This psalm in the Syriac, the Arabic, the Greek, and the Latin versions, is ascribed to David, but on what authority is now unknown. That it “may” have been composed by him cannot be doubted, but there is no certain evidence that he was the author. In the Hebrew, it has no title, and there is nothin... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL - See Psalms 103:1. O LORD MY GOD, THOU ART VERY GREAT - This is a reason why the psalmist calls on his soul to bless God; namely, for the fact that he is so exalted; so vast in his perfections; so powerful, so wise, so great. THOU ART CLOTHED WITH HONOR AND MAJESTY - Tha... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO COVEREST THYSELF WITH LIGHT AS WITH A GARMENT - Referring to the first work of creation Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” He seemed to put on light as a garment; he himself appeared as if invested with light. It was the first “manifestation” of God. He seemed... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO LAYETH THE BEAMS OF HIS CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS - The word here rendered “layeth” - from קרה _qârâh_ - means properly to meet; then, in Hiphil, to cause to meet, or to fit into each other, as beams or joists do in a dwelling. It is a word which would be properly applied to the construction of a... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO MAKETH HIS ANGELS SPIRITS - The meaning here literally would be, “Who makes the winds his messengers,” or “his angels;” that is, who employs them to execute his purpose; who sends them out as messengers or angels to do his will. HIS MINISTERS A FLAMING FIRE - That is, Fire is employed by him - i... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH - Referring still to the creation of the earth. The margin is, “He hath founded the earth upon her bases.” The Hebrew word rendered in the margin “her bases” means properly a place; then a basis or foundation. The idea is, that there wes something, as it were, p... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU COVEREDST IT WITH THE DEEP AS WITH A GARMENT - Compare the notes at Job 38:9. The meaning is, that God covered the earth with the sea - the waters - the abyss - as if a garment had been spread over it. The reference is to Genesis 1:2; where, in the account of the work of creation, what is there... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THY REBUKE THEY FLED - At thy command; or when thou didst speak to them. The Hebrew word also implies the notion of “rebuke,” or “reproof,” as if there were some displeasure or dissatisfaction. Proverbs 13:1; Proverbs 17:10; Ecclesiastes 7:5; Isaiah 30:17; Psalms 76:6. It is “as if” God had been... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY GO UP BY THE MOUNTAINS ... - That is, when they were gathered together into seas. They seemed to roll and tumble over hills and mountains, and to run down in valleys, until they found the deep hollows which had been formed for seas, and where they were permanently collected together. The margin... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST SET A BOUND THAT THEY MAY NOT PASS OVER - See Job 26:10, note; Job 38:10, note. THAT THEY TURN NOT AGAIN TO COVER THE EARTH - As it was before the dry land appeared; or as the earth was when “darkness was upon the face of the deep” Genesis 1:2, and when all was mingled earth and water. It... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SENDETH THE SPRINGS INTO THE VALLEYS - Though the waters are gathered together into seas, yet God has taken care that the earth shall not be dry, parched, and barren. He has made provision for watering it, and by a most wise, wonderful, and benevolent arrangement, he has formed springs among the... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY GIVE DRINK TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD - All are thus kept alive. The wild beasts that roam at large, find water thus provided for them. THE WILD DONKEYS QUENCH THEIR THIRST - Margin, as in Hebrew, “break.” The meaning is, that the most wild and ungovernable of beasts - those which are farthes... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THEM SHALL THE FOWLS OF THE HEAVEN HAVE THEIR HABITATION - Among them the fowls of the air dwell. That is, among the trees which spring up by the fountains and water-courses. The whole picture is full of animation and beauty. WHICH SING AMONG THE BRANCHES - Margin, as in Hebrew, “give a voice.”... [ Continue Reading ]
HE WATERETH THE HILLS FROM HIS CHAMBERS - The waters, as stated before, run in the valleys - in the natural channels made for them among the hills, Psalms 104:10. But still, it was a fact that the hills themselves were watered; that there were springs far up their heights; and that vegetation was su... [ Continue Reading ]
HE CAUSETH THE GRASS TO GROW FOR THE CATTLE - Out of the earth there is caused to grow every variety of food necessary for the various orders of beings that are placed upon it. The idea here is not merely that of “abundance;” it is also that of “variety:” the needs and tastes of all have been consul... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WINE THAT MAKETH GLAD THE HEART OF MAN ... - literally, “And wine (it) gladdens the heart of man to make his face to shine more than oil.” Margin, “to make his face shine with oil, or more than oil.” The latter expresses the idea most accurately. So DeWette renders it. The meaning is, that the e... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TREES OF THE LORD - From the grass, from the herb, from the vine, and from bread, as adapted to sustain the living beings upon the earth, the psalmist passes to the more lofty and grand productions of the vegetable world - to those which display more manifestly the power of God, and which furnis... [ Continue Reading ]
