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104
1 Let every part of me praise the Lord! Lord my God, you are so great, clothed with majesty and splendor!
2 You wear light as your clothing; you stretch out the fabric* Literally, “tent curtain.” of the heavens.
3 You place the roof-beams of your house in the rainclouds. You make the clouds your chariots. You ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make your angels winds, and your servants flames of fire.† Septuagint reading; also quoted in Hebrews 1:7.
5 You set the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.
6 It was clothed with ocean depths—the waters even covered the mountains—
7 but at your command the waters fled; at the sound of your thunder they rushed away.
8 The mountains rose up and the valleys sank down to where you had determined.
9 You set a boundary for the oceans so they would not come back and cover the earth.
10 You make springs flow into the streams, running down between the hills.
11 They provide water for all the wild animals, and wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Birds build their nests in trees along the streams, singing from among the leaves.
13 You send down rain on the mountains from your home high above; you fill the earth with good things.
14 You make the grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to eat—crops produced by the earth for food,
15 and wine to make them happy, olive oil to make their faces shine, and bread to make them strong.
16 The Lord's trees are well-watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 Sparrows make their nests there; herons make their homes in the tall trees.
18 Wild goats live high in the mountains; hyraxes hide among the rocks.
19 You made the moon to mark the months, and the sun knows when to set.
20 You make darkness fall and the night comes, the time when the forest animals come out to hunt.‡ “To hunt”: implied.
21 The young lions roar as they seek their prey, looking for the food that God provides for them.
22 When the sun rises they return to their dens to rest.
23 Then people leave for work, working until the evening.
24 Lord, how many different things you have made—all of them wisely created! The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Consider the sea, deep and wide, full of all kinds of living things, large and small.
26 Ships sail there, and Leviathan,§ A sea monster. that you made to play in it.
27 All creatures look to you to give them food at the right time.
28 When you provide it, they gather it up. You hand out food to them, and they are well-fed.
29 When you turn away from them, they're terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your breath, they are created, and life covers the earth again.
31 May the Lord's glory last forever! The Lord is happy with all he has made.
32 He only has to look at the earth and it trembles; mountains pour out smoke at his touch.
33 I will sing to the Lord for as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God my whole life.
34 May he be pleased with my thoughts* Or “meditation,” “composition.” because I am happy in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth; let the wicked cease to exist. Let every part of me praise the Lord!

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*104:2 Literally, “tent curtain.”

†104:4 Septuagint reading; also quoted in Hebrews 1:7.

‡104:20 “To hunt”: implied.

§104:26 A sea monster.

*104:34 Or “meditation,” “composition.”

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher