Psalm 104 - The Contemplative Bible Meditation Series

Psalm 104 is a breathtaking hymn of praise,

A spiritual song that lifts our eyes from the dust of daily burdens to the majesty of a living,

Breathing universe shaped by divine hands.

For the modern reader,

Often caught between noise and rush,

This psalm offers a sacred pause.

It is a doorway back to wonder,

A reminder that we are nestled within a creation that speaks of care,

Precision and overflowing generosity.

This meditation will walk slowly through each verse,

Inviting you to rediscover yourself,

Your Creator and your place in this wide and wondrous world.

May your heart find comfort,

Your mind find peace and your soul remember its home.

Psalm 104 Bless the Lord,

O my soul.

O Lord my God,

You are very great.

You are clothed with honour and majesty,

Who cover yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Who makes His angels,

Spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire.

You who laid the foundations of the earth so that it should not be moved forever.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment.

The waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke they fled,

At the voice of your thunder they hastened away.

They went up over the mountains,

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which you founded for them.

You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.

He sends the springs into the valleys,

They flow among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field,

The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

By them the birds of the heavens have their home,

They sing among the branches.

He waters the hills from His upper chambers.

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the service of man,

That He may bring forth food from the earth,

And wine that makes glad the heart of man,

Oil to make His face shine,

And bread which strengthens man's heart.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,

The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

Where the birds make their nests,

The stalk has a home in the fir trees.

The high hills are for the wild goats,

The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

He appointed the moon for seasons,

The sun knows it's going down.

You make darkness and it is night,

In which all the beasts of the forest creep around.

The young lions row after their prey and seek their food from God.

When the sun rises,

They gather together and lie down in their dens.

Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

O Lord,

How manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions.

This great and wide sea,

In which are innumerable teeming things,

Living things,

Both small and great,

There the ships sail about,

There is that Leviathan,

Which You have made to play there.

These all wait for You,

That You may give them their food in due season.

What You give them,

They gather in.

You open Your hand,

They are filled with good.

You hide Your face,

They are troubled.

You take away their breath,

They die and return to the dust.

You send forth Your Spirit,

They are created,

And You renew the 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 hills and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be sweet to Him.

I will be glad in the Lord.

May sinners be consumed from the earth and the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord,

O my soul.

Praise the Lord.

O Lord my God,

You are very great.

You are clothed with honour and majesty.

You cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds of His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Who makes His angels' spirits,

His ministers,

A flame of fire.

The psalm begins not with outward observation,

But with the stirring of the soul.

Bless the Lord,

O my soul,

Teaches us,

Worship is not mere duty.

It is the natural expression of an awakened inner life.

We know that gratitude shifts our brain chemistry towards joy.

Thus,

When we bless God,

We actually bless ourselves with alignment,

Awe and peace.

Today,

Practice turning your inner voice toward praise.

When anxiety arises,

Say quietly within,

Bless the Lord,

O my soul.

Let gratitude be your medicine.

You who laid the foundations of the earth so that it should not be moved forever.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment.

The waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke,

They fled.

At the voice of your thunder,

They hastened away.

They went up over the mountains.

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which you founded for them.

You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.

In these verses,

We are reminded that boundaries,

Boundaries which are so often resented in human life,

Are divine gifts.

The sea has its limits,

The mountains their heights.

In the same way,

Healthy personal boundaries are not barriers,

But structures that make love and trust and connection possible.

Ask yourself,

Where might you need to set or honor boundaries to protect the life God is growing within you?

Verses 10-13 He sends the springs into the valleys.

They flow among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field.

The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

By them,

The birds of the heavens have their home.

They sing among the branches.

He waters the hills from his upper chambers.

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works.

Water flowing through valleys.

This paints a picture of provision flowing to the low places.

It is a promise that no valley in your life is so low that it cannot be reached by divine care.

Trust that even the dry,

Shadowed parts of your life will be watered in due time.

As the wild donkeys quench their thirst,

As the birds of the heavens have their home,

Allow yourself to receive provision instead of forcing it.

Verses 14-18 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the service of man,

That he may bring forth food from the earth and wine that makes glad the heart of man,

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread which strengthens man's heart.

There is a natural order to provision.

Every creature,

Every creature is given what it needs,

Is given what is uniquely suited to its design.

This speaks to human beings as well.

Your talents,

Your quirks,

Your longings,

They all have a place in the divine economy.

Instead of striving to be someone else,

Nurture what is uniquely yours,

Recognize what is uniquely yours and nurture it.

Rest in the knowledge that you,

That we all have been equipped for our journey.

Verses 19-23 He appointed the moon for seasons,

The sun knows it's going down.

You make darkness and it is night,

In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.

The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.

When the sun rises,

They gather together and lie down in their dens.

Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

Life moves in cycles,

Light and dark,

Day and rest.

We often try to fight the rhythms of life.

We try to live constantly in the harvest.

But wisdom teaches us that seasons of stillness are sacred too.

Honor your natural rhythms.

Work when it's time to work,

Rest when it's time to rest.

Your worth is not measured by constant production.

And we also know that the quality of our production,

The quality of our harvest,

Often depends on whether we have got enough rest.

So honor your rest.

Verses 24-26 O Lord,

How manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all.

The earth is full of your possessions.

This great and wide sea,

In which are innumerable teeming things,

Living things,

Both small and great.

There the ships sail about.

There is that Leviathan,

Which you have made to play there.

Even the Leviathan,

The Leviathan who is the great sea creature,

It's pictured as playing.

Play is not frivolous.

Play is a sacred part.

Play is an essential part of the joy of creation.

Can you let yourself play today?

Creativity,

Laughter,

Imagination,

These are the holy echoes of the Creator's delight.

Verses 27-30 These all wait for you,

That you may give them their food in due season.

What you give them,

They gather in.

You open your hand,

They are filled with good.

You hide your face,

They are troubled.

You take away their breath,

They die and return to their dust.

You send forth your spirit,

They are created.

And you renew the face of the earth.

Waiting is not wasted.

All creation waits on God's timing.

Trusting in invisible sustenance.

In the same way,

We are invited to deepen our patience and our trust.

When life slows,

When life stalls,

See it as sacred waiting,

Not failure.

Stay open to the Spirit's renewing breath.

Verses 31-35 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 hills and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be sweet to Him.

I will be glad in the Lord.

May sinners be consumed from the earth and the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord,

O my soul.

Praise the Lord.

The psalm closes where it began.

With blessing,

With song,

With inner commitment.

Amidst impermanence,

The heart that clings to the eternal finds stability.

Anchor yourself in praise.

Let your soul,

Not your circumstance,

Define your song.

Apre O source of light and life,

Clothe us anew with wonder.

Teach us to trust the seasons,

To cherish the waters,

To honour the boundaries you have wisely set.

Where there is fear,

Sow peace.

Where there is striving,

Sow stillness.

Where there is despair,

Sow hope.

May our lives,

Like the psalmist's song,

Rise each day in gratitude,

In trust.

May we live as rivers of blessing flowing back to you.

Amen.