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Psalms 104:9-19

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9 You set a 1boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth 2springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains;
11 They 3give drink to every beast of the field; The 4wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens 5dwell; They lift up their voices among * the branches.
13 He 6waters the mountains from His upper chambers; 7The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the 8grass to grow for the cattle, And 9vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food 10from the earth,
15 And 11wine which makes man's heart glad, 12So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which 13sustains man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where * the 14birds build their nests, And the 15stork, whose home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the 16wild goats; The 17cliffs are a refuge for the 18shephanim.
19 He made the moon 19for the seasons; The 20sun knows the place of its setting.
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Psalms 104:9-19 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 20

  • 1. Job 38:10, 11; Jeremiah 5:22
  • 2. Psalms 107:35; Isaiah 41:18
  • 3. Psalms 104:13
  • 4. Job 39:5
  • 5. Matthew 8:20
  • 6. Psalms 65:9; Psalms 147:8
  • 7. Jeremiah 10:13
  • 8. Job 38:27; Psalms 147:8
  • 9. Genesis 1:29
  • 10. Job 28:5
  • 11. Judges 9:13; Proverbs 31:6; Ecclesiastes 10:19
  • 12. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 92:10; Psalms 141:5; Luke 7:46
  • 13. Genesis 18:5; Judges 19:5, 8
  • 14. Psalms 104:12
  • 15. Leviticus 11:19
  • 16. Job 39:1
  • 17. Proverbs 30:26
  • 18. Leviticus 11:5
  • 19. Genesis 1:14
  • 20. Psalms 19:6

Footnotes 13

  • [a]. Lit "The one who sends"
  • [b]. Or "Over," Above
  • [c]. Lit "give forth"
  • [d]. Lit "Who"
  • [e]. Lit "Who"
  • [f]. Or "beasts"
  • [g]. Or "cultivation by" or "service of"
  • [h]. Or "He"
  • [i]. Lit "bread"
  • [j]. Lit "bread"
  • [k]. Lit "are satisfied"
  • [l]. Or "cypress"
  • [m]. 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"
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