Psalm 104

Psalm 104 belongs to Book Four of the Psalms (Psalms 90–106). Whereas the preceding Psalm 103 praises God's forgiveness and lovingkindness, Psalm 104 celebrates creation and God's continuing care for it. Both psalms begin and end with "Bless the LORD, O my soul." The Hebrew text has no superscription, while the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation, attributes the psalm to David.

Structure

• Verses 1–4: God covers himself with light as with a garment and stretches out the heavens like a curtain. He makes the clouds his chariot, and the winds and flames his messengers and ministers.
• Verses 5–9: God lays the foundations of the earth. The waters that had covered even the mountains flee at his rebuke, and he sets a boundary they may not pass.
• Verses 10–18: Springs and rain sustain the beasts and the birds. God gives grass to the cattle and herbs, wine, oil, and bread to humankind. The cedars of Lebanon, the stork, the wild goats, and the conies each find a place to dwell.
• Verses 19–23: God appoints the moon for seasons, and the sun knows its going down. By night the young lions seek their prey; by day people go forth to their work.
• Verses 24–26: God has made all things in wisdom. The great and wide sea teems with countless creatures, ships pass over it, and a creature that the Korean Revised Version renders "crocodile" plays in it.
• Verses 27–30: All creatures wait upon God to give them their food in due season. When he takes away their breath, they return to their dust; when he sends forth his spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.
• Verses 31–35: The psalmist prays that the glory of the LORD may endure forever and resolves to praise him as long as he lives. After asking that the wicked be no more, he closes with blessing and "Hallelujah."

Key Verses

• Psalm 104:4: "Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire." Hebrews 1 quotes this verse as a statement about angels.
• Psalm 104:24: "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all." This verse sums up in a single sentence the truth that creation proceeds from God's wisdom.
• Psalm 104:30: "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." The verse declares that life depends on the Spirit of God.

People and Places

• The LORD: the Creator whom the psalm praises.
• Lebanon: a mountainous region north of Israel, famous for its cedars.
• Leviathan: the sea creature of verse 26. The Korean Revised Version renders it "crocodile," while the New Korean Revised Version renders it "Leviathan."

Points for Reflection

• Because the psalm moves from light and the heavens to the earth and the waters, the sun and the moon, and living creatures, it is often read alongside Genesis 1. Since it is a poem rather than a day-by-day account, however, interpreters differ on whether expressions such as the foundations of the earth or the boundary of the waters should be taken as literal descriptions of nature or as poetic language.
• The word rendered "angels" in verse 4 means "messengers." In Korean translations it is rendered with a word that sounds identical to the word for the lions of verse 21, but the two are different words. Hebrews 1:7 reads this verse as a statement about angels.
• In Hebrew, "breath" and "spirit" in verses 29–30 can be expressed by the same word (ruach). For this reason the passage is often read in connection with Genesis 2:7, and Christian tradition has read verse 30 as speaking of the creating and renewing work of the Holy Spirit.
• Some scholars compare the psalm with the ancient Egyptian "Great Hymn to the Aten," which contains similar expressions. Opinions differ on how the relationship between the two texts should be understood.
• The "Hallelujah" of verse 35 is regarded as the first occurrence of the word in the Psalms, according to the Hebrew text.

In the Korean Church

• The psalm is frequently used as a sermon text on creation and God's providence (his upholding and governing of the world). It is also often cited in discussions of caring for nature and the environment.
• In churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary, which follows the church year, it is read as the psalm for Pentecost because of verse 30.