1 Bless Jehovah, O my soul! Jehovah my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with majesty and splendour;
2 Covering thyself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent-curtain; --
3 Who layeth the beams of his upper chambers in the waters, who maketh clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flame of fire.
5 He laid the earth upon its foundations: it shall not be removed for ever.
6 Thou hadst covered it with the deep, as with a vesture; the waters stood above the mountains:
7 At thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away; --
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank, unto the place which thou hadst founded for them; --
9 Thou hast set a bound which they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys: they run among the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 The birds of heaven dwell by them; they give forth their voice from among the branches.
13 He watereth the mountains from his upper-chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He maketh the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; bringing forth bread out of the earth,
15 And wine which gladdeneth the heart of man; making [his] face shine with oil; and with bread he strengtheneth man's heart.
16 The trees of Jehovah are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests; [as for] the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the cliffs, a refuge for the rock-badgers.
19 He made the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth its going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth:
21 The young lions roar after the prey, and to seek their food from ùGod.
22 The sun ariseth, they retreat, and lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour until the evening.
24 How manifold are thy works, O Jehovah! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 Yonder is the great and wide sea: therein are moving things innumerable, living creatures small and great.
26 There go the ships; [there] that leviathan, which thou hast formed to play therein.
27 These all look unto thee, that thou mayest give their food in its season:
28 That thou givest unto them, they gather; thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they expire and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, and thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 The glory of Jehovah will endure for ever; Jehovah will rejoice in his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto Jehovah as long as I live; I will sing psalms to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation shall be pleasant unto him; I will rejoice in Jehovah.
35 Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth, and the wicked shall be no more. Bless Jehovah, O my soul. Hallelujah!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 104
Commentary on Psalms 104 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 104
Ps 104:1-35. The Psalmist celebrates God's glory in His works of creation and providence, teaching the dependence of all living creatures; and contrasting the happiness of those who praise Him with the awful end of the wicked.
1. God's essential glory, and also that displayed by His mighty works, afford ground for praise.
2. light—is a figurative representation of the glory of the invisible God (Mt 17:2; 1Ti 6:16). Its use in this connection may refer to the first work of creation (Ge 1:3).
stretchest out the heavens—the visible heavens or sky which cover the earth as a curtain (Isa 40:12).
3. in the waters—or, it may be "with"; using this fluid for the beams, or frames, of His residence accords with the figure of clouds for chariots, and wind as a means of conveyance.
walketh—or, "moveth" (compare Ps 18:10, 11; Am 9:6).
4. This is quoted by Paul (Heb 1:7) to denote the subordinate position of angels; that is, they are only messengers as other and material agencies.
spirits—literally, "winds."
flaming fire—(Ps 105:32) being here so called.
5. The earth is firmly fixed by His power.
6-9. These verses rather describe the wonders of the flood than the creation (Ge 7:19, 20; 2Pe 3:5, 6). God's method of arresting the flood and making its waters subside is poetically called a "rebuke" (Ps 76:6; Isa 50:2), and the process of the flood's subsiding by undulations among the hills and valleys is vividly described.
10-13. Once destructive, these waters are subjected to the service of God's creatures. In rain and dew from His chambers (compare Ps 104:3), and fountains and streams, they give drink to thirsting animals and fertilize the soil. Trees thus nourished supply homes to singing birds, and the earth teems with the productions of God's wise agencies,
14, 15. so that men and beasts are abundantly provided with food.
for the service—literally, "for the culture," &c., by which he secures the results.
oil … shine—literally, "makes his face to shine more than oil," that is, so cheers and invigorates him, that outwardly he appears better than if anointed.
strengtheneth … heart—gives vigor to man (compare Jud 19:5).
16-19. God's care of even wild animals and uncultivated parts of the earth.
20-23. He provides and adapts to man's wants the appointed times and seasons.
24-26. From a view of the earth thus full of God's blessings, the writer passes to the sea, which, in its immensity, and as a scene and means of man's activity in commerce, and the home of countless multitudes of creatures, also displays divine power and beneficence. The mention of
26. leviathan—(Job 40:20) heightens the estimate of the sea's greatness, and of His power who gives such a place for sport to one of His creatures.
27-30. The entire dependence of this immense family on God is set forth. With Him, to kill or make alive is equally easy. To hide His face is to withdraw favor (Ps 13:1). By His spirit, or breath, or mere word, He gives life. It is His constant providence which repairs the wastes of time and disease.
31-34. While God could equally glorify His power in destruction, that He does it in preservation is of His rich goodness and mercy, so that we may well spend our lives in grateful praise, honoring to Him, and delightful to pious hearts (Ps 147:1).
35. Those who refuse such a protector and withhold such a service mar the beauty of His works, and must perish from His presence.
Praise ye the Lord—The Psalm closes with an invocation of praise, the translation of a Hebrew phrase, which is used as an English word, "Hallelujah," and may have served the purpose of a chorus, as often in our psalmody, or to give fuller expression to the writer's emotions. It is peculiar to Psalms composed after the captivity, as "Selah" is to those of an earlier date.