14 Causing grass to spring up for cattle, And herb for the service of man, To bring forth bread from the earth,
15 And wine -- it rejoiceth the heart of man, To cause the face to shine from oil, And bread -- the heart of man it supporteth.
16 Satisfied `are' the trees of Jehovah, Cedars of Lebanon that He hath planted,
17 Where birds do make nests, The stork -- the firs `are' her house.
18 The high hills `are' for wild goats, Rocks `are' a refuge for conies,
19 He made the moon for seasons, The sun hath known his place of entrance.
20 Thou settest darkness, and it is night, In it doth every beast of the forest creep.
21 The young lions are roaring for prey, And to seek from God their food.
22 The sun riseth, they are gathered, And in their dens they crouch.
23 Man goeth forth to his work, And to his service -- till evening.
24 How many have been Thy works, O Jehovah, All of them in wisdom Thou hast made, Full is the earth of thy possessions.
25 This, the sea, great and broad of sides, There `are' moving things -- innumerable, Living creatures -- small with great.
26 There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.
27 All of them unto Thee do look, To give their food in its season.
28 Thou dost give to them -- they gather, Thou dost open Thy hand -- they `are' satisfied `with' good.
29 Thou hidest Thy face -- they are troubled, Thou gatherest their spirit -- they expire, And unto their dust they turn back.
30 Thou sendest out Thy Spirit, they are created, And Thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 The honour of Jehovah is to the age, Jehovah rejoiceth in His works,
32 Who is looking to earth, and it trembleth, He cometh against hills, and they smoke.
33 I sing to Jehovah during my life, I sing praise to my God while I exist.
34 Sweet is my meditation on Him, I -- I do rejoice in Jehovah.
35 Consumed are sinners from the earth, And the wicked are no more. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah!
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,