(A David psalm.)
Bless Yahweh, soul within me.
Bless Yahweh, every cell within my body.
Yes!
Bless Yahweh, soul within me.
Don’t for a moment forget
How good you’ve got it because of him.
He erases your sins — all of them!
He heals you illnesses — all of them!
He pulls you out of desperate situations.
He clothes you with love and kindness.
He gives you a good, long life
Filled with the vigor and joy of youth
Even at an old age.
Yahweh takes the side of what’s right,
Making sure the trampled-on receive justice.
He taught his way to Moses long ago,
Letting all Israel in on it too.
At the center is this:
Yahweh is always compassionate,
Always gracious.
He’s slow to anger,
Fast to forgive.
He doesn’t like arguing,
Doesn’t sulk.
He doesn’t pay out what our sins deserve,
Doesn’t require us to pay what we owe him.
Travel to the edge of the universe
And you still haven’t reached the end
Of his love for us,
The ones who orient our lives toward him.
(It’s big.)
As far as east is from west,
That’s how far he’s removed your sins from you.
(Really far.)
As much as a mother loves the children
She carried under her heart,
That’s how much he loves
Those who orient their lives toward him.
(A lot.)
He knows how weak we are.
He hasn’t forgotten our mortality.
We humans don’t last much longer
Than cut flowers.
Gone as fast as a bowl of ice cream,
A quick pleasure.
A light breeze blows us away,
Leaving no trace,
No sign we were here at all.
But there’s something that never, ever goes away:
God’s love
For those who orient their live toward him;
God’s justice
For the children of our children’s children,
For those loyal to his covenant,
For those who keep his commands.
Yahweh rules from heaven
And his kingdom covers the whole earth.
Bless Yahweh, you angels,
You warriors,
You messengers,
You listeners to his voice, his word.
Bless Yahweh, you armies of heaven,
You servants who do whatever he wants.
Bless Yahweh, all creation,
Everywhere his rule reaches.
Yes!
Bless Yahweh, soul within me.