LSB #820 "My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 103; Isaiah 40:6-8; 57:15-16; Psalm 119:89-90

Psalm 103:  "1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

"6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.  7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.  8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.  15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.  17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.  19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

"20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!  21 Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!  22 Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul!"

Isaiah 40:6-8:  "6 A voice says, 'Cry!'  And I said, 'What shall I cry?'  All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.  7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.  8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."

Isaiah 57:15-16:  "15 For this says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.  16 For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.'"

Psalm 119:89-90:  "89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.  90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast."

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The text is public domain:

1 My soul, now praise your Maker!

Let all within me bless his name

Who makes you full partaker

Of mercies more than you dare claim.

Forget Him not whose meekness

Still bears with all your sin,

Who heals your ev'ry weakness,

Renews your life within;

Whose grace and care are endless

And saved you through the past;

Who leaves no suff'rer friendless

But rights the wronged at last.

2 He offers all His treasure

Of justice, truth, and righteousness,

His love beyond all measure,

His yearning pity o'er distress;

Nor treats us as we merit

But sets His anger by.

The poor and contrite spirit

Finds His compassion nigh;

And high as heav'n above us,

As dawn from close of day,

So far, since He has loved us,

He puts our sins away.

3 For as a tender father

Has pity on His children here,

God in His arms will gather

All who are His in childlike fear.

He knows how frail our powers,

Who but from dust are made.

We flourish like the flowers,

And even so we fade;

The wind but through them passes,

And all their bloom is o'er.

We wither like the grasses;

Our place knows us no more.

4 His grace remains forever,

And children's children yet shall prove

That God forsakes them never

Who in true fear shall seek His love.

In heav'n is fixed His dwelling,

His rule is over all;

O hosts with might excelling,

With praise before Him fall.

Praise Him forever reigning,

All you who hear His Word -

Our life and all sustaining.

My soul, O praise the Lord!

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For the most part, the hymn text is a paraphrase of Psalm 103.  Roughly, the hymn's first verse is from verses 1-6; the second verse from verses 6-12; the third verse from verses 13-16; and the fourth verse from verses 17-22.

The passage from Isaiah 40 is combined with Psalm 103:15-16 in the third verse:  "We flourish like the flowers, / And even so we fade...."

The passage from Isaiah 57 appears in the lines "The poor and contrite spirit / Finds His compassion nigh" in the second verse.

The passage from Psalm 119 is combined with Psalm 103:19 in the fourth verse:  "In heav'n is fixed His dwelling."