Bible Commentaries

It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at the same time, as the former; for as that ended this begins, with "Bless the Lord, O my soul!" and concludes with it too. The style indeed is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God and his tender mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most agreeable; the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness, and majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people; in this he gives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as Ps 19:1-14, which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Ps 8:1-9, which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This noble poem is thought by very competent judges greatly to excel, not only for piety and devotion (that is past dispute), but for flight of fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and ornaments of expression, the Greek and Latin poets upon any subject of this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of I. The splendour of his majesty in the upper world, Ps 104:1-4. II. The creation of the sea and the dry land, Ps 104:5-9. III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures according to their nature, Ps 104:10-18,27,28. IV. The regular course of the sun and moon, Ps 104:19-24. V. The furniture of the sea, Ps 104:25,26. IV. God's sovereign power over all the creatures, Ps 104:29-32. And, lastly, he concludes with a pleasant and firm resolution to continue praising God (Ps 104:33-35), with which we should heartily join in singing this psalm.

This psalm in the Syriac, the Arabic, the Greek, and the Latin versions, is ascribed to David, but on what authority is now unknown. That it "may" have been composed by him cannot be doubted, but there is no certain evidence that he was the author. In the Hebrew, it has no title, and there is nothing in the psalm itself which would furnish any indication as to its authorship.

The occasion on which the psalm was composed is unknown, and cannot now be ascertained. Rosenmuller and Hengstenberg suppose that it was at the time of the return from the Babylonian exile, and that it was intended to be used at the re-dedication of the temple. But it has no special applicability to such a service; it has no such local references as would fix it to that time; it has nothing which would make it inappropriate at "any" time, or in "any public service. It is such a psalm as might be composed at any period of the world, or in any country, where there was an intelligent view and a careful observation of the works of God. It implies, indeed, such a knowledge of the fact that God made the world as could be obtained only by revelation; but it evinces also a power of close observation; a large acquaintance with the creation around us; a relish for the scenes of nature; as well as a rich poetic faculty, and a power of description, adapted to place such scenes before the mind as realities, and to make us feel, in reading it, that we are in the very midst of the things which are described - so that they seem to live and move before our eyes.

The psalm was probably founded on the record of the creation in Genesis 1; with a design to show that the order of the creation, as there described, "was adapted to the purposes which were intended, and was carried out in the providential arrangements now existing on the earth;" or, that, taking the order of the creation as described there, the existing state of things furnished an illustration of the wisdom and benevolence of that order. Accordingly, in the psalm, it was convenient for the writer to follow substantially the "order" observed in Genesis 1 in narrating the creation of the world; and he states, under each part, the "acting out" of that order in existing things; creation in its being actually carried out, or in its results - the creation "developing itself" in the varied and wonderful forms of being - of vegetable and animal life - of beauty, of harmonious movement, of ceaseless activity - on the land, in the air, and in the waters. Accordingly there is in the psalm:

I. An allusion to the work of the "first" day, Psalm 104:2-5 (compare Genesis 1:1-5): to the stretching out of the heavens as a curtain; to the source of light - "who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;" - to the laying of the foundations of the earth to abide forever; to God as Creator of all things, with the additional ideas of his being clothed with honor and majesty; making the clouds his chariot; walking upon the wings of the wind; making the winds his messengers, and flames of fire his ministers.

II. An allusion to the work of the "second" day, Psalm 104:6-9 (compare Genesis 1:6-8). Here it is the separation of the waters - the power exerted on the waters of the earth; in Genesis, the dividing of the waters above from those on the earth; in the psalm, the poetic images of the deep covering the earth as with a garment; the waters climbing up the mountains, and rolling down into the valleys, until they found the place appointed for them, a boundary which they could not pass so as to return again and cover the earth.

III. An allusion to the work of the "third" day, Psalm 104:10-18 (compare Genesis 1:9-13). In Genesis, the waters gathering together; the dry land appearing, and the earth yielding grass, and herbs, and fruit trees - the creation of vegetables; in the psalm, the springs running into the valleys, and winding among the hills - giving drink to the beasts, and quenching the thirst of wild asses - furnishing a lace for the fowls to build their nests, causing the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man - supplying him wine to make him glad, and oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen his heart - bringing forth the trees of the Lord, the cedars of Lebanon for the birds to make their nests, and the fir trees for the stork - making the hills a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies: that is, the work of creation on the third day is seen by the eye of the psalmist not "as" mere "creation," but in the "result," as enlivened and animated by all these varied forms of life, activity, and beauty which had been spread over the earth as the "consequence" of this part of the work of creation.

