{"id":8145,"date":"2023-07-19T12:51:11","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T18:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=8145"},"modified":"2024-02-27T06:23:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T12:23:28","slug":"psalm-104","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=8145","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 104"},"content":{"rendered":"

Praise to the Sovereign Lord<\/span> for His Creation and Providence<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

1 <\/span>Bless the Lord<\/span>, O my soul!<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

O Lord<\/span> my God, You are very great:<\/span><\/em>
\nYou are clothed with honor and majesty,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

2 <\/sup>Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,<\/span><\/em>
\nWho stretch out the heavens like a curtain.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,<\/span><\/em>
\nWho makes the clouds His chariot,<\/span><\/em>
\nWho walks on the wings of the wind,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

4 <\/sup>Who makes His angels spirits,<\/span><\/em>
\nHis ministers a flame of fire.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>You who\u00a0laid the foundations of the earth,<\/span><\/em>
\nSo that it should not be moved forever,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

6 <\/sup>You covered it with the deep as with a garment;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe waters stood above the mountains.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

7 <\/sup>At Your rebuke they fled;<\/span><\/em>
\nAt the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

8 <\/sup>They went up over the mountains;<\/span><\/em>
\nThey went down into the valleys,<\/span><\/em>
\nTo the place which You founded for them.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

9 <\/sup>You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,<\/span><\/em>
\nThat they may not return to cover the earth.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>He sends the springs into the valleys;<\/span><\/em>
\nThey flow among the hills.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

11 <\/sup>They give drink to every beast of the field;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe wild donkeys quench their thirst.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

12 <\/sup>By them the birds of the heavens have their home;<\/span><\/em>
\nThey sing among the branches.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

13 <\/sup>He waters the hills from His upper chambers;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd vegetation for the service of man,<\/span><\/em>
\nThat he may bring forth food from the earth,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

15 <\/sup>And wine that makes glad the heart of man,<\/span><\/em>
\nOil to make his face shine,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd bread which strengthens man\u2019s heart.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

16 <\/sup>The trees of the Lord<\/span> are full of sap,<\/span><\/em>
\nThe cedars of Lebanon which He planted,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

17 <\/sup>Where the birds make their nests;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe stork has her home in the fir trees.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

18 <\/sup>The high hills are for the wild goats;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

19\u00a0<\/sup>He appointed the moon for seasons;<\/span><\/em>
\nThe sun knows its going down.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

20 <\/sup>You make darkness, and it is night,<\/span><\/em>
\nIn which all the beasts of the forest creep about.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

21 <\/sup>The young lions roar after their prey,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd seek their food from God.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

22 <\/sup>When the sun rises, they gather together<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd lie down in their dens.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

23 <\/sup>Man goes out to his work<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd to his labor until the evening.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

24\u00a0<\/sup>O Lord<\/span>, how manifold are Your works!<\/span><\/em>
\nIn wisdom You have made them all.<\/span><\/em>
\nThe earth is full of Your possessions\u2014<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

25 <\/sup>This great and wide sea,<\/span><\/em>
\nIn which are innumerable teeming things,<\/span><\/em>
\nLiving things both small and great.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

26 <\/sup>There the ships sail about;<\/span><\/em>
\nThere is that Leviathan<\/span><\/em>
\nWhich You have made to play there.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

27\u00a0<\/sup>These all wait for You,<\/span><\/em>
\nThat You may give them their food in due season.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

28 <\/sup>What You give them they gather in;<\/span><\/em>
\nYou open Your hand, they are filled with good.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

29 <\/sup>You hide Your face, they are troubled;<\/span><\/em>
\nYou take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

30 <\/sup>You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd You renew the face of the earth.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

31\u00a0<\/sup>May the glory of the Lord<\/span> endure forever;<\/span><\/em>
\nMay the Lord<\/span> rejoice in His works.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

32 <\/sup>He looks on the earth, and it trembles;<\/span><\/em>
\nHe touches the hills, and they smoke.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

33\u00a0<\/sup>I will sing to the Lord<\/span> as long as I live;<\/span><\/em>
\nI will sing praise to my God while I have my being.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

34 <\/sup>May my meditation be sweet to Him;<\/span><\/em>
\nI will be glad in the Lord<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

35 <\/sup>May sinners be consumed from the earth,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd the wicked be no more.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Bless the Lord<\/span>, O my soul!<\/span><\/em>
\nPraise the Lord<\/span>!<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Though the Hebrew text of this psalm has no heading, its likely attribution to David is suggested by (1) its close thematic and phraseological parallels to the previous (explicitly Davidic) psalm, with which it may well have been recited “as a piece” (hence the omission of a heading), and (2) the ascription of this psalm to David in early Jewish tradition. \u2014 Wechsler, page 247.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as in the previous psalm, so too here the psalmist begins \u2014 and concludes in verse 35 \u2014 with the exhortation, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, thus signaling at the outset that the theme of the present psalm is intended to complement that of the previous one; specifically: whereas the previous psalm affirmed the blessing due to God for the benefits to man inherent in His direct dealings with man, the present psalm affirms the blessing due to God for the benefits to man inherent in His creation of the world, man’s home. In this first section, accordingly, the psalmist reviews the scope of those benefits, emphasizing first the awe-inspiring power that went into the world’s creation (vs.1-13) and then remarking specifically on the positive relevance to man of the finished product (vs.14-30) \u2014 e.g.: “cattle (v.14, referring to a category of animal created specifically for man’s use, “vegetation for the labor of man, “wine which makes man’s heart glad” (v.15), “the moon for the seasons” (v.19, referring to the regular observance of Israel’s redemption-focused “appointed times,” and “the sea … [where] ships move along” (vs. 25-26). \u2014 Wechsler, pages 247-248.<\/span><\/h3>\n

