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Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, Who Forgives All Your Sins
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By David.
Invitation to Praise
1 Bless the Lord,[a] O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.
Praise for Personal Blessings
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who pardons all your guilt,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life[b] with goodness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Praise for Blessings Through Moses
6 The Lord performs righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
God’s Great Mercy
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse.
He will not keep his anger forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve.
He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds.
God’s Mercy Illustrated
11 Yes, as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so powerful is his mercy toward those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed.
He remembers that we are dust.
Man’s Short Life
15 As for man, his days are like grass.
Like a wildflower he blossoms.
16 Then the wind blows over it, and it is gone,
and its place recognizes it no more.
The Covenant With Moses Proclaims God’s Eternal Mercy
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from eternity to eternity
over those who fear him,
and his righteousness is with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant,
with those who remember his precepts in order to obey them.
Closing Praise
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his royal power rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you his angels,
you strong warriors who obey his word
by listening to what he says.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
you who minister to him,
you who do whatever pleases him.
22 Bless the Lord, everything he has made
in all places where he rules.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 104
Bless the Lord, Who Creates Wonders
Introduction
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
Day One—Light
2 He wears light like a robe.
Day Two—the Sky
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy.
3 He lays beams on the waters to support his upper chambers.
He makes clouds his chariot.
He travels on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes his messengers[c] winds.
His ministers are blazing fire.
Day Three—the Waters and Plants
5 He placed the earth firmly on its foundations.
It cannot be moved forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as a garment.
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled.
At the sound of your thunder they hurried away.
8 The waters surged up the mountains.
They went down into the valleys,[d]
to the place that you prepared for them.
9 You set a boundary that they cannot cross.
They will not return to cover the earth.
10 He makes springs flow into streams
that run between the mountains.
11 They give water to every wild animal.
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live by the streams.
From among the branches they send out their song.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers.
The earth is filled with the fruit he produces.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants that people use[e] to produce food from the earth.
15 Also wine that makes people’s hearts glad,
olive oil to make their face shine,
and bread that sustains their lives.[f]
16 The trees of the Lord have everything they need.
He planted the cedars of Lebanon,
17 where birds make their nests.
The stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The crags are a refuge for the rock badgers.
Day Four—the Lights
19 The moon marks off the months and seasons.
The sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night.
During it all the animals in the forest move about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey.
They are seeking their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they gather together.
They return to their dens and lie down.
23 Man goes out to his work.
He continues his labor until evening.
Days Five and Six—Animals and Man
24 How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and very wide.
In it creatures swarm beyond number—
living things, the small with the large.
26 There the ships go back and forth,
and the leviathan[g] that you formed to play in it.
27 All of them wait hopefully for you to give them their food in its time.
28 You give it to them. They gather it up.
You open your hand. They are satisfied with good things.
29 You hide your face. They are terrified.
You take away their breath.
They breathe their last and return to their dust.
30 You send your Spirit—they are created.
You renew the face of the earth.
Closing Benediction and Prayer
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever.
May the Lord rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the earth and it trembles.
He touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord throughout my life.
I will make music to my God as long as I last.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners come to an end on the earth,
and the wicked—may they be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord![h]
Psalm 105
The Lord Remembers His Covenant
Opening Praise
1 Give thanks to the Lord.
Proclaim[i] his name.
Make his deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, make music to him.
Meditate on all his wonders.
3 Take pride in his holy name.
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength.
Seek his face always.
5 Remember the wonders which he has done,
his signs, and the judgments from his mouth,
6 you descendants of Abraham his servant,
you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
The Promise of the Covenant
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham,
and his oath to Isaac.
10 Yes, he confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
11 He said, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
the territory you will possess.”
The Lord Is Faithful in Canaan:
His Protection of the Patriarchs
12 While they were few in number,
just a little group and aliens in the land,
13 they moved around from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
14 He did not allow anyone to oppress them,
and he rebuked kings because of them:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones,
and do not harm my prophets.”
The Lord Is Faithful in Egypt:
His Protection of Joseph
16 Then he summoned a famine on the land.
He destroyed their entire food supply.
17 He sent ahead of them a man sold as a slave, Joseph.
18 They hurt his feet with chains.
His throat was clamped in an iron collar,
19 until the time when his predictions came true.
The promise of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent for him and released him.
The ruler of peoples set him free.
21 He made him master of his house
and ruler over all his possessions,
22 to bind his officials by his will,
to teach his elders wisdom.
The Lord Is Faithful in Egypt:
His Protection of the People
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.[j]
24 Then the Lord made his people very fruitful.
He made them too numerous for their foes.
25 He turned the Egyptians’ hearts so they hated his people.
They dealt deceitfully with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
his warning signs in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it became extremely dark,
because Israel[k] did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
and he caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the rooms of their kings.
31 He spoke, and a swarm of flies came.
There were lice[l] throughout their borders.
32 He gave them hail instead of rain,
with blazing lightning throughout their land.
33 Then he struck down their vines and fig trees,
and he broke down the trees within their borders.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
and grasshoppers without number.
35 They ate every green plant in their land.
They ate the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first fruit of all their virility.
37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold.
From among their tribes no one stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they went out,
because fear of Israel had fallen on them.
The Lord Is Faithful in the Wilderness
39 He spread out a cloud as a canopy
and fire to give light at night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out.
It flowed in the desert like a river.
The Lord Is Faithful in the Land
42 Because he remembered his holy word to Abraham, his servant,
43 he brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with a joyful shout.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the work of other peoples
45 so that they could keep his statutes and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord.[m]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.