GENERAL, REMARKS. Here we have one of the
loftiest and longest sustained flights of the inspired muse. The
psalm gives an interpretation to the many voices of nature, and
sings sweetly both of creation and providence. The poem contains
a complete cosmos sea and land, cloud and sunlight, plant and
animal, light and darkness, life and death, are all proved to be
expressive of the presence of the Lord. Traces of the six days
of creation are very evident, and though the creation of man,
which was the crowning work of the sixth day, is not mentioned,
this is accounted for from the fact that man is himself the
singer: some have ever, discerned marks of the divine rest upon
the seventh day in Ps 104:31. It is a poet's version of Genesis.
Nor is it alone the present condition of the earth which is here
the subject of song; but a hint is given of those holier times
when we shall see "a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness, "out of which the sinner shall be consumed,
Ps 104:35. The spirit of ardent praise to God runs through the
whole, and with it a distinct realization of the divine Being as
a personal existence, loved and trusted as well as adored.
We have no information as to the author, but the Septuagint
assigns it to David, and we see no reason for ascribing it to
any one else. His spirit, style, and manner of writing are very
manifest therein, and if the psalm must be ascribed to another,
it must be to a mind remarkably similar, and we could only
suggest the wise son of David—Solomon, the poet preacher, to
whose notes upon natural history in the Proverbs some of the
verses bear a striking likeness. Whoever the human penman may
have been, the exceeding glory and perfection of the Holy
Spirit's own divine authorship are plain to every spiritual
mind.
DIVISION. After ascribing blessedness
to the Lord the devout psalmist sings of the light and the
firmament, which were the work of the first and second days Ps
104:1-6. By an easy transition he describes the separation of
the waters from the dry land, the formation of rain, brooks and
rivers, and the uprising of green herbs, which were the produce
of the third day Ps 104:7-18. Then the appointment of the sun
and moon to be the guardians of day and night commands the
poet's admiration Ps 104:19-23, and so he sings the work of the
fourth day. Having already alluded to many varieties of living
creatures, the psalmist proceeds from Ps 104:24-30 to sing of
the life with which the Lord was pleased to fill the air, the
sea, and the land; these forms of existence were the peculiar
produce of the fifth and sixth days. We may regard the closing
verses Ps 104:31-35 as a Sabbath meditation, hymn, and prayer.
The whole lies before us as a panorama of the universe viewed by
the eye of devotion. O for grace to render due praise unto the
Lord while reading it.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. Bless the LORD, O my soul. This psalm
begins and ends like the Hundred and Third, and it could not do
better: when the model is perfect it deserves to exist in
duplicate. True praise begins at home. It is idle to stir up
others to praise if we are ungratefully silent ourselves. We
should call upon our inmost hearts to awake and bestir
themselves, for we are apt to be sluggish, and if we are so when
called upon to bless God, we shall have great cause to be
ashamed. When we magnify the Lord, let us do it heartily: our
best is far beneath his worthiness, let us not dishonour him by
rendering to him half hearted worship. O LORD my God, thou art
very great. This ascription has in it a remarkable blending of
the boldness of faith, and the awe of holy fear: for the
psalmist calls the infinite Jehovah "my God, "and at
the same time, prostrate in amazement at the divine greatness,
he cries out in utter astonishment, "Thou art very
great." God was great on Sinai, yet the opening words
of his law were, "I am the Lord thy God; " his
greatness is no reason why faith should not put in her claim,
and call him all her own. The declaration of Jehovah's greatness
here given would have been very much in place at the end of the
psalm, for it is a natural inference and deduction from a survey
of the universe: its position at the very commencement of the
poem is an indication that the whole psalm was well considered
and digested in the mind before it was actually put into words;
only on this supposition can we account for the emotion
preceding the contemplation. Observe also, that the wonder
expressed does not refer to the creation and its greatness, but
to Jehovah himself. It is not "the universe is very
great!" but "THOU art very great." Many
stay at the creature, and so become idolatrous in spirit; to
pass onward to the Creator himself is true wisdom.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Thou thyself
art not to be seen, but thy works, which may be called thy
garments, are full of beauties and marvels which redound to
thine honour. Garments both conceal and reveal a man, and so do
the creatures of God. The Lord is seen in his works as worthy of
honour for his skill, his goodness, and his power, and as
claiming majesty, for he has fashioned all things in
sovereignty, doing as he wills, and asking no man's permit. He
must be blind indeed who does not see that nature is the work of
a king. These are solemn strokes of God's severer mind, terrible
touches of his sterner attributes, broad lines of inscrutable
mystery, and deep shadings of overwhelming power, and these make
creation's picture a problem never to be solved, except by
admitting that he who drew it giveth no account of his matters,
but ruleth all things according to the good pleasure of his
will. His majesty is, however, always so displayed as to reflect
honour upon his whole character; he does as lie wills, but he
wills only that which is thrice holy, like himself. The very
robes of the unseen Spirit teach us this, and it is ours to
recognize it with humble adoration.
Verse 2. Who coverest thyself with light as with a
garment: wrapping the light about him as a monarch puts on
his robe. The conception is sublime: but it makes us feel how
altogether inconceivable the personal glory of the Lord must be;
if light itself is but his garment and veil, what must be the
blazing splendour of his own essential being! We are lost in
astonishment, and dare not pry into the mystery lest we be
blinded by its insufferable glory. Who stretchest out the
heavens like a curtain—within which he might dwell. Light was
created on the first day and the firmament upon the second, so
that they fitly follow each other in this verse. Oriental
princes put on their glorious apparel and then sit in state
within curtains, and the Lord is spoken of under that image: but
how far above all comprehension the figure must be lifted, since
the robe is essential light, to which suns and moons owe their
brightness, and the curtain is the azure sky studded with stars
for gems. This is a substantial argument for the truth with
which the psalmist commenced his song, "O Lord my God, thou
art very great."
Verse 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in
the water's. His lofty halls are framed with the waters
which are above the firmament. The upper rooms of God's great
house, the secret stories far above our ken, the palatial
chambers wherein he resides, are based upon the floods which
form the upper ocean. To the unsubstantial he lends stability;
he needs no joists and rafters, for his palace is sustained by
his own power. We are not to interpret literally where the
language is poetical, it would be simple absurdity to do so. Who
maketh the clouds his chariot. When he comes forth from his
secret pavilion it is thus he makes his royal progress. "It
is chariot of wrath deep thunder clouds form, "and his
chariot of mercy drops plenty as it traverses the celestial
road. Who walketh or rather goes upon the wings of the
wind. With the clouds for a car, and the winds for winged
steeds, the Great King hastens on his movements whether for
mercy or for judgment. Thus we have the idea of a king still
further elaborated—his lofty palace, his chariot, and his
coursers are before us; but what a palace must we imagine, whose
beams are of crystal, and whose base is consolidated vapour!
What a stately car is that which is fashioned out of the flying
clouds, whose gorgeous colours Solomon in all his glory could
not rival; and what a Godlike progress is that in which spirit
wings and breath of winds bear up the moving throne. "O
Lord, my God, thou art very great!"
Verse 4. Who maketh his angels spirits; or
wields, for the word means either. Angels are pure spirits,
though they are permitted to assume a visible form when God
desires us to see them. God is a spirit, and he is waited upon
by spirits in his royal courts. Angels are like winds for
mystery, force, and invisibility, and no doubt the winds
themselves are often the angels or messengers of God. God who
makes his angels to be as winds, can also make winds to be his
angels, and they are constantly so in the economy of nature. His
ministers a flaming fire. Here, too, we may choose which we will
of two meanings: God's ministers or servants he makes to be as
swift, potent, and terrible as fire, and on the other hand he
makes fire, that devouring element, to be his minister flaming
forth upon his errands. That the passage refers to angels is
clear from Heb 1:7; and it was most proper to mention them here
in connection with light and the heavens, and immediately after
the robes and paltree of the Great King. Should not the retinue
of the Lord of Hosts be mentioned as well as his chariot? It
would have been a flaw in the description of the universe had
the angels not been alluded to, and this is the most appropriate
place for their introduction. When we think of the extraordinary
powers entrusted to angelic beings, and the mysterious glory of
the seraphim and the four living creatures, we are led to
reflect upon the glory of the Master whom they serve, and again
we cry out with the psalmist, "O Lord, my God, thou art
very great."
Verse 5. Who laid the foundations of the earth.
Thus the commencement of creation is described, in almost the
very words employed by the Lord himself in Job 38:4. "Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Whereupon
are the foundations thereof fastened, and who laid the corner
stone thereof?" And the words are found in the same
connection too, for the Lord proceeds to say, "When the
morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for
joy." That it should not be removed forever. The language
is, of course, poetical, but the fact is none the less
wonderful: the earth is so placed in space that it remains as
stable as if it were a fixture. The several motions of our
planet are carried on so noiselessly and evenly that, as far as
we are concerned, all things are as permanent and peaceful as if
the old notion of its resting upon pillars were literally true.
With what delicacy has the great Artificer poised our globe!
What power must there be in that hand which has caused so vast a
body to know its orbit, and to move so smoothly in it! What
engineer can save every part of his machinery from an occasional
jar, jerk, or friction? yet to our great world in its
complicated motions no such thing has ever occurred. "O
Lord, my God, thou art very great."
Verse 6. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a
garment. The new born earth was wrapped in aqueous swaddling
bands. In the first ages, ere man appeared, the proud waters
ruled the whole earth. The waters stood above the mountains, no
dry land was visible, vapour as from a steaming cauldron covered
all. Geologists inform us of this as a discovery, but the Holy
Spirit had revealed the fact long before. The passage before us
shows us the Creator commencing his work, and laying the
foundation for future order and beauty: to think of this
reverently will fill us with adoration; to conceive of it
grossly and carnally would be highly blasphemous.
Verse 7. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of
thy thunder they hasted away. When the waters and vapours
covered all, the Lord had but to speak and they disappeared at
once. As though they had been intelligent agents the waves
hurried to their appointed deeps and left the land to itself;
then the mountains lifted their heads, the high lands rose from
the main, and at length continents and islands, slopes and
plains were left to form the habitable earth. The voice of the
Lord effected this great marvel. Is not his word equal to every
emergency? potent enough to work the greatest miracle? By that
same word shall the waterfloods of trouble be restrained, and
the raging billows of sin be rebuked: the day cometh when at the
thunder of Jehovah's voice all the proud waters of evil shall
utterly haste away. "O Lord, my God, thou art very
great."
Verse 8. The vanquished waters are henceforth
obedient. They go up by the mountains, climbing in the
form of clouds even to the summits of the Alps. They go down by
the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them:
they are as willing to descend in rain, and brooks, and torrents
as they were eager to ascend in mists. The loyalty of the mighty
waters to the laws of their God is most notable; the fierce
flood, the boisterous rapid; the tremendous torrent, are only
forms of that gentle dew which trembles on the tiny blade of
grass, and in those ruder shapes they are equally obedient to
the laws which their Maker has impressed upon them. Not so much
as a solitary particle of spray ever breaks rank, or violates
the command of the Lord of sea and land, neither do the awful
cataracts and terrific floods revolt from his sway. It is very
beautiful among the mountains to see the divine system of water
supply—the rising of the fleecy vapours, the distillation of
the pure fluid, the glee with which the newborn element leaps
down the crags to reach the rivers, and the strong eagerness
with which the rivers seek the ocean, their appointed place.
Verse 9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not
pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. That
bound has once been passed, but it shall never be so again. The
deluge was caused by the suspension of the divine mandate which
held the floods in check: they knew their old supremacy, and
hastened to reassert it, but now the covenant promise for ever
prevents a return of that carnival of waters, that revolt of the
waves: ought we not rather to call it that impetuous rush of the
indignant floods to avenge the injured honour of their King,
whom men had offended? Jehovah's word bounds the ocean, using
only a narrow belt of sand to confine it to its own limits: that
apparently feeble restraint answers every purpose, for the sea
is obedient as a little child to the bidding of its Maker.
Destruction lies asleep in the bed of the ocean, and though our
sins might well arouse it, yet are its bands made strong by
covenant mercy, so that it cannot break loose again upon the
guilty sons of men.
Verse 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
which run among the hills. This is a beautiful part of the
Lord's arrangement of the subject waters: they find vents
through which they leap into liberty where their presence will
be beneficial in the highest degree. Depressions exist in the
sides of the mountains, and down these the water brooks are made
to flow, often taking their rise at bubbling fountains which
issue from the bowels of the earth. It is God who sends these
springs even as a gardener makes the water courses, and turns
the current with his foot. When the waters are confined in the
abyss the Lord sets their bound, and when they sport at
liberty he sends them forth.
Verse 11. They give drink to every beast of the
field. Who else would water them if the Lord did not? They
are his cattle, and therefore he leads them forth to
watering. Not one of them is forgotten of him. The wild asses
quench their thirst. The good Lord gives them enough and to
spare. They know their Master's crib. Though bit or bridle of
man they will not brook, and man denounces them as unteachable,
they learn of the Lord, and know better far than man where flows
the cooling crystal of which they must drink or die. They are
only asses, and wild, yet our heavenly Father careth for them.
Will he not also care for us? We see here, also, that nothing is
made in vain; though no human lip is moistened by the brooklet
in the lone valley, yet are there other creatures which need
refreshment, and these slake their thirst at the stream. Is this
nothing? Must everything exist for man, or else be wasted? What
but our pride and selfishness could have suggested such a
notion? It is not true that flowers which blush unseen by human
eye are wasting their sweetness, for the bee finds them out, and
other winged wanderers live on their luscious juices. Man is but
one creature of the many whom the heavenly Father feedeth and
watereth.
Verse 12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven
have their habitation, which sing among the branches. How
refreshing are these words! What happy memories they arouse of
splashing waterfalls and entangled boughs, where the merry din
of the falling and rushing water forms a sort of solid
background of music, and the sweet tuneful notes of the birds
are the brighter and more flashing lights in the harmony. Pretty
birdies, sing on! What better can ye do, and who can do it
better? When we too drink of the river of God, and eat of the
fruit of the tree of fife, it well becomes us to "sing
among the branches." Where ye dwell ye sing; and shall not
we rejoice in the Lord, who has been our dwelling place in all
generations. As ye fly from bough to bough, ye warble forth your
notes, and so will we as we flit through time into eternity. It
is not meet that birds of Paradise should be outdone by birds of
earth.
Verse 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers.
As the mountains are too high to be watered by rivers and
brooks, the Lord himself refreshes them from those waters above
the firmament which the poet had in a former verse described as
the upper chambers of heaven. Clouds are detained among the
mountain crags, and deluge the hill sides with fertilizing rain.
Where man cannot reach the Lord can, whom none else can water
with grace he can, and where all stores of refreshment fail he
can supply all that is needed from his own halls. The earth is
satisfied with the fruit of thy works. The result of the divine
working is fulness everywhere, the soil is saturated with rain,
the seed germinates, the beasts drink, and the birds
sing—nothing is left without supplies. So, too, is it in the
new creation, he giveth more grace, he fills his people with
good, and makes them all confess, "of his fulness have all
we received and grace for grace."
Verse 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the
cattle, and herb for the service of man. Grass grows as well
as herbs, for cattle must be fed as well as men. God appoints to
the lowliest creature its portion and takes care that it has it:
Divine power is as truly and as worthily put forth in the
feeding of beasts as in the nurturing of man; watch but a blade
of grass with a devout eye and you may see God at work within
it. The herb is for man, and he must till the soil, or it will
not be produced, yet it is God that causeth it to grow in the
garden, even the same God who made the grass to grow in the
unenclosed pastures of the wilderness. Man forgets this and
talks of his produce, but in very truth without God he would
plough and sow in vain. The Lord causeth each green blade to
spring and each ear to ripen; do but watch with opened eye and
you shall see the Lord walking through the cornfields. That he
may bring forth food out of the earth. Both grass for cattle and
corn for man are food brought forth out of the earth and they
are signs that it was God's design that the very dust beneath
our feet, which seems better adapted to bury us than to sustain
us, should actually be transformed into the staff of life. The
more we think of this the more wonderful it will appear. How
great is that God who from among the sepulchres finds the
support of life, and out of the ground which was cursed brings
forth the blessings of corn and wine and oil.