WHERE THE BIRDS MAKE THEIR NESTS - Furnishing a home for the birds where they may breed their young. In Psalms 104:12, the birds are introduced as singing among the foliage of trees and shrubs by the water-courses; here they are introduced as having their home in the lofty cedars in places which God... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HIGH HILLS ARE A REFUGE FOR THE WILD GOATS - Still keeping up the description of animated nature - the carrying out of the work of creation. The idea is, that nature is full of life. Even the most inaccessible places - the rocks - the high hills - have their inhabitants. Where man cannot climb o... [ Continue Reading ]
HE APPOINTED THE MOON FOR SEASONS - Genesis 1:14. That is, The moon, as well as the sun, is appointed to divide time; to determine its progress; to indicate the return of festival occasions, or appointed times to be observed in any manner. It is, in fact, the foundation of the division of the year i... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU MAKEST DARKNESS, AND IT IS NIGHT - Thou hast made arrangements for the return of night - for the alternations of day and night. The Hebrew word rendered “makest,” means “to place;” and the idea is, that God constitutes the darkness, or so disposes things that it occurs. WHEREIN ALL THE BEASTS... [ Continue Reading ]
THE YOUNG LIONS ROAR AFTER THEIR PREY - This is a continuation of the description in the previous verse. At night the beasts which had been hidden in the daytime crawl forth and seek their food. The lion is particularly specified as one of the beasts that in a general survey would attract attention.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUN ARISETH - A new scene in this endless variety of incidents in a world full of life and beauty. The psalmist sees the light break in the east, and the sun appear above the horizon - and the whole scene is changed. The animals that had gone forth at night are seen to return again to their hidi... [ Continue Reading ]
MAN GOETH FORTH ... - Man is now seen to go forth from his dwelling, and he appears on the stage to perform his daily toil, until evening comes, and then again he gives way for the beasts of night. Thus the scene is ever varying - showing how full of animated existence the earth is; how varied are t... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, HOW MANIFOLD ARE THY WORKS! - literally, “how many.” The reference is to the “number” and the “variety” of the works of God, and to the wisdom displayed in them all. The earth is not suited up merely for one class of inhabitants, but for an almost endless variety; and the wisdom of God is ma... [ Continue Reading ]
SO IS THIS GREAT AND WIDE SEA ... - Our translation here does not quite express the beauty and the force of the original; “This sea! Great and broad of hands! There is the creeping thing - and there is no number; animals - the little with the great.” The reference here is, undoubtedly to the Mediter... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE GO THE SHIPS - There the vessels move along - objects that would, of course, attract the attention of one looking at the sea, and admiring its wonders. The psalmist is describing the active scenes on the surface of the globe, and, of course, on looking at the ocean, these would be among the ob... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE WAIT ALL UPON THEE - That is, These are all dependent on thee. It does not, of course, mean that they “wait” in the sense that they are conscious of their dependence on God, but that they are “actually” dependent. The original word implies the idea of “expecting” or “hoping,” and is so rendere... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THOU GIVEST THEM THEY GATHER - What thou dost place before them they collect. They have no resources of their own. They can invent nothing; they cannot vary their food by art, as man does; they cannot make use of reason, as man does, or of skill, in preparing it, to suit and pamper the appetite... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HIDEST THY FACE - As if God turned away from them; as if he was displeased with them; as if he withdrew from them the tokens of his friendship and favor. THEY ARE TROUBLED - They are confounded; they are overwhelmed with terror and amazement. The word “troubled” by no means conveys the sense o... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SENDEST FORTH THY SPIRIT, THEY ARE CREATED - That is, New races are created in their place, or start up as if they were created directly by God. They derive their being from him as really as those did which were first formed by his hand, and the work of creation is constantly going on. AND THO... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER - Margin, as in Hebrew, “shall be.” It might be rendered, “Let the glory of the Lord be for ever,” implying a strong desire that it should be so. But the language may denote a strong conviction that it would be so. The mind of the writer was filled with wo... [ Continue Reading ]
HE LOOKETH ON THE EARTH, AND IT TREMBLETH - There is great sublimity in this expression, as indicating the power and the majesty of God. He has only to “look” upon his works, and they stand in awe and tremble. The most mighty and fearful convulsions of nature occur as if they were the mere effect of... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD AS LONG AS I LIVE - That is, I will continue to praise him; I will never cease to adore him. The result of the psalmist’s meditations on the wonderful works of God is to awaken in his mind a desire to praise God forever. He is so filled with a sense of his greatness and glo... [ Continue Reading ]
MY MEDITATION OF HIM SHALL BE SWEET - That is, I will find pleasure in meditating on his character and works. See the notes at Psalms 1:2. It is one of the characteristics of true piety that there is a “disposition” to think about God; that the mind is “naturally” drawn to that subject; that it does... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE SINNERS BE CONSUMED OUT OF THE EARTH - Compare Psalms 37:38. This might with propriety be rendered, “Consumed are the sinners out of the earth,” expressing a fact and not a desire; and it may have been prompted by the feeling of the psalmist that such an event would occur; that is, that the... [ Continue Reading ]