CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Psalms 104
Chapter 104 of 150
Chapter Overview
What happens in Psalms 104
A magnificent hymn of creation celebrating how God sustains every part of the natural world. It follows the order of Genesis 1, describing light, sky, water, land, animals, and humanity.
Scripture
Psalms 104
God Clothed in Light
Study note
God is clothed with splendor and majesty, wrapped in light like a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a tent, builds his upper rooms on the waters, and rides the clouds. Winds are his messengers and fire his servants.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul! Lord my God, you are beyond amazing. You are wrapped in brilliance and royal beauty. Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 You wear light the way someone wears a robe. You unfold the heavens like spreading out a curtain. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 You build your rooms up above the waters. You ride the clouds like a chariot and glide along on the wings of the wind. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 You turn the winds into your messengers and blazing fire into your servants. Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
God Sets the Earth in Order
Study note
God set the earth on its foundations. The waters fled at his rebuke. He set boundaries for them. He sends springs into the valleys and waters the mountains from his upper rooms.
5 You anchored the earth on its foundations so that it can never, ever be shaken loose. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 You wrapped the deep ocean around it like a blanket. Water stood higher than the mountaintops. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But when you gave the order, the waters ran away. At the crack of your thunder, they rushed off. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 Mountains pushed upward and valleys dropped down to the exact places you assigned them. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 You drew a line the waters can never cross so they will never flood over the whole earth again. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sends springs bubbling up in the valleys. They wind their way between the hills. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
11 Every wild animal drinks from them. The wild donkeys come to satisfy their thirst. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Birds build their homes beside those streams and sing their songs from the branches overhead. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
13 From his rooms above, he pours rain down on the mountains. The whole earth is nourished by what he provides. He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
God Provides for All Creatures
Study note
God grows grass for cattle and plants for people. Wine gladdens the heart, oil makes the face shine, and bread strengthens the body. Trees, birds, wild goats, and even the moon and sun all have their place in God's design.
14 He grows grass for the cattle to eat and plants for people to tend so that food comes up from the ground -- He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 wine that puts a smile on the heart, oil that makes the face glow, and bread that keeps people going strong. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
16 The Lord's own trees get all the water they need -- the cedars of Lebanon that he planted with his own hands. The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Birds set up their nests in those trees. The stork makes her home in the tall pines. Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high mountain cliffs belong to the wild goats. The rocky ledges give shelter to the small furry creatures. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
19 He made the moon to mark off the seasons. The sun always knows when it is time to go down. He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 You bring on the darkness and night arrives. That is when every forest animal comes out to roam. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 Young lions roar as they hunt for food, looking to God to feed them. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
22 Once the sun comes up, they slip away and curl up in their dens to rest. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
23 Then people head out to start their work and keep going until the sun sets. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
The Wonders of the Sea
Study note
How many are God's works! The vast sea teems with creatures. They all look to God for food at the right time. When he opens his hand, they are satisfied. When he sends his Spirit, they are created and the face of the earth is renewed.
24 Lord, what an incredible number of things you have made! You crafted every one of them with wisdom. The earth is bursting with your creatures. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 And then there is the ocean — huge and so very wide. It is full of creatures too many to count, living things both tiny and enormous. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26 Ships sail across it, and Leviathan -- that massive sea creature you formed -- splashes and plays in its waters. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
27 Every one of these creatures looks to you, waiting for you to give them their meal at just the right moment. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 When you hand it out, they scoop it up. When you open your hand, they get all the good things they need. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 When you turn away, they panic. When you take back their breath, they die and crumble back into dust. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30 When you breathe out your Spirit, new life is created, and you make the whole face of the earth fresh and new. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
May God Rejoice in His Works
Study note
May God's glory last forever and may he rejoice in his works. The psalmist vows to sing to the Lord as long as he lives. He ends with 'Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!'
31 May the Lord's glory last forever! May the Lord find delight in everything he has made. The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
32 He glances at the earth and it quakes. He brushes the mountains and smoke rises. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord for as long as I am alive. I will make music to my God for as long as I have breath. I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 I hope my thoughts about him bring him pleasure, because the Lord fills me with joy. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
35 May those who sin disappear from the earth. May wicked people be gone for good. Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord! Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
Key Themes
Themes in Psalms 104
God's glory displayed in creationGod sustains every living thingThe beauty and order of the natural worldPraise for the Creator who takes joy in his works
Apply This Today
Living Psalms 104
This psalm is a guided tour through creation: light, water, mountains, animals, seasons, and oceans — all sustained by God's hand. When you feel disconnected from God, step outside and pay attention. Every blade of grass, every bird in flight is a reminder that God is actively holding the world together, including your life.
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