Verse 15. And wine that maketh glad the heart of
man. By the aid of genial showers the earth produces not
merely necessaries but luxuries, that which furnishes a feast as
well as that which makes a meal. O that man were wise enough to
know how to use this gladdening product of the vine; but, alas,
he full often turns it to ill account, and debases himself
therewith. Of this he must himself bear the blame; he deserves
to be miserable who turns even blessings into curses. And oil to
make his face to shine. The easterns use oil more than we do,
and probably are wiser in this respect than we are: they delight
in anointing with perfumed oils, and regard the shining of the
face as a choice emblem of joy. God is to be praised for all the
products of the soil, not one of which could come to us were it
not that he causeth it to grow. And bread which strengtheneth
man's heart. Men have more courage after they are fed: many a
depressed spirit has been comforted by a good substantial meal.
We ought to bless God for strength of heart as well as force of
limb, since if we possess them they are both the bounties of his
kindness.
Verse 16. The watering of the hills not only produces
the grass and the cultivated herbs, but also the nobler species
of vegetation, which come not within the range of human culture:
"Their veins with genial moisture fed,
Jehovah's forests lift the head:
Nor other than his fostering hand
Thy cedars, Lebanon, demand."
The trees of the Lord—the greatest, noblest, and most royal
of trees; those too which are unowned of man, and untouched by
his hand. Are full of sap, or are full, well supplied, richly
watered, so that they become, as the cedars, full of resin,
flowing with life, and verdant all the year round. The cedars of
Lebanon, which he hath planted. They grow where none ever
thought of planting them, where for ages they were unobserved,
and where at this moment they are too gigantic for man to prune
them. What would our psalmist have said to some of the trees in
the Yosemite valley? Truly these are worthy to be called the
trees of the Lord, for towering stature and enormous girth. Thus
is the care of God seen to be effectual and all sufficient. If
trees uncared for by man are yet so full of sap, we may rest
assured that the people of God who by faith live upon the Lord
alone shall be equally well sustained. Planted by grace, and
owing all to our heavenly Father's care, we may defy the
hurricane, and laugh at the fear of drought, for none that trust
in him shall ever be left unwatered.
Verse 17. Where the birds make their nests: as for
the stork, the fir trees are her house. So far from being in
need, these trees of God afford shelter to others, birds small
and great make their nests in the branches. Thus what they
receive from the great Lord they endeavour to return to his
weaker creatures. How one thing fits into another in this fair
creation, each link drawing on its fellow: the rains water the
fir trees, and the fir trees become the happy home of birds;
thus do the thunder clouds build the sparrow's house, and the
descending rain sustains the basis of the stork's nest. Observe,
also, how everything has its use—the boughs furnish a home for
the birds; and every living thing has its accommodation—the
stork finds a house in the pines. Her nest is called a house,
because this bird exhibits domestic virtues and maternal love
which make her young to be comparable to a family. No doubt this
ancient writer had seen storks' nests in fir trees; they appear
usually to build on houses and ruins, but there is also evidence
that where there are forests they are content with pine trees.
Has the reader ever walked through a forest of great trees and
felt the awe which strikes the heart in nature's sublime
cathedral? Then he will remember to have felt that each bird was
holy, since it dwelt amid such sacred solitude. Those who cannot
see or hear of God except in Gothic edifices, amid the swell of
organs, and the voices of a surpliced choir, will not be able to
enter into the feeling which makes the simple, unsophisticated
soul hear "the voice of the Lord God walking among the
trees."
Verse 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild
goats; and the rocks for the conies. All places teem with
life. We call our cities populous, but are not the forests and
the high hills more densely peopled with life? We speak of
uninhabitable places, but where are they? The chamois leaps from
crag to crag, and the rabbit burrows beneath the soil. For one
creature the loftiness of the hills, and for another the
hollowness of the rocks, serves as a protection:
"Far over the crags the wild goats roam,
The rocks supply the coney's home."
Thus all the earth is full of happy life, every place has its
appropriate in habitant, nothing is empty and void and waste.
See how goats, and storks, and conies, and sparrows, each
contribute a verse to the psalm of nature; have we not also our
canticles to sing unto the Lord? Little though we may be in the
scale of importance, yet let us fill our sphere, and so honour
the Lord who made us with a purpose.
Verse 19. The appointed rule of the great lights is
now the theme for praise. The moon is mentioned first, because
in the Jewish day the night leads the way. He appointed the moon
for seasons. By the waxing and waning of the moon the year is
divided into months, and weeks, and by this means the exact
dates of the holy days were arranged. Thus the lamp of night is
made to be of service to man, and in fixing the period of
religious assemblies (as it did among the Jews) it enters into
connection with his noblest being. Never let us regard the
moon's motions as the inevitable result of inanimate impersonal
law, but as the appointment of our God. The sun knoweth his
going down. In finely poetic imagery the sun is represented as
knowing when to retire from sight, and sink below the horizon.
He never loiters on his way, or pauses as if undecided when to
descend; his appointed hour for going down, although it is
constantly varying, he always keeps to a second. We need to be
aroused in the morning, but he arises punctually, and though
some require to watch the clock to know the hour of rest, he,
without a timepiece to consult, hides himself in the western sky
the instant the set time has come. For all this man should
praise the Lord of the sun and moon, who has made these great
lights to be our chronometers, and thus keeps our world in
order, and suffers no confusion to distract us.
Verse 20. Thou, makest darkness, and it is night.
Drawing down the blinds for us, he prepares our bedchamber that
we may sleep. Were there no darkness we should sigh for it,
since we should find repose so much more difficult, if the weary
day were never calmed into night. Let us see God's hand in the
veiling of the sun, and never fear either natural or
providential darkness, since both are of the Lord's own making.
Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. Then is the
lion's day, his time to hunt his food. Why should not the wild
beast have his hour as well as man? He has a service to perform,
should he not also have his food? Darkness is fitter for beasts
than man; and those men are most brutish who love darkness
rather than light. When the darkness of ignorance broods over a
nation, then all sorts of superstitions, cruelties, and vices
abound; the gospel, like the sunrising, soon clears the world of
the open ravages of these monsters, and they seek more congenial
abodes. We see here the value of true light, for we may depend
upon it where there is night there will also be wild beasts to
kill and to devour.
Verse 21. The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek their meat from God. This is the poetic
interpretation of a roar. To whom do the lions roar? Certainly
not to their prey, for the terrible sound tends to alarm their
victims, and drive them away. They after their own fashion
express their desires for food, and the expression of desire is
a kind of prayer. Out of this fact comes the devout thought of
the wild beast's appealing to its Maker for food. But neither
with lions nor men will the seeking of prayer suffice, there
must be practical seeking too, and the lions are well aware of
it. What they have in their own language asked for they go forth
to seek; being in this thing far wiser than many men who offer
formal prayers not half so earnest as those of the young lions,
and then neglect the means in the use of which the object of
their petitions might be gained. The lions roar and seek; too
many are liars before God, and roar but never seek. How
comforting is the thought that the Spirit translates the voice
of a lion, and finds it to be a seeking of meat from God! May we
not hope that our poor broken cries and groans, which in our
sorrow we have called "the voice of our roaring" Ps
12:10, will be understood by him, and interpreted in our favour.
Evidently he considers the meaning rather than the music of the
utterance and puts the best construction upon it.
Verse 22. The sun ariseth. Every evening has
its morning to make the day. Were it not that we have seen the
sun rise so often we should think it the greatest of miracles,
and the most amazing of blessings. They gather themselves
together, and lay them down in their dens. Thus they are out of
man's way, and he seldom encounters them unless he desires to do
so. The forest's warriors retire to their quarters when the
morning's drum is heard, finding in the recesses of their dens a
darkness suitable for their slumbers; there they lay them down
and digest their food, for God has allotted even to them their
portion of rest and enjoyment. There was one who in this respect
was poorer than lions and foxes, for he had not where to lay his
head: all were provided for except their incarnate Provider.
Blessed Lord, thou hast stooped beneath the conditions of the
brutes to lift up worse than brutish men!
It is very striking how the Lord controls the fiercest of
animals far more readily than the shepherd manages his sheep. At
nightfall they separate and go forth each one upon the merciful
errand of ending the miseries of the sickly and decrepit among
grass eating animals. The younger of these animals being swift
of foot easily escape them and are benefited by the exercise,
and for the most part only those are overtaken and killed to
whom life would have been protracted agony. So far lions are
messengers of mercy, and are as much sent of God as the sporting
dog is sent by man on his errands. But these mighty hunters must
not always be abroad, they must be sent back to their lairs when
man comes upon the scene. Who shall gather these ferocious
creatures and shut them in? Who shall chain them down and make
them harmless? The sun suffices to do it. He is the true lion
tamer. They gather themselves together as though they were so
many sheep, and in their own retreats they keep themselves
prisoners till returning darkness gives them another leave to
range. By simply majestic means the divine purposes are
accomplished. In like manner even the devils are subject unto
our Lord Jesus, and by the simple spread of the light of the
gospel these roaring demons are chased out of the world. No need
for miracles or displays of physical power, the Sun of
Righteousness arises, and the devil and the false gods, and
superstitions and errors of men, all seek their hiding places in
the dark places of the earth among the moles and the bats.
Verse 23. Man goeth forth. It is his turn now,
and the sunrise has made things ready for him. His warm couch he
forsakes and the comforts of home, to find his daily food; this
work is good for him, both keeping him out of mischief, and
exercising his faculties. Unto his work and to his labour until
the evening. He goes not forth to sport but to work, not to
loiter but to labour; at least, this is the lot of the best part
of mankind. We are made for work and ought to work, and should
never grumble that so it is appointed. The hours of labour,
however, ought not to be too long. If labour lasts out the
average daylight it is certainly all that any man ought to
expect of another, and yet there are poor creatures so badly
paid that in twelve hours they cannot earn bread enough to keep
them from hunger. Shame on those who dare so impose upon
helpless women and children. Night work should also be avoided
as much as possible. There are twelve hours in which a man ought
to work: the night is meant for rest and sleep.
Night, then as well as day has its voice of praise. It is
more soft and hushed, but it is none the less true. The moon
lights up a solemn silence of worship among the fir trees,
through which the night wind softly breathes its "songs
without words." Every now and then a sound is heard, which,
however simple by day, sounds among the shadows startling and
weird like, as if the presence of the unknown had filled the
heart with trembling, and made the influence of the Infinite to
be realized. Imagination awakens herself; unbelief finds the
silence and the solemnity uncongenial, faith looks up to the
skies above her and sees heavenly things all the more clearly in
the absence of the sunlight, and adoration bows itself before
the Great Invisible! There are spirits that keep the night
watches, and the spell of their presence has been felt by many a
wanderer in the solitudes of nature: God also himself is abroad
all night long, and the glory which concealeth is often felt to
be even greater than that which reveals. Bless the Lord, O my
soul.
Verse 24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works.
They are not only many for number but manifold for variety.
Mineral, vegetable, animal—what: a range of works is suggested
by these three names! No two even of the same class are exactly
alike, and the classes are more numerous than science can
number. Works in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, and
in the waters under the earth, works which abide the ages, works
which come to perfection and pass away in a year, works which
with all their beauty do not outlive a day, works within works,
and works within these—who can number one of a thousand? God
is the great worker, and ordainer of variety. It is ours to
study his works, for they are great, and sought out of all them
that have pleasure therein. The kingdom of grace contains as
manifold and as great works as that of nature, but the chosen of
the Lord alone discern them. In wisdom hast thou made them all,
or wrought them all. They are all his works, wrought by
his own power, and they all display his wisdom. It was wise to
make their—none could be spared; every link is essential to
the chain of nature—wild beasts as much as men, poisons as
truly as odoriferous herbs. They are wisely made—each one fits
its place, fills it, and is happy in so doing. As a whole, the
"all" of creation is a wise achievement, and however
it may be chequered with mysteries, and clouded with terrors, it
all works together for good, and as one complete harmonious
piece of workmanship it answers the great Worker's end. The
earth is full of thy riches. It is not a poor house, but a
palace; not a hungry ruin, but a well filled store house. The
Creator has not set his creatures down in a dwelling place where
the table is bare, and the buttery empty, he has filled the
earth with food; and not with bare necessaries only, but with
riches—dainties, luxuries, beauties, treasures. In the bowels
of the earth are hidden mines of wealth, and on her surface are
teeming harvests of plenty. All these riches are the Lord's; we
ought to call them not "the wealth of nations, "but
"thy riches" O Lord! Not in one clime alone are these
riches of God to be found, but in all lands—even the Arctic
ocean has its precious things which men endure much hardness to
win, and the burning sun of the equator ripens a produce which
flavours the food of all mankind. If his house below is so full
of riches what must his house above be, where
"The very streets are paved with gold
Exceeding clear and fine"?
Verse 25. So is this great and wide sea. He
gives an instance of the immense number and variety of Jehovah's
works by pointing to the sea. "Look, "saith he,
"at yonder ocean, stretching itself on both hands and
embracing so many lands, it too swarms with animal life, and in
its deeps lie treasures beyond all counting. The heathen made
the sea a different province from the land, and gave the command
thereof to Neptune, but we know of a surety that Jehovah rules
the waves." Wherein, are things creeping innumerable, both
small and great beasts; read moving things and animals
small arid great, and you have the true sense. The number of
minute forms of animal life is indeed beyond all reckoning: when
a single phosphorescent wave may bear millions of infusoria, and
around a fragment of rock armies of microscopic beings may
gather, we renounce all idea of applying arithmetic to such a
case. The sea in many regions appears to be all alive, as if
every drop were a world. Nor are these tiny creatures the only
tenants of the sea, for it contains gigantic mammals which
exceed in bulk those which range the land, and a vast host of
huge fishes which wander among the waves, and hide in the
caverns of the sea as the tiger lurks in the jungle, or the lion
roams the plain. Truly, O Lord, thou makest the sea to be as
rich in the works of thy hands as the land itself.
Verse 26. There go the ships. So that ocean is
not altogether deserted of mankind. It is the highway of
nations, and unites, rather than divides, distant lands. There
is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. Them
huge whale turns the sea into his recreation ground, and
disports himself as God designed that he should do. The thought
of this amazing creature caused the psalmist to adore the mighty
Creator who created him, formed him for his place and made him
happy in it. Our ancient maps generally depict a ship and whale
upon the sea, and so show that it is most natural, as well as
poetical, to connect them both with the mention of the ocean.
Verse 27. These wait all upon thee. They come
around thee as fowls around the farmer's door at the time for
feeding, and look up with expectation. Men or marmots, eagles or
emmets, whales or minnows, they alike rely upon thy care. That
thou mayest give them meat in due season; that is to say, when
they need it and when it is ready for them. God has a time for
all things, and does not feed his creatures by fits and starts;
he gives them daily bread, and a quantity proportioned to their
needs. This is all that any of us should expect; if even the
brute creatures are content with a sufficiency we ought not to
be more greedy than they.
Verse 28. That thou givest them they gather.
God gives it, but they must gather it, and they are glad that he
does so, for otherwise their gathering would be in vain. We
often forget that animals and birds in their free life have to
work to obtain food even as we do; and yet it is true with them
as with us that our heavenly Father feeds all. When we see the
chickens picking up the corn which the housewife scatters from
her lap we have an apt illustration of the manner in which the
Lord supplies the needs of all living things—he gives and they
gather. Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Here
is divine liberality with its open hand filling needy creatures
till they want no more: and here is divine omnipotence feeding a
world by simply opening its hand. What should we do if that hand
were closed? There would be no need to strike a blow, the mere
closing of it would produce death by famine. Let us praise the
open handed Lord, whose providence and grace satisfy our mouths
with good things.
