Psalm 104

We are in a section of the Psalms where the worthiness of God to receive praise is derived from the world around us, both in creation and history.  If you desire to praise God for His attributes clearly seen in creation (Rom. 1:20) so you can glorify and thank Him for His goodness (Rom. 1:21) Psalm 104 is for you.  When Paul told the Athenians God gives life, breath, and all things to mankind (Acts 17:25) this is what he was talking about. Paul must have had Psalm 104 in mind when he told the idolaters of Lystra that God did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17).  We all see the truth of this Psalm daily.  Consider the contents of this great Hymn!

·         104:1-2: Bless the Lord, the great Creator.  He stretched out the heavens (v2), a phrase that may speak of the expansion of the universe. This phrase appears 17 times in the Old Testament.

·         104:3-9: He is the Creator …

o   Of the heavens (v3-4).  Note that He is sovereign, and uses the heavens and heavenly beings for His purposes.

o   Of the earth (v5-9).  This paragraph has in mind Gen. 1 where the waters were above and on the earth and Gen. 6 when the heavens filled the valleys and covered the mountains.

·         104:10-26: He is the Sustainer …

o   Refreshing the earth with springs (v10-12) and rain (v13).

o   Causing the earth to produce all that is needed for man’s enjoyment and the needs of all living beings (v14-18).

o   Appointing the sun and moon so that there would be both seasons and day/night for the earth to be the perfect place to sustain life (v19-23).

o   Providing all the blessings that come from the oceans both with what grows there and how it enables man to move about and share the abundant resources from near and distant shores (v24-26).

§  In v24 such things as the law of gravity or laws of the harvest and all laws of nature are God’s creative wisdom.  It works and keeps on working because of His wisdom.

§  In v26 Leviathan is a large sea creature, perhaps dragon-like or similar to a crocodile or the extinct plesiosaurus.

·         104:27-30: Everything waits for God, i.e. depends on Him from day to day.

·         104:31-32: May all He has made bring Him glory, joy and reverent worship.

·         104:33-35: As one of His works I will praise Him as long as I have the life He has given me.  And my prayers is that those who refuse to so honor Him be consumed from the earth.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Praise the Lord!!!