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Psalms 104
1Bless the LORD, my soul. The LORD, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.
2He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
3He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
4He makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire.
5He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
6You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the .
7At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
8The rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.
9You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
10He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the .
11They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the .
13He waters the from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
14He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth:
15wine that makes the heart of man glad, to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
16The LORD’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
17where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees.
18The high are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
22The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.
23Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
24LORD, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
25There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.
26There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
27These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season.
28You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust.
30You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
31Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD rejoice in his works.
32He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the , and they smoke.
33I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD.
35Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!
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Read Psalms 104 three times
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.