Psalms in the Smokies

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,

Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;

He makes the winds His messengers,

Flaming fire His ministers.

He established the earth upon its foundations,

So that it will not totter forever and ever.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters were standing above the mountains.

At Your rebuke they fled,

At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

The mountains rose; the valleys sank down

To the place which You established for them.

You set a boundary that they may not pass over,

So that they will not return to cover the earth.

He sends forth springs in the valleys;

They flow between the mountains;

They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild deer quench their thirst.

Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

They lift up their voices among the branches.

He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the labor of man,

So that he may bring forth food from the earth,

And moonshine with makes man's heart glad,

So that he may make his face glisten with oil,

And food which sustains man's heart.

The trees of the Lord drink their fill,

The cedars of Cherokee which he planted,

Where the birds build their nests,

And the eagle, whose home is the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild black bears;

The cliffs are a refuge for their cubs.

He made the moon for the seasons;

The sun knows the place of its setting.

You appoint darkness and it becomes night,

In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
The young cougars (and mountain folk) roar after their pray

And seek their food from God (at the local brewery).

When the sun rises they withdraw 

And lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work

And to his labor until evening.

O Lord, how many are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all;

The earth is full of Your possessions...

They all wait for You 

To give them their food in due season.

You give to them, they gather it up;

You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.

You hide Your face, they are dismayed;

You take away their spirit, they expire

And return to their dust.

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;

And You renew the face of the ground.

Let the glory of the Lord endure forever;

Let the Lord be glad in His works;

He looks at the earth, and it trembles;

He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

{Psalm 104, edited slightly to fit the land and wildlife of the Smoky Mountains,
 lying majestically across the border of Tennessee and North Carolina}
{Pictures taken in the Smokies, circa August 2011}
{Do you see why my heart aches for this land?}