Psalm 104:9

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

Psalm 104:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 104:9

Thou hast set a bound, that they may not pass over
The Targum adds,

``to the rolling waves of the sea.''

Set doors with bolts and bars, cliffs, rocks, and shores: and, what is more surprising, sand, which is penetrable, flexible, and moveable, is set as a perpetual bound to the raging ocean and its waves, which they cannot pass over: see ( Job 38:8-11 ) ( Jeremiah 5:22 ) . So the Lord has set a bound to the proud waters of afflictions, and says, Thus far shall ye go, and no farther; and to the life of man, which he cannot exceed, ( Job 14:5 ) . But he has given man a law, as a rule to walk by, as the boundary of his conversation, and this he transgresses; in which he is less tractable than the raging sea and its waves. That they turn not again to cover the earth; as they did when it was first made, ( Psalms 104:6 ) that is, not without the divine leave and power; for they did turn again and cover the earth, at the time of the flood; but never shall more. Some think there is no need to make this exception; since this was written after the flood, and when God had swore that the waters should no more go over the earth, ( Isaiah 54:9 ) .

Psalm 104:9 In-Context

7 At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away-

8 mountains rose and valleys sank- to the place You established for them.

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

10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys; they flow between the mountains.

11 They supply water for every wild beast; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Footnotes

• [a] Gn 1:9-10