14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And plants for man to cultivate, That he may bring forth food out of the earth:
15 Wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face to shine, And bread that strengthens man's heart.
16 Yahweh's trees are well watered, The cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away, And lay down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work, To his labor until the evening.
24 Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
25 There is the sea, great and wide, In which are innumerable living things, Both small and large animals.
26 There the ships go, And leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
27 These all wait for you, That you may give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide your face: they are troubled; You take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit: they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of Yahweh endure forever. Let Yahweh rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34 Let your meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless Yahweh, my soul. Praise Yah!
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,