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The Lord Takes Care of His Creation

I praise you, Lord God,
    with all my heart.
You are glorious and majestic,
dressed in royal robes
    and surrounded by light.
You spread out the sky
    like a tent,
and you built your home
    over the mighty ocean.
The clouds are your chariot
    with the wind as its wings.
(A) The winds are your messengers,
and flames of fire
    are your servants.

You built foundations
for the earth, and it
    will never be shaken.
You covered the earth
with the ocean that rose
    above the mountains.
Then your voice thundered!
And the water flowed
    down the mountains
and through the valleys
    to the place you prepared.
Now you have set boundaries,
so that the water will never
    flood the earth again.

10 You provide streams of water
    in the hills and valleys,
11 so that the donkeys
and other wild animals
    can satisfy their thirst.
12 Birds build their nests nearby
    and sing in the trees.
13 From your home above
you send rain on the hills
    and water the earth.
14 You let the earth produce
    grass for cattle,
    plants for our food,
15     wine to cheer us up,
    olive oil for our skin,
    and grain for our health.

16 Our Lord, your trees
    always have water,
and so do the cedars
    you planted in Lebanon.
17 Birds nest in those trees,
and storks make their home
    in the fir trees.
18 Wild goats find a home
    in the tall mountains,
and small animals can hide
    between the rocks.

19 You created the moon
    to tell us the seasons.
The sun knows when to set,
20     and you made the darkness,
so the animals in the forest
    could come out at night.
21 Lions roar as they hunt
    for the food you provide.
22 But when morning comes,
    they return to their dens,
23 then we go out to work
    until the end of day.

24 Our Lord, by your wisdom
    you made so many things;
the whole earth is covered
    with your living creatures.
25 But what about the ocean
    so big and wide?
It is alive with creatures,
    large and small.
26 (B) And there are the ships,
    as well as Leviathan,[a]
the monster you created
    to splash in the sea.

27 All of these depend on you
    to provide them with food,
28 and you feed each one
with your own hand,
    until they are full.
29 But when you turn away,
    they are terrified;
when you end their life,
    they die and rot.
30 You created all of them
    by your Spirit,
and you give new life
    to the earth.

31 Our Lord, we pray
that your glory
    will last forever
and that you will be pleased
    with what you have done.
32 You look at the earth,
    and it trembles.
You touch the mountains,
    and smoke goes up.
33 As long as I live,
I will sing and praise you,
    the Lord God.
34 I hope my thoughts
    will please you,
because you are the one
    who makes me glad.

35 Destroy all wicked sinners
from the earth
    once and for all.
With all my heart
I praise you, Lord!
    I praise you!

The Lord Can Be Trusted

(C) Praise the Lord
    and pray in his name!
Tell everyone
    what he has done.
Sing praises to the Lord!
    Tell about his miracles.
Celebrate and worship
his holy name
    with all your heart.

Trust the Lord
    and his mighty power.
Remember his miracles
and all his wonders
    and his fair decisions.
You belong to the family
    of Abraham, his servant;
you are his chosen ones,
    the descendants of Jacob.

The Lord is our God,
bringing justice
    everywhere on earth.
He will never forget
his agreement or his promises,
    not in thousands of years.
* (D) God made an eternal promise
10     (E) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
11 when he said, “I'll give you
    the land of Canaan.”

12 At the time there were
only a few of us,
    and we were homeless.
13 We wandered from nation
to nation, from one country
    to another.
14 (F) God did not let anyone
    mistreat our people.
Instead he protected us
    by punishing rulers
15 and telling them,
“Don't touch my chosen leaders
    or harm my prophets!”

16 (G) God kept crops from growing
until food was scarce
    everywhere in the land.
17 (H) But he had already sent Joseph,
    sold as a slave into Egypt,
18 (I) with chains of iron
    around his legs and neck.

19 Joseph remained a slave
until his own words
    had come true,
and the Lord had finished
    testing him.
20 (J) Then the king of Egypt
    set Joseph free
21 (K) and put him in charge
    of everything he owned.
22 Joseph was in command
    of the officials,
and he taught the leaders
    how to use wisdom.

23 (L) Jacob and his family
came and settled in Egypt
    as foreigners.
24 (M) They were the Lord's people,
so he let them grow stronger
    than their enemies.
25 They served the Lord,
and he made the Egyptians plan
    hateful things against them.
26 (N) God sent his servant Moses.
He also chose and sent Aaron
27     to his people in Egypt,
and they worked miracles
    and wonders there.
28 (O) Moses and Aaron obeyed God,
and he sent darkness
    to cover Egypt.
29 (P) God turned their rivers
into streams of blood,
    and the fish all died.
30 (Q) Frogs were everywhere,
    even in the royal palace.
31 (R) When God gave the command,
flies and gnats
    swarmed all around.

32 (S) In place of rain,
God sent hailstones
    and flashes of lightning.
33 He destroyed their grapevines
    and their fig trees,
and he made splinters
    of all the other trees.
34 (T) God gave the command,
and more grasshoppers came
    than could be counted.
35 They ate every green plant
and all the crops that grew
    in the land of Egypt.
36 (U) Then God took the life
    of every first-born son.

37 (V) When God led Israel from Egypt,
they took silver and gold,
    and no one was left behind.
38 The Egyptians were afraid
    and gladly let them go.
39 (W) God hid them under a cloud
and guided them by fire
    during the night.

40 (X) When they asked for food,
he sent more birds
    than they could eat.
41 (Y) God even split open a rock,
and streams of water
    gushed into the desert.
42 God never forgot
his sacred promise
    to his servant Abraham.

43 When the Lord rescued
his chosen people from Egypt,
    they celebrated with songs.
44 (Z) The Lord gave them the land
and everything else
    the nations had worked for.
45 He did this so that his people
would obey all his laws.
    Shout praises to the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. 104.26 Leviathan: See the note at 74.14.

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