Psalm 104

 ¹Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God,

You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

²Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

³He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

⁴Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire.

⁵You who laid the foundations of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever,

⁶You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters stood above the mountains.

⁷At Your rebuke they fled;

At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

⁸They went up over the mountains;

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which You founded for them.

⁹You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.

¹⁰He sends the springs into the valleys;

They flow among the hills.

¹¹They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²By them the birds of the heavens have their home;

They sing among the branches.

¹³He waters the hills from His upper chambers;

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

¹⁴He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the service of man,

That he may bring forth food from the earth,

¹⁵And wine that makes glad the heart of man,

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread which strengthens man’s heart.

¹⁶The trees of the Lord are full of sap,

The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

¹⁷Where the birds make their nests;

The stork has her home in the fir trees.

¹⁸The high hills are for the wild goats;

The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

¹⁹He appointed the moon for seasons;

The sun knows its going down.

²⁰You make darkness, and it is night,

In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.

²¹The young lions roar after their prey,

And seek their food from God.

²²When the sun rises, they gather together

And lie down in their dens.

²³Man goes out to his work

And to his labor until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions—

²⁵This great and wide sea,

In which are innumerable teeming things,

Living things both small and great.

²⁶There the ships sail about;

There is that Leviathan

Which You have made to play there.

²⁷These all wait for You,

That You may give them their food in due season.

²⁸What You give them they gather in;

You open Your hand, they are filled with good.

²⁹You hide Your face, they are troubled;

You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

³⁰You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;

And You renew the face of the earth.

Though all of creation is under sins curse yet the Lord does not allow it to cease, for He sends forth His Spirit and they are created, new plants, new animals, people made new In Christ! Yes, even though death is over all of creation the Lord’s Spirit brings life!

³¹May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

May the Lord rejoice in His works.

³²He looks on the earth, and it trembles;

He touches the hills, and they smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

³⁴May my meditation be sweet to Him;

I will be glad in the Lord.

³⁵May sinners be consumed from the earth,

And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

Preamble: Psalm 104 is another of the great worship Psalms; for after chastisement always comes renewed fellowship and worship! Therefore, enjoy this Psalm and delight yourselves in the Sovereign Works of the Lord.

Commentary

Vs. 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God,

You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

Mediating on the works of the Lord are key to the worship of Him. And that is clearly seen here in this Psalm. It begins thus with a chorus of praise that has welled up inside of the Psalmist from His reflections upon Him. He begins it then by saying,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God,

You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty”

Such praise is only born out of a heart of faith, out of a heart of humbled awe and thanksgiving, of having received His grace, and thus experienced the gracious works of God for oneself. Corporate worship is great, but personal worship that wells up inside of us is the ultimate, because you can enjoy it anywhere and at anytime. Now as to his praise, he now knows that the Lord is our God. That He is very great, that He has no equal, for He alone is clothed with honor and majesty, such as no mortal man can have, nor fully see.  And yet we get glimpses of His glory in His creation, which excites our hearts and souls and makes us want to know Him. Give honor and glory to Him alone then, and not His to His creation. For only He can satisfy your souls. 

Vs. 2-4 ²Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

³He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

⁴Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire.

The Lord clothes Himself with light, pure and radiant light, which is fitting of Him. As for the heavens He alone stretches them out like a curtain so that they cover the endless celestial expanse that He Himself has created. While closer to us is the clouds which He lays forth His beams of light upon for a foundation beneath Him. Indeed, He makes the clouds His chariot, and He walks on the wings of the wind (vs. 2-3). As for His angels they are spirits, spirit beings which are His ministers of flame of fire, for our God is a consuming fire and thus they are His agents for chastisement and change (vs. 4, see Heb. 1:7; 12:29).

Vs. 5-6 ⁵You who laid the foundations of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever,

⁶You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters stood above the mountains.

Moving from the heights of the heavens now to the earth; the dwelling place of us all. It was our Lord God who laid its foundations, who gave it its form, (and all the laws of gravity), so that it should not be moved forever. It was He who covered it with the deep as a garment so that the waters stood above the mountains, thus in these verses we are seeing the early days of creation (see Gen. 1:9)

Vs. 7 At Your rebuke they fled;

At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

And so it was at the Word of the Lord our God the waters over the mountains quickly moved away, at His rebuke they fled, at the sound of His thunderous voice they hastened away, so as to bring forth the earth in its form and appearance.

Vs. 8-9 ⁸They went up over the mountains;

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which You founded for them.

⁹You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.

And as the waters receded from being over the mountains they went down into the valleys, to place which He had founded for them (vs. 8). For He set a boundary for them so that they may not pass over it, so that they may not return to cover the earth. In these versus then the Great Flood is not being recalled but the earth at the beginning of creation.

Vs. 10-11 He sends the springs into the valleys;

They flow among the hills.

¹¹They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Moving from the early days of creation to the current present, it is the Lord God who sends springs of waters into the valleys to make the land fertile and abounding, to cause them to flow among the hills so that they give drink to every beast (every animal) of the field, for even the wild donkeys quench their thirst by His gracious waters given to us all.

Vs. 12 “By them the birds of the heavens have their home;

They sing among the branches.

