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 » 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,