Single lesson
Psalm 104: How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!
Psalms 104:1–35
Psalm 104 is a praise poem that moves through sky, land, animals, sea and human work. In this lesson, children trace the speaker’s words and notice how the psalm celebrates God’s wise care for the world.
Before you teach
This psalm is spoken as a prayer of praise to Yahweh. The speaker begins by addressing his own soul, then describes God’s greatness through pictures of light, heavens, water, creatures, seasons, food and the sea, before ending with personal praise and a final request about sinners and the wicked.
Students will be able to name the speaker, describe at least three images from Psalm 104, and explain that the psalm praises Yahweh for making and sustaining the world.
Welcome: Who is speaking in this psalm?
5 minTell the group that Psalm 104 is a poem and prayer. Read verse 1 aloud twice. Ask, “Who is the speaker talking to, and who is the speaker talking to himself?” Help children hear both parts: “Bless Yahweh, my soul” and “Yahweh, my God, you are very great.” Write the words soul, Yahweh and praise where everyone can see them.
Psalms 104:1
Read and explain: Pictures of God’s world
8 minRead selected verses slowly and ask children to listen for pictures: light as clothing, heavens like a curtain, springs in valleys, birds nesting, moon for seasons, and the sea full of living things. Explain that poems use images to help us notice truth. This psalm says Yahweh made these things wisely and fills the earth with his riches.
Psalms 104:2, Psalms 104:10, Psalms 104:12, Psalms 104:19, Psalms 104:24, Psalms 104:25
Discuss: The movement of the psalm
7 minGuide children through the poem’s movement. It begins with God’s greatness, then describes earth and waters, creatures on land, day and night, and finally the sea. After that, the psalm says all living things wait for God for food and life. End by noting the speaker’s own response of singing and rejoicing.
Psalms 104:1, Psalms 104:5, Psalms 104:10, Psalms 104:19, Psalms 104:25, Psalms 104:27, Psalms 104:33, Psalms 104:34
Make and respond: Illustrated praise card
7 minChildren create a small folded card or sheet with one image from the psalm on the front and a short line of praise inside, such as “Yahweh, how many are your works” or “I will sing to Yahweh.” Encourage them to match words and pictures carefully, showing that the poem praises God for his works and wisdom.
Psalms 104:24, Psalms 104:33
Closing: Read the ending together
3 minFinish by reading the last lines together. Ask children to listen for the speaker’s decision: he will sing, rejoice and bless Yahweh. Briefly mention that the psalm also says, “Let sinners be consumed out of the earth” and “Let the wicked be no more,” then close with a calm summary that this whole poem is a prayer of praise to God.
Psalms 104:33, Psalms 104:34, Psalms 104:35
Questions to explore
In verse 1, who is being spoken to, and what does the speaker tell his own soul to do?
Look for the two parts of the line: the speaker addresses Yahweh and also says, “Bless Yahweh, my soul.”
Psalms 104:1
Which images in this psalm show places where animals live or receive what they need?
Listen for springs, birds’ nests, wild goats in high mountains, rock badgers in rocks, and creatures in the sea.
Psalms 104:10, Psalms 104:12, Psalms 104:17, Psalms 104:18, Psalms 104:25
What do all living things do in verses 27 to 30, and what does God do for them?
These verses say they wait for God for food, are satisfied when he gives, and lose breath when he takes it away.
Psalms 104:27, Psalms 104:28, Psalms 104:29, Psalms 104:30
Make, think or respond
Illustrated Psalm 104 Praise Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or crayons
- Bible
- scissors if desired
Try it together
- Read Psalms 104:24 and Psalms 104:33 aloud.
- Ask each child to choose one image from the psalm, such as light, birds, mountains, the moon or the sea.
- Draw that image on the front of a folded card or sheet.
- Inside, copy a short praise line from the psalm, such as “Yahweh, how many are your works” or “I will sing to Yahweh.”
- Invite children to show how their picture matches the words they chose.
This activity helps children connect the poem’s images with its purpose of praising Yahweh for his works and wisdom.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, pre-select three images from the psalm and let them choose one to draw while repeating a short line together from Psalms 104:24 or Psalms 104:33.
- For older or stronger readers, let them find a beginning, middle and ending verse that show the movement of the psalm, then explain their choices to the group.
An optional closing prayer
“Yahweh our God, thank you for your great works. Help us notice your wisdom in the world you made and teach us to praise you with joy. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 104
1 Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire.
5 He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
10 He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth:
15 wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
16 Yahweh’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
17 where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20 You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
24 Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
25 There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.
26 There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
27 These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust.
30 You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let Yahweh’s glory endure forever. Let Yahweh rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34 Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless Yahweh, my soul. Praise Yah!
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.