Psalm 104

1Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4Who makes His angels spirits,
His ministers a flame of fire.
5You who laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
6You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
7At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
9You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
That they may not return to cover the earth.
10He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.
11They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches.
13He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth,
15And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
16The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17Where the birds make their nests;
The stork has her home in the fir trees.
18The high hills are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He appointed the moon for seasons;
The sun knows its going down.
20You make darkness, and it is night,
In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they gather together
And lie down in their dens.
23Man goes out to his work
And to his labor until the evening.
24O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—
25This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
26There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.
27These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
28What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29You hide Your face, they are troubled;
You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice in His works.
32He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the hills, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
35May sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 104

If you made it through that whole Psalm and are still reading, I applaud you. This is a hard one to isolate various sections as the entirety of it encapsulates exactly the extent our praise may be able to go if we just take a moment to search. I have seldom heard praise from other believers on how the Lord cares for various animals. Never once have I heard praise for how the young lion seeks out their prey and finds their food from God outside of this text. Beyond casual conversation with other believers I have also seldom heard praise for the beauty of creation. What is even the point of such kinds of praise?

I believe there are multiple lessons we can grab from this, however I will focus on one. This is to recognize the fact the Lord reigns. He is on the throne. Just as it says in Psalm 24, the Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. If you go back and read this Psalm, you see the dominion of God over all things. As we worship, I long to worship One who has dominion over all! Meditate upon the Lord's dominion. How does that impact you? How does it impact the way you approach the Lord in prayer and in praise? It is good that we consider this deeply. May it lead you into a deeper understanding of the Lord we serve.