Psalms 104:4-14

4 He makes winds his messengers,^[a]flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.

9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.

11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:

Psalms 104:4-14 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

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 148:8; Hebrews 1:7*
• 2. Genesis 3:24; 2 Kings 2:11
• 3. Exodus 31:17; Job 26:7; Psalms 24:1-2; Psalms 102:25; Psalms 121:2
• 4. S 1 Samuel 2:8
• 5. Genesis 7:19
• 6. S Genesis 1:2
• 7. 2 Peter 3:6
• 8. S Psalms 18:15
• 9. S Exodus 9:23; Psalms 29:3
• 10. Psalms 33:7
• 11. S Genesis 1:9; S Psalms 16:6
• 12. Psalms 107:33; Isaiah 41:18
• 13. ver 13
• 14. S Genesis 16:12; Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 14:6
• 15. ver 17; Matthew 8:20
• 16. Matthew 13:32
• 17. Psalms 135:7; Psalms 147:8; Jeremiah 10:13; Zechariah 10:1
• 18. S Leviticus 26:4
• 19. Amos 9:6
• 20. S Job 38:27; Psalms 147:8
• 21. S Genesis 1:30; S Job 28:5

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "angels"