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Psalm 104

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul. ♦︎
   O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
2  You are clothed with majesty and honour, ♦︎
   wrapped in light as in a garment.
3  You spread out the heavens like a curtain ♦︎
   and lay the beams of your dwelling place in the waters above.
4  You make the clouds your chariot ♦︎
   and ride on the wings of the wind.
5  You make the winds your messengers ♦︎
   and flames of fire your servants.
6  You laid the foundations of the earth, ♦︎
   that it never should move at any time.
7  You covered it with the deep like a garment; ♦︎
   the waters stood high above the hills.
8  At your rebuke they fled; ♦︎
   at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.
9  They rose up to the hills and flowed down to the valleys beneath, ♦︎
   to the place which you had appointed for them.
10  You have set them their bounds that they should not pass, ♦︎
   nor turn again to cover the earth.
11  You send the springs into the brooks, ♦︎
   which run among the hills.
12  They give drink to every beast of the field, ♦︎
   and the wild asses quench their thirst.
13  Beside them the birds of the air make their nests ♦︎
   and sing among the branches.
14  You water the hills from your dwelling on high; ♦︎
   the earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
15  You make grass to grow for the cattle ♦︎
   and plants to meet our needs,
16  Bringing forth food from the earth ♦︎
   and wine to gladden our hearts,
17  Oil to give us a cheerful countenance ♦︎
   and bread to strengthen our hearts.
18  The trees of the Lord are full of sap, ♦︎
   the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
19  In which the birds build their nests, ♦︎
   while the fir trees are a dwelling for the stork.
20  The mountains are a refuge for the wild goats ♦︎
   and the stony cliffs for the conies.
21  You appointed the moon to mark the seasons, ♦︎
   and the sun knows the time for its setting.
22  You make darkness that it may be night, ♦︎
   in which all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
23  The lions roar for their prey ♦︎
   and seek their food from God.
24  The sun rises and they are gone ♦︎
   to lay themselves down in their dens.
25  People go forth to their work ♦︎
   and to their labour until the evening.
26  O Lord, how manifold are your works! ♦︎
   In wisdom you have made them all;
      the earth is full of your creatures.
27  There is the sea, spread far and wide, ♦︎
   and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.
28  There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan ♦︎
   which you have made to play in the deep.
29  All of these look to you ♦︎
   to give them their food in due season.
30  When you give it them, they gather it; ♦︎
   you open your hand and they are filled with good.
31  When you hide your face they are troubled; ♦︎
   when you take away their breath,
      they die and return again to the dust.
32  When you send forth your spirit, they are created, ♦︎
   and you renew the face of the earth.
33  May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; ♦︎
   may the Lord rejoice in his works;
34  He looks on the earth and it trembles; ♦︎
   he touches the mountains and they smoke.
35  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; ♦︎
   I will make music to my God while I have my being.
36  So shall my song please him ♦︎
   while I rejoice in the Lord.
37  Let sinners be consumed out of the earth
      and the wicked be no more. ♦︎
   Bless the Lord, O my soul.
      Alleluia.

⁷ Before she was in labour
   she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
   she delivered a son.
⁸ Who has heard of such a thing?
   Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
   Shall a nation be delivered in one moment?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labour
   she delivered her children.
⁹ Shall I open the womb and not deliver?
   says the Lord;
shall I, the one who delivers, shut the womb?
   says your God.

¹⁰ Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
   all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
   all you who mourn over her—
¹¹ that you may nurse and be satisfied
   from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
   from her glorious bosom.

¹² For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
   and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
   and dandled on her knees.
¹³ As a mother comforts her child,
   so I will comfort you;
   you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Do Not Worry

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^{* 26}If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;^* yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, strive for his^* kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.