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 o... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO COVEREST THYSELF WITH LIGHT AS WITH A GARMENT,.... Referring, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi think, to the light, which was first created; and indeed this was commanded out of darkness by God the Word, or by the essential Word of God. Light is expressive of the nature of God himself, who is light, and... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO LAYETH THE BEAMS OF HIS CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS,.... Or "his upper rooms" i; one story over another being built by him in the heavens, Amos 9:6, the chambers where he resides; his courts, as the Targum; his palace and apartments, his presence chamber particularly, the floor and beams of them are... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO MAKETH HIS ANGELS SPIRITS,.... The angels are spirits, or spiritual substances, yet created ones; and so differ from God, who is a spirit, and from the Holy Spirit of God, who are Creators and not creatures; angels are spirits without bodies, and so differ from the souls or spirits of men, and a... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH,.... Or "founded the earth upon its bases" l; which some take to be the waters, according to Psalms 24:2, others the centre of gravity in it; others the mountains; others the circumambient air, by which it is poised; rather the almighty power of God, by which it... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU COVEREST IT WITH THE DEEP AS WITH A GARMENT,.... This refers not to the waters of the flood, when the earth was covered with them, even the tops of the highest mountains; but to the huge mass of waters, the abyss and depth of them, which lay upon the earth and covered it as a garment, at its fi... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THY REBUKE THEY FLED,.... The depths of water that covered the earth fled, went off apace, when Christ, the essential Word, gave the word of command that they should; saying, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so", Genesis... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY GO UP BY THE MOUNTAINS, THEY GO DOWN BY THE VALLEYS,.... The Targum is, "they ascend out of the deep to the mountains;'' that is, the waters, when they went off the earth at the divine orders, steered their course up the mountains, and then went down by the valleys to the place appointed for... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST SET A BOUND, THAT THEY MAY NOT PASS OVER,.... The Targum adds, "to the rolling waves of the sea.'' Set doors with bolts and bars, cliffs, rocks, and shores: and, what is more surprising, sand, which is penetrable, flexible, and moveable, is set as a perpetual bound to the raging ocean an... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SENDETH THE SPRINGS INTO THE VALLEYS,.... The Targum is, "who sendeth fountains into the rivers.'' Either from the waters of the sea, which being drained through the sand, become sweet and drinkable; or from the hills and mountains. This is an instance of divine goodness, that having removed th... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY GIVE DRINK TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD,.... These fountains, springs, and rivers, afford water for all the beasts of the field; who are therefore said to honour and praise the Lord on account of it, Isaiah 43:19. THE WILD ASSES QUENCH THEIR THIRST; or "break" n it. Those creatures that live in... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THEM SHALL THE FOWLS OF THE HEAVEN HAVE THEIR HABITATION,.... Another use of the springs, fountains, and rivers of water; by the sides and on the shores of these, some birds delight to be, and on trees that grow here do they build their nests; and here, having wetted their throats, they sit, and... [ Continue Reading ]
HE WATERETH THE HILLS FROM HIS CHAMBERS,.... The house of his superior treasures, as the Targum. The airy regions, Psalms 104:3 with the clouds of heaven, by the rain which they drop down upon them; the usefulness of which blessings of nature is largely described in this and some following verses. ... [ Continue Reading ]
HE CAUSETH THE GRASS TO GROW FOR THE CATTLE,.... By means of rain falling upon the tender herb, and upon the mown grass, whereby provision of food is made for those creatures that live upon grass. AND HERB FOR THE SERVICE OF MAN: some herbs being for physic for him, and others for food, and all mor... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WINE THAT MAKETH GLAD THE HEART OF MAN,.... That is, by means of rain watering the earth, vines are caused to grow out of it; which produce wine, that has such a virtue in it, as to cheer the heart of man, even of a miserable, distressed, and afflicted man, as the word p is supposed to signify,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TREES OF THE LORD ARE FULL OF SAP,.... Or "satiated" s; that is, with rain; and through it are filled with fruits. This is to be understood not only of the tallest and largest trees; which are therefore called the trees of the Lord, as high mountains are called the mountains of the Lord, Psalms... [ Continue Reading ]
WHERE THE BIRDS MAKE THEIR NESTS,.... As they do in large, tall, spreading trees: not any particular "birds", as the sparrow, to which the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and Apollinarius, restrain it: but birds in general are intended; and especially such as build in large trees, as before a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HIGH HILLS ARE A REFUGE FOR THE WILD GOATS,.... Who have their name in Hebrew d from their climbing and ascending them. What we commonly call "a wild goose chase" should be expressed "a wild goat's chase"; for not geese, but goats, are chased; and when they are, they flee to the hills for refuge... [ Continue Reading ]
