... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, You
are very great. You are clothed with honor
and majesty. You cover[2] [Yourself] with light as [with] a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a curtain. You lay the beams of Your chambers in the
waters. You make the clouds Your chariot.
You walk on the wings of the wind. You make Your angels spirits, Your ministers
a flaming fire. [You] laid the foundations of the earth. It should not be removed forever.
You covered it with the deep as a garment. The waters stood above the mountains. At Your rebuke, they fled. At the voice of Your thunder, they hasted
away. They go up by the
mountains. They go down by the valleys, to
the place that You have founded for them.
You have set a bound that they may not pass over. They turn not again to cover the earth.
He sends the springs to the
valleys. [They] run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst. By them the fowls of the heaven
shall have their drink. [They] sing among the branches. He waters the hills from His
chambers. The earth is satisfied with
the fruit of Your works.
He causes the grass to grow
for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: so that he may bring forth
food from the earth; and wine [that] makes glad the heart of man, oil to make [his] face shine, and bread [that] strengthens man’s heart.
The trees of the Lord are full, the cedars of Lebanon, that He has planted. There the birds make their nests.
[As
for] the stork, the fir trees [are]
her house. The high hills [are] a refuge for the wild goats, the
rocks for the rabbits.
He appointed the moon for
seasons. The sun knows its going down. You make darkness. It is night: when all the beasts of the forest
creep. The young lions
roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. The sun rises. They gather themselves together. They lay down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work, to
his labor until the evening.
Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your riches. So [is] this great and wide sea. There [are]
things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships. [There
is] that leviathan, You have made to play in them.
These all wait on You: so that
You may give their food in due season.
[What] You give them they
gather. You open Your hand. They are filled with good. You hide Your face. They are troubled. You take away their breath. They die, and return to their dust. You send forth Your spirit. They are created. You renew the face of the earth.
The Glory of the Lord shall endure forever. The Lord shall rejoice in His works.
He looks on the earth. It trembles.
He touches the hills. They smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will
sing praise to my God while I have my being.
My meditation of Him shall be sweet. I will be glad in the Lord.
Let the sinners be consumed from
the earth. Let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
any of them as you wish.
[1]
See Psalm 146. Psalm 104 sings of the
magnitude of God’s Glory, which is seen in His person and works. This is the great Vespers hymn.
The psalmist tolls the magnificence of God’s Glory. God is dressed in light, as men wear
clothing. Very possibly, man was
originally dressed in light, but became naked at the fall. The great mysteries of God’s works of creation
are praised.
The psalmist moves his ode to the flood. The earth is dressed in water, as God is
dressed in light, and as men wear clothing.
The floods are forbidden to again destroy the earth.
The flood waters are now diverted to peaceful use. Yahweh uses them to provide drink for every
living thing. The mood of the tamed
waters is playful and joyous.
Crops flourish with the coming of the peaceful waters. Crops provide food, drink, and ointment: the
necessities, joys, and luxuries of life.
Man thinks differently, but it doesn’t get any better than this.
Forests, mountains, and rocks provide natural dwellings for “all
creatures great and small.” No house is
made for man, because man will dwell with God.
Night and day move through their cycles, governing the works
of animals and man. The moon and sun
also govern the months, seasons, and years.
All of these things (this great wealth) are the products of
God’s wisdom. The psalmist returns to
consider the sea, which once destroyed the earth. Again, the mood is playful and joyous. Everything is like a grand dance, involving
everything from the smallest creepers to the largest beasts of the sea. Even man made ships join in the dance with
great leviathan. Leviathan literally
means coiled or twisted and most likely refers to an extinct and unidentified
sea monster. However, the modern use for
leviathan is the generic name for whales, which frequently come to dance (coil
and twist) or play with ships.
All of these creatures depend on God for life, for food, for
breath. Of all creatures, man alone
worries that God might not provide for him.
When they die, all return to the dust from which they were created. Creation is a specific work of the Holy
Ghost. Very possibly, creatures we
believe to be extinct, will be created afresh by God.
Yahweh’s Glory does not perish as creatures do, He is
eternal. Yahweh’s creation brings Him
great joy. We cannot think of the
violent contortions of the earth without remembering Noah’s Flood, together
with the giving of the Law at Sinai.
The psalmist breaks forth in song, grateful for all that Yahweh
has done.
One last work of God is mentioned. As Noah’s Flood removed wickedness (primarily
unbelief) from the earth, so also God continues in His quest to destroy
sin. Creation was good, without sin; but
creation was followed by the falling away of man: man tends to move away from a
state of belief and salvation, rather than toward it. When God rescued Adam and Eve from the fall
and provided them with new clothes, their children quickly fell away in sin,
from a state of redemption to a state of evil.
When God broke through in covenant with Noah, mankind quickly stumbled
again. And so, down through history, God
broke through with covenant after covenant after covenant: Abraham, Moses,
David, Jesus; each time mankind drifted off in unbelief. Man tends to move away from a state of belief
and salvation, rather than toward it. The
story of history is not that of man receiving salvation and never losing
it. The story of history is that of God
acting and man squandering. Jesus is our
last chance. Jesus is the end and
fulfillment of all of God’s covenants (Hebrews 13:20-21). God removes sin, by removing unbelieving
sinners.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.”
[2] The
play on words with clothing draws attention to Adam’s nakedness. The whole Psalm may be thought of as the sum
of God’s works in re-clothing Adam and Eve with Christ’s righteousness and making
them better than they were in Eden. However, Christ’s family consists of all those
who sincerely believe (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21). Sadly, this means that many natural children
will fall away, but this cannot be helped.
Our only comfort and consolation is that God will wipe away every tear
(Revelation 21:14).
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