Psalms: Bless the LORD, O My Soul: The Close of Book IV (Psalms 100–106)
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Psalm 100
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD,all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;come into his presence with joyful songs.Know that the LORD is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.Enter his gates with thanksgivingand his courts with praise;give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the LORD is good,and his loving devotion endures forever;his faithfulness continues to all generations.
Psalm 101
A Psalm of David.
I will sing of your loving devotion and justice;to you, O LORD, I will sing praises.
I will ponder the way that is blameless—when will you come to me?I will walk in my housewith integrity of heart.I will set no worthless thingbefore my eyes.I hate the work of those who fall away;it shall not cling to me.A perverse heart shall depart from me;I will know nothing of evil.
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,I will put to silence;the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart,I will not endure.My eyes favor the faithful of the land,that they may dwell with me;he who walks in the way of integrityshall minister to me.
No one who practices deceitshall dwell in my house;no one who tells liesshall stand in my presence.Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land,that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.
Psalm 102
A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.
Hear my prayer, O LORD;let my cry for help come before you.Do not hide your face from mein my day of distress.Incline your ear to me;answer me quickly when I call.
For my days vanish like smoke,and my bones burn like glowing embers.My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass;I even forget to eat my bread.Through my loud groaningmy flesh clings to my bones.I am like a desert owl,like an owl among the ruins.I lie awake;I am like a lone bird on a housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;they ridicule me and curse me.For I have eaten ashes like breadand mixed my drink with tearsbecause of your indignation and wrath,for you have picked me up and cast me aside.My days are like lengthening shadows,and I wither away like grass.
But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;your renown endures to all generations.You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come.For your servants delight in her stonesand take pity on her dust.
So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.For the LORD will rebuild Zion;he has appeared in his glory.He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute;he will not despise their prayer.
Let this be written for the generation to come,so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.For he looked down from the heights of his sanctuary;the LORD gazed out from heaven to earthto hear a prisoner’s groaning,to release those condemned to death,that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zionand praise him in Jerusalem,when peoples and kingdoms assembleto serve the LORD.
He has broken my strength on the way;he has cut short my days.I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days!Your years go on through all generations.In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,and the heavens are the work of your hands.They will perish, but you remain;they will all wear out like a garment.Like clothing you will change them,and they will be passed on.But you remain the same,and your years will never end.The children of your servants will dwell securely,and their descendants will be established before you.”
Psalm 103
Of David.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;all that is within me, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and do not forget all his kind deeds—he who forgives all your iniquitiesand heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the Pitand crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,who satisfies you with good things,so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executes righteousnessand justice for all the oppressed.He made known his ways to Moses,his deeds to the people of Israel.The LORD is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.He will not always accuse us,nor harbor his anger forever.He has not dealt with us according to our sinsor repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,so great is his loving devotion for those who fear him.As far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.As a father has compassion on his children,so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.For he knows our frame;he is mindful that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;when the wind passes over, it vanishes,and its place remembers it no more.But from everlasting to everlastingthe loving devotion of the LORDextends to those who fear him,and his righteousness to their children’s children—to those who keep his covenantand remember to obey his precepts.The LORD has established his throne in heaven,and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all his angels mighty in strengthwho carry out his word,who hearken to the voice of his command.Bless the LORD, all his hosts,you servants who do his will.Bless the LORD, all his worksin all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Psalm 104
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great;you are clothed with splendor and majesty.He wraps himself in light as with a garment;he stretches out the heavens like a tent,laying the beams of his chambersin the waters above,making the clouds his chariot,walking on the wings of the wind.He makes the winds his messengers,flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations,never to be moved.You covered it with the deep like a garment;the waters stood above the mountains.At your rebuke the waters fled;at the sound of your thunder they hurried away—the mountains rose and the valleys sankto the place you assigned for them—you set a boundary they cannot cross,that they may never again cover the earth.
He sends forth springs in the valleys;they flow between the mountains.They give drink to every beast of the field;the wild donkeys quench their thirst.The birds of the air nest beside the springs;they sing among the branches.He waters the mountains from his chambers;the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his works.
He makes the grass grow for the livestockand provides crops for man to cultivate,bringing forth food from the earth:wine that gladdens the heart of man,oil that makes his face to shine,and bread that sustains his heart.The trees of the LORD have their fill,the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,where the birds build their nests;the stork makes her home in the cypresses.The high mountains are for the wild goats,the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
He made the moon to mark the seasons;the sun knows when to set.You bring darkness, and it becomes night,when all the beasts of the forest prowl.The young lions roar for their preyand seek their food from God.The sun rises, and they withdraw;they lie down in their dens.Man goes forth to his workand to his labor until evening.
