August 9

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty:

2 Who covetest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4 Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire:

5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6 Thou coverest it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of the earth:

15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and all to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17 Where the birox make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conics.

19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down

20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth

21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens

23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works: in wisdom hath thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts

26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28 That thou givest them they gather, thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good

29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled, thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust

30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works

32 He loozeeth on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. 35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

"This psalm is an inspired 'Oratorio of Creation.'"—Christopher Wordsworth.

"It is a poet's version of Genesis. Nor is it alone the present condition of the earth which is here the subject of song; but a hint is given of those holier times when we shall see 'a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness,' out of which the sinner shall be consumed (verse 35). The spirit of ardent praise to God runs through the whole, and with it a distinct realization of the divine Being as a personal existence, loved and trusted as well as adored."—C. H. Spurgeon.

The whole lies before us as a panorama of the universe viewed by the eye of devotion. "Each created, redeemed, regenerated soul is bound to praise the Lord, the Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; for that God the Son, who in the beginning made the worlds, and whose grace is ever carrying on His work to its perfect end by the operation of the Holy Ghost, has been revealed before us in His exceeding glory. He, as the eternal High-Priest, hath put on the Urim and Thummim of majesty and honor, and hath clothed Himself with light, as a priest clothes himself with his holy vestments: His brightness on the mount of transfiguration was but a passing glimpse of what He is now, ever hath been, and ever shall be. He is the true Light, therefore His angels are the angels of light, His children the children of light, His doctrine the doctrine of light. The universe is His tabernacle; the heavens visible and invisible are the curtains which shroud His holy place. He hath laid the beams and foundations of His holy of holies very high, even above the waters which are above the firmament. The clouds and the winds of the lower heavens are His chariot, upon which He stood when He ascended from Olivet, upon which He will sit when He cometh again."—Plain Commentary.

Closet Promise.—He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.—Psalm exlvii. 3, 4.

I looked up to the heavens once more, and the quietness of the stars seemed to reproach me. "We are safe up here," they seemed to say; "we shine, fearless and confident, for the God who gave the primrose its rough leaves to hide it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in the awful hollows of space. We cannot fall out of His safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold! Who hath created these things—that bringeth out their host by number? He calleth them all by names. By the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and speakest, O Israel! my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?"—G. MacDonald.