Verse 29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled.
So dependent are all living things upon God's smile, that a
frown fills them with terror, as though convulsed with anguish.
This is so in the natural world, and certainly not less so in
the spiritual: saints when the Lord hides his face are in
terrible perplexity. Thou takest away their breath, they die,
and return to their dust. The breath appears to be a
trifling matter, and the air an impalpable substance of but
small importance, yet, once withdrawn, the body loses all
vitality, and crumbles back to the earth from which it was
originally taken. All animals come under this law, and even the
dwellers in the sea are not exempt from it. Thus dependent is
all nature upon the will of the Eternal. Note here that death is
caused by the act of God, "thou takest away their
breath"; we are immortal till he bids us die, and so
are even the little sparrows, who fall not to the ground without
our Father.
Verse 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are
created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. The loss
of their breath destroys them, and by Jehovah's breath a new
race is created. The works of the Lord are majestically simple,
and are performed with royal ease—a breath creates, and its
withdrawal destroys. If we read the word spirit as we
have it in our version, it is also instructive, for we see the
Divine Spirit going forth to create life in nature even as we
see him in the realms of grace. At the flood the world was
stripped of almost all life, yet how soon the power of God
refilled the desolate places! In winter the earth falls into a
sleep which makes her appear worn and old, but how readily does
the Lord awaken her with the voice of spring, and make her put
on anew the beauty of her youth. Thou, Lord, doest all things,
and let glory be unto thy name.
Verse 31. The glory of the LORD shall endure
forever. His works may pass away, but not his glory. Were it
only for what he has already done, the Lord deserves to be
praised without ceasing. His personal being and character ensure
that he would be glorious even were all the creatures dead. The
LORD shall rejoice in his works. He did so at the first, when he
rested on the seventh day, and saw that everything was very
good; he does so still in a measure where beauty and purity in
nature still survive the Fall, and he will do so yet more fully
when the earth is renovated, and the trail of the serpent is
cleansed from the globe. This verse is written in the most
glowing manner. The poet finds his heart gladdened by beholding
the works of the Lord, and he feels that the Creator himself
must have felt unspeakable delight in exercising so much wisdom,
goodness, and power.
Verse 32. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth.
The Lord who has graciously displayed his power in acts and
works of goodness might, if he had seen fit, have overwhelmed us
with the terrors of destruction, for even at a glance of his eye
the solid earth rocks with fear. He toucheth the hills, and they
smoke. Sinai was altogether on a smoke when the Lord descended
upon it. It was but a touch, but it sufficed to make the
mountain dissolve in flame. Even our God is a consuming fire.
Woe unto those who shall provoke him to frown upon them, they
shall perish at the touch of his hand. If sinners were not
altogether insensible a glance of the Lord's eye would make them
tremble, and the touches of his hand in affliction would set
their hearts on fire with repentance. "Of reason all things
show some sign, " except man's unfeeling heart.
Verse 33. I will sing unto the LORD as long as I
live, or, literally, in my lives. Here and hereafter
the psalmist would continue to praise the Lord, for the theme is
an endless one, and remains for ever fresh and new. The birds
sang God's praises before men were created, but redeemed men
will sing his glories when the birds are no more. Jehovah, who
ever lives and makes us to live shall be for ever exalted, and
extolled in the songs of redeemed men. I will sing praise to my
God while I have my being. A resolve both happy for himself and
glorifying to the Lord. Note the sweet title—my God. We never
sing so well as when we know that we have an interest in the
good things of which we sing, and a relationship to the God whom
we praise.
Verse 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet.
Sweet both to him and to me. I shall be delighted thus to survey
his works and think of his person, and he will graciously accept
my notes of praise. Meditation is the soul of religion. It is
the tree of life in the midst of the garden of piety, and very
refreshing is its fruit to the soul which feeds thereon. And as
it is good towards man, so is it towards God. As the fat of the
sacrifice was the Lord's portion, so are our best meditations
due to the Most High and are most acceptable to him. We ought,
therefore, both for our own good and for the Lord's honour to be
much occupied with meditation, and that meditation should
chiefly dwell upon the Lord himself: it should be
"meditation of him." For want of it much communion is
lost and much happiness is missed. I will be glad in the Lord.
To the meditative mind every thought of God is full of joy. Each
one of the divine attributes is a well spring of delight now
that in Christ Jesus we are reconciled unto God.
Verse 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the
earth, and let the wicked be no more. They are the only blot
upon creation.
"Every prospect pleases.
And only man is vile."
In holy indignation the psalmist would fain rid the world of
beings so base as not to love their gracious Creator, so blind
as to rebel against their Benefactor. He does but ask for that
which just men look forward to as the end of history: for the
day is eminently to be desired when in all God's kingdom there
shall not remain a single traitor or rebel. The Christian way of
putting it will be to ask that grace may turn sinners into
saints, and win the wicked to the ways of truth. Bless thou the
LORD, O my soul. Here is the end of the matter—whatever
sinners may do, do thou, my soul, stand to thy colours, and be
true to thy calling. Their silence must not silence thee, but
rather provoke thee to redoubled praise to make up for their
failures. Nor canst thou alone accomplish the work; others must
come to thy help. O ye saints, Praise ye the LORD. Let your
hearts cry HALLELUJAH,—for that is the word in the Hebrew.
Heavenly word! Let it close the Psalm: for what more remains to
be said or written? HALLELUJAH. Praise ye the Lord.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. This psalm is an inspired "Oratorio
of Creation."—Christopher Wordsworth.
Whole Psalm. The Psalm is delightful, sweet, and
instructive as teaching us the soundest views of nature (la mas
sans fisica), and the best method of pursuing the study of it,
viz., by admiring with one eye the works of God, and with the
other God himself, their Creator and Preserver. Sanchez,
quoted by Perowne.
Whole Psalm. It might almost be said that this one
psalm represents the image of the whole Cosmos. We are
astonished to find in a lyrical poem of such a limited compass,
the whole universe—the heavens and the earth—sketched with a
few bold touches. The calm and toilsome labour of man, from the
rising of the sun to the setting of the same, when his daily
work is done, is here contrasted with the moving life of the
elements of nature. This contrast and generalisation in the
conception of the mutual action of natural phenomena, and this
retrospection of an omnipresent invisible power, which can renew
the earth or crumble it to dust, constitute a solemn rather than
a glowing and gentle form of poetic creation. A. Vonl
Hurnboldt's Cosmos.
Whole Psalm. Its touches are indeed few, rapid—but
how comprehensive and sublime! Is it God?—"He is clothed
with light as with a garment, "and when he walks abroad, it
is on the "wings of the wind." The winds or lightnings?—They
are his messengers or angels: "Stop us not, "they seem
to say; "the King's business requireth haste." The
waters?—The poet shows them in flood, covering the face of the
earth, and then as they now lie, enclosed within their
embankments, to break forth no more for ever. The springs? He
traces them, by one inspired glance, as they run among the
hills, as they give drink to the wild and lonely creatures of
the wilderness, as they nourish the boughs, on which sing the
birds, the grass, on which feed the cattle, the herb, the corn,
the olive tree, the vine, which fill man's mouth, cheer his
heart, and make his face to shine. Then he skims with bold wing
all lofty objects—the trees of the Lord on Lebanon, "full
of sap, "—the fir trees, and the storks which are upon
them—the high hills, with their wild goats—and the rocks
with their conies. Then he soars up to the heavenly bodies—the
sun and the moon. Then he spreads abroad his wings in the
darkness of the night, which "hideth not from Him,
"and hears the beasts of the forest creeping abroad to seek
their prey, and the roar of the lions to God for meat, coming up
upon the wings of midnight. Then as he sees the shades and the
wild beasts fleeing together, in emulous haste, from the
presence of the morning sun, and man, strong and calm in its
light as in the smile of God, hieing to his labour, he exclaims,
"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou
made them all!" He casts, next, one look at the ocean—a
look glancing at the ships which go there, at the leviathan
which plays there; and then piercing down to the innumerable
creatures, small and great, which are found below its unlifted
veil of waters. He sees, then, all the beings, peopling alike
earth and sea, waiting for life and food around the table of
their Divine Master—nor waiting in vain—till, lo! he hides
his face, and they are troubled, die, and disappear in chaos and
night. A gleam, next, of the great resurrection of nature and of
man comes across his eye. "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit,
they are created, and thou renewest the face of the earth."
But a greater truth still succeeds, and forms the climax of the
psalm—(a truth Humboldt, with all his admiration of it,
notices not, and which gives a Christian tone to the whole)—"The
Lord shall rejoice in his works." He contemplates a yet
more perfect Cosmos. He is "to consume Sinners" and
sin "out of" this fair universe: and then, when man is
wholly worthy of his dwelling, shall God say of both it and him,
with a yet deeper emphasis than when he said it at first, and
smiling at the same time a yet warmer and softer smile, "It
is very good." And with an ascription of blessing to the
Lord does the poet close this almost angelic descant upon the
works of nature, the glory of God, and the prospects of man. It
is not merely the unity of the Cosmos that he had displayed in
it, but its progression, as connected with the parallel progress
of man—its thorough dependence on one Infinite Mind—the
"increasing purpose" which runs along it—and its
final purification, when it shall blossom into "the bright
consummate flower" of the new heavens and the new earth,
"wherein dwelleth righteousness; "—this is the real
burden and the peculiar glory of the 104th Psalm. George
Gilfillan, in "The Bards of the Bible".
Whole Psalm. It is a singular circumstance in the
composition of this psalm, that each of the parts of the First
Semichorus, after the first, begins with a participle. And these
participles are accusatives, agreeing with hwhy, the object of
the verb ygdb, at the beginning of the whole psalm. Bless the
Jehovah—putting on—extending—laying—constituting—travelling—making—setting—sending—watering—making—making.
Thus, this transitive verb, in the opening of the psalm,
extending its government through the successive parts of the
same semichorus, except the last, unites them all in one long
period. Samuel Horsley.
Whole Psalm. As to the details,—the sections
intervening between verses 2 and 31,—they may be read as a
meditation upon creation and the first "ordering of the
world, "as itself the counterpart and foreshadowing of the
new and restored order in the great Sabbath or Millenary period,
or, it may be, they are actually descriptive of this—beginning
with the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven (verse 3
with Ps 18:9-11), attended with "the angels of his
power" (verse 4 with 2Th 1:7 Gr.): followed by the
"establishing" of the earth, no more to be
"moved" or "agitated" by the convulsions and
disturbances which sin has caused: after which Nature is
exhibited in the perfection of her beauty—all things answering
the end of their creation: all the orders of the animal world in
harmony with each other, and all at peace with man; all provided
for by the varied produce of the earth, no longer cursed, bug
blessed, and again made fruitful by God, "on whom all
wait...who openeth his hand and fills them with good"; and
all his goodness meeting with its due acknowledgment from his
creatures, who join in chorus to praise him, and say—"O
Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them
all: the earth is full of thy riches. Hallelujah."—William
De Burgh.
Verse 1. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." A good
man's work lieth most within doors, he is more taken up with his
own soul, than with all the world besides; neither can he ever
be alone so long as he hath God and his own heart to converse
with. John Trapp.
Verse 1. With what reverence and holy awe doth the
psalmist begin his meditation with that acknowledgment! "O
Lord, my God, thou art very great; "and it is the joy
of the saints that he who is their God is a great God: the
grandeur of the prince is the pride and pleasure of all his good
subjects. Matthew Henry.
Verse 1. Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
That is, as Jerome says, Thou art arrayed and adorned with
magnificence and splendour; Thou art acknowledged to be glorious
and illustrious by thy works, as a man by his garment. Whence it
is clear that the greatness celebrated here is not the intrinsic
but the exterior or revealed greatness of God. Lorinus.
Verse 1. Each created, redeemed, regenerated soul is
bound to praise the Lord, the Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; for
that God the Son, who in the beginning made the worlds, and
whose grace is ever carrying on his work to its perfect end by
the operation of the Holy Ghost, has been revealed before us in
his exceeding glory. He, as the eternal High priest, hath put on
the Urim and Thummim of majesty and honour, and hath clothed
himself with light, as a priest clothes himself with his holy
vestments: his brightness on the mount of transfiguration was
but a passing glimpse of what he is now, ever hath been, and
ever shall be. He is the true Light, therefore his angels are
the angels of light, his children the children of light, this
doctrine the doctrine of light. The universe is his tabernacle;
the heavens visible and invisible are the curtains which shroud
his holy place. He hath laid the beams and foundations of his
holy of holies very high, even above the waters which are above
the firmament. The clouds and the winds of the lower heaven are
his chariot, upon which he stood when he ascended from Olivet,
upon which he will sit when he cometh again. "Plain
Commentary".
Verse 2. Who coverest thyself with light as with a
garment. In comparing the light with which he
represents God as arrayed to a garment, he
intimates, that although God is invisible, yet his glory is
conspicuous enough. In respect of his essence, God undoubtedly
dwells in light that is inaccessible; but as he irradiates the
whole world by his splendour, this is the garment in which he,
who is hidden in himself, appears in a manner visible to us. The
knowledge of this truth is of the greatest importance. If men
attempt to reach the infinite height to which God is exalted,
although they fly above the clouds, they must fail in the midst
of their course. Those who seek to see him in his naked majesty
are certainly very foolish. That we may enjoy the sight of him,
he must come forth to view with his clothing; that is to say, we
must cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the world
in which he wishes to be seen by us, and not be too curious and
rash in searching into his secret essence. Now, since God
presents himself to us clothed with light, those who are seeking
pretexts for their living without the knowledge of him, cannot
allege in excuse of their slothfulness, that he is hidden in
profound darkness. When it is said that the heavens are a
curtain, it is not meant that under them God hides himself, but
that by them his majesty and glory are displayed, being, as it
were, his royal pavilion. John Calvin.
Verse 2. With light. The first creation of God
in the works of the days was the light of sense; the last was
the light of reason; and his Sabbath work ever since is the
illumination of the spirit. Francis Bacon.
Verse 2. Who stretchest out the heavens like a
curtain. It is usual in the East, in the summer season, and
upon all occasions when a large company is to be received, to
have the court of the house sheltered from the heat of the
weather by all umbrella or veil, which being expanded upon ropes
from one side of the parapet wall to another may be folded or
unfolded at pleasure. The Psalmist seems to allude to some
covering of this kind in that beautiful expression of stretching
out the heavens like a curtain. Kitto's Pictorial Bible.
Verse 2. Like a curtain. With the same case, by
his mere word, with which a man spreads out a tent curtain, Ps
104:2 Isa 40:22 is parallel, "that stretcheth out the
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell
in." Ver. 3 continues the description of the work of the
second day. There lie at bottom, in the first clause, the words
of Ge 1:7 "God made the vaulted sky and divided between the
waters which are under the vault and the waters which are above
the vault." The waters above are the materials with which,
or out of which, the structure is reared. To construct out of
the movable waters a firm palace, the cloudy heaven, "firm
as a molten glass" (Job 37:18), is a magnificent work of
divine omnipotence. E.V. Hengstenberg.
Verse 2. Like a curtain. Because the Hebrews
conceived of heaven as a temple and palace of God, that sacred
azure was at once the floor of his, the roof of our, abode. Yet
I think the dwellers in tents ever loved best the figure of the
heavenly tent. They represent God as daily spreading it out, and
fastening it at the extremity of the horizon to the pillars of
heaven, the mountains: it is to them a tent of safety, of rest,
of a fatherly hospitality in which God lives with his creatures.
Herder, quoted by Perowne.
