Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Psalms 104:1.-Theme: Bless Yahweh for His works, which reflect His majesty (); His creation of light, the heavens, the earth; separation of water and land (Psalms 104:6); watering the ground b... [ Continue Reading ]
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: WHO COVEREST THYSELF WITH LIGHT AS WITH A GARMENT. The general glory put on by God as a garment at creation is here transferred to one department-namely, the calling forth of light, with which creat... [ Continue Reading ]
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: WHO LAYETH THE BEAMS OF HIS CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS - rather, 'Who layeth the beams of His upper chambers with waters.' The waters above are the materials out of which the... [ Continue Reading ]
Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: WHO MAKETH HIS ANGELS SPIRITS; HIS MINISTERS A FLAMING FIRE - (Hebrews 1:7.) [ ho (G3588) poioon (G4160) tous (G3588) angelous (G32) autou (G847) pneumata (G4151) kai (G2532) tous (G3588) leit... [ Continue Reading ]
Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED FOREVER. What is denied is not the earth's motion, but the possibility of its being disturbed from the place in the universe which God has assigned i... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. THOU COVEREDST IT WITH THE DEEP AS WITH A GARMENT. "It," the earth. In the Hebrew the suffix is masculine, whereas "earth," in , is feminine; therefore the word is of common gender: or else translate, 'The f... [ Continue Reading ]
At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. AT THY REBUKE THEY FLED. The water was removed from off the earth on the third day of creation. The deep stood, as it were, in an attitude of opposition to God's will, that His glory, as the God of order, should be manifested... [ Continue Reading ]
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. THEY GO UP BY THE MOUNTAINS; THEY GO DOWN BY THE VALLEYS. The waters, tumultuously excited by God's "rebuke" after having been brought down by it, again 'go up TO the mountains,' whence they... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. THOU HAST SET A BOUND THAT THEY MAY NOT PASS OVER - (; ; .) The flood was a temporary exception, which, according to the sure word of God, is never to be repeated (; ; ).... [ Continue Reading ]
He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. HE SENDETH THE SPRINGS INTO THE VALLEYS ... THEY GIVE DRINK TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD - literally, 'river-valleys' [ nachal (H5158)]; valleys forming the beds of streams. Besides driving away the hostile sea-floods, God waters... [ Continue Reading ]
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. BY THEM SHALL THE FOWLS OF THE HEAVEN HAVE THEIR HABITATION - "fowl of the air" (; ). The fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the field have this in common, that no one cares for them. The God who cares... [ Continue Reading ]
He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. -Continuation of the description of God's care of His creatures by watering the dry land; as He waters the lower places or valleys by means of fountains or springs (Psalms 104:10), so the high ground or h... [ Continue Reading ]
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. THE HIGH HILLS (ARE) A REFUSE FOR THE WILD GOATS, (AND) THE ROCKS FOR THE CONIES. This verse is the transition clause to the second half of the psalm. "The high hills" stand in contrast to "the hills" in general (), and... [ Continue Reading ]
He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. HE APPOINTED THE MOON FOR SEASONS - `appointed times' (cf. ). The moon is mentioned before the sun, as the evening or night is mentioned in before the morning or day. The Hebrews in reckoning began the day from evening. The first... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. THOU MAKEST DARKNESS ... WHEREIN ALL THE BEASTS OF THE FOREST DO CREEP FORTH. THE YOUNG LIONS ... SEEK THEIR MEAT FROM GOD - who is the Provider alike of their proper prey and of the darkness wherein they... [ Continue Reading ]
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. THE SUN ARISETH, THEY ... LAY THEM DOWN IN THEIR DENS. MAN GOETH FORTH UNTO HIS WORK ... UNTIL THE EVENING. As God cares for the beasts by appointing the night as their season for getting sustenance, so much more... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. -From the sun and moon, the highest of the visible manifestations of God's omnipotence and love, the transition is made to the deepest-namely, the sea. The work of the fifth day of creation is... [ Continue Reading ]
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. -All God's creatures obtain from Him their food in due season. They die at God's pleasure: and when God sends forth His Spirit the earth is renewed again, as it was after the destruction by the deluge, (Genesis 8:1; Ge... [ Continue Reading ]
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works. THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL ENDURE FOREVER: THE LORD SHALL REJOICE IN HIS WORKS - as He did when creation was completed (). As God is glorified, and therefore rejoices in His 'manifold works' for the preservation o... [ Continue Reading ]
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. HE LOOOKETH ON THE EARTH, AND IT TREMBLETH; HE TOUCHETH THE HILLS, AND THEY SMOKE - the ground of the confidence in , that God will glorify Himself in delivering His people; namely, His absolute power to humble all... [ Continue Reading ]
I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD AS LONG AS I LIVE. The thought of God's glory, which ensures the Church's everlasting safety determines the Psalmist (as representative of Israel literal and spiritual) to p... [ Continue Reading ]
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. MY MEDITATION OF HIM SHALL BE SWEET - henceforward, seeing that I have such good hope drawn from the glory of the Lord which ensures the final deliverance of Israel and the Church (notes, ). The context and the parallelism to I W... [ Continue Reading ]
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. LET THE SINNERS BE CONSUMED OUT OF THE EARTH, AND LET THE WICKED BE NO MORE - alluding to . The same doom which befell the rebel Israelites in the wilderness shall befa... [ Continue Reading ]