And just as the Lord our God causes the waters to refresh the earth, so He makes all the vegetation and trees grow up in the land. For it is there that the birds of the heavens make their home in the trees which He has established and given life to, and from there they sing their songs to all of creation praising and glorifying Him.

Vs. 13 “He waters the hills from His upper chambers;

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.”

And so it is God who waters the hills from His upper chambers, it is He who satisfies all the earth by the fruit of His works. 

Vs. 14-15 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the service of man,

That he may bring forth food from the earth,

¹⁵And wine that makes glad the heart of man,

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread which strengthens man’s heart.

God alone then causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and gives vegetation for the service of man, so that man may bring forth food from the earth. Indeed, the fruit of the vine (i.e., wine) that makes glad the heart of man comes from His hand. And oil (olive oil) for many uses beyond just food, God gives to make mans face shine, God also gives us our bread to strengthen our hearts and persons. Daily then we should all thank Him for His provisions for us all. 

Vs. 16-17 ¹⁶The trees of the Lord are full of sap,

The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

¹⁷Where the birds make their nests;

The stork has her home in the fir trees.

Even the trees are feed by the Lord’s hand, the mighty cedars of Lebanon which He planted, are cared for by Him. Is there a greater gardener then the Lord our God? I think not. And in their branches the birds make their nests, even the large stork has her home in the fir trees. God then harmoniously has all of creation perfectly balanced in His care and by His wonderful oversight.

Vs. 18 “The high hills are for the wild goats;

The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.”

The Lord our God in creating all the bio diversity and all the diverse landscapes throughout the world always considers all the creatures He has created, for He has made them all to dwell and live in what will be the best dwelling place and domain for each one.

 Vs. 19-23 ¹⁹He appointed the moon for seasons;

The sun knows its going down.

²⁰You make darkness, and it is night,

In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.

²¹The young lions roar after their prey,

And seek their food from God.

²²When the sun rises, they gather together

And lie down in their dens.

²³Man goes out to his work

And to his labor until the evening.

The Lord our God then appointed the moon for seasons, by which mankind could mark the months and years, (and tidal currents could move and flow). Same with the suns rising and going down He did so that all creation may know day and night. So that all life could be renewed and refreshed and given rest each day and night. And in creation is there any mammal more feared and revered then the lion? Yet even the young lions look to God in heaven for their sustenance, for He guides them with rising of the sun to its setting in the evening so that they know when it is time to hunt and eat and when it is time to rest. While man goes out to his work and to his labor in the evening, in cool air, far away from the heart of day. These then are all guided by the hand of the Lord God (consider Isaiah 28:23-29).

Vs. 24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions—

One then can only stand in awe of all His mighty Works which He alone has done in Wisdom, for it is the Lord God who creates and guides and sustains all things. Everything under heaven is rightfully His possession, we then as human beings created in His Image are then to be His caretakers of it all (antithesis Rev. 11:18).

Vs. 25-30 ²⁵This great and wide sea,

In which are innumerable teeming things,

Living things both small and great.

²⁶There the ships sail about;

There is that Leviathan

Which You have made to play there.

²⁷These all wait for You,

That You may give them their food in due season.

²⁸What You give them they gather in;

You open Your hand, they are filled with good.

²⁹You hide Your face, they are troubled;

You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

³⁰You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;

And You renew the face of the earth.

Having contemplated just some of the Lord our God’s works in the heavens and on earth, consideration is now given to the sea, likely the Mediterranean Sea, which was most prominent to those of the Middle east. No one then could even imagine all that is in it, but what was known of it, caught in their fishing nets, or washed up on the shores amazed them all, for innumerable life forms live in the sea, both small and great (vs. 25). And on its surface the ships sail about being moved and directed by the Lord’s winds and currents. The Lord our God has even made the mysterious sea creature Leviathan to play there (vs. 26). These then like the land creatures all wait for the Lord our God who gives them their food in due season (vs. 27). And what He gives them they gather in, for He opens His hand and they are filled with good (vs. 28), He hides His face and they are troubled; Indeed, the Lord our God’s Sovereignty extends over the life of everything, for He takes their breath away and they die and return to their dust (vs. 29). He sends forth His Spirit and they are created, and by His Spirit He renews the face of the earth (vs. 30)!

Vs. 31-32 ³¹May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

May the Lord rejoice in His works.

³²He looks on the earth, and it trembles;

He touches the hills, and they smoke.

Having considered the Lord's Works in creation what else can one say, but only, May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works. For truly there is jubilation that emanates from our hearts when we consider all the Lords gracious works in creation; and so, the psalmist’s desire (our desire) is that the Lord rejoice in His works, for He looks upon the earth and it trembles, He touches the hills and they smoke. For He alone keeps and removes all things in creation as He sees fit. 

 Vs. 33-35 ³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

³⁴May my meditation be sweet to Him;

I will be glad in the Lord.

³⁵May sinners be consumed from the earth,

And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

In closing them the Psalmists desire, our desire, is too sing to the Lord as long as we live, giving Him all my praise and thanksgiving. For I am glad in the Lord. And as for sinners who destroy His creation and the wicked who now run rampant on earth may they be no more,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!”

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.