Salmos 104

1 BENDICE, alma mía, á Jehová. Jehová, Dios mío, mucho te has engrandecido; Haste vestido de gloria y de magnificencia.

2 El que se cubre de luz como de vestidura, Que extiende los cielos como una cortina;

3 Que establece sus aposentos entre las aguas; El que pone las nubes por su carroza, El que anda sobre las alas del viento;

4 El que hace á sus ángeles espíritus, Sus ministros al fuego flameante.

5 El fundó la tierra sobre sus basas; No será jamás removida.

6 Con el abismo, como con vestido, la cubriste; Sobre los montes estaban las aguas.

7 A tu reprensión huyeron; Al sonido de tu trueno se apresuraron;

8 Subieron los montes, descendieron los valles, Al lugar que tú les fundaste.

9 Pusísteles término, el cual no traspasarán; Ni volverán á cubrir la tierra.

10 Tú eres el que envías las fuentes por los arroyos; Van entre los montes.

11 Abrevan á todas las bestias del campo: Quebrantan su sed los asnos montaraces.

12 Junto á aquellos habitarán las aves de los cielos; Entre las ramas dan voces.

13 El que riega los montes desde sus aposentos: Del fruto de sus obras se sacia la tierra.

14 El que hace producir el heno para las bestias, Y la hierba para el servicio del hombre; Sacando el pan de la tierra.

15 Y el vino que alegra el corazón del hombre, Y el aceite que hace lucir el rostro, Y el pan que sustenta el corazón del hombre.

16 Llénanse de jugo los árboles de Jehová, Los cedros del Líbano que él plantó.

17 Allí anidan las aves; En las hayas hace su casa la cigüeña.

18 Los montes altos para las cabras monteses; Las peñas, madrigueras para los conejos.

19 Hizo la luna para los tiempos: El sol conoce su ocaso.

20 Pone las tinieblas, y es la noche: En ella corretean todas las bestias de la selva.

21 Los leoncillos braman á la presa, Y para buscar de Dios su comida.

22 Sale el sol, recógense, Y échanse en sus cuevas.

23 Sale el hombre á su hacienda, Y á su labranza hasta la tarde.

24 ¡Cuán muchas son tus obras, oh Jehová! Hiciste todas ellas con sabiduría: La tierra está llena de tus beneficios.

25 Asimismo esta gran mar y ancha de términos: En ella pescados sin número, Animales pequeños y grandes.

26 Allí andan navíos; Allí este leviathán que hiciste para que jugase en ella.

27 Todos ellos esperan en ti, Para que les des su comida á su tiempo.

28 Les das, recogen; Abres tu mano, hártanse de bien.

29 Escondes tu rostro, túrbanse: Les quitas el espíritu, dejan de ser, Y tórnanse en su polvo.

30 Envías tu espíritu, críanse: Y renuevas la haz de la tierra.

31 Sea la gloria de Jehová para siempre; Alégrese Jehová en sus obras;

32 El cual mira á la tierra, y ella tiembla; Toca los montes, y humean.

33 A Jehová cantaré en mi vida: A mi Dios salmearé mientras viviere.

34 Serme ha suave hablar de él: Yo me alegraré en Jehová.

35 Sean consumidos de la tierra los pecadores, Y los impíos dejen de ser. Bendice, alma mía, á Jehová. Aleluya.

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