Verse 3. The metaphorical representation of God, as
laying the beams of his chambers in the waters, seems somewhat
difficult to understand; but it was the design of the prophet,
from a thing incomprehensible to us, to ravish us with the
greater admiration. Unless beams be substantial and strong, they
will not be able to sustain even the weight of an ordinary
house. When, therefore, God makes the waters the foundation of
his heavenly palace, who can fail to be astonished at a miracle
so wonderful? When we take into account our slowness of
apprehension, such hyperbolical expressions are by no means
superfluous; for it is with difficulty that they awaken and
enable us to attain even a slight knowledge of God. John
Calvin.
Verse 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in
the waters; or, "who layeth his upper chambers above
the waters." His upper chamber (people in the East used to
retire to the upper chamber when they wished for solitude) is
reared up in bright other on the slender foundation of rainy
clouds. A.F. Tholuck.
Verse 3. Who layeth the beams, etc. "He
floodeth his chambers with waters, "i.e., the clouds make
the flooring of his heavens. Zachary Mudge.
Verse 3. Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
see Ps 18:10; which is expressive of his swiftness in coming to
helped assist his people in time of need; who helps, and that
right early; and may very well be applied both to the first and
second coming of Christ, who came leaping Upon the mountains,
and skipping upon the hills, when he first came; and, when he
comes a second time will be as a roe or a young hart upon the
mountains of spices, So 2:8 8:14 The Targum is, "upon the
swift clouds, like the wings of an eagle"; hence, perhaps,
it is the heathens have a notion that Jupiter is being carried
in a chariot through the air when it thunders and lightens. John
Gill.
Verse 3. Who walketh upon the wings of the wind.
In these words there is an unequalled elegance; not, he fleeth—he
runneth, but—he walketh;and that on the very
wings of the wind;on the most impetuous element raised into
the utmost rage, and sweeping along with incredible rapidity. We
cannot have a more sublime idea of the deity; serenely walking
on an element of inconceivable swiftness, and, as it seems to
us, uncontrollable impetuosity!—James Hervey,
1713-14—1758.
Verse 4. Who maketh his angels spirits. Some
render it, Who maketh his angels as the winds, to which
they may be compared for their invisibility, they being not to
be seen, no more than the wind, unless when they assume an
external form; and for their penetration through bodies in a
very surprising manner; see Ac 7:6-10; and for their great force
and power, being mighty angels, and said to excel in strength,
Ps 103:20; and for their swiftness in obeying the divine
commands; so the Targum, "He maketh his messengers, or
angels, swift as the wind."—John Gill.
Verse 4. Who maketh his angels spirits. The
words, "creating his angels spirits, "may
either mean "creating them spiritual beings, not material
beings, "or "creating them winds"—i.e. like the
winds, invisible, rapid in their movements, and capable of
producing great effects. The last mode of interpretation seems
pointed out by the parallelism—"and his
ministers"—or, "servants"—who are plainly the
same as his angels,—"a flame of fire, "i.e., like
the lightning. The statement here made about the angels seems to
be this: "They are created beings, who in their qualities
bear a resemblance to the winds and the lightning." The
argument deduced by Paul, in Heb 2:7, from this statement for
the inferiority of the angels is direct and powerful:—He is
the Son; they are the creatures of God. "Only
begotten" is the description of his mode of existence; made
is the description of theirs. All their powers are communicated
power; and however high they may stand in the scale of creation,
it is in that scale they stand, which places them infinitely
below him, who is so the Son of God as to be "God over all,
blessed for ever."—John Brown, in "An
Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews."
Verse 4. A flaming fire. Fire is expressive of
irresistible power, immaculate holiness, and ardent emotion. It
is remarkable that the seraphim, one class at least of these
ministers, have their name from a root signifying to burn; and
the altar, from which one of them took the live coal, Isa 6:6,
is the symbol of the highest form of holy love. James G.
Murphy, in "A Commentary on the Book of Psalms,"
1875.
Verse 5. Not be removed for ever. The stability of the
earth is of God, as much as the being and existence of it. There
have been many earthquakes or movings of the earth in several
parts of it, but the whole body of the earth was never removed
so much as one hair's breadth out of its place, since the
foundations thereof were laid. Archimedes, the great
mathematician, said, "If you will give me a place to set my
engine on, I will remove the earth." It was a great brag;
but the Lord hath laid it too fast for man's removing. Himself
can make it quake and shake, he can move it when he pleaseth;
but he never hath nor will remove it. He hath laid the
foundations of the earth that it shall not be removed, nor can
it be at all moved, but at his pleasure; and when it moves at
any time, it is to mind the sons of men that they by their sins
have moved him to displeasure. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 5. The philosophical mode of stating this truth
may be seen in Amédée Guillemin's work entitled
"THE HEAVENS." "How is it that though we are
carried along with a vast rapidity by the motion of the earth,
we do not ourselves perceive our movement? It is because the
entire bulk of the earth, atmosphere, and clouds, participate in
the movement. This constant velocity, with which all bodies
situated on the surface of the earth are animated, would be the
cause of the most terrible and general catastrophe that could be
imagined, if, by any possibility, the rotation of the earth were
abruptly to cease. Such an event would be the precursor of a
most sweeping destruction of all organized beings. But the
constancy of the laws of nature permits us to contemplate such a
catastrophe without fear. It is demonstrated that the position
of the poles of rotation on the surface of the earth is
invariable. It has also been asked whether the velocity of the
earth's rotation has changed, or, which comes to the same thing,
if the length of the sidereal day and that of the solar day
deduced from it have varied within the historical period?
Laplace has replied to this question, and his demonstration
shows that it has not varied the one hundredth of a second
during the last two thousand years."
Verse 5.
God of the earth and sea, Thou hast laid earth's foundations:
Because thy hand sustains,
It ever firm remaineth.
Once didst thou open its deep, hidden fountains,
And soon the rising waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled at the voice of thy thunder,
The flood thy mandate heeded,
And hastily receded:
The waters keep the place Thou has assigned them,
And in the hills and vales a channel Thou dost find them.
A limit Thou hast set, which they may not pass over;
The deep within bound inclosing,
Strong barriers interposing,
That its proud waves no more bring desolation,
And sweep away from earth each human habitation.
—John Barton, in "The Book of Psalms in English Verse:
a New Testament Paraphrase, "1871.
Verse 6. "Stood, ""fled,
""hasted away." The words of the psalm put the
original wondrous process graphically before the eye. The change
of tense, too, from past to present, in verses 6, 7, 8, is
expressive, and paints the scene in its progress. In ver. 6 "stood"
should be STAND: in ver. 7 "fled" should be
FLEE: and "hasted away" should be HASTE AWAY,
as in the P.B.V. "The Speaker's Commentary."
Verse 7. At thy rebuke they fled. The famous
description of Virgil comes to mind, who introduces Neptune as
sternly rebuking the winds for daring without his consent to
embroil earth and heaven, and raise such huge mountain-waves:
then swifter than the word is spoken, he calms the swollen seas,
scatters the gathered clouds, and brings back the sun. Lorinus.
Verse 7. At the voice of thy that rider they hasted
away, ran off with great precipitance: just as a servant,
when his master puts on a stern countenance, and speaks to him
in a thundering, menacing manner, hastens away from him to do
his will and work. This is an instance of the mighty power of
Christ; and by the same power he removed the waters of the
deluge, when they covered the earth, and the tops of the highest
hills; and rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry land; and
drove back the waters of Jordan for the Israelites to pass
through; and who also rebuked the Sea of Galilee when his
disciples were in distress; and with equal ease can be and does
he remove the depth of sin and darkness from his people at
conversion; rebukes Satan, and delivers out of his temptations,
when he comes in like a flood; and commands off the waters of
affliction when they threaten to overwhelm; who are his
servants, and come when he bids them come, and go when he bids
them go. John Gill.
Verse 7. At the voice of thy thunder. It is
very likely God employed the electric fluid as an agent in this
separation. Ingram Cobbin.
Verse 7. They hasted away.
God said,
Be gathered now, ye waters under heaven
Into one place and let dry land appear.
Immediately the mountains huge appear
Emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave
Into the clouds; their tops ascend the sky:
So high as heaved the tumid hills, so low
Down sunk a hollow bottom broad and deep,
Capacious bed of waters: Thither they
Hasted with glad precipitance, uprolled
As drops on dust conglobing from the dry:
Part rise in crystal wall, or ridge direct,
For haste: such flight the great command impressed
On the swift floods: As armies at the call
Of trumpet (for of armies thou hast heard)
Troop to their standard; so the watery throng,
Wave rolling after wave, where way they found,
If steep, with torrent rapture, if through plain,
Soft ebbing; nor withstood them rock or hill;
But they, or under ground, or circuit wide
With serpent error wandering, found their way,
And on the washy ooze deep channels wore;
Easy, ere God had bid the ground be dry,
All but within those banks, where rivers now
Stream, and perpetual draw their tumid train,
The dry land, Earth; and the great receptacle
Of congregated waters, he called Seas:
And saw that it was good. John Milton.
Verse 8. They go up by the mountains, etc. The
Targum is, "They ascend out of the deep to the
mountains"; that is, the waters, when they went off the
earth at the divine orders, steered their course up the
mountains, and then went down by the valleys to the place
appointed for them; they went over hills and dales, nothing
could stop them or retard their course till they came to their
proper place; which is another instance of the almighty power of
the Son of God. John Gill.
Verse 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. The Baltic
Sea, in our own time, inundated large tracts of land, and did
great damage to the Flemish people and other neighbouring
nations. By an instance of this kind we are warned what would be
the consequence, were the restraint imposed upon the sea, by the
hand of God, removed. How is it that we have not thereby been
swallowed up together, but because God has held in that
outrageous element by his word? In short, although the natural
tendency of the waters is to cover the earth, yet this will not
happen, because God has established, by his word, a
counteracting law, and as his truth is eternal, this law must
remain stedfast. John Calvin.
Verse 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. In these
words the psalmist gives us three things clearly concerning the
waters. First, that once (he means it not of the deluge, but of
the chaos), the waters did cover the whole earth, till God by a
word of command sent them into their proper channels, that the
dry land might appear. Secondly, that the waters have a natural
propensity to return back and cover the earth again. Thirdly,
that the only reason why they do not return back and cover the
whole earth is, because God hath "set a bound, that they
cannot pass." They would be boundless and know no
limits, did not God bound and limit them. Wisdom giveth us the
like eulogium of the power of God in this, Pr 8:29 "He gave
to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his
commandment." What cannot he command, who sendeth his
commandment to the sea and is obeyed? Some great princes, heated
with rage and drunken with pride, have cast shackles into the
sea, as threatening it with imprisonment and bondage if it would
not be quiet; but the sea would not be bound by them; they have
also awarded so many strokes to be given the sea as a punishment
of its contumacy and rebellion against either their commands or
their designs. How ridiculously ambitious have they been, who
would needs pretend to such a dominion! Many princes have had
great power at and upon the sea, but there was never any prince
had any power over the sea; that's a flower belonging to no
crown but the crown of heaven. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. A few feet
of increase in the ocean wave that pursues its tidal circuit
round the globe, would desolate cities and provinces
innumerable... But with what immutable and safe control God has
marked its limits! You shall observe a shrub or a flower on a
bank of verdure that covers a sea cliff, or hangs down in some
hollow; nay, you shall mark a pebble on the beach, you shall lay
a shred of gossamer upon it; and this vast, ungovernable,
unwieldy, tempestuous element shall know how to draw a line of
moisture by its beating spray at the very edge, or on the very
point of your demarcation, and then draw off its forces, not
having passed one inch or hand's breadth across the appointed
margin. And all this exact restraint and measurement in the
motion of the sea, by that mysterious power shot beyond
unfathomable depths of space, from orbs rolling in ether! a
power itself how prodigious, how irresistible, yet how
invisible, how gentle, how with minutest exactness measured and
exerted. George B. Cheever, in "Voices of Nature
to her Foster Child, the soul of Man, "1852.
Verse 9. A bound that they may not pass over.
Now stretch your eye off shore, over waters made To cleanse the
air, and bear the world's great trade, To rise and wet the
mountains near the sun, Then back into themselves in rivers run,
Fulfilling mighty uses, far and wide, Through earth, in air, or
here, as ocean tide. Ho! how the giant heaves himself, and
strains And flings to break his strong and viewless chains;
Foams in his wrath; and at his prison doors, Hark! hear him! how
he beats, and tugs, and roars, As if he would break forth again,
and sweep Each living thing within his lowest deep.—Richard
Henry Dana (1787).
Verse 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
etc. Having spoken of the salt waters, he treats afterwards of
the sweet and potable, commending the wisdom and providence of
God, that from the lower places of the earth and the hidden
veins of the mountains, he should cause the fountains of water
to gush forth. Lorinus.
Verse 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys.
The more of humility the more of grace; if in valleys some
hollows are deeper than others the waters collect in them. Martin
Luther.
Verse 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys.
Men cut places for rivers to run in, but none but God can cut a
channel to bring spiritual streams into the soul. The psalmist
speaks of the sending forth of springs as one great act of the
providence of God. It is a secret mystery which those that have
searched deepest into nature cannot resolve us in, how those
springs are fed, how they are maintained and nourished, so as to
run without ceasing in such great streams as many of them make.
Philosophy cannot show the reason of it. The Psalmist doth it
well: God sends them into the valleys, his providence and
power keeps them continually running: he that would have his
soul watered must go to God in prayer. Ralph Robinson.
Verse 10. Which run among the hills. That is,
the streams or springs run. In many a part of the world can be
found a Sault, a dancing water, and a Minne-ha-ha, a laughing
water. The mountain streams walk, and run, and
leap, and praise the Lord. William S. Plumer.
Verse 10. "HE." "HE."
"HE."
All things are here of Him;from the black pines,
Which are his shade on high, and the loud roar
Of torrents, where he listens, to the vines
Which slope his green path downward to the shore,
Where the bowed waters meet him, and adore,
Kissing his feet with murmurs. Byron.
Verse 11. The wild asses quench their thirst.
It is particularly remarked of the asses, that though they are
dull and stupid creatures, yet by Providence they are taught the
way to the waters, in the dry and sandy deserts, and that there
is no better guide for the thirsty travellers to follow, than to
observe the herds of them descending to the streams. Thomas
Fenton.
Verse 11. The wild asses quench their thirst.
As evening approached we saw congregated, near a small stream,
what appeared to be a large company of dismounted Arabs, their
horses standing by them. As we were already near them, and could
not have escaped the watchful eye of the Bedouins, we prepared
for an encounter. We approached cautiously, and were surprised
to see that the horses still remained without their riders; we
drew still nearer, when they galloped off towards the desert.
They were wild asses. Henry Austin Layard.
Verse 12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven
have their habitation. Never shall I forget my first ride
from Riha to Ain Sultan; our way lay right across the oasis
evoked by the waters. It may be that the contrast with the arid
desert of the previous day heightened the feelings of present
enjoyment, but certainly they echoed the words of Josephus,—a
"Divine region". At one time I was reminded of Epping
Forest, and then of a neglected orchard with an undergrowth of
luxuriant vegetation. Large thorn bushes and forest shrubs
dotted the plain on every side. In some places the ground was
carpeted with flowers, and every bush seemed vocal with the
cheerful twittering of birds. I use the word
"twittering", because I do not think that I ever heard
a decided warble during the whole time I was in Syria. Coleridge
speaks of the "merry nightingale,"
"That crowds, and hurries, and precipitates
With fast, quick warble, his delicious notes."
