Psalm 104
Psalm 104, LORD of All Creation
Psalm 104 has no title in the Hebrew text, but it has traditionally been attributed to David in several ancient versions. Whether David wrote it directly or whether another inspired psalmist composed it, the psalm clearly stands in the tradition of biblical creation praise. It is a majestic hymn to the LORD as Creator, Sustainer, Governor, and rightful Owner of all things.
This psalm closely follows the order and theology of Genesis 1. It does not present creation as random, accidental, impersonal, or self generating. It presents creation as the deliberate work of the living God. Light, heavens, waters, land, springs, animals, plants, moon, sun, sea creatures, man’s labor, life, death, renewal, and judgment all stand under the sovereign rule of the LORD.
Psalm 104 is not merely about nature. It is about nature as the handiwork of God. The psalmist looks at the world and sees order, wisdom, providence, beauty, power, and moral accountability. Creation is not divine, but it declares the glory of the divine Creator. The world is not to be worshiped, but it teaches man to worship the One who made it.
The psalm begins where Psalm 103 ended, with the command, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” Psalm 103 praised God for redemption, forgiveness, mercy, and covenant compassion. Psalm 104 praises God for creation, providence, and His wise rule over the physical world. Together, they show that the LORD is both Redeemer and Creator.
A. The Glory of God’s Creation in Light, Angels, Earth, and Waters
Psalm 104:1 to Psalm 104:2, Praising the God of Honor, Majesty, and Might
Psalm 104:1, “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great, thou art clothed with honour and majesty.”
Psalm 104:2, “Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:”
The psalm opens with a command directed inward, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” The psalmist is not content with external praise. He commands his own inner man to worship God. True worship is never merely mechanical. It must involve the soul, the mind, the affections, the will, and the whole inward life of the believer.
The phrase “O LORD my God” shows both reverence and personal faith. The Creator of heaven and earth is not an unknown force. He is the covenant God of His people. The psalmist does not merely say, “God is great,” but “O LORD my God, thou art very great.” Creation theology is not impersonal. The God who made the heavens is also the God who can be known, trusted, praised, and obeyed.
The statement “thou art very great” is simple, but profound. God’s greatness is not measured by comparison with creation, because He stands above creation. Creation displays His greatness, but it does not contain Him. He is greater than the heavens He stretched out, greater than the earth He founded, greater than the waters He commands, greater than the angels He sends, and greater than all the living things He sustains.
The psalmist says God is “clothed with honour and majesty.” This means God’s glory is displayed like royal garments. Earthly kings may dress themselves in robes to project dignity, but God’s honor and majesty are not costumes. They belong to His very nature. His creation makes visible something of His invisible glory. The universe is not God, but it is like a garment that declares His splendor.
Verse 2 says God “coverest thyself with light as with a garment.” This naturally recalls the beginning of Genesis, where God’s first recorded creative command concerns light.
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Genesis 1:4, “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Genesis 1:5, “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Light is a fitting symbol of God’s purity, holiness, truth, glory, and life. God is not part of the darkness. He is not morally mixed. He is light, and His presence exposes what is hidden. The New Testament speaks the same way.
1 Timothy 6:15, “Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;”
1 Timothy 6:16, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see, to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
The transfiguration of Christ gives a visible glimpse of divine glory shining through human flesh.
Matthew 17:1, “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,”
Matthew 17:2, “And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”
Psalm 104:2 also says God “stretchest out the heavens like a curtain.” This describes the heavens as something God spreads out with ease. What overwhelms man is simple before God. The vastness of space, the beauty of the sky, the order of the stars, and the expanse above the earth are all under His creative power. The heavens are not eternal. They were stretched out by the Creator.
Isaiah 40:22, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”
The psalmist begins with God’s greatness, light, majesty, and heavenly expanse because creation must be understood from the top down. The world does not explain God. God explains the world.
