Psalm 104
(103) Benedic anima mea
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O my soul, bless GOD! |
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GOD, my God, how great you are! beautifully and gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, |
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and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. |
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You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors . |
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You set the earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed the earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away |
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your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. |
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All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. |
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Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plough the ground. |
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Oh yes, God brings grain
from the land,
wine to make people happy, |
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Their faces glowing with
health,
a people well fed and hearty. GOD'S trees are well watered - the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look - the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; |
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badgers burrow among the
rocks.
The moon keeps track of the seasons, |
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the sun is in charge of each
day.
When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamouring to God for their supper. |
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When the sun comes up, they
vanish,
lazily stretched out in their dens. |
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Meanwhile, men and women
go out to work,
busy at their jobs until evening. |
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What a wildly wonderful world,
GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. Oh, look - the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon. |
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Ships plough those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. |
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All the creatures look expectantly
to you
to give them their meals on time. You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it. If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute |
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Take back your Spirit and
they die,
revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life - the whole countryside in bloom and blossom. |
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The glory of GOD - let it
last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation! |
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He takes one look at earth
and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. |
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Oh, let me sing to GOD all
my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live! |
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Oh, let my song please him;
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD. But clear the ground of sinners |
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no more godless men and women!
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O
my soul, bless GOD!
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Scripture quotations above taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995. Used with the very kind permission of the NavPress Publishing Group. See Weblinks