Psalms 104:3-13

3 He ¹lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the ²clouds His chariot; He walks upon the ³wings of the wind;

4 He makes ⁴the winds His messengers, Flaming ⁵fire His ministers.

5 He ⁶established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.

6 You ⁷covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains.

7 At Your ⁸rebuke they fled, At the ⁹sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the ¹⁰place which You established for them.

9 You set a ¹¹boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.

10 He sends forth ¹²springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains;

11 They ¹³give drink to every beast of the field; The ¹⁴wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 Beside them the birds of the heavens ¹⁵dwell; They lift up their voices among * the branches.

13 He ¹⁶waters the mountains from His upper chambers; ¹⁷The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

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Psalms 104:3-13 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 17

1. Amos 9:6
2. Isaiah 19:1
3. Psalms 18:10
4. Psalms 148:8; Hebrews 1:7
5. 2 Kings 2:11; 2 Kings 6:17
6. Job 38:4; Psalms 24:2
7. Genesis 1:2
8. Psalms 18:15; Psalms 106:9; Isaiah 50:2
9. Psalms 29:3; Psalms 77:18
10. Psalms 33:7
11. Job 38:10, 11; Jeremiah 5:22
12. Psalms 107:35; Isaiah 41:18
13. Psalms 104:13
14. Job 39:5
15. Matthew 8:20
16. Psalms 65:9; Psalms 147:8
17. Jeremiah 10:13

Footnotes 11

[a]. Lit "The one who"
[b]. Lit "The one who"
[c]. Lit "The one who"
[d]. Lit "Who"
[e]. Or "His angels, spirits"
[f]. Or "His ministers flames of fire"
[g]. Or "move out of place"
[h]. Lit "The one who sends"
[i]. Or "Over," Above
[j]. Lit "give forth"
[k]. Lit "Who"