Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Psalm 137:1-6 (7-9), 144 • Psalm 104
Job 3:1-26 • Acts 9:10-19a • John 6:41-51

“May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.” Psalm 104: 34

I am unsettled by this morning’s psalms and the reading from Job and find them unsuited for calm reflection. So I have moved to the psalm for this evening’s prayers, Psalm 104, whose verses seem perfectly designed for morning prayers.

The psalmist begins with God riding his cloud-chariot upon the wings of the wind. I can imagine that image well as I look out our window and see the clouds and the sun competing for the day, finally compromising by raining and shining at the same time. The verses continue as a retelling of the creation story. God covers the earth with water, then makes the mountains rise and the valleys sink, creating a boundary so that the earth will never again be covered with water.

From these mountains spring forth the streams that nourish the trees, the animals, the birds, the plants, the sea which teems with life (including the mighty Leviathan, which sports for joy there), and, finally, God’s last creation, humankind. And for us his children he makes “wine to gladden the heart” and bread to strengthen us to get our day’s work done. 

These verses lift my heart so that it sings in unison with the psalmist, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being,” v33. If you haven’t read Psalm 104 yet today, I recommend it to you now. If you have already read it, I recommend looking at it again, maybe singing it, as the psalmist might have done. It will gladden your heart. 

Written by Kay N. DuVal

Kay hopes that you are well and safe and that a reading of Psalm 104 gives you the lift you need today.