IV. An allusion to the work of the "fourth" day, Psalm 104:19-23 (compare Genesis 1:14-19). Here, as in the previous divisions of the psalm, it is not a reference to the mere "creation" - to the power evinced - but to the creation of the sun and moon "as seen in the effects" produced by them - the living world as it is influenced by the sun and moon: the seasons - the alternations of day and night. Thus Psalm 104:20, at night, when the sun has gone down, all the beasts of the forest are seen creeping forth; the lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God; and again when the sun arises Psalm 104:22-23, they are seen gathering themselves together, and retiring to their dens, and man is seen going forth to his work and to his labor until the evening. It is thus not the original act of creation which is before the mind of the psalmist, but that act in its development, or when it is seen what God contemplated by it, or what he intended that in this respect the world should be when he made the sun, the moon, and the stars.

V. An allusion to the work of the "fifth" day, Psalm 104:24-30 (compare Genesis 1:20-23); the creation of "life" in the waters, and in the air; as the fowls of heaven - the whales, etc. Here, too, the psalmist sees all this as it is - or developed on the sea, and in the air. In the sea there are things creeping innumerable, small and great; there are the ships; there is leviathan; there is everywhere animated life; there are beings innumerable all dependent on God; there are the processes of renewing, creating, destroying, continually going on - a moving scene, showing the "effect of life" as it is produced by God.

VI. It is remarkable, however, that the allusion to the successive days of the work of creation, so obvious in the other parts of the psalm, seems to close here, and there is no distinct reference to the sixth day, or the seventh - to the creation of "man" as the crowning work, and to the "rest" provided for man in the appointment of the Sabbath. The purpose of the psalmist seems to have been to celebrate the praises of God in the varied scene - the panorama passing before the eye in the works of "nature." The purpose did not seem to be to contemplate "man" - his creation - his history - but "nature," as seen around us. The remainder of the psalm, therefore, is occupied with a description of the glory of the Lord "as thus manifested;" the works of God as suited to fill the mind with exalted views of his greatness, and with a desire that his reign may be universal and perpetual, Psalm 104:31-35.

The majesty and power of God manifested in the creation of the heavens and the atmosphere, Psalm 104:1-3; of the earth and sea, Psalm 104:4-9; of the springs, fountains, and rivers, Psalm 104:10-13; of vegetables and trees, Psalm 104:14-18; of the sun and moon, Psalm 104:19; of day and night, and their uses, Psalm 104:20-23; of the riches of the earth, Psalm 104:24; of the sea, its inhabitants, and its uses, Psalm 104:25, Psalm 104:26; of God's general providence in providing food for all kinds of animals, Psalm 104:27-31; of earthquakes and volcanoes, Psalm 104:32. God is praised for his majesty, and the instruction which his works afford, Psalm 104:33, Psalm 104:34. Sinners shall be destroyed, Psalm 104:35.

This Psalm has no title either in the Hebrew or Chaldee; but it is attributed to David by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Syriac. It has the following title in the Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian Polyglot: Ψαλμος τῳ Δαυιδ ὑπερ της του κοσμου συστασεως "A Psalm of David concerning the formation of the world." The Syriac says it is "A Psalm of David when he went with the priests to adore the Lord before the ark." It seems a continuation of the preceding Psalm; and it is written as a part of it in nine of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. It is properly a poem on the works of God in the creation and government of the world; and some have considered it a sort of epitome of the history of the creation, as given in the book of Genesis.

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 Psalm 104:5 and the application of it to him in Hebrews 1:7.

CIV.

This psalm touches the highest point of religious poetry. It is the most perfect hymn the world has ever produced. Even as a lyric it has scarcely been surpassed; while as a lyric inspired by religion, not only was all ancient literature, except that of the Hebrews, powerless to create anything like it, but even Christian poetry has never succeeded in approaching it. Milton has told the story of Creation, taking, as the psalmist does, the account in Genesis for his model; but the seventh book of the Paradise Lost, even when we make allowance for the difference between the narrative and lyric styles, is tame and prolix—seems to want animation and fire—by the side of this hymn.

