Salmi 104

1 BENEDICI, anima mia, il Signore; O Signore Iddio mio, tu sei sommamente grande; Tu sei vestito di gloria e di magnificenza.

2 Egli si ammanta di luce come di una vesta; Egli tende il cielo come una cortina.

3 Egli fa i palchi delle sue sale nelle acque; Egli pone le nuvole per suo carro: Egli passeggia sopra le ale del vento.

4 Egli fa i venti suoi Angeli, E il fuoco divampante suoi ministri.

5 Egli ha fondata la terra sulle sue basi; Giammai in perpetuo non sarà smossa.

6 Tu l’avevi già coperta dell’abisso, come d’una vesta; Le acque si erano fermate sopra i monti.

7 Esse fuggirono per lo tuo sgridare; Si affrettarono per la voce del tuo tuono;

8 Erano salite sopra i monti; ma discesero nelle valli, Al luogo che tu hai loro costituito.

9 Tu hai loro posto un termine, il qual non trapasseranno; E non torneranno a coprir la terra.

10 Egli è quel che manda le fonti per le valli, Onde esse corrono fra i monti;

11 Abbeverano tutte le bestie della campagna; Gli asini salvatichi spengono la lor sete con esse.

12 Presso a quelle si riparano gli uccelli del cielo; Fanno sentir di mezzo alle frondi le lor voci.

13 Egli adacqua i monti dalle sue stanze sovrane; La terra è saziata del frutto delle sue opere.

14 Egli fa germogliar l’erba per le bestie; E l’erbaggio per lo servigio dell’uomo, Facendo uscire della terra il pane.

15 Egli rallegra il cuor dell’uomo col vino, Egli fa risplender la faccia coll’olio, E sostenta il cuor dell’uomo col pane.

16 Gli alberi del Signore ne son saziati; I cedri del Libano ch’egli ha piantati;

17 Dove gli uccelli si annidano; Gli abeti, che son la stanza della cicogna.

18 Gli alti monti sono per li cavriuoli; Le rocce sono il ricetto de’ conigli.

19 Egli ha fatta la luna per le stagioni; Il sole conosce il suo occaso.

20 Tu mandi le tenebre, ed e’ si fa notte, Nella quale tutte le fiere delle selve vanno attorno.

21 I leoncelli rugghiano dietro alla preda, E per chiedere a Dio il lor pasto.

22 Ma, tosto ch’è levato il sole, si raccolgono, E giacciono ne’ lor ricetti.

23 Allora l’uomo esce alla sua opera, Ed al suo lavoro, infino alla sera.

24 Quanto grandi sono, o Signore, le tue opere! Tu le hai tutte fatte con sapienza; La terra è piena de’ tuoi beni.

25 Ecco, il mar grande ed ampio: Quivi son rettili senza numero, Amimali piccoli e grandi.

26 Quivi nuotano le navi, E il Leviatan che tu hai formato per ischerzare in esso.

27 Tutti gli animali sperano in te, Che tu dii loro il lor cibo al suo tempo.

28 Se tu lo dài loro, lo ricolgono; Se tu apri la tua mano, son saziati di beni.

29 Se tu nascondi la tua faccia, sono smarriti; Se tu ritiri il fiato loro, trapassano, E ritornano nella lor polvere.

30 Se tu rimandi il tuo spirito son creati; E tu rinnuovi la faccia della terra.

31 Sia la gloria del Signore in eterno; Rallegrisi il Signore nelle sue opere;

32 Il quale se riguarda verso la terra, ella trema; Se tocca i monti, essi fumano.

33 Io canterò al Signore, mentre viverò; Io salmeggerò all’Iddio mio, tanto che io durerò.

34 Il mio ragionamento gli sarà piacevole, Io mi rallegrerò nel Signore.

35 Vengano meno i peccatori d’in su la terra, E gli empi non sieno più. Anima mia, benedici il Signore. Alleluia.

Salmi 104 Commentary

Chapter 104

God's majesty in the heavens, The creation of the sea, and the dry land. (1-9) His provision for all creatures. (10-18) The regular course of day and night, and God's sovereign power over all the creatures. (19-30) A resolution to continue praising God. (31-35)

Verses 1-9 Every object we behold calls on us to bless and praise the Lord, who is great. His eternal power and Godhead are clearly shown by the things which he hath made. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus, the Son of his love, is the Light of the world.

Verses 10-18 When we reflect upon the provision made for all creatures, we should also notice the natural worship they render to God. Yet man, forgetful ungrateful man, enjoys the largest measure of his Creator's kindness. the earth, varying in different lands. Nor let us forget spiritual blessings; the fruitfulness of the church through grace, the bread of everlasting life, the cup of salvation, and the oil of gladness. Does God provide for the inferior creatures, and will he not be a refuge to his people?

Verses 19-30 We are to praise and magnify God for the constant succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises, as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and new-create our souls to holiness.

Verses 31-35 Man's glory is fading; God's glory is everlasting: creatures change, but with the Creator there is no variableness. And if mediation on the glories of creation be so sweet to the soul, what greater glory appears to the enlightened mind, when contemplating the great work of redemption! There alone can a sinner perceive ground of confidence and joy in God. While he with pleasure upholds all, governs all, and rejoices in all his works, let our souls, touched by his grace, meditate on and praise him.

Chapter Summary

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