Salmos 104

1 Salmo 104
Que todo lo que soy, alabe al Señor
.
¡Oh Señor
mi Dios, eres grandioso!
Te has vestido de honor y majestad.

2 Te has envuelto en un manto de luz.
Despliegas la cortina de estrellas de los cielos;

3 colocas las vigas de tu hogar en las nubes de lluvia.
Haces de las nubes tu carro de guerra;
cabalgas sobre las alas del viento.

4 Los vientos son tus mensajeros,
las llamas de fuego, tus sirvientes.

5 Colocaste el mundo sobre sus cimientos,
así jamás se removerá.

6 Vestiste a la tierra con torrentes de agua,
agua que cubrió aun a las montañas.

7 A tu orden, el agua huyó;
al sonido de tu trueno, salió corriendo.

8 Las montañas se elevaron y los valles se hundieron
hasta el nivel que tú decretaste.

9 Después, fijaste un límite para los mares,
para que nunca más cubrieran la tierra.

10 Tú haces que los manantiales viertan agua en los barrancos,
para que los arroyos broten con fuerza y desciendan desde las montañas.

11 Proveen agua a todos los animales,
y los burros salvajes sacian su sed.

12 Las aves hacen sus nidos junto a los arroyos
y cantan entre las ramas de los árboles.

13 Desde tu hogar celestial, envías lluvia sobre las montañas
y colmas la tierra con el fruto de tus obras.

14 Haces crecer el pasto para los animales
y las plantas para el uso de la gente.
Les permites producir alimento con el fruto de la tierra:

15 vino para que se alegren,
aceite de oliva para aliviarles la piel,
y pan para que se fortalezcan.

16 Los árboles del Señor
están bien cuidados,
los cedros del Líbano que plantó.

17 Allí hacen sus nidos las aves,
y en los cipreses las cigüeñas hacen su hogar.

18 En lo alto de las montañas viven las cabras salvajes,
y las rocas forman un refugio para los damanes.

19 Creaste la luna para que marcara las estaciones,
y el sol sabe cuándo ponerse.

20 Envías la oscuridad, y se hace de noche,
la hora en que merodean los animales del bosque.

21 Los leones jóvenes rugen por su presa,
acechan en busca del alimento que Dios les provee.

22 Al amanecer, se escabullen
y se meten en sus guaridas para descansar.

23 Entonces la gente sale a trabajar
y realiza sus labores hasta el anochecer.

24 Oh Señor
, ¡cuánta variedad de cosas has creado!
Las hiciste todas con tu sabiduría;
la tierra está repleta de tus criaturas.

25 Allí está el océano, ancho e inmenso,
rebosando de toda clase de vida,
especies tanto grandes como pequeñas.

26 Miren los barcos que pasan navegando,
y al Leviatán,
al cual hiciste para que juegue en el mar.

27 Todos dependen de ti
para recibir el alimento según su necesidad.

28 Cuando tú lo provees, ellos lo recogen.
Abres tu mano para alimentarlos,
y quedan sumamente satisfechos.

29 Pero si te alejas de ellos, se llenan de pánico.
Cuando les quitas el aliento,
mueren y vuelven otra vez al polvo.

30 Cuando les das tu aliento,
se genera la vida
y renuevas la faz de la tierra.

31 ¡Que la gloria del Señor
continúe para siempre!
¡El Señor
se deleita en todo lo que ha creado!

32 La tierra tiembla ante su mirada;
las montañas humean cuando él las toca.

33 Cantaré al Señor
mientras viva.
¡Alabaré a mi Dios hasta mi último suspiro!

34 Que todos mis pensamientos le agraden,
porque me alegro en el Señor
.

35 Que todos los pecadores desaparezcan de la faz de la tierra;
que dejen de existir para siempre los perversos.
Que todo lo que soy alabe al Señor
.
¡Alabado sea el Señor
!

Salmos 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