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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Psalms 104: NABRE
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Psalms 104
104
Our Creator’s Compassion # 104 This psalm, attributed to David in the Septuagint, can be seen as an exposition of the days of creation: first day: vv. 1–2; second day: vv. 3–4; third day: vv. 5–17; fourth day: vv. 18–23; fifth day: vv. 24–26; sixth day: vv. 27–30.
1Everything I am will praise and bless the Lord!
O Lord, my God, your greatness takes my breath away,
overwhelming me by your majesty, beauty, and splendor! # 104:1 See Job 40:10.
2You wrap yourself with a shimmering, glistening light.
You wear sunshine like a garment of glory.
You stretch out the starry skies like a tapestry.
3You build your balconies with light beams
and ride as King in a chariot you made from clouds.
You fly upon the wings of the wind.
4You make your messengers into winds of the Spirit,
and all your ministers become flames of fire.
5You, our Creator, formed the earth,
and you hold it all together so it will never fall apart.
6You poured the ocean depths over the planet,
submerging mountains beneath.
7Yet at the sound of your thunder-shout
the waters all fled away, filling the deep with seas.
8The mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels you decreed for them.
9Then you set a boundary line for the seas
and commanded them not to trespass.
10You sent springs cascading through the valleys,
flowing freely between the mountains and hills.
11You provide drink for every living thing;
men and beasts # 104:11 Or “wild donkeys.” have their thirst quenched because of you.
12The birds build nests near the tranquil streams,
chirping their joyous songs from the branches above.
13From your kindness you send the rain to water the mountains
from the upper rooms of your palace.
Your goodness # 104:13 Or “your works.” brings forth fruit for all to enjoy.
14Your compassion brings the earth’s harvest, feeding the hungry.
You cause the grass to grow for livestock,
along with the fruit, grains, and vegetables to feed mankind.
15You provide sweet wine to gladden hearts.
You give us daily bread to sustain life,
giving us glowing health for our bodies. # 104:15 Or “oil for our faces to shine.”
16The trees of the Lord drink until they’re satisfied.
Lebanon’s lofty trees stand tall right where you planted them.
17Within their branches you provide for birds
a place to build their nests;
even herons find a home in the cypress trees.
18You make the high mountains a home for wild goats
and the rocky crag where the rock badgers burrow.
19You made the moon to mark the months
and the sun to measure the days.
20You turn off the light and it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest come out to prowl.
21The mighty lions roar for their dinner,
but it’s you, God, who feeds them all.
22At sunrise they slink back to their dens
to crouch down in the shadows.
23Then man goes out to his labor and toil,
working from dawn to dusk.
24O Lord, what an amazing variety of all you have created!
Wild and wonderful is this world you have made,
while wisdom was there at your side.
This world is full of so many creatures, yet each belongs to you!
25And then there is the sea! So vast! So wide and deep—
swarming with countless forms of sea life, both small and great.
26Trading ships glide through the high seas.
And look! There are the massive whales
bounding upon the waves.
27All the creatures wait expectantly for you
to give them their food as you determine.
28You come near and they all gather around,
feasting from your open hands,
and each is satisfied from your abundant supply.
29But if you were to withhold from them and turn away,
they all would panic.
And when you choose to take away their breath,
each one dies and returns to the dust.
30When you release your Spirit-Wind, life is created,
ready to replenish life upon the earth.
31May God’s glorious splendor endure forever!
May the Lord take joy and pleasure in all that he has made.
32For the earth’s overseer has the power to make it tremble;
just a touch of his finger and volcanoes erupt
as the earth shakes and melts.
33I will sing my song to the Lord as long as I live!
Every day I will sing my praises to God.
34May you be pleased with every sweet thought I have about you,
for you are the source of my joy and gladness.
35Now, let all the sinners be swept from the earth.
But I will keep on praising you, my Lord, with all that is within me.
My joyous, blissful shouts of “Hallelujah” are all because of you!
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