HE APPOINTETH THE MOON FOR SEASONS,.... Or, "he made" e; for the moon is the work of his hands, Psalms 8:3 as is likewise the sun. From the rain the psalmist passes to the luminaries; for this reason, as Aben Ezra thinks, because they are the cause of rain: the moon is taken notice of in the first p... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU MAKEST DARKNESS, AND IT IS NIGHT,.... The darkness was before the light, and the night before the day, Genesis 1:2 and now the darkness and night are made by the setting of the sun before mentioned; see Isaiah 45:7. WHEREIN ALL THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD DO CREEP FORTH; out of their dens, and ran... [ Continue Reading ]
THE YOUNG LIONS ROAR AFTER THEIR PREY,.... Or, "at the prey" f; for, according to the Scriptures, it seems as if their time of roaring was when they have got their prey, and are tearing it and feeding on it, and not till then, Amos 3:4 though naturalists tell us, that, when they are pinched with hun... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUN ARISETH, THEY GATHER THEMSELVES TOGETHER,.... Having gone some one way, some another, seeking their prey; but upon the sun's rising gather together in order to return from whence they came, abhorring the light of the sun, as some creatures do, and fearing being hunted and taken by men, the f... [ Continue Reading ]
MAN GOETH FORTH TO HIS WORK,.... Having taken sleep in the night, being comfortably refreshed, and his strength recruited; he rises with the rising sun, and goes forth cheerfully and with intrepidity to his work in the field, or elsewhere, the beasts being fled and gone. AND TO HIS LABOUR UNTIL THE... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, HOW MANIFOLD ARE THY WORKS,.... The psalmist having taken notice of many of the works of creation, stops and wonders at the number of them; though he had not gone through them all, and there were even things innumerable behind; see Psalms 104:25, he admires the sum of them, how great it was;... [ Continue Reading ]
SO IS THIS GREAT AND WIDE SEA,.... One of the great and manifold works of God, made in his wisdom, and full of his riches and possessions, as the earth is; this is that collection of waters which God called seas, Genesis 1:10 and is, as Kimchi observes, great in length, and wide and spacious in brea... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE GO THE SHIPS,.... From place to place, from one end of the world to the other, for the sake of merchandise r; this is one of the four things that were too wonderful for Solomon, "the way of a ship in the midst of the sea", Proverbs 30:19 though navigation was improved in his times indeed not s... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE WAIT ALL UPON THEE,.... Or "hope in thee" s; not only the fishes of the sea, but the beasts of the field; for to them the psalmist returns, as Aben Ezra observes; to whom hope and expectation of their food and waiting for it at the hands of God, are ascribed; the allusion seems to be to tame c... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THOU GIVEST THEM THEY GATHER,.... What God bestows upon them as a bounty of Providence they take and make use of, and in their way thankfully, and without repining; some gather it up for immediate use and service, and not into barns; others gather it up for time to come, as the ant, Matthew 6:2... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HIDEST THY FACE, THEY ARE TROUBLED,.... God may be said to hide his face from the creatures when he withholds their food from them, when there is a scarcity of provisions, a famine in the land; when there is no pasture for them to feed on, nor brooks of water to drink of; then are they troubled... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SENDEST FORTH THY SPIRIT, THEY ARE CREATED,.... Thy Holy Spirit, as the Targum, who was at first concerned in the creation of all things, the heavens and the earth, and man upon it, Genesis 1:2 Job 26:13 which may be alluded to here; though it seems chiefly to intend the generation and product... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER,.... The glory which arises from the works of his hands, which is due unto him, and shall be given him; this is opposed to the perishing and fading glory of all created beings: and as Christ is the person spoken of throughout the whole psalm, this may be u... [ Continue Reading ]
HE LOOKETH ON THE EARTH, AND IT TREMBLETH,.... As Sinai did when he descended on it, Psalms 68:8, to which the allusion seems to be; and a look from him, a severe one, a frowning one, will make the inhabitants of the earth to tremble; a providential look, sending famine, pestilence or the sword amon... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD AS LONG AS I LIVE,.... Or, "in my life or lives w", throughout the whole of it. This was what the psalmist determined to do, let others do what they would; even sing songs of praise to the Lord; since he was the God of his life, who had fed him all his life long; from whom... [ Continue Reading ]
MY MEDITATION OF HIM SHALL BE SWEET,.... Of the glories, excellencies, and perfections of his person; of his offices, as Mediator, King, Priest, and Prophet, the Saviour and Redeemer; of his works of creation, providence, and redemption; of his word, the blessed truths and comfortable doctrines of i... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE SINNERS BE CONSUMED OUT OF THE EARTH,.... Not in common, for all men are sinners, even good men are not without sin; but notorious sinners, whose lives are one continued series and course of sinning; such as will not have Christ to reign over them, and do not give him the glory due unto him;... [ Continue Reading ]