Psalm 104:5-9

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 104:1-9

When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must stir up ourselves to take hold on God in it (Isa. 64:7); so David does here. ?Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels? work; set about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged and employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!? In these verses, I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper world, of which, though it is one of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 104:5

Who laid the foundations of the earth ,.... Or "founded the earth upon its bases" F12 על מכוניה "super bases ejus", Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Tigurine version, Gejerus, Michaelis. ; which some take to be the waters, according to Psalm 24:2 , others the centre of gravity in it; others the mountains; others the circumambient air, by which it is poised; rather the almighty power of God, by which it subsists; this is the work of Christ the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 104:6

Thou coverest it with the deep as with a garment ,.... This refers not to the waters of the flood, when the earth was covered with them, even the tops of the highest mountains; but to the huge mass of waters, the abyss and depth of them, which lay upon the earth and covered it as a garment, at its first creation, as the context and the scope of it show; and which deep was covered with darkness, at which time the earth was without form, and void, Genesis 1:2 an emblem of the corrupt state... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 104:7

At thy rebuke they fled ,.... The depths of water that covered the earth fled, went off apace, when Christ, the essential Word, gave the word of command that they should; saying, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so", Genesis 1:9 and this being called a "rebuke", suggests as if there was something amiss, irregular and disorderly, and to be amended; as if these waters were not in their proper place. At the voice... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 104:8

They go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys ,.... 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. Some... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 104:9

Thou hast set a bound, that they may not pass over ,.... The Targum adds, "to the rolling waves of the sea.' Set doors with bolts and bars, cliffs, rocks, and shores: and, what is more surprising, sand, which is penetrable, flexible, and moveable, is set as a perpetual bound to the raging ocean and its waves, which they cannot pass over: see Job 38:8 . So the Lord has set a bound to the proud waters of afflictions, and says, Thus far shall ye go, and no farther; and to the life of man,... read more

Adam Clarke

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

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