How Many Are Your Works
A tour of the working world: springs in the valleys, birds nesting in branches, lions hunting at night, people leaving for work at dawn, ships at sea and Leviathan made to play there. All of it waits with open mouth for our Father to fill it.
104 1Bless our Father, my soul. My Father, 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 canopy. 3He lays the beams of his upper rooms on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he walks on the wings of the wind. 4He makes the winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. a a v4 The book of Hebrews quotes this line to show that our Father makes even wind and fire his servants — while the Son reigns as ruler, not servant.
5He set the earth on its foundations, so that it can never be moved. 6You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they rushed away. 8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. 9You set a boundary they cannot cross, so that they will never again cover the earth.
10You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills. 11They give drink to every wild animal; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12Beside them the birds of the sky make their home; they sing among the branches. 13He waters the mountains from his upper rooms; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14He makes grass grow for the livestock, and plants for people to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth, 15and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16The trees of our Father are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest creep about. 21The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from our Father. 22When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 23People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.
24How many are your works, our Father! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25Here is the sea, great and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both small and great. 26There the ships sail back and forth, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. b b v26 Leviathan: a fearsome sea monster in ancient Hebrew tradition, here pictured as God's own creature frolicking in the ocean.
27These all look to you to give them their food at the right time. 28When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
31May the glory of our Father endure forever; may our Father rejoice in his works. 32He looks on the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke.
33I will sing to our Father as long as I live; I will sing praise to our Father while I draw breath. 34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in our Father. 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless our Father, my soul. Hallelujah!
