Jb 3:8; 40:25, 29.
VI
27All of these look to you
to give them food in due time.#Ps 136:25; 145:15–16.
28When you give it to them, they gather;
when you open your hand, they are well filled.
29#On one level, the spirit (or wind) of God is the fall and winter rains that provide food for all creatures. On another, it is the breath (or spirit) of God that makes beings live.When you hide your face, they panic.
Take away their breath, they perish
and return to the dust.#Ps 90:3; Jb 34:14–15; Eccl 3:20.
30Send forth your spirit, they are created
and you renew the face of the earth.
VII
31May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord be glad in his works!
32Who looks at the earth and it trembles,
touches the mountains and they smoke!#Ps 144:5.
33I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.#Ps 146:2.
34May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35May sinners vanish from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah!#Hallelujah: a frequent word in the last third of the Psalter. The word combines the plural imperative of praise (hallelu) with an abbreviated form of the divine name Yah(weh).
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 104
104
1Bless, O my soul, Jehovah! Jehovah, my God, Thou hast been very great, Honour and majesty Thou hast put on.
2Covering himself [with] light as a garment, Stretching out the heavens as a curtain,
3Who is laying the beam of His upper chambers in the waters, Who is making thick clouds His chariot, Who is walking on wings of wind,
4Making His messengers — the winds, His ministers — the flaming fire.
5He hath founded earth on its bases, It is not moved to the age and for ever.
6The abyss! as with clothing Thou hast covered it, Above hills do waters stand.
7From Thy rebuke they flee, From the voice of Thy thunder haste away.
8They go up hills — they go down valleys, Unto a place Thou hast founded for them.
9A border Thou hast set, they pass not over, They turn not back to cover the earth.
10Who is sending forth fountains in valleys, Between hills they go on.
11They water every beast of the field, Wild asses break their thirst.
12By them the fowl of the heavens doth dwell, From between the branches They give forth the voice.
13Watering hills from His upper chambers, From the fruit of Thy works is the earth satisfied.
14Causing grass to spring up for cattle, And herb for the service of man, To bring forth bread from the earth,
15And wine — it rejoiceth the heart of man, To cause the face to shine from oil, And bread — the heart of man it supporteth.
16Satisfied [are] the trees of Jehovah, Cedars of Lebanon that He hath planted,
17Where birds do make nests, The stork — the firs [are] her house.
18The high hills [are] for wild goats, Rocks [are] a refuge for conies,
19He made the moon for seasons, The sun hath known his place of entrance.
20Thou settest darkness, and it is night, In it doth every beast of the forest creep.
21The young lions are roaring for prey, And to seek from God their food.
22The sun riseth, they are gathered, And in their dens they crouch.
23Man goeth forth to his work, And to his service — till evening.
24How many have been Thy works, O Jehovah, All of them in wisdom Thou hast made, Full is the earth of thy possessions.
25This, the sea, great and broad of sides, There [are] moving things — innumerable, Living creatures — small with great.
26There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.
27All of them unto Thee do look, To give their food in its season.
28Thou dost give to them — they gather, Thou dost open Thy hand — they [are] satisfied [with] good.
29Thou hidest Thy face — they are troubled, Thou gatherest their spirit — they expire, And unto their dust they turn back.
30Thou sendest out Thy Spirit, they are created, And Thou renewest the face of the ground.
31The honour of Jehovah is to the age, Jehovah rejoiceth in His works,
32Who is looking to earth, and it trembleth, He cometh against hills, and they smoke.
33I sing to Jehovah during my life, I sing praise to my God while I exist.
34Sweet is my meditation on Him, I — I do rejoice in Jehovah.
35Consumed are sinners from the earth, And the wicked are no more. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah!
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