Forgotten Ground Regained
How Manifold Are Thy Works (Psalm 104)
Poem revised from Tree of Life: Sixty Poems from Twelve Years. Portions of Psalm 104 are read on the Day of Pentecost, the Day of Thanksgiving, and Harvest Observance.
O Lord, my God, great is Your name;You are clothed in majesty, O Maker of all.Enwrapped in light, Your luminous garment,You stretch out the heavens like a starry curtain;the beams of Your palace You place in the waters.Like a racing chariot are the clouds You ride;on the wings of the wind You walk at Your will.Your messengers the angels are like mighty winds;these fleet ministers are Your flaming fire.
You set the earth on solid foundationsto keep it stable and still forever.You covered it with the deep as with a draping garment;the waters stood above the steep mountains.At Your rebuke they fled, flowing awayhastily from the voice of the heavens’ thunder.Over the high mountains, into the hidden valleys,they flowed to the places You formed and appointed.You set them a boundary to bar the watersfrom coming back again to blanket the earth.
Into the valleys You send the springs to satisfythe thirst of asses and other beasts.In branches nearby, the birds of the airnestle in safety and sweetly sing.You water the hills from Your high chambersto satisfy the world with Your fruitful works.
You cause the grass to grow for cattle;You prosper the crops planted to meetthe needs of humans who hunger and thirst.The gift of wine that gladdens hearts,the oil that furnishes luster to faces,and sustaining bread are bounty You bestow.The cedars of Lebanon, flowing with sap,are planted by Your hand. Here are the nestsof little birds who blithely sing;while the fir trees furnish shelterto the long-legged storks who soar aloft.Wild goats are at home on the high hills,while the crags are a refuge for the rock badgers.
You have made the moon to mark the seasons.Your sun goes down to provide darknessfor the creeping forth of forest beasts.This is the time the lions look for their prey,for they must seek the meat that makes them strong.When the sun rises, their roaring ceases;the lions gather together to shelter;again they lie down in their dens to sleep—while men begin to go to workand labor as long as the light remains.
How manifold are Your works, O mighty Lord!In marvelous wisdom You made them all;the earth abounds with all You created.In the teeming sea, where ships travel,are sea creatures of all sizes,the fish who swim swiftly alongand the great Leviathan, vastest of monsters,formed by Your will to frolic in the water.
All You have formed wait to be fedby Your sustaining hand, O Holy Lord.You satisfy their hunger in due season;they gather up the good You give to them.
When You hide Your face, how they are troubled!Their breath departs, they perish, they die,they decay, they desiccate; they return to dust.When You loose Your breath, they live and breathe:so You ever renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of God, our great Creator,ever endure, day after day.May He rejoice in the wondrous work of His hands.For the earth trembles in awe at His glance;and at His single touch, the mountains smoke.
I will laud the Lord as long as I live;I will heap praise on Him while I have my being.May my musings please my marvelous Makeras the Lord my God gladdens my heart.But may sinners be removed from the earth He made;may wicked people depart forevermore.
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