Psalm 103-104

New American Standard Bible

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 ^(A)Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His ^(B)holy name.
²Bless the Lord, my soul,
And ^(C)do not forget any of His benefits;
³Who ^(D)pardons all your guilt,
Who ^(E)heals all your diseases;
⁴Who ^(F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who ^(G)crowns you with favor and compassion;
⁵Who ^(H)satisfies your ^[a]years with good things,
So that your youth is ^(I)renewed like the eagle.

⁶The Lord ^(J)performs ^[b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are ^(K)oppressed.
⁷He ^(L)made known His ways to Moses,
His ^(M)deeds to the sons of Israel.
⁸The Lord is ^(N)compassionate and gracious,
^(O)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
⁹He ^(P)will not always contend with us,
Nor will He ^(Q)keep His anger forever.
¹⁰He has ^(R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
¹¹For as high ^(S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who ^[c]fear Him.
¹²As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He ^(T)removed our wrongdoings from us.
¹³Just ^(U)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who ^[d]fear Him.
¹⁴For ^(V)He Himself knows ^[e]our form;
He ^(W)is mindful that we are nothing but ^(X)dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are ^(Y)like grass;
Like a ^(Z)flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶When the ^(AA)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its ^(AB)place no longer knows about it.
¹⁷But the ^[f]^(AC)mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who ^[g]fear Him,
And His justice ^(AD)to the children’s children,
¹⁸To ^(AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.

¹⁹The Lord has established His ^(AF)throne in the heavens,
And His ^[h]^(AG)sovereignty rules over ^[i]all.
²⁰Bless the Lord, you ^(AH)His angels,
^(AI)Mighty in strength, who ^(AJ)perform His word,
^(AK)Obeying the voice of His word!
²¹Bless the Lord, all you ^(AL)His ^[j]angels,
You ^(AM)who serve Him, doing His will.
²²Bless the Lord, ^(AN)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!

The Lord’s Care over All His Works.

104 ^(AO)Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are ^(AP)clothed with splendor and majesty,
²Covering Yourself with ^(AQ)light as with a cloak,
^(AR)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
³^[k]He ^(AS)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
^[l]He makes the ^(AT)clouds His chariot;
^[m]He walks on the ^(AU)wings of the wind;
⁴^[n]He makes ^[o]^(AV)the winds His messengers,
^[p]Flaming ^(AW)fire His ministers.

⁵He ^(AX)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not ^[q]totter forever and ever.
⁶You ^(AY)covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
⁷They fled from Your ^(AZ)rebuke,
At the ^(BA)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
⁸The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the ^(BB)place which You established for them.
⁹You set a ^(BC)boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

¹⁰^[r]He sends forth ^(BD)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
¹¹They ^(BE)give drink to every animal of the field;
The ^(BF)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹²The birds of the sky ^(BG)dwell ^[s]beside them;
They ^[t]lift up their voices from among the branches.
¹³^[u]He ^(BH)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
^(BI)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

¹⁴^[v]He causes the ^(BJ)grass to grow for the ^[w]cattle,
And ^(BK)vegetation for the labor of mankind,
So that ^[x]they may produce ^[y]food ^(BL)from the earth,
¹⁵And ^(BM)wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
^(BN)So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And ^[z]food, which ^(BO)sustains a human heart.
¹⁶The trees of the Lord ^[aa]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
¹⁷Where the ^(BP)birds build their nests,
And the ^(BQ)stork, whose home is the juniper trees.

¹⁸The high mountains are for the ^(BR)wild goats;
The ^(BS)cliffs are a refuge for the ^(BT)rock hyrax.
¹⁹He made the moon ^(BU)for the seasons;
The ^(BV)sun knows the place of its setting.
²⁰You ^(BW)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the ^(BX)animals of the forest ^[ab]prowl about.
²¹The ^(BY)young lions roar for their prey
^[ac]And ^(BZ)seek their food from God.
²²When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their ^(CA)dens.
²³A person goes out to ^(CB)his work
And to his labor until evening.

²⁴Lord, how ^(CC)many are Your works!
^[ad]In ^(CD)wisdom You have made them all;
The ^(CE)earth is full of Your ^[ae]possessions.
²⁵^[af]There is the ^(CF)sea, great and ^[ag]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
²⁶The ^(CG)ships move along there,
And ^[ah]^(CH)Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.

²⁷They all ^(CI)wait for You
To ^(CJ)give them their food in ^[ai]due season.
²⁸You give to them, they gather it up;
You ^(CK)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
²⁹You ^(CL)hide Your face, they are terrified;
You ^(CM)take away their breath, they perish
And ^(CN)return to their dust.
³⁰You send forth Your ^[aj]^(CO)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the ^(CP)glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord ^(CQ)rejoice in His works;
³²^[ak]He ^(CR)looks at the earth, and it ^(CS)trembles;
He ^(CT)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
³³^[al]I will sing to the Lord ^[am]^(CU)as long as I live;
^[an]I will ^(CV)sing praise to my God ^[ao]while I have my being.
³⁴May my ^(CW)praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall ^(CX)rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵May sinners be ^(CY)removed from the earth
And may the ^(CZ)wicked be no more.
^(DA)Bless the Lord, my soul.
^[ap]^(DB)Praise ^[aq]the Lord!