How many are your works, O LORD!In wisdom you have made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.Here is the sea, vast and wide,teeming with creatures beyond number,living things both great and small.There the ships pass,and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
All creatures look to youto give them their food in due season.When you give it to them,they gather it up;when you open your hand,they are satisfied with good things.When you hide your face,they are terrified;when you take away their breath,they die and return to dust.When you send your Spirit,they are created,and you renewthe face of the earth.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;may the LORD rejoice in his works.He looks on the earth,and it trembles;he touches the mountains,and they smolder.I will sing to the LORD all my life;I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.May my meditation be pleasing to him,for I rejoice in the LORD.May sinners vanish from the earthand the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 105
Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name;make known his deeds among the nations.Sing to him, sing praises to him;tell of all his wonders.Glory in his holy name;let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.Seek out the LORD and his strength;seek his face always.Remember the wonders he has done,his marvels, and the judgments he has pronounced,O offspring of his servant Abraham,O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the LORD our God;his judgments carry throughout the earth.He remembers his covenant forever,the word he ordained for a thousand generations—the covenant he made with Abraham,and the oath he swore to Isaac.He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,to Israel as an everlasting covenant:“I will give you the land of Canaanas the portion of your inheritance.”
When they were few in number,few indeed, and strangers in the land,they wandered from nation to nation,from one kingdom to another.He let no man oppress them;he rebuked kings on their behalf:“Do not touch my anointed ones!Do no harm to my prophets!”
He called down famine on the landand cut off all their supplies of food.He sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave.They bruised his feet with shacklesand placed his neck in irons,until his prediction came trueand the word of the LORD proved him right.The king sent and released him;the ruler of peoples set him free.He made him master of his household,ruler over all his substance,to instruct his princes as he pleasedand teach his elders wisdom.
Then Israel entered Egypt;Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.And the LORD made his people very fruitful,more numerous than their foes,whose hearts he turned to hate his people,to conspire against his servants.He sent Moses his servant,and Aaron, whom he had chosen.They performed his miraculous signs among them,and wonders in the land of Ham.He sent darkness, and it became dark—yet they defied his words.
He turned their waters to bloodand caused their fish to die.Their land teemed with frogs,even in their royal chambers.He spoke, and insects swarmed—gnats throughout their country.He gave them hail for rain,with lightning throughout their land.He struck their vines and fig treesand shattered the trees of their country.He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number.They devoured every plant in their landand consumed the produce of their soil.Then he struck all the firstborn in their land,the firstfruits of all their vigor.
He brought Israel out with silver and gold,and none among his tribes stumbled.Egypt was glad when they departed,for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.He spread a cloud as a coveringand a fire to light up the night.They asked, and he brought quailand satisfied them with the bread of heaven.He opened a rock, and water gushed out;it flowed like a river in the desert.For he remembered his holy promiseto Abraham his servant.He brought forth his people with rejoicing,his chosen with shouts of joy.He gave them the lands of the nations,that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,that they might keep his statutesand obey his laws.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 106
Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;his loving devotion endures forever.Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORDor fully proclaim his praise?Blessed are those who uphold justice,who practice righteousness at all times.
Remember me, O LORD, in your favor to your people;visit me with your salvation,that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,and rejoice in the gladness of your nation,and give glory with your inheritance.
We have sinned like our fathers;we have done wrong and acted wickedly.Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp your wondersor remember your abundant kindness;but they rebelled by the sea,there at the Red Sea.Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,to make his power known.He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;he led them through the depths as through a desert.He saved them from the hand that hated them;he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.The waters covered their foes;not one of them remained.Then they believed his promisesand sang his praise.
Yet they soon forgot his worksand failed to wait for his counsel.They craved intensely in the wildernessand tested God in the desert.So he granted their request,but sent a wasting disease upon them.
In the camp they envied Moses,as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;it covered the assembly of Abiram.Then fire blazed through their company;flames consumed the wicked.
At Horeb they made a calfand worshiped a molten image.They exchanged their Gloryfor the image of a grass-eating ox.They forgot God their Savior,who did great things in Egypt,wondrous works in the land of Ham,and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.So he said he would destroy them—had not Moses his chosen onestood before him in the breachto divert his wrath from destroying them.
They despised the pleasant land;they did not believe his promise.They grumbled in their tentsand did not listen to the voice of the LORD.So he raised his hand and sworeto cast them down in the wilderness,to disperse their offspring among the nationsand scatter them throughout the lands.
They yoked themselves to Baal of Peorand ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,and a plague broke out among them.But Phinehas stood and intervened,and the plague was restrained.It was credited to him as righteousnessfor endless generations to come.
At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,and trouble came to Moses because of them.For they rebelled against his Spirit,and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.
They did not destroy the peoplesas the LORD had commanded them,but they mingled with the nationsand adopted their customs.They worshiped their idols,which became a snare to them.They sacrificed their sonsand their daughters to demons.They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters,whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,and the land was polluted with blood.They defiled themselves by their actionsand prostituted themselves by their deeds.
So the anger of the LORD burned against his people,and he abhorred his own inheritance.He delivered them into the hand of the nations,and those who hated them ruled over them.Their enemies oppressed them,and subdued them under their hand.Many times he rescued them,but they were bent on rebellionand sank down in their iniquity.
Nevertheless he heard their cry;he took note of their distress.And he remembered his covenant with them,and relented by the abundance of his loving devotion.He made them objects of compassionto all who held them captive.
Save us, O LORD our God,and gather us from the nations,that we may give thanks to your holy name,that we may glory in your praise.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!