Psalm 104 Study Notes

104:16 Flourish is literally “are satisfied.”

104:17-18 The Lord has allotted a place for all the animals.

104:19-20 The solar and lunar cycles regulate the seasons, reflecting God’s dependability and sovereignty over creation. God controls the darkness and the light and the life cycles of night and day creatures.

104:21-24 These verses speak of the orderliness of creation. Verse 24 pauses to praise God for his works.

104:25 Vast and wide is literally “great and broad its hands.”

104:26 Leviathan (Jb 3:8; Is 27:1) refers to a large sea creature that would play in the water. See note at 74:14.

104:27 God’s faithfulness to his creation allows his creatures to anticipate his future provision (145:5; 146:5; Is 38:18).

104:28 The Hebrew word for satisfied (sb‘) is a key term in the psalm. The earth is “satisfied” (v. 13), the trees are satisfied (“flourish,” v. 16), and all of the earth’s inhabitants are “satisfied” (v. 28).

104:29-30 The hiding of God’s face refers to abandonment. The term terrified denotes a state of chaos, and it may also be translated “confused.” Only God has power over life and death (Gn 2:7; 6:17). When man dies, he returns to dust (Gn 3:19); and when God sends forth his breath (Hb ruach, “spirit”), he creates life.

104:31-32 The focused attention of God causes the earth to tremble (2:11; 55:5; Jb 4:14; Is 33:14). The presence of the omnipotent God causes mountains to smoke (18:8; 144:5; 2Sm 22:9; Is 4:5; 6:4), often as part of an appearance of the Lord (Ex 19:18; 20:18).

104:33-34 This is a vow of praise.

104:35 In the LXX, Hallelujah! begins Ps 105; thus, Pss 103-106 each end with the same phrase they begin with—“My soul, bless the Lord!” in 103 and 104, and “Hallelujah!” in 105 and 106. Hallelujah is literally “praise Yah.” Yah is a shortened form of Yahweh. The psalmist was inviting his audience to join him in praising the Lord.