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XXVII. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS.

PSALM 104: 1-35.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, thou art very great;

Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;

Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;

Who maketh the clouds his chariot;

Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
Who maketh winds his messengers;
His ministers a flaming fire:

Who laid the foundations of the earth,

That it should not be moved for ever.

Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture;
The waters stood above the mountains.

At thy rebuke they fled;

At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away;

They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys, Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them.

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;

That they turn not again to cover the earth.
He sendeth forth springs into the valleys;

They run among the mountains:

They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild asses quench their thirst.

By them the fowl of the heaven have their habitation,
They sing among the branches.

He watereth the mountains from his chambers:

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,

And herb for the service of man;

That he may bring forth food out of the earth:
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
And oil to make his face to shine,

And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.

The trees of the Lord are satisfied;

The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests:

As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
He appointed the moon for seasons:

The sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness, and it is night;

Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

The young lions roar after their prey,

And seek their meat from God.

The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labour until the evening.

O Lord, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all:
The earth is full of thy riches.

Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

Wherein are things creeping innumerable,

Both small and great beasts.

There go the ships;

There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to take his pastime

therein.

These wait all upon thee,

That thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

That thou givest unto them they gather;

Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good.

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled;

Thou takest away their breath, they die,

And return to their dust.

Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created;

And thou renewest the face of the ground.

Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
Let the Lord rejoice in his works:

Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth;

He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live:

I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
Let my meditation be sweet unto him:

I will rejoice in the Lord.

Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,

And let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Praise ye the Lord.

XXVIII.

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS BENEVOLENCE.

PSALM 107: 1-10, 19-43.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:

For his mercy endureth for ever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary;

And gathered them out of the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way;

They found no city of habitation.

Hungry and thirsty,

Their soul fainted in them.

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
And he delivered them out of their distresses.
He led them also by a straight way,

That they might go to a city of habitation.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,

And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
For he satisfieth the longing soul,

And the hungry soul he filleth with good.

Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Being bound in affliction and iron;

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,
And he saveth them out of their distresses.

He sendeth his word, and healeth them,
And delivereth them from their destructions.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare his works with singing.

They that go down to the sea in ships,
That do business in great waters;

These see the works of the Lord,

And his wonders in the deep.

For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,

Which lifteth up the waves thereof.

They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths:

Their soul melteth away because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

And are at their wits' end.

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,

And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm,

So that the waves thereof are still.

Then are they glad because they be quiet;

So he bringeth them unto the haven where they would be.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise him in the seat of the elders.

He turneth rivers into a wilderness,
And watersprings into a thirsty ground;
A fruitful land into a salt desert,

For the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water,
And a dry land into watersprings.

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell,

That they may prepare a city of habitation;

And sow fields, and plant vineyards,

And get them fruits of increase.

He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly;
And he suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

Again, they are minished and bowed down
Through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.

He poureth contempt upon princes,

And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way. Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction,

And maketh him families like a flock.

The upright shall see it, and be glad;

And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

Whoso is wise shall give heed to these things,

And they shall consider the mercies of the Lord.

XXIX. GOD'S MERCY.

PSALM 118: 1-10, 14-29.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
For his mercy endureth for ever.

Let Israel now say,

That his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say,

That his mercy endureth for ever.

Let them now that fear the Lord say,

That his mercy endureth for ever.

Out of my distress I called upon the Lord:

The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear:

What can man do unto me?

The Lord is on my side among them that help me:

Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord

Than to put confidence in princes.

All nations compassed me about:

In the name of the Lord I will cut them off.

The Lord is my strength and song;

And he is become my salvation.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:

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