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Knowing God · Volume 1
Psalm 103; Psalm 104; Psalm 107; Psalm 108; Psalm 109
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Psalm 103
1Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—
3He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
4who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,
5who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.
8The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
9He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
14For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.
15As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;
16when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.
17But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
18to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.
19The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
20Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
21Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.
22Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Psalm 104
1Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
3laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind.
4He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.
5He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
6You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—
8the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them—
9You set a boundary they cannot cross, that they may never again cover the earth.
10He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains.
11They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12The birds of the air nest beside the springs; they sing among the branches.
13He waters the mountains from His chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.
14He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
15wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
16The trees of the LORD have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,
17where the birds build their nests; the stork makes her home in the cypresses.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
20You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
22The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens.
23Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.
24How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.
25Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.
26There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.
27All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.
28When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
29When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
30When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works.
32He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smolder.
33I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
35May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!
Psalm 107
1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3and gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.
5They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.
6Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
7He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.
8Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
9For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
11because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.
15Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
16For He has broken down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
17Fools, in their rebellious ways, and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.
18They loathed all food and drew near to the gates of death.
19Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
20He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.
21Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.
23Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters.
24They saw the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep.
25For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.
26They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths; their courage melted in their anguish.
27They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill was useless.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.
29He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30They rejoiced in the silence, and He guided them to the harbor they desired.
31Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
32Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.
33He turns rivers into deserts, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
35He turns a desert into pools of water and a dry land into flowing springs.
36He causes the hungry to settle there, that they may establish a city in which to dwell.
37They sow fields and plant vineyards that yield a fruitful harvest.
38He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.
39When they are decreased and humbled by oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
41But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.
42The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth.
43Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.
Psalm 108
1My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my being.
2Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
3I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing Your praises among the peoples.
4For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
6Respond and save us with Your right hand, that Your beloved may be delivered.
7God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
8Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
9Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
11Have You not rejected us, O God? Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
12Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
13With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
Psalm 109
1O God of my praise, be not silent.
2For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
3They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
4In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8May his days be few; may another take his position.
9May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
16For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
17The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
18The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
19May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
21But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
22For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
23I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
27Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
28Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
30With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Translation: BSB