1 Give praise to the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are robed with honour and power.
2 You are clothed with light as with a robe; stretching out the heavens like a curtain:
3 The arch of your house is based on the waters; you make the clouds your carriage; you go on the wings of the wind:
4 He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants.
5 He has made the earth strong on its bases, so that it may not be moved for ever and ever;
6 Covering it with the sea as with a robe: the waters were high over the mountains;
7 At the voice of your word they went in flight; at the sound of your thunder they went away in fear;
8 The mountains came up and the valleys went down into the place which you had made ready for them.
9 You made a limit over which they might not go, so that the earth would never again be covered by them.
10 You sent the springs into the valleys; they are flowing between the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the mountain asses come to them for water.
12 The birds of the air have their resting-places by them, and make their song among the branches.
13 He sends down rain from his store-houses on the hills: the earth is full of the fruit of his works.
14 He makes the grass come up for the cattle, and plants for the use of man; so that bread may come out of the earth;
15 And wine to make glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face shining, and bread giving strength to his heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of growth, the cedars of Lebanon of his planting;
17 Where the birds have their resting-places; as for the stork, the tall trees are her house.
18 The high hills are a safe place for the mountain goats, and the rocks for the small beasts.
19 He made the moon for a sign of the divisions of the year; teaching the sun the time of its going down.
20 When you make it dark, it is night, when all the beasts of the woods come quietly out of their secret places.
21 The young lions go thundering after their food; searching for their meat from God.
22 The sun comes up, and they come together, and go back to their secret places to take their rest.
23 Man goes out to his work, and to his business, till the evening.
24 O Lord, how great is the number of your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of the things you have made.
25 There is the great, wide sea, where there are living things, great and small, more than may be numbered.
26 There go the ships; there is that great beast, which you have made as a plaything.
27 All of them are waiting for you, to give them their food in its time.
28 They take what you give them; they are full of the good things which come from your open hand.
29 If your face is veiled, they are troubled; when you take away their breath, they come to an end, and go back to the dust.
30 If you send out your spirit, they are given life; you make new the face of the earth.
31 Let the glory of the Lord be for ever; let the Lord have joy in his works:
32 At whose look the earth is shaking; at whose touch the mountains send out smoke.
33 I will make songs to the Lord all my life; I will make melody to my God while I have my being.
34 Let my thoughts be sweet to him: I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be cut off from the earth, and let all evil-doers come to an end. Give praise to the Lord, O my soul. Give praise to the Lord.
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.