Psalm 104
BSB
How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!
1Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;
He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
3laying the beams of His chambers
in the waters above,
making the clouds His chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind.
4He makes the winds His messengers,
flames of fire His servants.
5He set the earth on its foundations,
never to be moved.
6You covered it with the deep like a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7At Your rebuke the waters fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—
8the mountains rose and the valleys sank
to the place You assigned for them—
9You set a boundary they cannot cross,
that they may never again cover the earth.
10He sends forth springs in the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11They give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12The birds of the air nest beside the springs;
they sing among the branches.
13He waters the mountains from His chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.
14He makes the grass grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
bringing forth food from the earth:
15wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil that makes his face to shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
16The trees of the LORD have their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,
17where the birds build their nests;
the stork makes her home in the cypresses.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats,
the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows when to set.
20You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22The sun rises, and they withdraw;
they lie down in their dens.
23Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until evening.
24How many are Your works, O LORD!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.
25Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number,
living things both great and small.
26There the ships pass,
and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.
27All creatures look to You
to give them their food in due season.
28When You give it to them,
they gather it up;
when You open Your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29When You hide Your face,
they are terrified;
when You take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
30When You send Your Spirit,
they are created,
and You renew
the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in His works.
32He looks on the earth,
and it trembles;
He touches the mountains,
and they smolder.
33I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34May my meditation be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35May sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Hallelujah!
Introduction
Psalms 104
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 Psa 19:1-14, which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Psa 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 (Psa 104:1-4). II. The creation of the sea and the dry land (Psa 104:5-9). III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures according to their nature (Psa 104:10-18, Psa 104:27, Psa 104:28). IV. The regular course of the sun and moon (Psa 104:19-24). V. The furniture of the sea (Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26). IV. God's sovereign power over all the creatures (Psa 104:29-32). And, lastly, he concludes with a pleasant and firm resolution to continue praising God (Psa 104:33-35), with which we should heartily join in singing this psalm.
Cross-references: Ps 19:1 · Ps 8:1 · Ps 104:1 · Ps 104:5 · Ps 104:10 · Ps 104:27 · Ps 104:28 · Ps 104:19 · Ps 104:25 · Ps 104:26 · Ps 104:29 · Ps 104:33