Psalms 104

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty--

2 who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;

3 who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind;

4 who maketh His angels spirits, His ministers a flaming fire;

5 who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should never be removed.

6 Thou covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At Thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of Thy thunder they hastened away.

8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which Thou hast founded for them.

9 Thou hast set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the fowls of the heavens have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from His chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works.

14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herbs for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth,

15 and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted,

17 where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies.

19 He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his time to go down.

20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.

21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.

22 When the sun ariseth, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens.

23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches.

25 So also is this great and wide sea, wherein are innumerable creeping things, both small and great beasts.

26 There go the ships; there also is that leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein.

27 These all wait upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28 What Thou givest them, they gather: Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.

29 Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

30 Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of the earth.

31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever; the LORD shall rejoice in His works.

32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34 My meditation of Him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the LORD.

35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul! Praise ye the LORD!

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Psalms 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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

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

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible