O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 lBless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are mvery great!

nYou are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2  covering yourself with light as with a garment,

ostretching out the heavens plike a tent.

3  He qlays the beams of his rchambers on the waters;

he makes sthe clouds his chariot;

he rides on tthe wings of the wind;

4  he umakes his messengers winds,

his vministers wa flaming fire.

5  He xset the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6  You ycovered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7  At zyour rebuke they fled;

at athe sound of your thunder they btook to flight.

8  The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you cappointed for them.

9  You set da boundary that they may not pass,

so that they emight not again cover the earth.

10  You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

11  they fgive 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  gFrom your lofty abode you hwater the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14  You cause ithe grass to grow for the livestock

and jplants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth kfood from the earth

15  and lwine to gladden the heart of man,

moil to make his face shine

and bread to nstrengthen man’s heart.

16  The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

othe cedars of Lebanon pthat 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 qthe wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for rthe rock badgers.

19  He made the moon to mark the sseasons;1

the sun knows its time for setting.

20  tYou make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21  uThe young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

22  When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their vdens.

23  wMan goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

24  O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In xwisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25  Here is the sea, great and wide,

ywhich teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great.

26  There go the ships,

and zLeviathan, which you formed to aplay in it.2

27  These ball look to you,

to cgive them their food in due season.

28  When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you dopen your hand, they are filled with good things.

29  When you ehide your face, they are fdismayed;

when you gtake away their breath, they die

and hreturn to their dust.

30  When you isend forth your Spirit,3 they are created,

and you jrenew the face of the ground.

31  May the glory of the Lord kendure forever;

may the Lord lrejoice in his works,

32  who looks on the earth and it mtrembles,

who ntouches the mountains and they smoke!

33  I will sing to the Lord oas long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34  May my pmeditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord.

35  Let qsinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

rBless the Lord, O my soul!

sPraise the Lord!

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146 nPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2  I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;

pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3  qPut not your trust in princes,

rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.

4  When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

5  uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose vhope is in the Lord his God,

6  wwho made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

xwho keeps faith forever;

7  ywho executes justice for the oppressed,

zwho gives food to the hungry.

aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;

8  bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

dthe Lord loves the righteous.

9  eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;

fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10  hThe Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

nPraise the Lord!

He Heals the Brokenhearted

147 iPraise the Lord!

For jit is good to sing praises to our God;

for kit is pleasant,1 and la song of praise is fitting.

2  The Lord mbuilds up Jerusalem;

he ngathers the outcasts of Israel.

3  He heals othe brokenhearted

and pbinds up their wounds.

4  He qdetermines the number of the stars;

he rgives to all of them their names.

5  sGreat is our Lord, and tabundant in power;

uhis understanding is beyond measure.

6  The Lord vlifts up the humble;2

he casts the wicked to the ground.

7  wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on xthe lyre!

8  He covers the heavens with clouds;

he prepares yrain for the earth;

he makes zgrass grow on the hills.

9  He agives to the beasts their food,

and to bthe young ravens that cry.

10  His delight is not in cthe strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

11  but the Lord dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who ehope in his steadfast love.

12  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13  For he strengthens fthe bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

14  He gmakes peace in your borders;

he hfills you with the ifinest of the wheat.

15  He jsends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16  He gives ksnow like wool;

he scatters lfrost like ashes.

17  He hurls down his crystals of mice like crumbs;

who can stand before his ncold?

18  He osends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

19  He declares his word to Jacob,

his pstatutes and rules3 to Israel.

20  He qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.4

rPraise the Lord!

Praise the Name of the Lord

148 rPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord sfrom the heavens;

praise him tin the heights!

2  Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his uhosts!

3  Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

4  Praise him, you vhighest heavens,

and you wwaters above the heavens!

5  xLet them praise the name of the Lord!

For yhe commanded and they were created.

6  And he zestablished them forever and ever;

he gave aa decree, and it shall not bpass away.1

7  Praise the Lord cfrom the earth,

you dgreat sea creatures and all deeps,

8  efire and hail, fsnow and mist,

gstormy wind hfulfilling his word!

9  iMountains and all hills,

jfruit trees and all kcedars!

10  lBeasts and all livestock,

creeping things and mflying birds!

11  Kings of the earth and nall peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

12  Young men and maidens together,

old men and children!

13  oLet them praise the name of the Lord,

for phis name alone is exalted;

qhis majesty is above earth and heaven.

14  He has rraised up a horn for his people,

spraise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are tnear to him.

uPraise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a New Song

149 uPraise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord va new song,

his praise in wthe assembly of the godly!

2  Let Israel xbe glad in yhis Maker;

let the children of Zion rejoice in their zKing!

3  Let them praise his name with adancing,

making melody to him with btambourine and clyre!

4  For the Lord dtakes pleasure in his people;

he eadorns the humble with salvation.

5  Let the godly exult in glory;

let them fsing for joy on their gbeds.

6  Let hthe high praises of God be in their throats

and itwo-edged swords in their hands,

7  to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishments on the peoples,

8  to bind their kings with jchains

and their nobles with fetters of iron,

9  to execute on them the judgment kwritten!

lThis is honor for all his godly ones.

uPraise the Lord!

Let Everything Praise the Lord

150 uPraise the Lord!

Praise God in his msanctuary;

praise him in nhis mighty heavens!1

2  Praise him for his omighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent pgreatness!

3  Praise him with qtrumpet sound;

praise him with rlute and rharp!

4  Praise him with stambourine and sdance;

praise him with tstrings and upipe!

5  Praise him with sounding vcymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

6  Let weverything that has breath praise the Lord!