Psalm 104:3 to Psalm 104:4, The Supreme Might of God Seen in Creation and Angels
Psalm 104:3, “Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind:”
Psalm 104:4, “Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire:”
The psalmist now describes God’s rule over the upper regions of creation. He “layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters.” The language is poetic, but the meaning is clear. God builds where man cannot build. He rules where man cannot reach. The waters above, the clouds, the winds, and the unseen heights are all under His command.
God “maketh the clouds his chariot.” Clouds do not hide God from sovereign rule. They are pictured as His vehicle. He rides upon what man cannot control. Storms, winds, rains, and clouds are not independent powers. They are servants of the Creator.
He “walketh upon the wings of the wind.” Wind is invisible, powerful, and beyond man’s control. Yet the Lord walks upon it. The psalmist sees creation not as a machine running by itself, but as a realm charged with the presence, power, and government of God.
This does not mean God is identical with creation. Scripture never teaches pantheism. God is distinct from creation, but creation is continually dependent upon Him. He is transcendent over it and active within it by His providence.
Verse 4 says, “Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire.” God not only rules material creation, He also rules the angelic realm. Angels are not independent spiritual powers. They belong to God. They are His ministers. They serve His will. They are mighty, but they are created beings under command.
The New Testament quotes this verse in Hebrews 1, where the writer contrasts angels with the Son. The angels are servants, but the Son is enthroned as God.
Hebrews 1:7, “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
Hebrews 1:8, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
This is important Christologically. Psalm 104:4 says the angels are His angels and His ministers. Hebrews applies this in a section exalting Christ above angels. The Son is not an angel. He is not a created being. He is the eternal Son, superior to angels, served by angels, and addressed as God.
The psalmist therefore moves from the visible heavens to invisible angelic servants. Everything above man, clouds, wind, waters, and angels, is under the command of the LORD.
Psalm 104:5 to Psalm 104:9, The Power of God Evident at Creation, the Flood, and Its Aftermath
Psalm 104:5, “Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”
Psalm 104:6, “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment, the waters stood above the mountains.”
Psalm 104:7, “At thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.”
Psalm 104:8, “They go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.”
Psalm 104:9, “Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.”
The psalmist now turns to the earth and the waters. God “laid the foundations of the earth.” The earth is not self created. It did not arise by chance. Its existence, order, structure, and stability are the work of God. The language of foundations communicates design, firmness, intention, and construction.
The phrase “that it should not be removed for ever” emphasizes the stability God gave the earth. This does not mean the present heavens and earth will never be changed by God, because Scripture clearly says they will be changed according to His final purposes. It means that the earth remains stable under God’s ordinary providential order until He Himself determines otherwise.
Verse 6 says, “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment, the waters stood above the mountains.” This language fits both the initial watery condition of the earth described in Genesis 1 and the global Flood in Genesis 7. The psalmist’s words especially echo the Flood, where the waters covered even the mountains.
Genesis 7:17, “And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.”
Genesis 7:18, “And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters.”
Genesis 7:19, “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.”
Genesis 7:20, “Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered.”
The psalmist says, “At thy rebuke they fled.” The waters are portrayed as obeying the voice of God. When God commanded, they receded. When God thundered, they hastened away. This is creation responding to its Lord.
After the Flood, the waters returned to the places God appointed for them.
Genesis 8:1, “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;”
Genesis 8:2, “The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;”
Genesis 8:3, “And the waters returned from off the earth continually, and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.”
Psalm 104:9 says God “set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.” This connects with God’s covenant promise after the Flood.
Genesis 9:11, “And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood, neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Genesis 9:12, “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:”
Genesis 9:13, “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”
The waters are powerful, but they are bounded. Seas rage, floods rise, and storms come, but the oceans do not have ultimate authority. God sets their limits. The same God who once judged the world with water now restrains the waters according to His covenant word.
The theological point is direct. Creation is not autonomous. The waters do not rule God. God rules the waters. The Flood was not merely a natural disaster. It was divine judgment. The recession of the waters was not mere natural recovery. It was divine mercy and providential order.
Psalm 104:10 to Psalm 104:13, What God Did With the Waters of the Earth
Psalm 104:10, “He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.”
Psalm 104:11, “They give drink to every beast of the field, the wild asses quench their thirst.”
Psalm 104:12, “By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.”
Psalm 104:13, “He watereth the hills from his chambers, the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.”
After describing God’s rule over the waters in judgment and boundary setting, the psalmist now shows God’s benevolent distribution of water for life. God “sendeth the springs into the valleys.” The waters that once covered the earth are now ordered into rivers, springs, valleys, and channels that sustain living creatures.
The springs “run among the hills.” This is providence in motion. God’s creation is not only grand in scale, it is practical in provision. He sends water where creatures need it. His wisdom is seen not only in stars and seas, but in springs and valleys.
“They give drink to every beast of the field.” God cares for animals that men may never see. The wild asses quench their thirst because God provides water in places beyond human settlement. This displays the generosity of divine providence. God’s care is not limited to creatures useful to man. He cares for wild creatures in desolate places.
Jesus later used this kind of creation care to teach the believer to trust the Father.
Matthew 6:26, “Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
Psalm 104:12 says that by the waters “the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.” The birds do not merely survive. They dwell and sing. Creation is not portrayed as a bleak mechanism, but as a world full of life, habitation, song, and divine care.
Verse 13 says, “He watereth the hills from his chambers, the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.” The earth is satisfied because God’s works are fruitful. Rain, springs, rivers, and vegetation are not accidents. They are the fruit of His wise providence.
This section teaches that God’s power is not merely destructive. He commands floodwaters, but He also sends springs. He rebukes the deep, but He also waters the hills. He judges, but He sustains. He rules, but He provides.
B. The Glory of God’s Creation in Living Things, Plants, and Animals
Psalm 104:14 to Psalm 104:18, God’s Wonderful World of Nature
Psalm 104:14, “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth;”
Psalm 104:15, “And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.”
Psalm 104:16, “The trees of the LORD are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;”
Psalm 104:17, “Where the birds make their nests, as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.”
Psalm 104:18, “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies.”
The psalmist now moves from waters to vegetation and animal life. “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle.” Grass may seem ordinary, but the psalmist sees God at work in it. A blade of grass exists because God causes it to grow. The food chain, animal life, and agricultural order all depend upon God’s ordinary providence.
He also provides “herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” God gives vegetation, but man must work the ground. This is important. Divine provision does not cancel human labor. God supplies the earth, seasons, soil, rain, seed, and growth, but man is called to cultivate, gather, prepare, and steward.
This fits the creation mandate before the fall.
Genesis 2:15, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Work is not evil. Work existed before sin. The curse made labor painful and frustrating, but labor itself belongs to God’s created order. Psalm 104 celebrates food coming from the earth under God’s blessing and man’s work.
Verse 15 mentions “wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.” These are ordinary gifts of God in the ancient world. Wine, oil, and bread represent gladness, health, strength, provision, and abundance.
This verse must be handled carefully. Scripture recognizes wine as a created gift, but it also strongly condemns drunkenness and warns against abuse. The blessing is in lawful use, not sinful excess.
Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit;”
Bread strengthens man’s heart because God made man dependent upon food. But Scripture also teaches that man needs more than bread.
Deuteronomy 8:3, “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
Verse 16 says, “The trees of the LORD are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.” The cedars of Lebanon were famous for strength, size, and beauty. The psalmist calls them “the trees of the LORD” because they were planted by Him, not by man. They grow under His care, filled with life and strength.
This is another picture of divine sufficiency. What God plants, God sustains. The trees are full because God provides what they need. This also gives a fitting analogy for the righteous man.
Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 1:3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
The birds make nests in the trees, the stork finds her house in the fir trees, the high hills serve as refuge for wild goats, and the rocks shelter the conies, likely the hyrax or rock badger. God provides habitats. He gives each creature its place. He orders the world with wisdom suited to the needs of life.
The lesson is clear. Creation is not chaos. God has arranged a world of provision, habitation, structure, and refuge. The cattle have grass, man has food, birds have trees, storks have firs, goats have hills, and conies have rocks. The Creator has thought of everything.
Psalm 104:19 to Psalm 104:23, The Sun and Moon Bless the World God Created
Psalm 104:19, “He appointed the moon for seasons, the sun knoweth his going down.”
Psalm 104:20, “Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.”
Psalm 104:21, “The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.”
Psalm 104:22, “The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.”
Psalm 104:23, “Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.”
The psalmist now turns to the heavenly lights and the rhythm of time. “He appointed the moon for seasons.” The moon is not a deity. It is not an independent power. It is appointed by God. The ancient pagan world often worshiped celestial bodies, but Scripture reduces them to created servants under God’s command.
The sun also “knoweth his going down.” The sun follows the order appointed by God. The daily cycle of evening and morning is not random. It is part of the Creator’s wise government.
This again echoes Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:14, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
Genesis 1:15, “And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and it was so.”
Genesis 1:16, “And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, he made the stars also.”
Genesis 1:17, “And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,”
Genesis 1:18, “And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness, and God saw that it was good.”
Psalm 104:20 says, “Thou makest darkness, and it is night.” Darkness is under God’s command. Night is not outside His rule. He made the night as part of the ordered world. In the night, “all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.” The nocturnal creatures have their appointed time.
The young lions “roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.” This is striking. Lions hunt, but they still depend on God. Their strength, instinct, hunger, prey, and life are all under divine providence. Even the strongest animals cannot feed themselves apart from God’s sustaining order.
When the sun rises, the lions gather into their dens. Then “man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.” God has ordered day and night so that different creatures function according to their appointed times. The beasts hunt by night. Man works by day. The world is structured for life, labor, and order.
This section dignifies human work. Man goes forth to his work because labor is part of God’s design. Laziness is not consistent with creation order. The God who made the sun to rise also made man to labor.
Proverbs 6:6, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise:”
Proverbs 6:7, “Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,”
Proverbs 6:8, “Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
Proverbs 6:9, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?”
Proverbs 6:10, “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:”
Proverbs 6:11, “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”
Psalm 104 shows that work is not merely economic. It is theological. Man labors under the sun in the world God made, with strength God gives, during the time God appoints.
Psalm 104:24 to Psalm 104:26, The Wonder of the Sea God Created
Psalm 104:24, “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all, the earth is full of thy riches.”
Psalm 104:25, “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.”
Psalm 104:26, “There go the ships, there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”
Verse 24 is the central exclamation of the psalm, “O LORD, how manifold are thy works!” The word “manifold” points to the vast variety of God’s creation. The world is not dull, flat, or monotonous. It is full of diversity, complexity, order, and beauty. Land, sea, sky, plants, animals, seasons, light, darkness, springs, trees, lions, birds, goats, and man all display different aspects of God’s wisdom.
“In wisdom hast thou made them all.” This rejects the idea that creation is the product of blind chance. The world bears marks of divine wisdom. It is ordered, fruitful, interdependent, and purposeful. The psalmist looks at nature and sees intelligence behind it. He sees not only power, but wisdom.
“The earth is full of thy riches.” Everything belongs to God. Creation is His possession. Man is a steward, not the owner in the ultimate sense. Therefore, abusing creation, wasting God’s gifts, and living without gratitude are forms of rebellion against the Creator.
Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein.”
Psalm 24:2, “For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.”
The psalmist then considers “this great and wide sea.” The sea is vast, mysterious, powerful, and filled with living creatures. It contains “things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.” The ocean is not empty chaos. It is full of life, from the smallest creatures to great sea beasts.
