Salmos 104

1 Bendize, ó minha alma, ao Senhor! Senhor, Deus meu, tu és magnificentíssimo! Estás vestido de honra e de majestade,

2 tu que te cobres de luz como de um manto, que estendes os céus como uma cortina.

3 És tu que pões nas águas os vigamentos da tua morada, que fazes das nuvens o teu carro, que andas sobre as asas do vento;

4 que fazes dos ventos teus mensageiros, dum fogo abrasador os teus ministros.

5 Lançaste os fundamentos da terra, para que ela não fosse abalada em tempo algum.

6 Tu a cobriste do abismo, como dum vestido; as águas estavam sobre as montanhas.

7 Â tua repreensão fugiram; � voz do teu trovão puseram-se em fuga.

8 Elevaram-se as montanhas, desceram os vales, até o lugar que lhes determinaste.

9 Limite lhes traçaste, que não haviam de ultrapassar, para que não tornassem a cobrir a terra.

10 És tu que nos vales fazes rebentar nascentes, que correm entre as colinas.

11 Dão de beber a todos os animais do campo; ali os asnos monteses matam a sua sede.

12 Junto delas habitam as aves dos céus; dentre a ramagem fazem ouvir o seu canto.

13 Da tua alta morada regas os montes; a terra se farta do fruto das tuas obras.

14 Fazes crescer erva para os animais, e a verdura para uso do homem, de sorte que da terra tire o alimento,

15 o vinho que alegra o seu coração, o azeite que faz reluzir o seu rosto, e o pão que lhe fortalece o coração.

16 Saciam-se as árvores do Senhor, os cedros do Líbano que ele plantou,

17 nos quais as aves se aninham, e a cegonha, cuja casa está nos ciprestes.

18 Os altos montes são um refúgio para as cabras montesas, e as rochas para os querogrilos.

19 Designou a lua para marcar as estações; o sol sabe a hora do seu ocaso.

20 Fazes as trevas, e vem a noite, na qual saem todos os animais da selva.

21 Os leões novos os animais bramam pela presa, e de Deus buscam o seu sustento.

22 Quando nasce o sol, logo se recolhem e se deitam nos seus covis.

23 Então sai o homem para a sua lida e para o seu trabalho, até a tarde.

24 Ó Senhor, quão multiformes são as tuas obras! Todas elas as fizeste com sabedoria; a terra está cheia das tuas riquezas.

25 Eis também o vasto e espaçoso mar, no qual se movem seres inumeráveis, animais pequenos e grandes.

26 Ali andam os navios, e o leviatã que formaste para nele folgar.

27 Todos esperam de ti que lhes dês o sustento a seu tempo.

28 Tu lho dás, e eles o recolhem; abres a tua mão, e eles se fartam de bens.

29 Escondes o teu rosto, e ficam perturbados; se lhes tiras a respiração, morrem, e voltam para o seu pó.

30 Envias o teu fôlego, e são criados; e assim renovas a face da terra.

31 Permaneça para sempre a glória do Senhor; regozije-se o Senhor nas suas obras;

32 ele olha para a terra, e ela treme; ele toca nas montanhas, e elas fumegam.

33 Cantarei ao Senhor enquanto eu viver; cantarei louvores ao meu Deus enquanto eu existir.

34 Seja-lhe agradável a minha meditação; eu me regozijarei no Senhor.

35 Sejam extirpados da terra os pecadores, e não subsistam mais os ímpios. Bendize, ó minha alma, ao Senhor. Louvai ao Senhor.

Salmos 104 Commentary

Chapter 104

God's majesty in the heavens, The creation of the sea, and the dry land. (1-9) His provision for all creatures. (10-18) The regular course of day and night, and God's sovereign power over all the creatures. (19-30) A resolution to continue praising God. (31-35)

Verses 1-9 Every object we behold calls on us to bless and praise the Lord, who is great. His eternal power and Godhead are clearly shown by the things which he hath made. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus, the Son of his love, is the Light of the world.

Verses 10-18 When we reflect upon the provision made for all creatures, we should also notice the natural worship they render to God. Yet man, forgetful ungrateful man, enjoys the largest measure of his Creator's kindness. the earth, varying in different lands. Nor let us forget spiritual blessings; the fruitfulness of the church through grace, the bread of everlasting life, the cup of salvation, and the oil of gladness. Does God provide for the inferior creatures, and will he not be a refuge to his people?

Verses 19-30 We are to praise and magnify God for the constant succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises, as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and new-create our souls to holiness.

Verses 31-35 Man's glory is fading; God's glory is everlasting: creatures change, but with the Creator there is no variableness. And if mediation on the glories of creation be so sweet to the soul, what greater glory appears to the enlightened mind, when contemplating the great work of redemption! There alone can a sinner perceive ground of confidence and joy in God. While he with pleasure upholds all, governs all, and rejoices in all his works, let our souls, touched by his grace, meditate on and praise him.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 104

This psalm, though without a title, was probably written by David, since it begins and ends as the former does, as Aben Ezra observes; and to him the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, ascribe it. The inscription of the Syriac version is,

``a psalm of David, when he went to worship before the ark of the Lord with the priests; and as to us, it teaches us confession and prayer; and intimates to us the constitution of the beginning of the creatures; and declares some things concerning the angels.''

Some copies of the Septuagint version have it,

``a psalm of David concerning the constitution of the world;''

which indeed is the subject matter of it; for it treats of the creation of all things, of the heavens and the earth, and of all creatures in them; and of the providence of God in taking care of them. Christ is the divine Person addressed and described throughout the whole, as appears from the quotation of Ps 104:5 and the application of it to him in Heb 1:7.

\\Bless the Lord, O my soul\\ As for the blessings of grace and mercy expressed in the preceding psalm, so on account of the works of creation and providence, enumerated in this; in which Christ has an equal concern, as in the former.

\\O Lord my God, thou art very great\\; the Messiah, who is Jehovah our righteousness, Lord of all, truly God, and the God of his people; see Joh 20:28 and who is great, and very great, in his divine Person, being the great God, and our Saviour; great in all his works of creation, providence, and redemption; great in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King; a Saviour, and a great one; the great Shepherd of the Sheep; the Man, Jehovah's Fellow.

\\Thou art clothed with honour and majesty\\; being the brightness of his Father's glory, and having on him the glory of the only begotten of the Father, and a natural majesty in him as the Son of God and King of the whole universe; and, as Mediator, he has honour and majesty laid upon him by his Father, Ps 21:5, he has all the regalia and ensigns of royal majesty; he is on a throne, high and lifted up, even the same with his divine Father; he has a crown of glory on his head, he is crowned with glory and honour; he has a sceptre of righteousness in his hand, and is arrayed in robes of majesty; and, as thus situated, is to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone; or as if he was covered with sparkling gems and precious stones, Re 4:2,3 and, having all power in heaven and earth, over angels and men, honour and glory given him by both. 23531-950516-0908-Ps104.2