Psalms 104:10

THE THIRD DAY OF CREATION

"He sendeth forth springs into the valleys;

They run among the mountains;

They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild asses quench their thirst.

By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;

They sing among the branches.

He watereth the mountains from his chambers:

The earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.

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.

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,

And oil to make his face to shine,

And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.

The trees of Jehovah are filled with moisture,

The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted;

Where the birds make their nests:

As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.

The high mountains are for the wild goats;

The rocks are a refuge for the conies."

The Genesis account of this third day of creation is in Genesis 1:9-13. The Genesis account relates the gathering of the waters into one place, the appearance of the dry land, the creation of grass, herbs, fruit-trees and vegetables; but the account here stresses a number of things not mentioned in Genesis.

The thought regards the thoroughness and completeness of God's provisions for all of his creatures upon the earth. We have often mentioned A. Crescy Morrison's book, "Man Does not Stand Alone," which specifically extols the adaptation of our earth to its human inhabitants. This psalm indicates that same perfect adaptation and adequacy of the earth, not merely for mankind, but for all of the creatures God made and placed upon it.

The cycle of earth's waters as they rise from the seas, fall upon the earth, and make their way back to the seas is the device by which the springs and streams of the mountains and valleys of earth provide life-sustaining water for a myriad of earthly creatures. As Dummelow said, "These things need not be analyzed in detail."[7]

Briggs translated "fir-tree" (Psalms 104:17) as "cypress," and "conies" (Psalms 104:18) as "marmots."[8] "This animal lives in holes in the rocks, where it makes its nest and conceals its young, and to which it retires at the least alarm."[9]