The song of my little Syrian friends seemed to consist of a
series of, cheerful chirps. Other travellers have been more
fortunate. Bonar speaks of the note of the cuckoo; Dr. Robinson
of the nightingale. Lord Lindsay tells us of the delight of an
evening spent by the Jordan, "the river murmuring along,
and the nightingale singing from the trees." Canon Tristram,
describing the scenery near Tell-el-Kady, says that "the
bulbul and nightingale vied in rival scrag in the branches
above, audible over the noise of the torrent below." In the
face of these statements it seems to me remarkable, considering
the innumerable references to nature in the Bible, that the
singing of birds is only mentioned three times. In the well
known passage which so exquisitely depicts a Syrian spring, we
read "the time of the singing of birds is come" (So
2:12). The Psalmist in speaking of the mighty power and wondrous
Providence of God, mentions the springs in "the valleys,
which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the
field; the wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the
fowls of the heaven have their habitation which sing among the
branches." Canon Tristram commenting on this passage, says,
that it may refer especially to the "bulbul and the
nightingale, both of which throng the trees that fringe the
Jordan and abound in all the wooded valleys, filling the air in
early spring with the rich cadence of their notes."—James
Wareing Bardsley, in "Illustrative Texts,"
1876.
Verse 12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven
have their habitation, etc. To such birds may saints be
compared; being, like them, weak, defenceless, and timorous;
liable to be taken in snares, and sometimes wonderfully
delivered; as well as given to wanderings and straying; and to
fowls of the heaven, being heaven born souls, and partakers of
the heavenly calling. These have their habitation by the
fountain of Jacob, by the river of divine love, beside the still
waters of the sanctuary, where they sing the songs of Zion, the
songs of electing, redeeming, and calling grace. John Gill.
Verse 12. The fowls...which sing among the
branches. The music of birds was the first song of
thanksgiving which was offered from the earth, before man was
formed. John Wesley.
Verse 12. The fowls of the heaven which sing among
the branches. How do the blackbird and thrassel thrush,
with their melodious voices, bid welcome to the cheerful spring,
and in their fixed months warble forth such ditties as no art or
instrument can reach to? ... But the nightingale, another of my
airy creatures, breathes such sweet loud music out of her little
instrumental throat, that it makes mankind to think miracles are
not ceased. He that at midnight, when the very labourer sleeps
securely, should hear, as I have very often, the clear airs, the
sweet descants, the natural rising and falling, the doubling and
redoubling of her voice, might well be lifted above earth, and
say, "Lord, what music hast thou provided for the saints in
heaven, when you afford bad men such music on earth?"—Izaak
Walton.
Verse 12.
While over their heads the hazels hing,
The little birdies blithely sing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing
In the birks of Aberfeldy.
The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
The foaming stream deep roaring fa's,
Overhung with fragrant spreading shaws,
The birks of Aberfeldy. Robert Burns, 1759-1796.
Verse 13. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of
thy works; that is, with the rain, which is thy work,
causing it to be showered down when you please upon the earth;
or, with the rain, which proceeds from the clouds; or, with the
fruits, which thou causeth the earth by this means to bring
forth. Arthur Jackson.
Verse 14. He causeth the grass to grow. Surely
it should humble men to know that all human power united cannot
make anything, not even the grass to grow. William S. Plumer.
Verse 14. For the cattle, etc. To make us
thankful, let us consider, 1. That God not only provides for us,
but for our servants; the cattle that are of use to man, are
particularly taken care of; grass is made to grow in great
abundance for them, when "the young lions, "that are
not for the service of man, often "lack, and suffer
hunger." 2. That our food is nigh us, and ready to us:
having our habitation on the earth, there we have our
storehouse, and depend not on "the merchant ships that
bring food from afar, "Pr 31:14. 3. That we have even from
the products of the earth, not only for necessity, but for
ornament and delight, so good a master do we serve. Doth nature
call for something to support it, and repair its daily decays?
Here is "bread which strengtheneth man's heart, "and
is therefore called the staff of life; let none that have that
complain of want. Doth nature go further, and covet something
pleasant? Here is "wine that maketh glad the heart",
refresheth the spirits, and exhilarates them, when it is soberly
and moderately used; that we may not only go through our
business, but go through it cheerfully; it is a pity that that
should be abused to overcharge the heart, and disfit men for
their duty, which was given to revive their heart, and quicken
them in their duty. Is nature yet more humoursome, and doth it
crave something for ornament too? Here is that also out of the
earth: "oil to make the face to shine", that
the countenance may not only be cheerful, but beautiful, and we
may be the more acceptable to one another. Matthew Henry.
Verse 14. For the service of man. The common
version of these words can only mean for his benefit or use, a
sense not belonging to the Hebrew word, which, as well as its
verbal root, is applied to man's servitude or bondage as a
tiller of the ground (Ge 3:17-19), and has here the sense of
husbandry or cultivation, as in Ex 1:14, Le 25:39, it has that
of compulsory or servile labour, the infinitive in the last
clause indicates the object for which labour is imposed on man. J.A.
Alexander.
Verse 14. That he may bring forth food out of the
earth. The Israelites at the feast of the Passover and
before the breaking of bread, were accustomed to say,
"Praise be to the Lord our God, thou King of the world, who
hath brought forth our bread from the earth": and at each
returning harvest we ought to be filled with gratitude, as often
as we again receive the valuable gift of bread. It is the most
indispensable and necessary means of nourishment, of which we
never tire, whilst other food, the sweeter it is, the more
easily it surfeits: everybody, the child and the old man, the
beggar and the king, like bread. We remember the unfortunate
man, who was cast on the desert isle, famishing with hunger, and
who cried at the sight of a handful of gold, "Ah, it is
only gold!" He would willingly have exchanged for a handful
of bread, this to him, useless material, which in the mind of
most men is above all price. O let us never sin against God, by
lightly esteeming bread! Let us gratefully accept the sheaves we
gather, and thankfully visit the barns which preserve them; that
we may break bread to the hungry, and give to the thirsty from
the supplies God has given us. Let us never sit down to table
without asking God to bless the gifts we receive from his
gracious hand, and never eat bread without thinking of Christ
our Lord, who calls himself the living bread, who came down from
heaven to give life unto the world. And above all, may we never
go to the table of the Lord without enjoying, through the
symbols of bread and wine, his body and blood, whereby we
receive strength to nourish our spiritual life! Yes, Lord, thou
satisfiest both body and soul, with bread from earth and bread
from heaven. Praise be to thy holy name, our hearts and mouths
shall be full of thy praises for time and eternity!—Frederick
Arndt in "Lights of the Morning", 1861.
Verse 15. When thou wert taken out of the womb, what a
stately palace did he bring thee into, the world, which thou
foundest prepared and ready furnished with all things for thy
maintenance, as Canaan was to the children of Israel; a stately
house thou buildest not, trees thou plantedst not, a rich canopy
spangled, spread as a curtain over thy head; he sets up a taper
for thee to work by, the sun, till thou art weary (Ps 104:23),
and then it goes down without thy bidding, for it "knows
its going down" (Ps 104:19); then he draws a curtain
over half the world, that men may go to rest: "Thou
causest darkness, and it is night" (Ps 104:20). As an
house this world is, so curiously contrived that to every room
of it, even to every poor village, springs do come as pipes to
find thee water (Ps 104:11). The pavement of which house you
tread on and it brings forth thy food (Ps 104:14), "Bread
for strength, wine to cheer thy heart, oil to make thy face to
shine" (Ps 104:15). Which three are there
synecdochically put for all things needful to strength,
ornament, and delight. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 15. Wine that maketh glad the heart of man.
The wine mentioned had the quality of fermented liquors; it
gladdened the heart. Thus, if taken to excess, it would have led
to intoxication. The Hebrew term is "yayin", answering
to the Greek oinos, and including every form which the
juice of the grape might be made to assume as a beverage. It was
this of which Noah partook when he became drunken (Ge 9:21,24).
Melchizedek brought it forth to Abraham (Ge 14:18). Lot's
daughters gave it to their father and made him drunk (Ge 14:35).
From this the Nazarite was to separate himself (Nu 6:3-20). This
is the highly intoxicating drink so often mentioned by Isaiah (Isa
5:11-22 12:13 28:1-7); but just because of this, it might become
to man one of those mercies in connection with the use of which
he was to exercise constant self control. Taken to excess it was
a curse; enjoyed as from God, it was something for which man was
called to be thankful. John Duns.
Verse 15. And oil to make his face to shine.
Observe, after the mention of wine, he speaks of oil or
ointment, because at the banquets among the Jews and other
Eastern people, as afterwards among the Greeks and Romans, there
was a frequent use of ointments. The reasons why ointment was
poured upon the head were: To avoid intoxication: To improve the
health: To contribute to pleasure and delight. Homer often
refers to this custom, and there is an allusion to it by
Solomon, Ec 9:8, "Let thy garments be always white; and
let thy head lack no ointment". See also Ps 23:5. Le
Blanc.
Verse 15. The ancients made much use of oil to
beautify their persons. We read of "oil to make man's
face to shine". Ruth anointed herself for decoration (Ru
3:3), and the woman of Tekoah and the prophet Daniel omitted the
use of oil for the contrary reason (2Sa 14:3 Da 10:3). The
custom is also mentioned in Mt 6:17 Lu 7:46. Ambrose Serle
in "Horae Solitariae," 1815.
Verse 15. Bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
In hunger not only the strength is prostrated, but the natural
courage is also abated. Hunger has no enterprise,
emulation, nor courage. But when in such circumstances, a little
bread is received into the stomach, even before concoction can
have time to prepare it for nutriment, the strength is
restored, and the spirits revived. This is a surprising
effect, and it has not yet been satisfactorily accounted for. Adam
Clarke.
Verse 15. Bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
In Homer's Odyssey we meet with the expression "Bread, the
marrow of men."
Verse 15. Man's heart. It is not without reason
that instead of the word Mdah, of Adam, which was used in Ps
104:14, there is here employed the word vwba, an infirm and
feeble man, because he mentions those nourishments of which
there was no need before the fall, and which are specially
suitable to nourish and exhilarate feeble man. Venema.
Verse 15. If the transitory earth is so full of the
good things of God, what will we have when we come to the land
of the living?—Starke, in Lange's Commentary.
Verse 16. The trees of the Lord. The transition
which the prophet makes from men to trees is as if he had said,
It is not to be wondered at, if God so bountifully nourishes men
who are created after his own image, since he does not grudge to
extend his care even to trees. By "the trees of the
Lord", is meant those which are high and of surpassing
beauty; for God's blessing is more conspicuous in them. It seems
scarcely possible for any juice of the earth to reach so great a
height, and yet they renew their foliage every year. John
Calving.
Verse 16. The trees of the Lord may be so named
from their size and stature—this name being used as a
superlative in the Hebrew, or to denote aught which is great and
extraordinary. Thomas Chalmers.
Verse 16. The trees of the Lord, etc. The
cedars are indeed the trees of the Lord. They are especially his
planting. There is a sense in which, above all other trees, they
belong to him, and shadow forth in a higher degree his glory.
The peculiar expression of the text, however, must not be
limited to one particular species of cedar... Encouraged by this
Scripture usage, I shall use the word in a somewhat wider sense
than the conventional one, to denote three remarkable examples
which may be selected from the coniferae to show the
power and wisdom of God as displayed in the trees of the forest.
These are, the cedar of Lebanon, the cedar of the Himalayas, and
the cedar of the Sierra Nevada. The epithet which the psalmist
applies to one, may most appropriately be applied to all of
them; and there are various reasons why the Lord may be said to
have a special interest and property in each of them, to a few
of which our attention may now be profitably directed.
1. They are "trees of the Lord" on account of the peculiarities
of their structure. In common with all the pine tribe, they
are exceptional in their organization. They reveal a new idea of
the creative mind.
2. The cedars are "the trees of the Lord" on
account of the antiquity of their type it was of this class of
trees that the pre Adamite forests were principally composed.
3. The cedars are the "trees of the Lord, "on
account of the majesty of their appearance. It is the tree, par
excellence, of the Bible—the type of all forest vegetation.
—Condensed from Hugh Macmillan's "Bible Teachings
in Nature, "1868.
Verse 16. Full of sap. The cedar has a store of
resin. It flows from wounds made in the bark, and from the
scales of the cones, and is abundant in the seeds. Both the
resin and the wood were much valued by the ancients. The Romans
believed that the gum which exuded from the cedar had the power
of rendering whatever was steeped in it incorruptible; and we
are told that the books of Numa, the early king of Rome, which
were found uninjured in his tomb, five hundred years after his
death, had been steeped in oil of cedar. The Egyptians also used
the oil in embalming their dead. Mary and Elizabeth Kirby,
in "Chapters on Trees," 1873.
Verse 17. Birds. The word rendered "birds"
here is the word which in Ps 84:3 is translated sparrow, and
which is commonly used to denote small birds. Comp. Le 14:4
(margin), and Le 14:5-7 14:49-53. It is used, however, to denote
birds of any kind. See Ge 7:14 Ps 8:8 6:1 148:10. Albert
Barnes.
Verse 17. The stork is instanced as one of the
largest of nest building birds, as the cedars of Lebanon were
introduced in Ps 104:16 as being the largest of uncultivated
trees. A.C. Jennings and W.H. Zowe, in "The
Psalms, with Introductions and Critical Notes", 1875.
Verse 17. The stork, the fir trees are her hoarse.
In many cases the stork breeds among old ruins, and under such
circumstances it is fond of building its nest on the tops of
pillars or towers, the summits of arches, and similar
localities. When it takes up its abode among mankind, it
generally selects the breeding places which have been built for
it by those who know its taste, but it frequently chooses the
top of a chimney, or some such locality. When it is obliged to
build in spots where it can find neither rocks nor buildings, it
builds on trees, and, like the heron, is sociable in its
nesting, a whole community residing in a clump of trees. It is
not very particular about the kind of tree, provided that it be
tolerably tall, and strong enough to bear the weight of its
enormous nest; and the reader will at once see that the fir
trees are peculiarly fitted to be the houses for the stork. The
particular species of fir tree to which the Psalmist alludes is
probably the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), which comes
next to the great cedars of Lebanon in point of size. It was
this tree that furnished the timber and planks for Solomon's
temple and palace, a timber which was evidently held in the
greatest estimation. This tree fulfils all the conditions which
a stork would require in nest building. It is lofty, and its
boughs are sufficiently horizontal to form a platform for the
nest, and strong enough to sustain it. On account of its value
and the reckless manner in which it has been cut down without
new plantations being formed, the Aleppo pine has vanished from
many parts of Palestine wherein it was formerly common, and
would afford a dwelling place for the stork. There are, however,
several other species of fir which are common in various parts
of the country, each species flourishing in the soil best suited
to it, so that the stork would never be at a loss to find a
nesting place in a country which furnished so many trees
suitable to its purposes. J.G. Wood, in "Bible
Animals."
Verse 17. The stork, the fir trees are her house.
Well wooded districts are for the most part the favourite
resorts of the storks, as they constantly select trees both for
breeding purposes and as resting places for the night; some few
species, however, prove exceptions to this rule, and make their
nests on roofs, chimneys, or other elevated situations in the
immediate vicinity of men. From "Cassell's Book of
Birds." From the Text of Dr. Brehm. By T.R.
Jones, F.R.S.
Verse 17. The fir trees. The doors of the
temple were made of the fir tree; even of that tree which was a
type of the humanity of Jesus Christ. Consider Heb 2:14. The fir
tree is also the house of the stork, that unclean bird, even as
Christ is a harbour and shelter for sinners. "As for the
stork", saith the text, "the fir trees are her
house; "and Christ saith to the sinners that see their want
of shelter, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest."
He is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of trouble.
He is, as the doors of fir of the temple, the inlet of God's
house, to God's presence, and to a partaking of his glory. Thus
God did of old, by similitudes teach his people his way. John
Bunyan, in "Solomon's Temple Spiritualized."
Verse 17.
The eagle and the stork
On cliffs and cedar-tops their eyries build. John Milton.
Verse 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild
goats. There is scarcely any doubt that the Azel of the Old
Testament is the Arabian Ibex or Beden (Capra Nubiana).
This animal is very closely allied to the well known Ibex of the
Alps, or Steinbock, but may be distinguished from it by one or
two slight differences, such as the black beard and the slighter
make of the horns, which moreover have three angles instead of
four, as is the case with the Alpine Ibex ...The colour of its
coat resembles so nearly that of the rocks, that an
inexperienced eye would see nothing but bare stones and sticks
where a practised hunter would see numbers of Beden,
conspicuous by their beautifully curved horns. The agility of
the Beden is extraordinary. Living in the highest and
most craggy parts of the mountain ridge, it flings itself from
spot to spot with a recklessness that startles one who has not
been accustomed to the animal, and the wonderful certainty of
its foot. It will, for example, dash at the face of a
perpendicular precipice that looks as smooth as a brick wall,
for the purpose of reaching a tiny ledge which is hardly
perceptible, and which is some fifteen feet or so above the spot
whence the animal sprang. Its eye, however, has marked certain
little cracks and projections on the face of the rock, and as
the animal makes its leap, it takes these little points of
vantage in rapid succession, just touching them as it passes
upwards, and by the slight stroke of its foot keeping up the
original impulse of its leap. Similarly the Ibex comes sliding
and leaping down precipitous sides of the mountains, sometimes
halting with all the four feet drawn together, on a little
projection scarcely larger than a penny, and sometimes springing
boldly over a wild crevasse, and alighting with exact precision
upon a projecting piece of rock, that seems scarcely large
enough to sustain a rat comfortably. J.G. Wood.
Verse 18. Conies. When we were exploring the
rocks in the neighbourhood of the convent, I was delighted to
point attention to a family or two of the Wubar, engaged
in their gambols on the heights above us. Mr. Smith and I
watched them narrowly, and were much amused with the liveliness
of their motions, and the quickness of their retreat within the
clefts of the rock when they apprehended danger. We were, we
believe, the first European travellers who actually noticed this
animal, now universally admitted to be the shaphan, or coney of
Scripture, within the proper bounds of the Holy Land; and we
were not a little gratified by its discovery... The preparer of
the skin mistook it for a rabbit, though it is of a stronger
build, and of a duskier colour, being of a dark brown. It is
destitute of a tail, and has some bristles at its mouth, over
its head, and down its back, along the course of which there are
traces of light and dark shade. In its short ears, small, black,
and naked feet, and pointed snout, it resembles the hedgehog. It
does not, however, belong to the insectivora, but, though
somewhat anomalous, it is allied to the paehydermata, among
which it is now classed by naturalists. John Wilson, in "The
Lands of the Bible," 1847.
Verse 18. Conies. People used to think the
conies of Solomon the same as our rabbits, which are indeed
"a feeble folk, "but which do not "make their
houses in the rock." Now that the coney is
ascertained to be the Damon or Hyrax,—a shy defenceless
creature, which lurks among the cliffs of the mountains, and
darts into its den at the least approach of danger, the words of
Agar acquire their full significance. James Hamilton.
Verse 19. He appointed the moon for seasons.
When it is said, that the moon was appointed to distinguish
seasons, interpreters agree that this is to be understood of the
ordinary and appointed feasts. The Hebrews having been
accustomed to compute their months by the moon, this served for
regulating their festival days and assemblies both sacred and
political. The prophet, I have no doubt, by the figure
synecdoche, puts a part for the whole, intimating that the moon
not only distinguishes the days from the nights, but likewise
marks out the festival days, measures years and months, and, in
line, answers many useful purposes, in as much as the
distinction of times is taken from her course. John Calvin.
Verse 19. He appointed the moon for seasons.
"He made the moon to serve in her season, for a declaration
ofttimes, and a sign to the world. From the moon is the sign of
feasts, a light that decreases in her perfection. The month is
called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing,
being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the
firmament of heaven; the beauty of heaven, the glory of the
stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the
Lord."—Ec 10:7
Verse 19. The sun knoweth his going down. The
second clause is not to be rendered in the common way, "The
sun knoweth his going down, "but according to the usual
idiom, He, i.e., God knoweth the going down of the sun.
Not to mention the unwanted and harsh form of the phrase, by
which the knowledge of his setting is attributed to the
sun, there appears no reason why it should be here used, since
it is destitute of force, {1} or why he should turn from God as
a cause, to the moving sun, when both before and afterwards he
speaks of God, saying, "He appointed the moon,
""Thou makest darkness". Far more fitly,
therefore, is he to be understood as speaking of God, as before
and after, so in the middle, of the directing cause of the
appearances of the moon, the setting of the sun, and the spread
of darkness. God also is said more correctly to know the going
down of the sun, than the sun himself, since to know has in
effect the force of to cared for, as is often the case in
other passages. Venema.
{1} This excellent expounder cannot see the beauty of the
poetic expression, and so proses in this fashion.
Verse 20. Thou makest darkness. Some observe
with Augustine that in Genesis it is said that light was made,
but not that darkness was made, because darkness is
nothing, it is mere non existence. But in this passage it is
also said that night was made, and the Lord calls himself the Maker
of light and the Creator of darkness. Lorinus.
Verse 20. Thou makest darkness, etc. It would
be interesting to consider the wonderful adaptation of the
length of the day to the health of man, and to the rigour and
perhaps existence of the animal and vegetable tribes. The
rejoicing of life depends so much upon the grateful alternation
of day and night. For a full consideration of this subject I
must refer the reader to Dr. Whewell's Bridgewater Treatise. The
subjoined extracts may, however, aid reflection. The terrestrial
day, and consequently, the length of the cycle of light and
darkness, being what it is, we find various parts of the
constitution both of animals and vegetables, which have a
periodical character in their functions, corresponding to the
diurnal succession of external conditions; and we find that the
length of the period, as it exists in their constitution,
coincides with the length of the natural day. The alternation of
processes which takes place in plants by day and by night is
less obvious, and less obviously essential to their well being,
than the annum series of changes. But there are abundance of
facts which serve to show that such an alternation is part of
the vegetable economy. . . . "Animals also have a period in
their functions and habits; as in the habits of waking,
sleeping, etc., and their well being appears to depend on the
coincidence of this period with the length of the natural day.
We see that in the day, as it now is, all animals find seasons
for taking food and repose, which agree perfectly with their
health and comfort. Some animals feed during the day, as nearly
all the ruminating animals and land birds; others feed only in
the twilight, as bats and owls, and are called crepuscular;
while many beasts of prey, aquatic birds, and others, take their
food during the night. These animals, which are nocturnal
feeders, are diurnal sleepers, while those which are crepuscular
sleep partly in the night and partly in the day; but in all, the
complete period of these functions is twenty-four hours. Man in
like manner, in all nations and ages, takes his principal rest
once in twenty-four hours; and the regularity of this practice
seems most suitable to his health, though the duration of time
allotted to repose is extremely different in different cases. So
far as we can judge, this period is of a length beneficial to
the human frame, independently of the effect of external agents.
In the voyages recently made into high northern latitudes, where
the sun did not rise for three months, the crews of the ships
were made to adhere, with the utmost punctuality, to the hallit
of retiring to rest at nine, and rising a quarter before six;
and they enjoyed, under circumstances apparently the most
trying, a state of salubrity quite remarkable. This shows, that
according to the common constitution of such men, the cycle of
twenty-four hours is very commodious, though not imposed on them
by external circumstances."—William Whewell
(1795-1866).
Verse 21. The young lions...seek their meat from
God. God feeds not only sheep and lambs, but wolves and
lions. It is a strange expression that young lions when they
roar after their prey, should be said to seek their meat of God;
implying that neither their own strength nor craft could feed
them without help from God. The strongest creatures left to
themselves cannot help themselves. As they who fear God are fed
by a special providence of God, so all creatures are fed and
nourished by a general providence. The lion, though he be strong
and subtle, yet cannot get his own prey; we think a lion might
shift for himself; no, it is the lord that provides for him; the
young lions seek their meat of God. Surely, then, the mightiest
of men cannot live upon themselves; as it is of God that we
receive life and breath, so all things needful for the
maintenance of this life. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 21. The young lions roar. The roar of a
lion, according to Burcheil, sometimes resembles the sound which
is heard at the moment of an earthquake; and is produced by his
laying his head on the ground, and uttering a half stifled
growl, by which means the noise is conveyed along the earth. The
instant it is heard by the animals reposing m the plains, they
start up in alarm, fly in all directions, and even rush into the
danger which they seek to avoid. From Cassell's Popular
Natural History.
Verse 21. The roaring of the young lions, like the
crying of the ravens, is interpreted, asking their meat of God.
Both God put this construction upon the language of mere nature,
even in venomous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret
favourably the language of grace in his own people, though it be
weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered?—Matthew
Henry.
Verse 22. The sun ariseth...they lay them down in
their dens. As wild beasts since the fall of man may seem to
be born to do us hurt, and to rend and tear in pieces all whom
they meet with, this savage cruelty must be kept under check by
the providence of God. And in order to keep them shut up within
their dens, the only means which he employs is to inspire them
with terror, simply by the light of the sun. This instance of
divine goodness, the prophet commends the more on account of its
necessity; for were it otherwise, men would have no liberty to
go forth to engage in the labours and business of life. John
Calvin.
Verse 23. Man goeth forth unto his work, etc.
Man alone, among all creatures, in distinction from the
involuntary instruments of the Almighty, has a real daily work.
He has a definite part to play in life; and can recognize it. Carl
Bernhard Moll, in Lange's Commentary.
Verse 23. When the light of truth and righteousness
shineth, error and iniquity fly away before it, and the
"roaring lion" himself departeth for a time. Then the
Christian goeth forth to the work of his salvation, and to his
labour of love, until the evening of old age warns him to
prepare for his last repose, in faith of a joyful resurrection. George
Horne.
Verse 24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works!
etc. If the number of the creatures be so exceeding great, how
great, nay, immense, must needs be the power and wisdom of him
who formed them all! For (that I may borrow the words of a noble
and excellent author) as it argues and manifests more skill by
far in an artificer, to be able to frame both clocks and
watches, and pumps and mills, and granadoes and rockets, than he
could display in making but one of those sorts of engines; so
the Almighty discovers more of his wisdom in forming such a vast
multitude of different sorts of creatures, and all with
admirable and irreprovable art, than if he had created but a
few; for this declares the greatness and unbounded capacity of
his understanding. Again, the same superiority of knowledge
would be displayed by contriving engines of the same kind, or
for the same purposes, after different fashions, as the moving
of clocks by springs instead of weights: so the infinitely wise
Creator hath shown in many instances that he is not confined to
one only instrument for the working one effect, but can perform
the same thing by divers means. So, though feathers seem
necessary for flying, yet hath he enabled several creatures to
fly without them, as two sorts of fishes, one sort of lizard,
and the bat, not to mention the numerous tribes of flying
insects. In like manner, though the air bladder in fishes seems
necessary for swimming, yet some are so formed as to swim
without it, viz., First, the cartilaginous kind, which by what
artifice they poise themselves, ascend and descend at pleasure,
and continue in what depth of water they list, is as yet unknown
to us. Secondly, the cetaceous kind, or sea beasts, differing in
nothing almost but the want of feet. The air which in
respiration these receive into their lungs, may serve to render
their bodies equiponderant to the water; and the construction or
dilatation of it, by the help of the diaphragm and muscles of
respiration, may probably assist them to ascend or descend in
the water, by a light impulse thereof with their fins. . . .
Again, the great use and convenience, the beauty and variety of
so many springs and fountains, so many brooks and rivers, so
many lakes and standing pools of water, and these so scattered
and dispersed all the earth over, that no great part of it is
destitute of them, without which it must, without a supply other
ways, be desolate and void of inhabitants, afford abundant
arguments of wisdom and counsel: that springs should break forth
on the sides of mountains most remote from the sea: that there
should way be made for rivers through straits and rocks, and
subterraneous vaults, so that one would think that nature had
cut a way on purpose to derive the water, which else would
overflow and drown whole countries. John Ray (1678-1705),
in "The Wisdom, of God manifested in the Works of the
Creation."
Verse 24. How manifold are thy works! When we
contemplate the wonderful works of Nature, and walking about at
leisure, gaze upon this ample theatre of the world, considering
the stately beauty, constant order, and sumptuous furniture
thereof; the glorious splendour and uniform motion of the
heavens; the pleasant fertility of the earth; the curious figure
and fragrant sweetness of plants; the exquisite frame of
animals; and all other amazing miracles of nature, wherein the
glorious attributes of God, especially his transcendant
goodness, are more conspicuously displayed: so that by them, not
only large acknowledgments, but even gratulatory hymns, as it
were, of praise have been extorted from the mouths of Aristotle,
Pliny, Galen, and such like men, never suspected guilty of an
excessive devotion; then should our hearts be affected with
thankful sense, and our lips break forth in praise. William
Barrow, 1754-1836.
Verse 24. He does not undertake to answer his own
question, "How manifold?" for he confesses
God's works to be greater than his own power of expression;
whether these "works" belong to the creation of
nature or to that of grace. And observe how the concurrent
operation of the Blessed Trinity is set forth: "O Lord, how
manifold are thy works, "teaches of the Father, the
Source of all things: "in wisdom hast thou made them all,
"tells of the Son, the Eternal Word, "Christ the power
of God and the Wisdom of God, by whom were all things made, and
without him was not anything made that was made, "(1Co 1:24
Joh 1:3); "the earth is full of thy riches, "is
spoken of the Holy Ghost, who filleth the world. Augustine,
Hugo, and Uassiodorus, in Neale and Littledale.
Verse 24. In wisdom hast thou made them all.
Not only one thing, as the heavens, Ps 136:5; but everything is
wisely contrived and made; there is a most glorious display of
the wisdom of God in the most minute things his hands have made;
he has made everything beautiful in its season. A skilful
artificer, when he has finished his work and looks it over
again, often finds some fault or another in it: but when the
Lord had finished his works of creation, and looked over them,
he saw that all was good; infinite wisdom itself could find no
blemish in them: what weak, foolish, stupid creatures must they
be that pretend to charge any of the works of God with folly, or
want of wisdom?—John Gill.
Verse 24. The earth is full of thy riches,
literally, thy possessions; these thou keepest not to thyself,
but blessest thy creatures with. A.R. Fausset.
Verse 25. Things innumerable. The waters teem
with more life than the land. Beneath a surface less varied than
that of the continents, the sea enfolds in its bosom an
exuberance of life, of which no other region of the globe can
afford the faintest idea. Its life extends from the poles to the
equator, from east to west. Everywhere the sea is peopled;
everywhere, down to its unfathomable depths, live and sport
creatures suited to the locality. In every spot of its vast
expanse the naturalist finds instruction, and the philosopher
meditation, while the very varieties of life tend to impress
upon our souls a feeling of gratitude to the Creator of the
universe. Yes, the shores of the ocean and its depths, its
plains and its mountains, its valleys and its precipices, even
its debris, are enlivened and beautified by thousands of living
beings. There are the solitary or sociable plants, upright or
pendant, stretching in prairies, grouped in oases, or growing in
immense forests. These plants give a cover to and feed millions
of animals which creep, run, swim, fly, burrow in the soil,
attach themselves to roots, lodge in the crevices, or build for
themselves shelters, which seek or fly from one another, which
pursue or fight each other, which caress each other with
affection or devour each other without pity. Charles Darwin
truly says that the terrestrial forests do not contain anything
like the number of animals as those of the sea. The ocean, which
is for man the element of death, is for myriads of animals a
home of life and health. There is joy in its waves, there is
happiness upon its shores, and heavenly blue everywhere. Moquin
Tandon, in "The World of the Sea",
Translated and enlarged by H. Martin Hart, 1869.
Verse 25. Both small and great beasts.
The sounds and seas, each creek and bay,
With fry innumerable swarm, and shoals
Of fish that with their fins and shining scales
Glide under the green wave, in shoals that oft
Bank the mid sea; part single, or with mate,
Graze the seaweed their pasture, and through groves
Of coral stray; or sporting with quick glance,
Show to the sun their waved coats drop it with gold;
Or, in their pearly shells at ease, attend
Moist nutriment; or under rocks their food
In jointed armour watch: on smooth the seal
And bended dolphins play: part huge of bulk
Wallowing unwieldy, enormous in their gait,
Tempest the ocean: there leviathan,
Hugest of living creatures, on the deep
Stretched like a promontory sleeps or swims,
And seems a moving land; and at his gills
Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out, a sea.
—John Milton.
Verse 26. Ships. The original of ships was
doubtless Noah's ark, so that they owe their first draught to
God himself. John Gill.
Verse 26. There go the ships. Far from
separating from each other the nations of the earth (as the
ancients, still inexperienced in navigation, supposed), the sea
is the great highway of the human race, and unites all its
various tribes into one common family by the beneficial bonds of
commerce. Countless fleets are constantly furrowing its bosom,
to enrich, by perpetual exchanges, all the countries of the
globe with the products of every zone, to convey the fruits of
the tropical world to the children of the chilly north, or to
transport the manufactures of colder climes to the inhabitants
of the equatorial regions. With the growth of commerce
civilization also spreads athwart the wide cause way of the
ocean from shore to shore; it first dawned on the borders of the
sea, and its chief seats are still to be found along its
confines. G. Hartwig, in "The Harmonies of
Nature," 1866.
Verse 26. Leviathan. There is ground for
thinking (though this is denied by some) that in several
passages the term leviathan is used generically, much as we
employ dragon; and that it denotes a great sea monster. E.P.
Barrows, in "Biblical Geography and
Antiquities."
Verse 26. To play therein. Dreadful and
tempestuous as the sea may appear, and uncontrollable in its
billows and surges, it is only the field of sport, the
playground, the bowling green, to those huge marine monsters. Adam
Clarke.
Verse 26. Leviathan... made to play therein.
With such wonderful strength is the tail of the whale endowed,
that the largest of these animals, measuring some eighty feet in
length, are able by its aid to leap clear out of the water, as
if they were little fish leaping after flies. This movement is
technically termed "breaching, "and the sound which is
produced by the huge carcase as it falls upon the water is so
powerful as to be heard for a distance of several miles. J.G.
Wood, in "The Illustrated Natural History," 1861.
Verse 26. Leviathan...made to play therein.
Though these immense mammiferous fish have no legs, they swim
with great swiftness, and they gambol in the mountains of water
lashed up by the storms. Moquin Tandon.
Verse 26. Leviathan...made to play. He is made
to "play in the sea"; he hath nothing to do as man
hath, that "goes forth to his work"; he hath nothing
to fear as the beasts have, that lie down in their dens; and
therefore he plays with the waters: it is pity any of the
children of men, that have nobler powers, and were made for
nobler purposes, should live as if they were sent into the world
like the leviathan into the waters, to play therein, spending
all their time in pastime. Matthew Henry.
Verse 26. Therein. Fish, great and small, sport
and play in the element, but as soon as they are brought out of
it, they languish and die. Mark, O soul! what thy element is, if
thou wouldest live joyful and blessed. Starke, in Lange's
Commentary.
Verse 27. There are five things to be observed in
God's sustaining all animals. His power, which alone suffices
for all: "These wait all upon thee." Wisdom, which
selects a fitting time: "That thou mayest give them their
meat in due season." His majesty rising above all:
"That thou givest them they gather, "like the crumbs
falling from the table of their supreme Lord. His liberality,
which retains nothing in his open hand that it does not give:
"Thou openest thine hand." His original goodness that
flows down to all: "They are filled with good, "that
is, with the good things that spring from thy goodness. Le
Blanc.
Verse 27. That thou mayest give them their meat in
due season; or, in his time; every one in its own time which
is natural to them, and they have been used to, at which time
the Lord gives it to them, and they take it; it would be well if
men would do so likewise, eat and drink in proper and due time,
Ec 10:17. Christ speaks a word in season to weary souls; his
ministers give to every one his portion of meat in due season;
and a word spoken in due season, how good and sweet is it? Isa
7:4 Lu 7:12 Pr 15:23. John Gill.
Verse 27.
These, Lord, all wait on thee, that thou their food may it
give them;
Thou to their wants attendest;
They gather what thou sendest;
Thine hand thou openest, all their need supplying,
Over lookest not the least, the greatest satisfying.
When thou dost hide thy face a sudden change comes over them
Their breath in myriads taken,
They die no more to awaken;
But myriads more thy Spirit soon createth,
And the whole face of nature quickly renovateth.
The glory of the Lord, changeless, endures for ever;
In all his works delighting,
Nor even the smallest slighting;
Yet, if he frown, earth shrinks with fear before him,
And, at his touch, the hills with kindling flames adore him.
—John Burton.
Verse 28. That thou givest them they gather.
This sentence describes The Commissariat of Creation. The
problem is the feeding of "the creeping things innumerable,
both small and great beasts, "which swarm the sea; the
armies of birds which fill the air, and the vast hordes of
animals which people the dry land; and in this sentence we have
the problem solved, "That thou givest them they
gather." The work is stupendous, but it is done with ease
because the Worker is infinite: if he were not at the head of it
the task would never be accomplished. Blessed be God for the
great They of the text. It is every way our sweetest consolation
that the personal God is still at work in the world: leviathan
in the ocean, and the sparrow on the bough, may be alike glad of
this; and we, the children of the great Father, much more. The
general principle of the text is, God gives to his creatures,
and his creatures gather. That general principle we shall apply
to our own case as men and women; for it is as true of us as it
is of the fish of the sea, and the cattle on the hills:
"That thou givest them they gather."
1. We have only to gather, for God gives. In temporal things:
God gives us day by day our daily bread, and our business is
simply to gather it. As to spirituals, the principle is true,
most emphatically, we have, in the matter of grace, only to
gather what God gives. The natural man thinks that he has to
earn divine favour; that he has to purchase the blessing of
heaven; but he is in grave error: the soul has only to receive
that which Jesus freely gives.
2. We can only gather what God gives; however eager we may
be, there is the end of the matter. The diligent bird shall not
be able to gather more than the Lord has given it; neither shall
the most avaricious and covetous man. "It is vain for you
to rise up early and to sit up late, to eat the bread of
carefulness; for so he giveth his beloved sleep."
3. We must gather what God gives, or else we shall get no
good by his bountiful giving. God feeds the creeping things
innumerable, but each creature collects the provender for
itself. The huge leviathan receives his vast provision, but he
must go ploughing through the boundless meadows and gather up
the myriads of minute objects which supply his need. The fish
must leap up to catch the fly, the swallow must hawk for its
food, the young lions must hunt for their prey.
4. The fourth turn of the text gives us the sweet thought
that, we may gather what he gives. We have divine permission to
enjoy freely what the Lord bestows.
5. The last thing is, God will always give us something to
gather. It is written, "The Lord will provide." Thus
is it also in spiritual things. If you are willing to gather,
God will always give. C.H.S.
Verse 28. Gather. The verb rendered
"gather" means to pick up or collect from the ground.
It is used in the history of the manna (Ex 16:1,5,16), to which
there is obvious allusion. The act of gathering from the ground
seems to presuppose a previous throwing down from heaven. J.A.
Alexander.
Verse 28. Thou openest thine hand. The Greek
expositors take the opening of the hand to indicate facility. I
am of opinion that it refers also to abundance and liberality,
as in Ps 145:16:—"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest
the desire of every living thing." Using this same formula,
God commands us not to close the hand, but to open it to the
poor. Lorinus.
Verse 29. They are troubled. They are
confounded; they are overwhelmed with terror and amazement. The
word "troubled" by no means conveys the sense of the
original word—Nab, bahal—which means properly to tremble; to
be in trepidation; to be filled with terror; to be amazed; to be
confounded. It is that kind of consternation which one has when
all support and protection are withdrawn, and when inevitable
ruin stares one in the face. So when God turns away, all their
support is gone, all their resources fail, and they must die.
They are represented as conscious of this; or this is what would
occur if they were conscious. Albert Barnes.
Verse 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are
created. The Spirit of God creates every day: what is it
that continueth things in their created being, but providence?
That is a true axiom in divinity, Providence is creation
continued. Now the Spirit of God who created at first, creates
to this day: "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are
created." The work of creation was finished in the first
six days of the world, but the work of creation is renewed every
day, and so continued to the end of the world. Successive
providential creation as well as original creation is ascribed
to the Spirit. "And thou renewest the face of the
earth." Thou makest a new world; and thus God makes a new
world every year, sending forth his Spirit, or quickening power,
in the rain and sun to renew the face of the earth. And as the
Lord sends forth his power in providential mercies, so in
providential judgments. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 31. The Lord shall rejoice in his works.
Man alone amongst the creatures grieves God, and brought tears
from the eyes of Christ, who rejoiced in Spirit, because the
Father had deigned to reveal the mysteries to the little ones.
It repented God that he had made men, because as a wise son
maketh a glad father, so a foolish one is a vexation to him. Lorinus.
Verse 31 (last clause). What the Psalmist adds, Let
Jehovah rejoice in his works, is not superfluous, for he desires
that the order which God has established from the beginning may
be continued in the lawful use of his gifts. As we read in Ge
6:6, that "it repented the Lord that he had made man on the
earth; "so when he sees that the good things which he
bestows are polluted by our corruptions, he ceases to take
delight in bestowing them. And certainly the confusion and
disorder which take place, when the elements cease to perform
their office, testify that God, displeased and wearied out, is
provoked to discontinue, and put a stop to the regular course of
his beneficence; although anger and impatience have strictly
speaking no place in his mind. What is here taught is, that he
bears the character of the best of fathers, who takes pleasure
in tenderly cherishing his children, and in bountifully
nourishing them. John Calvin.
Verse 32. He looketh on the earth and it trembleth.
As man can soon give a cast with his eye, so soon can God shake
the earth, that is, either the whole mass of the earth, or the
inferior sort of men on the earth when he "looketh,
"or casteth an angry eye "upon the earth it trembleth."
"He toucheth the hills, "(that is, the powers and
principalities of the world), "and they smoke; "if he
do but touch them they smoke, that is, the dreadful effects of
the power and judgment of God are visible upon them. Joseph
Caryl.
Verse 32. No one save a photographer can sketch the
desert around Sinai. Roberts' views are noble, and to a certain
extent true; but they do not represent these desert cliffs and
ravines. No artist can rightly do it. Only the photographer can
pourtray the million of minute details that go to make up the
bleakness, the wildness, the awfulness, and the dismal
loneliness of these unearthly wastes. About noon I went out and
walked upon the convent roof. The star light over the mountain
peaks was splendid, while the gloom that hung round these
enormous precipices and Impenetrable ravines was quite
oppressive to the spirit. This is the scene of which David
spoke. "He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he
toucheth the hills, and they smoke." This is the mountain
"that was touched, and that burned with fire" (Heb
7:18). Not the mount that "might be touched, "as our
translators have rendered it, but the mount "that was
touched, " qhla fwmena,—the mount on which the finger of
God rested. We could imagine the black girdle of the thick
darkness with which the mountain was surrounded, and the
lightnings giving forth their quick fire through tiffs covering,
making its blackness blacker. We could imagine, too, the
supernatural blaze, kindled by no earthly hand, that shot up out
of the midst of this, like a living column of fire, ascending,
amid the sound of angelic trumpets and superangelic thunders, to
the very heart of heaven. Horatius Bonar, in "The
Desert of Sinai", 1858.
Verse 32. The philosopher labours to investigate the
natural cause of earthquakes and volcanoes. Well, let him
account as he will, still the immediate power of Jehovah is the
true and ultimate cause. God works in these tremendous
operations. "He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he
toucheth the hills, and they smoke." This is the philosophy
of Scripture: this, then, shall be my philosophy. Never was a
sentence uttered by uninspired man so sublime as this sentence.
The thought is grand beyond conception; and the expression
clothes the thought with suitable external majesty. God needs no
means by which to give effect to his purpose by his power, yet,
in general, he has established means through which he acts. In
conformity with this Divine plan, he created by means, and he
governs by means. But the means which he has employed in
creation, and the means which he employs in providence, are
effectual only by his almighty power. The sublimity of the
expression in this passage arises from the infinite
disproportion between the means and the end. An earthly
sovereign looks with anger, and his courtiers tremble. God looks
on the earth, and it trembles to its foundation. He touches the
mountains, and the volcano smokes, vomiting forth torrents of
lava. Hills are said to melt at the presence of the Lord.
"Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the
presence of the God of Jacob." How chill and withering is
the breath of that noxious philosophy, that would detach our
minds from viewing God in his works of Providence! The Christian
who lives in this atmosphere, or on the borders of it, will be
unhealthy and unfruitful in true works of righteousness. This
malaria destroys all spiritual life. Alexander Carson.
Verse 32. He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
It's therefore ill falling into his hands, who can do such
terrible things with his looks and touches. John Trapp.
Verse 33. I will sing unto the Lord. The
Psalmist, exulting in the glorious prospect of the renovation of
all things, breaks out in triumphant anticipation of the great
event, and says, "I will sing unto the Lord", ywxb
bechaiyai, "with my lives, "the life that I now have,
and the life that I shall have hereafter. "I will sing
praise to my God, "ydweb beodi, "in my eternity;
" my going on, my endless progression. What astonishing
ideas! But then, how shall this great work be brought about? and
how shall the new earth be inhabited with righteous spirits
only? The answer is Ps 104:35, "Let the sinners be consumed
out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more."—Adam
Clarke.
Verse 33. All having been admonished to glorify God,
he discloses what he himself is about to do; with his voice he
will declare his praises, "I will sing unto the Lord as
long as I live:" with his hand he will write psalms, and
set them to music, "I will sing psalms to my God while I
have my being:" with his mind he will make sweet
meditations, "My meditation of him shall be sweet:"
with will and affection he will seek after God alone, "I
will be glad in the Lord:" he predicts and desires the
destruction of all sinners who think not of praising God, but
dishonour him in their words and works, "Let the sinners be
consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more:"
lastly, with his whole soul and all his powers he will bless
God, "Bless thou the Lord, O my soul."—Le Blanc.
Verse 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet. A
Christian needs to study nothing but Christ, there is enough in
Christ to take up his study and contemplation all his days; and
the more we study Christ, the more we may study him; there will
be new wonders still appearing in him. John Pox, 1680.
Verse 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet.
The last words ever written by Henry Martyn, dying among
Mohammedans in Persia, was: I sat in the orchard and thought
with sweet comfort and peace of my God, in solitude my company,
my Friend and Comforter.
Verse 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet.
I must meditate on Christ. Let philosophers soar in their
contemplations, and walk among the stars; what are the stars to
Christ, the Sun of righteousness, the brightness of the Father's
glory, and the express image of his person? God manifest in the
flesh is a theme which angela rejoice to contemplate. Samuel
Lavington.
Verse 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet.
First. Take this as an assertion. The meditation on God is
sweet. And the sweetness of it should stir us up to the putting
of it in practice. Secondly. Take it as a resolution—that he
would make it for his own practice; that is, that he would
comfort himself in such performances as these are; whilst others
took pleasure in other things, he would please himself in
communion with God, this should be his solace and delight upon
all occasions. David promises himself a great deal of
contentment in this exercise of divine meditation which he
undertook with much delight: and so likewise do others of God's
servants of the same nature and disposition with him in the like
undertakings. Thirdly. Take it as a prayer and petition. It
"shall be, "that is, let it be, the future put for the
imperative, as it frequently uses to be; and so the word "gnatam"
is to be translated, not, of God, but to God. Let my meditation,
or prayer, or converse, be sweet unto him. Place at "illi
meditatio mea", so some good authors interpret it. The
English translation, "Let my words be acceptable, "and
the other before that, "Oh, that my words might please him,
"which comes to one and the same effect, all taking it in
the notion of a prayer: this is that which the servants of God
have still thought to be most necessary for them (as indeed it
is); God's acceptance of the performances which have been
presented by them. Condensed from Thomas Horton.