“There go the ships.” Man travels upon the sea, but he does not master it absolutely. Ships sail by God’s permission in God’s world. The sea remains greater than man and subject only to God.
Then the psalmist mentions Leviathan, “whom thou hast made to play therein.” Leviathan is a great sea creature, elsewhere described in terrifying terms, especially in Job 41. Here, however, Leviathan is not a threat to God. It is God’s creature, made to play in the sea. What terrifies man is almost playful under God’s rule.
Job 41:1, “Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?”
Job 41:10, “None is so fierce that dare stir him up, who then is able to stand before me?”
Job 41:11, “Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
Psalm 104 does not treat Leviathan as a rival deity or cosmic enemy equal to God. Leviathan is made by God. The great sea creature plays where God placed it. The Creator owns even the most mysterious and powerful creatures.
This section teaches that the correct response to creation is wonder, not worship of creation. The sea is great, but God is greater. Leviathan is mighty, but God made him. The earth is full of riches, but they are God’s riches.
C. God and the World He Created
Psalm 104:27 to Psalm 104:30, Creation’s Dependence Upon God
Psalm 104:27, “These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.”
Psalm 104:28, “That thou givest them they gather, thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”
Psalm 104:29, “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled, thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.”
Psalm 104:30, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, and thou renewest the face of the earth.”
The psalmist now summarizes the dependence of all creatures upon God. “These wait all upon thee.” The beasts of the field, birds of the heavens, creatures of the sea, lions, cattle, and man all depend upon the LORD. Creation is not self sufficient. Every living thing waits upon God whether it understands that dependence or not.
God gives them “their meat in due season.” His provision has timing. He gives what is needed when it is needed. This should teach man contentment. God’s creatures receive according to His wisdom, not according to greed. Man should learn to trust God for daily bread.
Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Verse 28 says, “That thou givest them they gather.” God provides, but creatures gather. This is a key principle. God’s provision does not remove creaturely activity. Birds must seek food. Animals must graze or hunt. Man must labor. God gives, but creatures gather.
This applies directly to human responsibility. Trusting God does not mean laziness. God may provide opportunity, skill, strength, land, tools, relationships, and resources, but man must gather what God gives. Providence and responsibility work together.
“Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.” This is a beautiful picture of divine generosity. God does not strain to provide. He opens His hand, and creatures are filled. Life itself depends upon the open hand of God.
Verse 29 gives the opposite, “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled, thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” Creation is utterly dependent on God’s continued favor and sustaining power. If God withdraws, creatures are troubled. If God takes away breath, they die.
This again recalls Genesis.
Genesis 3:19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Life is not autonomous. Breath is not owned by man. Every heartbeat is mercy. Every breath is borrowed. When God takes away breath, man and beast return to dust.
Verse 30 says, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, and thou renewest the face of the earth.” The Spirit of God is the giver and renewer of life. Creation began with the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters, and ongoing renewal continues under divine power.
Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
The principle here is that providence is creation continued. God did not merely create the world and then abandon it. He sustains life, renews the earth, governs seasons, gives breath, sends His Spirit, and maintains the order of creation.
This is why the biblical worldview is so different from deism or naturalism. Deism imagines a distant god who starts the world and steps back. Naturalism imagines a closed system without God. Psalm 104 teaches that the living God actively sustains everything.
Psalm 104:31 to Psalm 104:32, Blessing the God of All Creation
Psalm 104:31, “The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever, the LORD shall rejoice in his works.”
Psalm 104:32, “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth, he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.”
Having surveyed creation and providence, the psalmist declares, “The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever.” Creation may change, creatures may die, mountains may tremble, seas may roar, and generations may pass, but the glory of the LORD endures forever. His glory is not dependent upon man’s recognition. It is eternal because God Himself is eternal.
The phrase “the LORD shall rejoice in his works” is remarkable. God takes pleasure in what He has made. Genesis repeatedly says God saw that His creation was good.
Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
God is not embarrassed by creation. He rejoices in His works because they display His wisdom, power, goodness, and glory. Yet since man is a moral creature, man should live in such a way that he gives God reason to rejoice in His works, rather than grief over rebellion and corruption.
Verse 32 says, “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth, he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.” The same God who provides springs and feeds animals is also the God before whom the earth trembles. His tenderness does not cancel His terror. His providence does not diminish His power.
This may recall Mount Sinai, where God manifested His presence with smoke, fire, trembling, and thunder.
Exodus 19:16, “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.”
Exodus 19:17, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount.”
Exodus 19:18, “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”
The God of creation is not tame. He is good, generous, and wise, but He is also holy, majestic, and terrifying in power. The earth trembles before Him. The hills smoke at His touch.
Psalm 104:33 to Psalm 104:35, A Determination to Praise God in Song and Meditation
Psalm 104:33, “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”
Psalm 104:34, “My meditation of him shall be sweet, I will be glad in the LORD.”
Psalm 104:35, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.”
The psalmist now makes a personal resolution, “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live.” Creation praise leads to lifelong worship. The psalmist has considered light, heavens, angels, earth, waters, springs, animals, plants, sun, moon, sea, Leviathan, breath, death, renewal, glory, and divine power. The only fitting response is sustained praise.
“I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” Worship is not a temporary emotional response. It is the lifelong duty and delight of the creature before the Creator. As long as the psalmist has breath, he intends to praise God.
This is the right use of life. God gives breath, and man should return that breath in praise. A life that refuses to worship its Creator is a life out of order.
Verse 34 says, “My meditation of him shall be sweet.” God is worshiped not only by singing, but by thinking rightly about Him. Meditation is the disciplined dwelling of the mind upon God’s truth, God’s works, God’s Word, and God’s character. The psalmist wants his thoughts to be pleasing to the Lord.
This is a needed correction in every generation. Men often fill their minds with vanity, fear, lust, anger, foolishness, resentment, and worldly distractions. The psalmist chooses something better. He meditates on the LORD, and that meditation is sweet.
Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
The psalmist says, “I will be glad in the LORD.” This is a decision rooted in truth. Biblical gladness is not shallow optimism. It is joy anchored in God’s revealed greatness. The world God made may be troubled by sin, death, wickedness, and curse, but the believer can still be glad in the LORD.
Then verse 35 takes a solemn turn, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.” This may sound abrupt, but it fits the psalm’s theology. If God is the Creator, Owner, Sustainer, and rightful King of all things, then rebellion against Him is not a small matter. Wickedness is an intrusion into God’s good creation. Sin corrupts what God made good. The psalmist longs for a world fully ordered under the righteous rule of the LORD.
This is not personal vindictiveness. It is a desire for creation to be cleansed of rebellion. A world without wickedness is a world where God’s glory is honored without opposition.
The New Testament teaches the same moral reality. Men are accountable because creation reveals God.
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”
Romans 1:19, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them.”
Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse:”
Romans 1:21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The rejection of God as Creator is not intellectually neutral. It is moral rebellion. When men refuse to glorify God and refuse to give thanks, their thinking becomes vain. Psalm 104 calls man back to the proper order, creation should lead to worship, gratitude, obedience, and gladness in the LORD.
The psalm ends, “Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.” The first command is personal, the second is corporate and universal. The psalmist commands his own soul, then calls others to praise Yahweh. This is the first occurrence of “Praise ye the LORD,” or “Hallelujah,” in the Psalter. It is fitting that such a word appears at the end of a creation psalm, because all creation exists to praise its Maker.
Psalm 104 teaches that the LORD is the God of light, majesty, heavens, angels, earth, waters, mountains, valleys, animals, plants, seasons, sun, moon, sea, life, death, renewal, and final judgment. He is not a distant observer. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. The right response is lifelong worship, sweet meditation, gladness in the LORD, rejection of wickedness, and the command, “Praise ye the LORD.”
