1 To David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great. You have clothed yourself with confession and beauty;
2 you are dressed with light like a garment, while you stretch out heaven like a tent.
3 You cover its heights with water. You set the clouds as your stairs. You walk upon the wings of the winds.
4 You make your Angels a breath of life, and your ministers a burning fire.
5 You founded the earth upon its stable base. It will not be bent from age to age.
6 The abyss, like a garment, is its clothing. The waters will remain standing above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke, they will flee. At the voice of your thunder, they will dread.
8 The mountains ascend, and the plains descend, to the place which you have founded for them.
9 You have set a limit that they will not cross. And they will not return to cover the earth.
10 You spring forth fountains in steep valleys. The waters will cross through the midst of the mountains.
11 All the wild beasts of the field will drink. The wild donkeys will anticipate in their thirst.
12 Above them, the flying things of the air will dwell. From the midst of the rocks, they will utter voices.
13 You irrigate the mountains from your heights. The earth will be satiated from the fruit of your works,
14 producing grass for cattle and herbs for the service of men. So may you draw bread from the earth,
15 and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man. Then he may gladden his face with oil, and bread will confirm the heart of man.
16 The trees of the field will be saturated, along with the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted.
17 There, the sparrows will make their nests. The leader of them is the house of the heron.
18 The heights of the hills are for the deer; the rock is a refuge for the hedgehog.
19 He has made the moon for seasons; the sun knows its setting.
20 You appointed darkness, and it has become night; all the beasts of the forest will cross through it.
21 The young lions will roar, while searching for and seizing their meal from God.
22 The sun arose, and they were gathered together; and in their dens, they will lie down together.
23 Man will go forth to his work and to his activities, until the evening.
24 How great are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom. The earth has been filled with your possessions.
25 This sea is great and its hands are spacious. There are creeping things without number: the small animals with the great.
26 There, the ships will pass by this sea-serpent that you have formed to mock them.
27 All these expect you to give them food in due time.
28 What you give to them, they will gather. When you open your hand, they will all be filled with goodness.
29 But if you turn your face away, they will be disturbed. You will take away their breath, and they will fail, and they will return to their dust.
30 You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created. And you will renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord be for all ages. The Lord will rejoice in his works.
32 He considers the earth, and he makes it tremble. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord with my life. I will sing psalms to my God, as long as I am.
34 May my speech be pleasing to him. Truly, I will take delight in the Lord.
35 Let sinners fade away from the earth, along with the unjust, so that they may not be. Bless the Lord, O my soul. |