ministers (v.4) \u2014 angels<\/h3>\n

The benefits accruing the the world, man’s home, are unending \u2014 specifically, as cyclical and repeating, continually renewed by God<\/em> (as opposed to being portrayed as self-renewing)\u2014hence reinforcing the notion of God’s direct involvement in providing benefits to man (as opposed to simply “winding up” the world and letting it run through its cyclical patters; cf. also Colossians 1:17<\/span><\/a>). Thus, with regard to the world’s animals: God sustains their lives (v.17: “You give them their food”), takes away their breath, and creates them again; and so too with regard to the world’s vegetation” “Thous dost renew the face of the ground” (v.30b, which latter phrase refers specifically to the vegetation witch is on the face of the ground). \u2014 Wechsler, page 248.<\/span><\/h3>\n

leviathan (v.26) \u2014 Some commentaries try to make this into a crocodile, others into a whale. The literal meaning is “dragon.” I think it could be whale, or maybe a reference to a type of dinosaur, or maybe just a general term for large sea creatures. I don’t agree with one my commentaries that claims it’s a mythological beast, as that would be out of place in a psalm on God’s creation.<\/h3>\n

The purpose of God’s benefits to man as mediated through the world are, of course, one and the same as the purpose of those benefits accruing from His direct dealings with man\u2014to wit: the glorification of God (v.31). This glorification is achieved both through the praise and worship of those who love God and truly “know” Him as well as through His just judgment of sinners and removal of the wicked from His presence forever. The psalm closes with the well-known exhortation to praise “Halleluyah” (“Praise the Lord”), which occurs only in Psalms, and here for the first time\u2014introducing the melodious “bridge,” of which the volume is steadily increased by the repetition of the same phrase at the end of the next two psalms (the last in Book Four) into the grand culminating theme of the Fifth and final Book of Psalms. \u2014 Wechsler, pages 248-249.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Light here appears as in Genesis 1, as the first attribute and evidence of the Creator (v.2). “Curtain” means tabernacle. The word occurs fifty-three times in the Bible, Of these, forty-seven relate to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. The heavens are presented scientifically in v.2 as a vast tent curtaining from view the angelic hosts and their glorious Creator. The higher heavens (“His chambers” vs.3 and 13), the atmosphere (the deep, v.6), the waters, the clouds and the winds picture the wondrous envelope within which the the World that then was existed.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The apparition of the solid earth (vs.5-9), the provision of streams of water for the living creatures (vs.10-13, and of vegetable food (vs.14-18), couple with shelter (vs.16-18), form the subject matter of the second stanza of the Psalm. His appointment of the Sun and Moon for times and seasons, and His providence toward the earth and its living creatures, including man, is celebrated in the third stanza (vs.9-24).<\/span><\/h3>\n

the seas and their inhabitants are sung of in the fourth stanza (vs.25-30). These creatures also depend for breath and food upon the wisdom, the power and the benevolence of their mighty Creator. …<\/span><\/h3>\n

Earthquakes and volcanoes, so full of terror to man, are wholly subject to God (v.32).<\/span><\/h3>\n

The word Hallelujah first occurs here in the Bible (v.35). It is connected, not with the salvation, but with the destruction of men. Verse 35 is a prediction and a prayer. Both are expressed in the form of the Hebrew verb, which reads: “Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth,” and, “let sinners be consumed out of the earth.” The language of the New Testament is similar, for Matthew 13:41-42<\/span><\/a>; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9<\/span><\/a>; and 1 Corinthians 16:22<\/span><\/a>, together with many passages in the Revelation, are predictions and prayers fore-telling and approving the destruction of the wicked. \u2014 Williams, page 379.<\/span><\/h3>\n

I like Wechsler’s point that God is actively<\/em> involved in His creation. He created laws that regulate nature, but He didn’t then walk away. He is actively keeping it inhabitable for man’s benefit (see also Colossians 1:17<\/span><\/a>). This puts the lie to the political claim that the planet with be destroyed if we don’t submit to control by those in power. Yes, we should behave responsibly and not abuse God’s creation\u2014no, it’s not going to be destroyed by anything humanity does.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Praise to the Sovereign Lord for His Creation and Providence 1 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 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8145"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8798,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145\/revisions\/8798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}