Bible Strands
Psalms 104:1
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist commands his own soul to bless Yahweh, then addresses God directly as "my God." It opens a creation psalm (v. 2 moves to light and heavens) and closes the doxological pair that began at 103:22.
The words — גָּדַלְתָּ (gaDal.ta) is a present-tense assertion: "you are great," stating greatness as a standing attribute rather than a past act. מְאֹד (me.'Od) pins it to the extreme: "exceedingly."
The thread — The identical formula "Bless the LORD, O my soul" appears at Psalms 103:22, framing the paired psalms 103–104. "Great" recurs at Psalms 145:3; "splendor and majesty" at Psalms 96:6.
Why it lands — It is a command directed at the speaker's own soul, not a passive reflection. The reader is asked to treat praise as something the self does to itself before it does it to God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
Cross-references
- Psalms 103:22 Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
- Psalms 145:3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.
- Psalms 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.
- Psalms 93:1 The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
- Psalms 103:1 Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.
- Isaiah 59:17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
- Daniel 9:4 And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- Psalms 104:35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!
- Jeremiah 32:17 “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Psalms 29:1 A Psalm of David. Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.