Psalm 103:1-104:5

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.