At the very opening of the poem we feel the magic of a master inspiration. The world is not, as in Genesis, created by a Divine decree. It springs into life and motion, into order and use, at the touch of the Divine presence. Indeed, the pervading feeling of the hymn is the sense of God’s close and abiding relation to all that He made; the conviction that He not only originated the universe, but dwells in it and sustains it: and this feeling fastens upon us at the outset, as we see the light enfolding the Creator as His robe, and the canopy of heaven rising over Him as His tent. It is not a lifeless world that springs into being. There is no void, no chaos; even the winds and clouds are not for this poet without denizens, or they themselves start into life and people the universe for his satisfaction. He cannot conceive of a world at any time without life and order. Nor has any poet, even of our modern age, displayed a finer feeling for nature, and that not in her tempestuous and wrathful moods—usually the source of Hebrew inspiration—but in her calm, everyday temper. He is the Wordsworth of the ancients, penetrated with a love for nature, and gifted with the insight that springs from love. This majestic hymn is anonymous in the Hebrew. The LXX. have ascribed it to David. Its close connection with Psalms 103, and an Aramaic word in Psalm 104:12, indicate a post-exile date for its composition. The verse shows every variety of rhythm.

This glorious Psalm is conspicuous alike for its poetic beauty and for its religious significance. It is a companion piece to Psalms 103, and was probably written by the same poet. Both of them begin and end with the same call to adoring praise, Bless Jehovah, O my soul. In Psalms 103 that call is based upon the consideration of God’s mercy exhibited in His recent deliverance of Israel, in Psalms 104 upon the contemplation of His power, wisdom, and goodness manifested in the creation and maintenance of the world. History and Nature render their concurrent testimony.

The author of this Psalm has been called “the Wordsworth of the ancients, penetrated with a love for nature, and gifted with the insight that springs from love” (Aglen). Undoubtedly he was an enthusiastic lover of Nature, but it was not for its own sake merely that he loved it. It was to him “a book which heavenly truth imparts.”

“The earth

And common face of nature spake to him

Rememberable things.”

For him the invisible attributes of God. His everlasting power and divinity, were daily rendered visible to human reason in the works of creation (Romans 1:20).

The general arrangement of the poem is suggested by the story of creation in Genesis 1, but the treatment of the subject is free and original. Often we are reminded of the creation-pictures in Job 38-41, with which the author must have been familiar. Sometimes he draws a picture of the process of creation, but for the most part it is the present order and continuous maintenance of the universe by the beneficent will of the Creator which kindles his devout enthusiasm. God did not make the world and leave it to itself. It depends absolutely upon His will for the continuance of its existence. It is He who “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). And at the end the poet looks forward to the banishment of evil, and the restoration of the harmony of creation, “that God may be all in all.”

The following analysis may help to indicate the plan of the Psalm.

Creation is a revelation of the incomparable majesty of God. The elemental forces of Nature are an expression of His Almighty power (Psalm 104:1-4). He formed the earth and separated the land and sea (Psalm 104:5-9); and while the great mass of waters is thus confined in its appointed place, provision is made for the needs of beast and bird by spring and stream (Psalm 104:10-12). He sends rain to fertilise the earth, and make it produce food for man and beast (Psalm 104:13-15); He plants it with stately trees, which are the home of the birds, and peoples the mountains and rocks with His creatures (Psalm 104:16-18). Moon and sun mark times and seasons, day and night (Psalm 104:19-23). Then, after an exclamation of adoring wonder, the poet points to the sea with its manifold marvels (Psalm 104:24-26), and emphasises the perpetual dependence of every living thing on God not only for sustenance but for life (Psalm 104:27-30). Finally with a glance at the awful power of Him Who can destroy as easily as He can create, the Psalmist prays that His works may never cease to please Him and reveal His glory. As long as he lives he will sing praise to God. May all that disturbs the harmony of creation be banished from the earth (Psalm 104:31-35).

The choice of this Psalm as a Proper Psalm for Whitsunday was probably due to the reference it contains to the spirit of God as the source of life; it has moreover a singular fitness for the great festival which in this country falls at the time when spring has once more “renewed the face of the ground.”

Ps 104:1-35.

The Psalmist celebrates God's glory in His works of creation and providence, teaching the dependence of all living creatures; and contrasting the happiness of those who praise Him with the awful end of the wicked.

1. God's essential glory, and also that displayed by His mighty works, afford ground for praise.

Bless the Lord, O my soul - See Psalm 103:1.

O Lord my God, thou art very great - This is a reason why the psalmist calls on his soul to bless God; namely, for the fact that he is so exalted; so vast in his perfections; so powerful, so wise, so great.

Thou art clothed with honor and majesty - That is, with the emblems of honor and majesty, as a king is arrayed in royal robes. Creation is the garment with which God has invested himself. Compare the notes at Psalm 93:1.