Psalm 103–104

The Love of God^f

103 Praise the Lord, my soul!

All my being, praise his holy name!

²Praise the Lord, my soul,

and do not forget how kind he is.

³He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

⁴He keeps me from the grave

and blesses me with love and mercy.

⁵He fills my life^g with good things,

so that I stay young and strong like an eagle.

⁶The Lord judges in favour of the oppressed

and gives them their rights.

⁷He revealed his plans to Moses

and let the people of Israel see his mighty deeds.

^8*The Lord is merciful and loving,

slow to become angry and full of constant love.

⁹He does not keep on rebuking;

he is not angry for ever.

¹⁰He does not punish us as we deserve

or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

¹¹As high as the sky is above the earth,

so great is his love for those who honour him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our sins from us.

¹³As a father is kind to his children,

so the Lord is kind to those who honour him.

¹⁴He knows what we are made of;

he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for us, our life is like grass.

We grow and flourish like a wild flower;

¹⁶then the wind blows on it, and it is gone—

no one sees it again.

¹⁷But for those who honour the Lord, his love lasts for ever,

and his goodness endures for all generations

¹⁸of those who are true to his covenant

and who faithfully obey his commands.

¹⁹The Lord placed his throne in heaven;

he is king over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord, you strong and mighty angels,

who obey his commands,

who listen to what he says.

²¹Praise the Lord, all you heavenly powers,

you servants of his, who do his will!

²²Praise the Lord, all his creatures

in all the places he rules.

Praise the Lord, my soul!

In Praise of the Creator

104Praise the Lord, my soul!

O Lord, my God, how great you are!

You are clothed with majesty and glory;

²you cover yourself with light.

You have spread out the heavens like a tent

³and built your home on the waters above.^h

You use the clouds as your chariot

and ride on the wings of the wind.

^4*You use the winds as your messengers

and flashes of lightning as your servants.

⁵You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,

and it will never be moved.

⁶You placed the ocean over it like a robe,

and the water covered the mountains.

⁷When you rebuked the waters, they fled;

they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.

⁸They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,

to the place you had made for them.

⁹You set a boundary they can never pass,

to keep them from covering the earth again.

¹⁰You make springs flow in the valleys,

and rivers run between the hills.

¹¹They provide water for the wild animals;

there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²In the trees near by,

the birds make their nests and sing.

¹³From the sky you send rain on the hills,

and the earth is filled with your blessings.

¹⁴You make grass grow for the cattle

and plants for human beings to use,

so that they can grow their crops

¹⁵and produce wine to make them happy,

olive oil to make them cheerful,

and bread to give them strength.

¹⁶The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—

the Lord’s own trees, which he planted.

¹⁷There the birds build their nests;

the storks nest in the fir trees.

¹⁸The wild goats live in the high mountains,

and the rock-badgers hide in the cliffs.

¹⁹You created the moon to mark the months;

the sun knows the time to set.

²⁰You made the night, and in the darkness

all the wild animals come out.

²¹The young lions roar while they hunt,

looking for the food that God provides.

²²When the sun rises, they go back

and lie down in their dens.

²³Then people go out to do their work

and keep working until evening.

²⁴Lord, you have made so many things!

How wisely you made them all!

The earth is filled with your creatures.

²⁵There is the ocean, large and wide,

where countless creatures live,

large and small alike.

^26*The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,

that sea monster which you made.ⁱ

²⁷All of them depend on you

to give them food when they need it.

²⁸You give it to them, and they eat it;

you provide food, and they are satisfied.

²⁹When you turn away, they are afraid;

when you take away your breath, they die

and go back to the dust from which they came.

³⁰But when you give them breath,^j they are created;

you give new life to the earth.

³¹May the glory of the Lord last for ever!

May the Lord be happy with what he has made!

³²He looks at the earth, and it trembles;

he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord all my life;

as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

³⁴May he be pleased with my song,

for my gladness comes from him.

³⁵May sinners be destroyed from the earth;

may the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul!

Praise the Lord!