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Psalms 104:17-27

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17 Where * the 1birds build their nests, And the 2stork, whose home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the 3wild goats; The 4cliffs are a refuge for the 5shephanim.
19 He made the moon 6for the seasons; The 7sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You 8appoint darkness and it becomes night, In which all the 9beasts of the forest prowl about.
21 The 10young lions roar after their prey And 11seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw And lie down in their 12dens.
23 Man goes forth to 13his work And to his labor until evening.
24 O LORD, how 14many are Your works! In 15wisdom You have made them all; The 16earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the 17sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great.
26 There the 18ships move along, And 19Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all 20wait for You To 21give them their food in due season.
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Psalms 104:17-27 Meaning and Commentary

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

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 21

  • 1. Psalms 104:12
  • 2. Leviticus 11:19
  • 3. Job 39:1
  • 4. Proverbs 30:26
  • 5. Leviticus 11:5
  • 6. Genesis 1:14
  • 7. Psalms 19:6
  • 8. Psalms 74:16; Isaiah 45:7
  • 9. Psalms 50:10; Isaiah 56:9; Micah 5:8
  • 10. Job 38:39
  • 11. Psalms 145:15; Joel 1:20
  • 12. Job 37:8
  • 13. Genesis 3:19
  • 14. Psalms 40:5
  • 15. Psalms 136:5; Proverbs 3:19; Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 51:15
  • 16. Psalms 65:9
  • 17. Psalms 8:8; Psalms 69:34
  • 18. Psalms 107:23; Ezekiel 27:9
  • 19. Job 41:1; Psalms 74:14; Isaiah 27:1
  • 20. Psalms 145:15
  • 21. Job 36:31; Job 38:41; Psalms 136:25; Psalms 147:9

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Or "cypress"
  • [b]. Small, shy, furry animals "(Hyrax syriacus") found in the peninsula of the Sinai, northern Israel, and the region round the Dead Sea; KJV "coney," orig NASB "rock badgers"
  • [c]. Lit "creep"
  • [d]. Lit "And to seek"
  • [e]. Or "With"
  • [f]. Or "creatures"
  • [g]. Or "This"
  • [h]. Or "broad of dimensions" (lit "hands")
  • [i]. Or "a sea monster"
  • [j]. Lit "its appointed time"
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