Psalms 104

1 Bless ADONAI, my soul! ADONAI, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with glory and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a robe. You spread out the heavens like a curtain,
3 you laid the beams of your palace on the water. You make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make winds your messengers, fiery flames your servants.
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they rushed away,
8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys, down to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You determined a boundary they could not cross; they were never to cover the earth again.
10 You make springs gush forth in the vadis; they flow between the hills,
11 supplying water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests; among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your palace; the earth is satisfied with how you provide
14 You grow grass for the cattle; and for people you grow the plants they need to bring forth bread from the earth,
15 wine that gladdens the human heart, oil to make faces glow, and food to sustain their strength.
16 ADONAI's trees are satisfied -the cedars of the L'vanon, which he has planted.
17 In them sparrows build their nests, while storks live in the fir trees.
18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains, while the coneys find refuge in the rocks.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it is night, the time when all forest animals prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, they slink away and lie down to rest in their dens;
23 while people go out to their work, laboring on till evening.
24 What variety there is in your works, ADONAI! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations.
25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small.
26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro; Livyatan, which you formed to play there.
27 All of them look to you to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.
29 If you hide your face, they vanish; if you hold back their breath, they perish and return to their dust.
30 If you send out your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of ADONAI last forever! May ADONAI rejoice in his works!
32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles; when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to ADONAI as long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life.
34 May my musings be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in ADONAI.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more! Bless ADONAI, my soul! Halleluyah!

Images for Psalms 104

Psalms 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

Psalms 104 Commentaries

Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.