Tehillim 104

1 04 Barachi (bless) Hashem, O my nefesh. Hashem Elohai, Thou art gadol me’od; Thou art clothed with hod (honor) and hadar (majesty).

2 Who coverest Thyself with ohr (light) as with a garment; Who stretchest out Shomayim like a tent (curtain);

3 Who layeth the beams of His aliyyot (upper rooms) on the mayim; Who maketh the clouds His merkavah; Who walketh upon the wings of the ruach (wind);

4 Who maketh ruchot (spirits, winds) His malachim; His mesharetim (ministers), flaming eish;

5 Who laid the mekhonim (foundations) of ha’aretz, that it should not move out of place olam va’ed.

6 Thou coveredst it with the tehom (deep) as with a garment; the mayim stood above the harim (mountains).

7 At Thy ga’arah (rebuke) they fled; at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away.

8 They go up by the harim (mountains); they go down by the beka’ot (valleys) unto the makom (place) which Thou hast assigned for them.

9 Thou hast set a boundary that they [the waters] may not pass over; that they return not to cover ha’aretz.

10 He sendeth the ma’ayanim (springs) into the ravines, which run among the harim.

11 They give drink to every beast of the sadeh; the pera’im (donkeys) quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the oph HaShomayim have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the harim from His aliyyot (upper rooms); ha’aretz is satisfied with the p’ri (fruit) of Thy ma’asim.

14 He causeth the khatzir (grass) to grow for the behemah, and esev for the avodas ha’adam; that he may bring forth lechem out of ha’aretz;

15 And yayin that maketh glad levav enosh, and shemen to make panim (faces) to shine, and lechem which strengtheneth levav enosh.

16 The trees of Hashem are full of sap, the arazim (cedars) of Levanon, which He hath planted;

17 Where the tzipporim (birds) make their nests; as for the khasidah (stork), the beroshim (cypresses) are her bais.

18 The high hills are a makhseh (refuge, shelter) for the wild goats; and the rocks for the gophers.

19 He appointed the yarei’ach for mo’adim; the shemesh knoweth the place of its going down.

20 Thou makest choshech, and it is lailah; wherein all the beasts of the ya’ar (forest) do creep forth.

21 The young lions roar after their teref (prey), and seek their okhel from G-d.

22 The shemesh ariseth, they retreat, and lay themselves down in their me’onot (dwelling places, dens, homes [Yn 14:2 OJBC]).

23 Adam goeth forth unto his work and to his avodah (labor, service) until erev.

24 Hashem, how manifold are Thy ma’asim! In chochmah (wisdom; cf Psa 33:6; Yn 1:1) hast Thou made them all; ha’aretz is full of Thy creatures.

25 So is this gadol (great) and rekhav (wide, spacious) yam (sea), wherein are remes (creeping things), innumerable swarming chayyot (creatures), ketanot and gedolot.

26 There go the oniyyot (ships); there is that Leviathan, whom Thou hast made lesakhek (to play, to sport, to frolic) therein.

27 These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their ochel (food) in due season.

28 That Thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine yad, they are satisfied with tov.

29 Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their ruach, they expire, and return to their aphar.

30 Thou sendest forth Thy Ruach [Hakodesh], they are created; and Thou renewest the face of adamah (earth).

31 The Kavod Hashem shall endure l’olam; Hashem shall rejoice in His ma’asim (works).

32 He looketh on ha’aretz, and it trembleth; He toucheth the harim, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto Hashem as long as I live; I will sing praise to Elohai while I have my being.

34 May my si’akh (musing, meditation) be acceptable to Him; I will have simchah in Hashem.

35 Let the chatta’im (sinners) be consumed from ha’aretz, and let the resha’im (wicked) be no more. Baruch Hashem, O my nefesh. Praise Hashem!

Tehillim 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