Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 104

Read this Psalm

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
   O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
   2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
   stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
   he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
   his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
   so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
   the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
   at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
   to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
   so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
   the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
   they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
   and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
   15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
   and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
   the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
   the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
   the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
   when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
   seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
   and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
   and to his labor until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom have you made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
   which teems with creatures innumerable,
   living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
   and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

27 These all look to you,
   to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
   and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
   may the LORD rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!


Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
Bless the Lord for Creation!

Psalms 103 and 104 are twins, but not identical twins. Both begin and end with the psalmist’s stirring himself up to “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” Both can be categorized as songs of thanksgiving or praise. Yet where Psalm 103 focuses on redemption, Psalm 104 has creation as its theme.

The writer seems to have Genesis 1 in mind and, in a general way, follows the days of creation. The whole effect is of a poetic, vibrant, devotional view of God’s creation; and the whole point is that we would be inspired to praise the God of creation.

Let’s take a brief look at the overall flow of the heart of the psalm (vv. 5-30), before returning to the entire song for some points of application.

In our society many fear that, as we ascended from chaos, so at any moment to chaos we might return. Thus we are happy people to know the God who “laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever” (v. 5). He has a place for the waters and dry land, and a boundary has been set (vv. 8-9).

Listen to this Psalm

Glory album art My Soul, Bless the Lord! (Psalm 104A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Glory
Glory album art By Limits You Set (Psalm 104B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Glory
Faithfulness album art The Trees of the Lord (Psalm 104C)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Faithfulness
Glory album art The Trees of the Lord (Psalm 104C)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Glory
Glory album art How Many Works, Lord (Psalm 104D)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Glory