Psalms 104
Psalm 104 is one of the most comprehensive segments of creation writing in all of Scripture. Its breadth is enormous, its scope massive. It is wrapped in the twice-repeated phrase, “Bless the LORD, O my soul!” (NASB) and therein lies the purpose of this magnificent passage of Scripture. As people we are part of God’s miraculous creation, and therefore it is only fitting that we should praise the God of Creation and bless the LORD with our very souls, that we would be pleasing to Him. Psalm 104 goes like this:
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendour and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers.
He established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters were standing above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled, at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, so that they will not return to cover the earth.
He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine which makes man’s heart glad, so that he may make his face glisten with oil, and food which sustains man’s heart. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted, where the birds build their nests, and the stork, whose home is the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim. He made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows the place of its setting, You appoint darkness and it becomes night, in which all the beasts of the forest prowl about. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. When the sun rises they withdraw and lie down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.
O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, in which are swarms without number, animals both small and great. There the ships move along, and Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
They all wait for You to give them their food in due season. You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good. You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their spirit, they expire and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the ground.
Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; let the LORD be glad in His works; He looks at the earth and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; as for me, I shall be glad in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!
(Psalm 104:1-35, NASB)
Imagine it. The earth trembles when the LORD looks at it! The LORD can set off volcanoes according to His timing and His purposes. He made the earth’s foundations so that it would be stable. He made the waters “stand above the mountains” and He also made them recede to a set boundary so they would not totally cover the earth again. When we read that the mountains rose up and the valleys sank down, that sounds like a God-induced earth change that would have allowed for the resumption of a viable land mass, indeed a viable land environment, for post-Flood man. God “renews the face of the ground,” and we see that truth being played out when we see volcano eruptions, wildfires, earthquakes, localized flooding, blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, and droughts. And truly the beasts of the forest prowl around at night, and man generally works in the daytime. Great geological and hydrological truths are contained in this psalm of creation, truths that are very much worthy of our meditation. Let us meditate on this great psalm, so that our meditation would be pleasing to Him and so that we can be glad when the Lord Jesus comes back on His cloud-chariot.
