Psalm 104–105

^1–14104O my soul, bless God!

God, my God, how great you are!

beautifully, gloriously robed,

Dressed up in sunshine,

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.

You commandeered winds as messengers,

appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.

You set earth on a firm foundation

so that nothing can shake it, ever.

You blanketed earth with ocean,

covered the mountains with deep waters;

Then you roared and the water ran away—

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.

All the wild animals now drink their fill,

wild donkeys quench their thirst.

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 plow the ground.

^14–23Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,

wine to make people happy,

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;

badgers burrow among the rocks.

The moon keeps track of the seasons,

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,

clamoring to God for their supper.

When the sun comes up, they vanish,

lazily stretched out in their dens.

Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,

busy at their jobs until evening.

^24–30What 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.

Ships plow those waters,

and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.

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—

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.

^31–32The glory of God—let it last forever!

Let God enjoy his creation!

He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,

points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.

^33–35Oh, let me sing to God all my life long,

sing hymns to my God as long as I live!

Oh, let my song please him;

I’m so pleased to be singing to God.

But clear the ground of sinners—

no more godless men and women!

O my soul, bless God!

^1–6105Hallelujah!

Thank God! Pray to him by name!

Tell everyone you meet what he has done!

Sing him songs, belt out hymns,

translate his wonders into music!

Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,

you who seek God. Live a happy life!

Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;

be alert for signs of his presence.

Remember the world of wonders he has made,

his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—

O seed of Abraham, his servant,

O child of Jacob, his chosen.

^7–15He’s God, our God,

in charge of the whole earth.

And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—

for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.

It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,

the same oath he swore to Isaac,

The very statute he established with Jacob,

the eternal Covenant with Israel,

Namely, “I give you the land.

Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”

When they didn’t count for much,

a mere handful, and strangers at that,

Wandering from country to country,

drifting from pillar to post,

He permitted no one to abuse them.

He told kings to keep their hands off:

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,

don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”

^16–22Then he called down a famine on the country,

he broke every last blade of wheat.

But he sent a man on ahead:

Joseph, sold as a slave.

They put cruel chains on his ankles,

an iron collar around his neck,

Until God’s word came to the Pharaoh,

and God confirmed his promise.

God sent the king to release him.

The Pharaoh set Joseph free;

He appointed him master of his palace,

put him in charge of all his business

To personally instruct his princes

and train his advisors in wisdom.

^23–42Then Israel entered Egypt,

Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.

God gave his people lots of babies;

soon their numbers alarmed their foes.

He turned the Egyptians against his people;

they abused and cheated God’s servants.

Then he sent his servant Moses,

and Aaron, whom he also chose.

They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,

miracles in the Land of Ham.

He spoke, “Darkness!” and it turned dark—

they couldn’t see what they were doing.

He turned all their water to blood

so that all their fish died;

He made frogs swarm through the land,

even into the king’s bedroom;

He gave the word and flies swarmed,

gnats filled the air.

He substituted hail for rain,

he stabbed their land with lightning;

He wasted their vines and fig trees,

smashed their groves of trees to splinters;

With a word he brought in locusts,

millions of locusts, armies of locusts;

They consumed every blade of grass in the country

and picked the ground clean of produce;

He struck down every firstborn in the land,

the first fruits of their virile powers.

He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,

and not one among his tribes even stumbled.

Egypt was glad to have them go—

they were scared to death of them.

God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day

and a fire to light their way through the night;

They prayed and he brought quail,

filled them with the bread of heaven;

He opened the rock and water poured out;

it flowed like a river through that desert—

All because he remembered his Covenant,

his promise to Abraham, his servant.

^43–45Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy;

his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!

He made them a gift of the country they entered,

helped them seize the wealth of the nations

So they could do everything he told them—

could follow his instructions to the letter.

Hallelujah!