Psalm 104:1-23

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:5

מכוניה על ארץ יסד yasad erets al mechonepha , ועד עולם תמוט בל bal tammot olam vaed . "Laying the earth upon its foundations, That it should not be shaken for evermore." This image Bishop Lowth thinks evidently taken from the tabernacle, which was so laid upon its foundations that nothing could move it, and the dispensation to which it was attached, till the end purposed by the secret counsel of God was accomplished: and thus the earth is established, till the end of its... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:6

Thou coveredst it with the deep - This seems to be spoken in allusion to the creation of the earth, when it was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the waters invested the whole, till God separated the dry land from them; thus forming the seas and the terraqueous globe. The poet Ovid has nearly the same idea: - Densior his tellus, elementaque grandia traxit, Et pressa est gravitate sua; circumfluus humor Ultima possedit, solidumque coercuit orbem read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:7

At thy rebuke they fled - When God separated the waters which were above the firmament from those below, and caused the dry land to appear. He commanded the separation to take place; and the waters, as if instinct with life, hastened to obey. At the voice of thy thunder - It is very likely God employed the electric fluid as an agent in this separation. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:8

They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys - Taking the words as they stand here, springs seem to be what are intended. But it is difficult to conceive how the water could ascend, through the fissures of mountains, to their tops, and then come down their sides so as to form rivulets to water the valleys. Most probably all the springs in mountains and hills are formed from waters which fall on their tops in the form of rain, or from clouds that, passing over them, are arrested,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:9

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass - And what is this bound? The flux and reflux of the sea, occasioned by the solar and lunar attraction, the rotation of the earth on its own axis, and the gravitation of the waters to the center of the earth. And what is the cause of all these? The will and energy of God. Thus the sea is prevented from drowning the earth equally where there are flat shores as where the sea seems hemmed in by huge mounds of land and mountains. The above, not these,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:10

He sendeth the springs into the valleys - Evaporation is guided and regulated by Divine Providence. The sun has a certain power to raise a certain portion of vapours from a given space. God has apportioned the aqueous to the terrene surface, and the solar attraction to both. There is just as much aqueous surface as affords a sufficiency of vapours to be raised by the solar attraction to water the earthy surface. Experiments have been instituted which prove that it requires a given space of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:11

The wild asses quench their thirst - The פרא pere , onager or wild ass, differs in nothing from the tame ass, only it has not a broken spirit, and is consequently more lively and active. It is so very swift that no horse except the Arab barb can overtake it. It is a gregarious animal, and they go in troops to feed and to drink. It is very timid, or rather jealous of its liberty, and therefore retires deep into the desert; yet even there the providence of God regards it; springs are... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:12

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation - All fowls love verdure, and have their residence where they can find wood and water. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:13

From his chambers - The clouds, as in Psalm 104:3 . The earth is satisfied - The inhabitants of it. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 104:14

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle - Doth God care for oxen? Yes, and there is not a beast of the field that does not share his merciful regards. And herb for the serviee of man - Plants, esculent herbs, and nutritive grain in general; and thus he brings forth food ( לחם lechem , bread) out of the earth. In the germination and growth of a grain of wheat there is a profusion of miracles. God takes care of man, and of all those animals which are so necessary to the convenience... read more

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