
Psalm 104 Commentary
How Manifold Are Your Works!
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KEY THOUGHT: O Lord, how manifold are Your works! [Psalm 104:24a NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Psalm 104 NKJV
Praise to the Sovereign Lord for His Creation and Providence
104 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes His angels spirits,
His [a]ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who [b]laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 [c]They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
That they may not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches.
13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 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,
15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests;
The stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high hills are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the rock[d] badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons;
The sun knows its going down.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
And to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—
25 This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan[e]
Which You have [f]made to play there.
27 These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;
You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
35 May sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
[g]Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
a. Psalm 104:4 servants
b. Psalm 104:5 Lit. founded the earth upon her bases
c. Psalm 104:8 Or The mountains rose up; The valleys sank down
d. Psalm 104:18 rock hyraxes
e. Psalm 104:26 A large sea creature of unknown identity
f. Psalm 104:26 Lit. formed
g. Psalm 104:35 Heb. Hallelujah
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalm 104 Commentary
The LORD God is very great. The rest of the psalm justifies this claim. The psalm also functions as a rebuttal of the absurdity of human claims to other causes behind creation.
Creation has an author. The intention is stated. There is both greatness and beauty.
The miracles of the New Testament give us a picture of the manner of God’s power. But that, too, is limited to the world we can observe.
We can only speak of observable elements. Within this scope, the psalmist displays beautiful evidence of God’s works. Indeed, he is very great!
Verse 9. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over. Elements of creation interact with each other within designed parameters. There is no violation.
Verse 13. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. There are no loose ends. Every state and every activity, both in time and space, function to meet a desired end. Purpose is not created by chemical reactions. Purpose is first, but it is also last. It is divinely conceived.
The sun and the moon are but elements of God’s creation. They function as designed by the Creator God.
The living things can be said to be living because of God’s Spirit. He does interfere with activating life or deactivating it. Deactivation may equal death.
Mortals are mortals, depending on the presence or absence of the Spirit. But it’s never mechanical; the Creator God decides when and how, depending on the element.
The psalmist responds with praise. It’s a wonderful moment for him!
Psalm 103 and 104 have the same thought. While Psalm 103 focuses on God’s interface with humanity, Psalm 104 focuses on the other elements of creation. Regardless, praise the LORD!
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