Psalms 104:10-18

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:

15 wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.

16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers.

18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

Psalms 104:10-18 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 107:33; Isaiah 41:18
• 2. ver 13
• 3. S Genesis 16:12; Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 14:6
• 4. ver 17; Matthew 8:20
• 5. Matthew 13:32
• 6. Psalms 135:7; Psalms 147:8; Jeremiah 10:13; Zechariah 10:1
• 7. S Leviticus 26:4
• 8. Amos 9:6
• 9. S Job 38:27; Psalms 147:8
• 10. S Genesis 1:30; S Job 28:5
• 11. S Genesis 14:18; S Judges 9:13
• 12. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 92:10; Luke 7:46
• 13. S Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 6:11
• 14. Genesis 1:11
• 15. S Psalms 72:16
• 16. ver 12
• 17. S Deuteronomy 14:5
• 18. Proverbs 30:26