Verse 34. (first clause)—All the ancients
join in understanding it thus, "My meditation shall be
sweet to him, "or, as the Jewish Arab, hdge with him,
according to that of the Psalmist, Ps 14:14 "Let the
meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight."
Thus the Chaldee here, ywmrq, before him; the LXXII hdunyeih
antw, "Let it be sweet to him"; the Syriac to him, and
so the others also. And so Ke signifies to as well as on. Henry
Hammond.
Verse 34. I will be glad in the Lord. Compare this
with verse 31, and observe the mutual and reciprocal pleasure
and delight between God who is praised and the soul that praises
him. God, who rejoices in his works, takes the highest delight
in man, the compendium of his other works, and in that work,
than which none more excellent can be pursued by man, the work
of praising God in which the blessed are employed. Thus in this
very praise of God which is so pleasing to him, David professes
to be evermore willing to take delight. My beloved is mine,
sings the Spouse, and I am his. Lorinus.
Verse 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the
earth, etc. It fell to my lot some years ago, to
undertake a walk of some miles, on a summer morning, along a
seashore of surpassing beauty. It was the Lord's day, and the
language of the Hundred and fourth Psalm rose spontaneously in
my mind as one scene after another unfolded itself before the
eye. About half way to my destination the road lay through a
dirty hamlet, and my meditations were rudely interrupted by the
brawling of some people, who looked as if they had been spending
the night in a drunken debauch. Well, I thought, the Psalmist
must have had some such unpleasant experience. He must have
fallen in with people, located in some scene of natural beauty,
who, instead of being a holy priesthood to give voice to nature
in praise of her Creator, instead of being, in the pure and holy
tenor of their lives the most heavenly note of the general song,
filled it with a harsh discord. His prayer is the vehement
expression of a desire that the earth may no longer be marred by
the presence of wicked men,—that they may be utterly consumed,
and may give place to men animated with the fear of God, just
and holy men, men that shall be a crown of beauty on the head of
this fair creation. If this be the right explanation of the
Psalmist's prayer, it is not only justifiable, but there is
something wrong in our meditations on nature, if we are not
disposed to join in it. William Binnie.
Verse 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the
earth. This imprecation depends on the last clause of the
31st verse, "Let Jehovah, rejoice in his works." As
the wicked infect the world with their pollutions, the
consequence is, that God has less delight in his own
workmanship, and is even almost displeased with it. It is
impossible, but that this uncleanness, which, being extended and
diffused through every part of the world, vitiates and corrupts
such a noble product of his hands, must be offensive to him.
Since then the wicked, by their perverse abuse of God's gifts,
cause the world in a manner to degenerate and fall away from its
first original, the prophet justly desires that they may be
exterminated, until the race of them entirely fails. Let us,
then, take care so to weigh the providence of God, as that being
wholly devoted to obeying him, we may rightly and purely use the
benefits which he sanctifies for our enjoying them. Further, let
us be grieved, that such precious treasures are wickedly
squandered away, and let us regard it as monstrous and
detestable, that men not only forget their Maker, but also, as
it were, purposely turn to a perverse and an unworthy end,
whatever good things he has bestowed upon them. John Calvin.
Verse 35. The sinners.
All true, all faultless, all in tune,
Creation's wondrous choir,
Opened in mystic unison,
To last till time expire.
And still it lasts: by day and night,
With one consenting voice,
All hymn thy glory, Lord, aright,
All worship and rejoice.
Man only mars the sweet accord,
Overpowering with harsh din
The music of thy works and word,
Ill matched with grief and sin.
—John Keble in "The Christian Year."
Verse 35. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul.
Rehearse the first words of the Psalm which are the same as
these. They are here repeated as if to hint that the end of good
men is like their beginning, and that he is not of the number
who begins in the spirit and seeks to be made perfect in the
flesh. A worthy beginning of the Psalm, says Cassiodorus, and a
worthy end, ever to bless him who never at any time fails to be
with the faithful. The soul which blesses shall be made fat...
Reined in by this rein of divine praise, he shall never perish. Lorinus.
Verse 35. This is the first place where HALLELUJAH
("Praise ye the Lord") occurs in the Book of Psalms.
It is produced by a retrospect of Creation, and by the
contemplation of God's goodness in the preservation of all the
creatures of his hand, and also by a prospective view of that
future Sabbath, when, by the removal of evil men from communion
with the good, God will be enabled to look on his works, as he
did on the first Sabbath, before the Tempter had marred them,
and see "everything very good." See Ge 1:31 2:2-3—Christopher
Wordsworth.
Verse 35. Praise ye the Lord. This is the first
time that we meet with Hallelujah; and it comes in here upon
occasion of the destruction of the wicked; and the last time we
meet with it, it is upon the like occasion, when the New
Testament Babylon is consumed, this is the burden of the
song,—"Hallelujah, "Re 14:1,3,4,6. Matthew Henry.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. (first clause)—An exhortation to
one's own heart.
1. To remember the Lord as the first cause of all good. Bless
not man, or fate, but the Lord.
2. To do this in a loving, grateful, hearty, praising manner.
Bless the Lord.
3. To do it truly and intensely. O my soul.
4. To do it now—for various reasons and in all possible
ways.
Verse 1 (second clause). He is all this essentially,
and in nature, providence, grace, and judgment.
Verse 2 (first clause). The clearest revelation of God
is still a concealment; even light is but a covering to him. God
is clothed with light as we see him in his omniscience, his
holiness, his revelation, his glory, in heaven and his grace on
earth.
Verse 3 (last clause).
1. God is leisurely in his haste: "he walketh,
"etc.
2. God is swift even in his slackness: "he walketh on
the wings of the wind."
3. The practical conclusions are that there is time enough
for the divine purposes but none for our trifling; and that we
should both wait with patience for the victory of his cause and
hasten it by holy activity.
Verse 4.
1. The Nature of Angels Spirits.
2. The Lord of Angels. "Who maketh, "etc. What must
Iris own spirituality be who maketh spirits?
3. The ministry of Angels.
(a) Their office: "ministers."
(b) Their activity or zeal: "a flaming fire."
(c) Their dependence: made ministers.
—G. Rogers.
Verse 7. The power of the divine word in nature shows
its power in other spheres.
Verse 9.
1. All things have their appointed bounds.
2. To pass those bounds without special permission by God is
transgression. "Thou hast set a bound that they may not
pass."
3. Extraordinary cases should be followed by a return to
ordinary duties. "That they turn not again, "etc. G.R.
Verse 10. The thoughtfulness of God for those who,
like the valleys, are lowly, hidden, and needy: the abiding
character of his supplies: and the joyous results of his care.
Verse 10. God's care for wild creatures, reflections
from it.
1. Shall he not much more care for his people?
2. Will he not look after wild, wandering men?
3. Ought we not also to care for all that live?
Verse 10. From the fertility, life and music which
mark the course of a stream, illustrate the beneficial
influences of the Gospel. C.A. Davis.
Verse 14. In the Hayfield. (See
"Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 757.) "He causeth the
grass to grow for the cattle."
1. Grass is in itself instructive.
(a) As a symbol of our mortality: "All flesh is
grass."
(b) As an emblem of the wicked.
(c) As a picture of the elect of God. Isa 35:7 44:4 Ps
72:6,16
(d) Grass is comparable to the food wherewith the Lord
supplies the necessities of his chosen ones. Ps 23:2 So 1:7
2. God is seen in the growing of the grass.
(a) As a worker: "He causeth, "etc. See God in
common things—in solitary things.
(b) See God as a caretaker: "He causeth the grass to
grow for the cattle." God cares for the beasts—the
helpless—dumb and speechless things—providing suitable food
for them: "grass". Let us, then, see his hand in
providence at all times.
3. God's working in the grass for the cattle gives us
illustrations concerning grace.
(a) God "cares for oxen" and satisfies their wants:
there must then be something somewhere to satisfy the needs of
the nobler creature man, and his immortal soul.
(b) Though God provides the grass for the cattle, the cattle
must eat it themselves. The Lord Jesus Christ is provided as the
food of the soul. We must, by faith, receive and feed upon
Christ.
(c) Preventing grace may here be seen in a symbol: before the
cattle were made, in this world there was grass. There were
covenant supplies for God's people before they were in the
world.
(d) Here is an illustration of free grace: the cattle bring
nothing to purchase the food. Why is this?
(1) Because they belong to him, Ps 1:10.
(2) Because he has entered into a covenant with them to feed
them, Ge 9:9,10.
In the text there is a mighty blow to free will: "He
causeth the grass to grow." Grace does not grow in the
heart without a divine cause. If God cares to make grass grow he
will also make us grow in grace. Again; the grass does not grow
without an object; it is "for the cattle": but the
cattle grow for man. What then, does man grow for? Observe,
further, that the existence of the grass is necessary to
complete the chain of nature. So the meanest child of God is
necessary to the family.
Verse 16. "The Cedars of Lebanon." (See
"Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 529.)
1. The absence of all human culture. These trees are
peculiarly the Lord's trees, because,
(a) They owe their planting entirely to him: "He hath
planted."
(b) They are not dependent upon man for their watering.
(c) No mortal might protects them.
(d) As to their inspection—they preserve a sublime
indifference to human gaze.
(e) Their exultation is all for God.
(f) There is not a cedar upon Lebanon which is not
independent of man in its expectations.
2. The glorious display of divine care.
(a) In the abundance of their supply.
(b) They are always green.
(c) Observe the grandeur and size of these trees.
(d) Their fragrance.
(e) Their perpetuity.
(f) They are very venerable.
3. The fulness of living principle: "The trees of the
Lord are full of sap."
(a) This is vitally necessary.
(b) It is essentially mysterious.
(c) It is radically secret.
(d) It is permanently active.
(e) It is externally operative.
(f) It is abundantly to be desired.
Verses 17-18. "Lessons from Nature." (See
"Spurgeon's Sermons, " No. 1,005.)
1. For each place God has prepared a suitable form of life:
for "the fir trees, ""the stork"; for
"the high hills" "the wild goat, "etc. So,
for all parts of the spiritual universe God has provided
suitable forms of divine life.
(a) Each age has its saints.
(b) In every rank they are to be found. The Christian
religion is equally well adapted for all conditions.
(c) In every church spiritual life is to be found.
(d) God's people are to be found in every city.
2. Each creature has its appropriate place.
(a) Each man has by God a providential position appointed to
him.
(b) This is also true of our spiritual experience.
(c) The same holds good as to individuality of character.
3. Every creature that God has made is provided with shelter.
4. For each creature the shelter is appropriate.
5. Each creature uses its shelter.
Verse 19.
1. The wisdom of God as displayed in the material heavens. In
the changes of the moon and the variety of the seasons.
2. The goodness of God as there displayed in the adaptation
of these changes to the wants and enjoyments of men.
3. The faithfulness of God as there displayed. Inspiring
confidence in his creatures by their regularity.
"So like the sun may I fulfil
The appointed duties of the day;
With ready mind and active will
March on and keep my heavenly way."
Verse 20. Darkness and the beasts that creep forth
therein.
1. Ignorance of God, and unrestrained lusts. Ro 1:2 Sins
discovered. Beasts there before, but not noticed, now terrify
man.
3. Spiritual despondency, dismay, despair, etc.
4. Church lethargy. All sorts of heresies, etc., begin to
creep forth.
5. Papal influence. Monks, friars, priests, etc., creep about
in this dark age. A.G. Brown.
Verse 20.
1. Night work is for wild beasts: "Thou makest darkness,
" etc.
2. Day work is for men: "Man goeth forth, "etc.
Good men do their work by day; bad men by night: their work is
in the dark. Ministers who creep into their studies by night,
and "roar after their prey, "and "seek their meat
from God", are more like wild beasts than rational men.—G.R.
Verse 21. Inarticulate prayers, or how faulty the
expression may be and yet how real the prayer in the esteem of
God. Verse 22. From the effect of sunrise on the beasts
of prey, exhibit the influence of Divine Grace on our evil
passions. C.A.D.
Verse 23. "Early Closing." A sermon
preached on behalf of the "Early Closing Association,
"by James Hamilton, D.D., 1850. In the "Pulpit,"
Vol. 57.
Verse 24.
1. The language of wonder: "O Lord, how manifold,
"etc. Their number, variety, cooperation, harmony.
2. Of admiration: "In wisdom, "etc. Everywhere the
same wisdom displayed. God, says Dr. Chalmers, is as great in
minutia as in magnitude.
3. Of gratitude: "The earth is full," etc. G.R.
Verse 24.
1. The works of the Lord are multitudinous and varied.
2. They are so constructed as to show the most consummate
wisdom in their design, and in the end for which they are
formed.
3. They are all God's property, and should be used only in
reference to the end for which they were created. All abuse and
waste of God's creatures are spoil and robbery on the property
of the Creator. Adam Clarke.
Verse 26. There go the ships. (See"
Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 1,259.)
1. We see that the ships go.
(a) The ships are intended for going.
(b) The ships in going at last disappear from view.
(c) The ships as they go are going upon business.
(d) The ships sail upon a changeful sea.
2. How go the ships?
(a) They must go according to the wind.
(b) But still the mariner does not go by the wind without
exertion on his own part.
(c) They have to be guided and steered by the helm.
(d) He who manages the helm seeks direction from charts and
lights.
(e) They go according to their build.
3. Let us signal them.
(a) Who is your owner?
(b) What is your cargo?
(c) Where are you going?
Verse 27. Trace the analogy in the spiritual world.
The saints waiting, Ps 5:27; their sustenance from the opened
hand, Ps 5:28; their trouble under the hidden face; their death
if the Spirit were gone, Ps 5:29; their revival when the Spirit
returns, Ps 5:30.
Verse 29.
1. The commencement of life is from God: "Thou sendest
forth thy Spirit, "etc.
2. The continuance of life is from God: "Thou renewest,
" etc.
3. The decline of life is from God: "Thou hidest thy
face, " etc.
4. The cessation of life is from God: "Thou takest away
their breath, "etc.
5. The resurrection of life is from God: "Thou renewest,
" etc. G.R.
Verse 30. The season of Spring and its moral
analogies. See John Foster's "Lectures, "1844.
Verse 32.
1. What there is in a Look of God. "He looketh,
"etc.
(a) What in a look of anger.
(b) What in a look of love. He looked out of the fiery pillar
upon the Egyptians." The Lord hath looked out from his
pillar of glory," etc. He gave another look from the same
pillar to Israel.
2. What there is in a Touch of God: "He toucheth,"
etc. A touch of his may raise a soul to heaven, or sink a soul
to hell. G.R.
Verse 33.
1. The singer—"I."
2. The song—"praises."
3. The audience—"The Lord, ""My God."
4. The length of the song—"long as I live; while I
have my being."—A.G.B.
Verse 33. Two "I wills."
1. Because he made me live.
2. Because he has made me to live in him.
3. Because he is Jehovah and "my God."
4. Because I shall live for ever, in the best sense.
Verse 34.
1. David's contemplation.
2. David's exultation. Thomas Horton.
Verse 35.
1. They who praise not God are not fit to be on the earth:
"Let the sinners be consumed, "etc.
2. Much less are they fit to be in heaven.
3. They who praise God are fit both for earth and heaven.
Though others do not praise him here, the saints will.
"Bless thou the Lord," etc.
(a) In opposition to others, they praise him on earth.
(b) In harmony with others, they praise him in heaven, etc.
Everywhere it is with them, "Praise ye the Lord."—G.
R.