32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
And the whole of mount Sinai smoked, because Jehovah descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace; and the whole mountain shook greatly.
Jehovah, bow thy heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, that they smoke;
His lightnings lightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the +God of Jacob,
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they trembled, yea, the depths were troubled:
Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, -- that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, -- as fire kindleth brushwood, as the fire causeth water to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations might tremble at thy presence!
I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills shook violently. I beheld, and lo, man was not, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down, before Jehovah, before his fierce anger.
Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? And it shall wholly rise up like the Nile; and it shall surge and sink down, as the river of Egypt.
The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt, and the earth is upheaved at his presence, and the world, and all that dwell therein. Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.
Before him went the pestilence, And a burning flame went forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and discomfited the nations; And the eternal mountains were scattered, The everlasting hills gave way: His ways are everlasting.
And a second time they said, Hallelujah. And her smoke goes up to the ages of ages.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 104
Commentary on Psalms 104 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 104
It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at the same time, as the former; for as that ended this begins, with "Bless the Lord, O my soul!' and concludes with it too. The style indeed is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God and his tender mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most agreeable; the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness, and majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people; in this he gives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as Ps. 19, which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Ps. 8, which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This noble poem is thought by very competent judges greatly to excel, not only for piety and devotion (that is past dispute), but for flight of fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and ornaments of expression, the Greek and Latin poets upon any subject of this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of
Psa 104:1-9
When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must stir up ourselves to take hold on God in it (Isa. 64:7); so David does here. "Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels' work; set about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged and employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!' In these verses,
Psa 104:10-18
Having given glory to God as the powerful protector of this earth, in saving it from being deluged, here he comes to acknowledge him as its bountiful benefactor, who provides conveniences for all the creatures.
Psa 104:19-30
We are here taught to praise and magnify God,
In the midst of this discourse the psalmist breaks out into wonder at the works of God (v. 24): O Lord! how manifold are thy works! They are numerous, they are various, of many kinds, and many of every kind; and yet in wisdom hast thou made them all. When men undertake many works, and of different kinds, commonly some of them are neglected and not done with due care; but God's works, though many and of very different kinds, are all made in wisdom and with the greatest exactness; there is not the least flaw nor defect in them. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon with the help of microscopes, the more rough they appear; the works of nature through these glasses appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they are all made to answer the end they were designed to serve, the good of the universe, in order to the glory of the universal Monarch.
Psa 104:31-35
The psalmist concludes this meditation with speaking,