Psalms 104:29

29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust.

Psalms 104:29 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 104:29

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled
God may be said to hide his face from the creatures when he withholds their food from them, when there is a scarcity of provisions, a famine in the land; when there is no pasture for them to feed on, nor brooks of water to drink of; then are they troubled or perplexed, as in ( Joel 1:18 Joel 1:20 ) and know not what to do, nor where to go for help, but faint, and sink, and die. So in a spiritual sense when God hides his face from his people, removes his Shechinah, or divine Majesty and Presence, as the Targum here; and withdraws the influences of his grace and Spirit; or when they have no food for their souls, or what they have is not blessed, then are they troubled, ( Psalms 30:7 ) .

Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust;
their original dust, from whence they sprung, as man himself does; the breath of all is from the Lord; he gives it to his creatures, and when he pleases he takes it away; and when he does, they die and become dust again.

Psalms 104:29 In-Context

27 These wait all for thee, That thou mayest give them their food in due season.
28 Thou givest unto them, they gather; Thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; And thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of Jehovah endure for ever; Let Jehovah rejoice in his works:
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.