The heavens praise thy wonders, O Lord.
Thy faithfulness too in the holy assembly,
For who in the skies compares with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the sons of God?

A God awe-inspiring in the council of the holy ones,
Exalted and revered above all who surround him!
O Lord, God of hosts, who is strong like thee?
Thy faithfulness, O Lord, is around about thee.

Thou art the lord of the proud-swelling sea,
When its waves rise up, it is thou who stillest them.
Thou didst break Chaos in pieces, as one that is slain.
Thou scatterest thy foes with thy mighty arm.

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine;

The world and its people-thou hast founded them.
The north and the south, it is thou who didst create

them;

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name.

Thine is an arm endued with might,

Strong is thy hand, and thy right hand exalted.

Justice and righteousness are thy throne's foundation; Goodness and faithfulness ever attend thee.

Happy are the people who know the festal call,
They live, O Lord, in the light of thy presence,
In thy name they sing glad songs all the day,
And through thy righteousness they are exalted.

272.

GOD'S PROVISION FOR ALL HIS CREATURES

Bless the Lord, O my soul !

O Lord, my God, thou art great;

Thou art clothed with glory and majesty,

Thou puttest on light as a mantle;

Thou stretchest the heavens like a tent,

Thou framest thy upper stories in the waters,
Thou makest the clouds thy chariot,

Thou ridest on the wings of the wind,

Thou makest winds thy messengers,
Flames of fire are thy servants.

Thou didst fix the earth on its foundations,

That it should not be moved forever.

Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment. The waters stood far above the mountains,

But at thy rebuke they fled,

At the sound of thy thunder they hastened away,
Not to pass the bound thou hadst set, 14

Not to return to cover the earth.

Mountains rose, valleys sank,

To the place which thou hadst prepared for them.

Thou sendest the springs to the valleys,
They run down between the mountains,
They give drink to every wild beast,
The wild asses quench their thirst.

The birds make their home beside them,

They sing from among the branches.

Thou waterest the mountains from thine upper stories; The earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.

Thou makest grass spring up for the cattle,

And herbage for the service of man,

Causing food to spring from the earth,
Wine to gladden man's heart,

Oil that makes his face shine,

And bread to strengthen his heart.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,

The cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,› }
Where the birds build their nests;

The stork has her home in the fir-trees.qs
The high mountains are for the wild goats,

zalf

The rocks are a hiding-place for the marmots. * [

Thou createst the moon to divide the year,
The sun knows when it should set.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
In which wild beasts creep forth;
The young lions roar for their prey,
And seek their food from God.
When the sun arises they vanish,
And lay themselves down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work,
To toil until evening comes.

O Lord, how many thy works!
Wisely thou madest them all;
The earth is full of thy creatures.
There is the sea, great and wide,
With its crawling things innumerable,
Living things both small and great;
There go the monsters of the sea,
And the dragon thou madest to play.

These all wait for thee,

To give them their food in due season.
When thou givest to them, they gather it;
Thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied.
Thou hidest thy face, they are frightened;
Thou takest their breath, they die,

And return to the dust from which they came.
Thou sendest thy spirit, and they are created;
Thou refillest the earth with living things.

May the glory of the Lord be eternal,
Let the Lord rejoice in his works.

He looks at the earth, and it trembles,

He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live,
I will sing praise to my God while I exist.
May my meditation be pleasing unto him;
I myself find my joy in the Lord.

May sinners vanish from the earth,

And let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

273. THE BOUNDLESSNESS OF GOD's Love

Thy love, O Lord, extends to heaven,

Thy faithfulness even to the skies,

Thy righteousness is as the mighty mountains,

Thy judgments are like the great deep.

Thou preservest both man and beast,
O God, how precious is thy love!

Men trust in the shadow of thy wings,

They are satisfied with the rich things of thy house, Thou makest them drink from the stream of thy plea

sures,

For with thee is the fountain of life,

And in thy light we see light.

O continue thy love to those who know thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Let not the feet of the arrogant trample me,
Nor the hand of wrong-doers drive me away.

Already the evil-doers have fallen,

They are cast down and are unable to rise!

274. GOD'S FATHERLY GOODNESS

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless his holy name, OT

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all his benefits,

Who forgives all your iniquities,

And heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the grave, lob

And crowns you with love and tender mercy,te nof

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord is a doer of righteous acts,
And of justice to all the oppressed.
He made known his laws to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Patient and full of love.

He will not always contend,
Nor retain his anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is his love toward those who revere him.
As far as the east is from the west

Has he removed our wrong deeds from us.

As a father loves his children,

So the Lord loves those who revere him,
For he understands our nature,

He remembers that we are dust.

Frail man-his days are as grass;

As a flower of the field, he flourishes,
For the wind passes over it and it is gone,
And its place knows it no more.

But the love of the Lord is eternal,

And his righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep their covenant with him,
And remember to obey his commands.

He has established his throne in the heavens,
And his rule extends over all.

Bless the Lord, his angels,

You strong ones who do his bidding.

i